Today I shall be Mainly...

[Big Kev]

Changing the blade on my razor, two month's worth of shaves (face and head) isn't too bad. It's just starting to 'snag' on my top lip

[Marilyn]

Hubby changes his every second Sunday. He gives his old one to me for shaving my legs, and throws my old hand-me-down out. This recycling has worked well for both of us for 25 years!

[Sue]

Isn’t it funny what you find with old photo albums.

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[Big Kev]

How lovely. It's good to find 'lost' treasures.

[Stanley]

Gallic Wars and complicated chemical questions. No wonder you're smarter than I am Sue! I can't remember being at that level but I suppose we must have been.
Not sure yet, could be a Susan visit day later. I shall be aiming for my hour in the shed and a walk later.

[Sue]

Gallic Wars and complicated chemical questions. No wonder you're smarter than I am Sue! I can't remember being at that level but I suppose we must have been.
Not sure yet, could be a Susan visit day later. I shall be aiming for my hour in the shed and a walk later.

Morning

O level Latin Stanley, and A level Biology mock practical exam . I could not think where they appeared from but I have since remembered they were in a folding card table at my Dads, and appeared when we repaired the table for him some 20 years ago. Its funny I am reading a novel, actually 5 novels, about Julius Caesar and the Gallic wars at the moment . Perhaps I should read this little gem. These were the translations of the text and I can remember learning them by rote for the O level exam! The photograph search and tidying was good fun. my life in photographs. As I emptied the wardrobe I could see we had a damp problem in there. We are pretty sure it is condensation , so Bob has treated the wall and before I put anything back we will let it air and dry out completely. There are boxes of loose photos, as well as albums many of which are meaningless now so I feel a cull coming on one evening when we are sitting. There are also a whole stack of Claire’s school books from primary school. We may pass those on to the owner !

The photograph searching took all afternoon, just finishing in time for pilates and yoga. 5.15-7.30pm. In the morning straight after breakfast we went for a walk to the post office and did a 5 mile loop. Wrapped up warm it was a lovely walk , sunny and clear. We could even see Jodrell Bank on the skyline which must be 50 miles away . I then took Claire’s sewing machine before lunch, whereupon it clouded over and started to snow. Cloud, sun, snow, hail, we had it all in the afternoon. Oh yes I made the batch of biscuits , which were very nice indeed.

Today is not really planned at all yet. Pilates is at 8.00 this evening. I have to pop to the hairdressers at about 4.00 to pick up a patch skin/hair test as I will be having my hair coloured next week. Hairdressers have been told they must do this or invalidate their insurance as people have been using home hair colours for months which may react with their products. I should imagine we will walk this morning its another clear , cold, beautiful morning, and I have another cupboard of more recent photographs to tackle in my sewing room

Have a good day everyone

[Stanley]

I kept all the stuff the kids brought home from the first chalk drawings to later annual reports. They all went in a black bin bag and I kept them safe for over 20 years through divorce flittings and adventures. Then I sorted them all out into 3 piles for 3 daughters and got them all back to them. So that's what you are thinking with Claire, if she is the same as mine she'll love it, a trip down memory lane.
You talk of seeing Jodrell Bank. From the look of this morning the air could be as clear today. At the moment it's crystal clear here and about -5C I think.
My day fell to pieces quite quickly what with domestic matters and the realisation I was running out of milk and my weekly Co-op early hours shop needed to be brought forward a day. I've been and done it. Susan may come later on but she's had a migraine storm this week poor lass and I haven't heard from her yet. I told her earlier not to come unless she was pain free.....

[Sue]

I have all their report Stanley, plus mine too! They make interesting reading, also in the photo album cupboard. I think we gave Julia her stuff, I seem to recall it was in a box in the loft. Other later stuff they threw away themselves when they left home. Sadly my stuff in general got left behind or thrown in Chester le Street when Mum and Dad moved to Burnley. Any school books I had got thrown by me when we moved from Swinton to Rochdale. I used my university notes to teach A level Biology, Human Biology and Health and Disease but threw them all when I retired. In the cupboard was a bag of Bobs school books passed on by his Mum

It was a nostalgic and very dusty afternoon !

[Stanley]

"I used my university notes to teach A level Biology, Human Biology and Health and Disease."
That reminds me of something David Moore (Principle of Nelson and Colne College) said to the firemen as we watched the onward unit burn in 1980.....



He asked the firemen if they could rescue the filing cabinets on the ground floor because they held the teaching notes of the staff and "If they burn the buggers will never teach again!"
I think that was a bit of an exaggeration but the firemen saved them....

