Chatback #8 .....

[Hazel at the Hill]

And it's grubby down there. Or is that just the congregation of the great unwashed.

Mind you, there is always something of a wonder to behold - today it was the fact that the beer that I had with a chum at the end of play was really very, very nice indeed. Much better than the flat slop that I normally put up with.

Actually, today's wonders also included - in no particular order

- an 'artisan' deli/bakery/cafe/restaurant in upmarket Little Venice not costing a fortune to eat lunch at
- a garden behind railings with THE most wonderful clipped box hedging 'knot garden'
- a glimpse of Hammersmith bridge through buildings - a wonder of engineering
- seeing Gok Wan walk into a pub and have a drink, just like a normal bloke - his entourage were a bit odd, mind - all leather waistcoats, scarfs and one in - I kid you not - a beret.

[Jay22]

See...London is great (in parts)!!

[Hazel at the Hill]

The one really brill bit is the tube - getting across quite large areas easily, and on a day ticket means you're not mucking about with change to pay for each journey.

I guess we have a good