[Sue]

"I used my university notes to teach A level Biology, Human Biology and Health and Disease."
That reminds me of something David Moore (Principle of Nelson and Colne College) said to the firemen as we watched the onward unit burn in 1980.....



He asked the firemen if they could rescue the filing cabinets on the ground floor because they held the teaching notes of the staff and "If they burn the buggers will never teach again!"
I think that was a bit of an exaggeration but the firemen saved them....

Losing your notes was the worse nightmare of any teachers. Thank god for computers, in the end all my notes were on computer and i could amend, update and reuse for different courses with just a small tweak, well to be honest not so small but at least it wasn’t a laborious re write or re type. We did our own, no office help there it used to take hours .

[Stanley]

So it looks as though David was right!

[Sue]

You may remember some weeks ago I had been looking for photos of me on a skateboard, a 40 th birthday surprise laid on by my students. Today they have appeared in the second cupboard.

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[Stanley]

Looks high risk to me Sue. So did you take skateboarding up seriously?
I missed the shed yesterday because of other matters but will be in there today! Looking forward to my second delivery of M&S knickers. Same as the first lot, passed ever test so all my old budgie smugglers can go for wipers!

[Sue]

Looks high risk to me Sue. So did you take skateboarding up seriously?
I missed the shed yesterday because of other matters but will be in there today! Looking forward to my second delivery of M&S knickers. Same as the first lot, passed ever test so all my old budgie smugglers can go for wipers!

Morning

No I did not Stanley, that was the one and only time. I always fancied having a go, still do if I was a lot younger. It was a bit scary, that yard was on a slope and when I put both feet on the skateboard, i went down the slope at a pace. It was fun though and I really appreciated the students fixing it for me. They were a fun hardworking group to teach . Many many years later one of those students, now a nurse, nursed me through a near death experience of a perforated appendix and toxaemia

Its a thick mist this morning and at least there has not been a frost. I lost a lot of my seedlings in the greenhouse the other night, so I made sure they were all covered with insulating wool sheets last night. We went for a walk in the morning, a lovely clear sunny day, with lovely views again. In the afternoon I tackled the second photo and oddments cupboard, whilst Bob painted the inside of the one in the wardrobe. That needs another coat so the piles of items on the spare bed will stay there for another day.

This morning I have pilates , and we need to go to the post office this afternoon to send some papers to our bank in France. Periodically the French banks ask for ID to check that you are who you say you are, you are meant to go into the bank to do this. Our letter came the other day but of course we can’t go , which we have explained in a covering letter with our papers. Ironically the French wouldn’t be able to go to their banks either as they are in a months lockdown . It will be late afternoon when we get back from the post office and as rain is forecast it could be a wet walk.

Have a good day everyone.

[Stanley]

"Many many years later one of those students, now a nurse, nursed me through a near death experience of a perforated appendix and toxaemia"
That was a neat coincidence! Sorry the frost caught you out, expect night frosts until Monday, after that the weather seems to start a change.
I've had an hour and a half in the shed and made good progress despite the frustration of tiny work and bad eyesight..... Here's where we are now, it's beginning to look like an engine.

[Sue]

"Many many years later one of those students, now a nurse, nursed me through a near death experience of a perforated appendix and toxaemia"
That was a neat coincidence!

And a brilliant nurse she was too. We kept in touch for a few years afterwards.

I met another one from her group about a year later, and she knew I had been seriously ill. We chatted at length. This particular girl was not the best student or indeed not a particularly nice person, but in this conversation she admitted all of that. She said she had been spoilt as a child and it was only when she married and had a family that she realised this, as she couldn't cook, didn’t know how to do the shopping or the washing, had never cleaned a house in her life , everything had been done for her. Basically she didn’t know how to do anything for herself and expected others to do everything for her. She told me she thought she must have been the teenager from hell to teach. She was!

I had a much higher opinion after this conversation, she had changed considerably, and had acknowledged her own faults.

[Marilyn]

Everyone should appreciate a really good nurse...
A great nurse is there for you regardless if you are homeless or royalty. ( and generally doesn’t give a hoot what end of that spectrum you issue from). It is not about her...it is all about you (all about the patient I mean). It is about being an advocate, and wanting the very best outcome, for the patient, no matter who they are.

[Sue]

Everyone should appreciate a really good nurse...
A great nurse is there for you regardless if you are homeless or royalty. ( and generally doesn’t give a hoot what end of that spectrum you issue from). It is not about her...it is all about you (all about the patient I mean). It is about being an advocate, and wanting the very best outcome, for the patient, no matter who they are.

Exactly as Senior tutor for a Health and Social Care course for about 12 years with specific responsibility helping with nursing applications for over 15 years , I spent many a tutorial saying just that ! Exactly the reason we all struggled with this second student I mentioned. It took responsibility for her own life to eventually realise it , not that she went into nursing in the end

[Stanley]

Aiming for the shed.... Having a walk later and cooking veggies. Just a normal day.....

[Sue]

Aiming for the shed.... Having a walk later and cooking veggies. Just a normal day.....

Morning

Its a damp cool start , and rain due during the day. Yesterday had a bitter wind and we got a little damp walking to the post office in the morning after my pilates. I spent most of the afternoon sorting photographs and labelling albums. Just when I thought I had finished I found another box full of loose photos. Thats todays task. I have reorganised the storage labelling each book by year or contents. Many photos have been thrown, such as ones of ex students, college events, work colleagues, but the albums remain intact for the time being, as it is always nice to look back on. We had some fabulous camping holidays in France and nearby countries over the years. Its also interesting to see how the house and garden has changed.

Today is dance exercise, followed by zoom u3a craft. Of course I have done no craft, having been gardening, sewing and clearing out cupboards this week. My replacement seeds should arrive from Amazon later and I may plant those and of course I will have the photo albums to put back in the cupboard. Next job is the jigsaw and games cupboard. I have a whats app call with Eve this evening as she demonstrates her cookery skills, making our mouths water. I should imagine it will be about 4 today as she says she is making tea for Briony and herself tonight and not biscuits or cakes . I always look forward to seeing what she will make.

Have a good day

[Stanley]

Morning Sue, When I sorted my pics I went down a different route. I digitised them all, burned them on memory sticks and gave one to each of the kids. I still have a lot of physical pics in boxes but they aren't in any order. It'll be nice for the kids to rummage through them when they feel like it.
I've just come in from the shed. From the pic there isn't a lot of difference to yesterday but there is. This incarnation turns over easily and the other didn't. This is an improvement.

[plaques]

Many photos have been thrown, such as ones of ex students, college events, work colleagues,

With plenty of covid time on my hands I've looked through a number of the local Facebook sites (Burnley Barlick etc) nearly all of them are desperate for more local information, events, people, places. Usually one of the site administrators would be glad to take them off your hands. Worth a thought rather than binning them.

[Sue]

Morning Sue, When I sorted my pics I went down a different route. I digitised them all, burned them on memory sticks and gave one to each of the kids. I still have a lot of physical pics in boxes but they aren't in any order. It'll be nice for the kids to rummage through them when they feel like it.
I've just come in from the shed. From the pic there isn't a lot of difference to yesterday but there is. This incarnation turns over easily and the other didn't. This is an improvement.

Anything from about 2000 is digitised . There are far too many of the others to digitise. Many in packets are not relevant to us now so will be thrown, the others in albums are a wonderful record of our family holidays, often with little comments written in the albums. I like them as they are. The girls can do with them whatever they want in our demise. The books will be all labelled. We digitised what we wanted from our parents and grandparents and circulated those to family members. At 71 I am hoping to get many more years of pleasure looking at these as they are,

[Stanley]

You will Sue and you can give a lot of pleasure to others by sending them old images on significant days.
Today I shall be addressing steam ports in the shed. Deep Joy!
After that, avoiding the news of an old bloke dying in Windsor and having a walk at weekend....

[Sue]

Morning

Its funny you should say that Stanley, I have been sending a few images all week and will continue to do so, and now with clearly labelled albums it will be easier to find them.

Yesterday turned out to be a lovely day. There was no sign of the forecast rain after the early morning showers. After my zoom meeting we decided to go and buy some fish and chips for lunch and drove to the top of the hills in Whitworth and parked up to eat them with a magnificent view. Its as near as we can get to having a meal out at the moment.

Afterwards I continued with my photo sorting. . Most are now back in the cupboard and I am busy sorting out individual photos and putting them in a loose leaf file. I had a few laughs , a photo of me with wild hair in 1974 when I went through one of my rare phases of growing my hair long. By summer 1975 it was, thick, heavy and hot. The photo reminded me why I keep my hair in a short style. Ever since then, except during lockdown I have had my hair cut every 5 weeks. There was a lovely school photo of me aged 7 taken at the nature table. Was this an omen of my future career direction?

Today it is Bacup market , followed by our second breakfast of fresh croissants and coffee. I hope to be able to buy some tomato plants replacement for my frost damaged ones. My replacement seeds have arrived from Amazon too, so I shall be planting those during the day. Otherwise I have no plans, just the usual, a bit of sewing, finishing tidying the photos and finally tidying the jigsaw and games cupboard, which won’t take long.

Have a good day everyone.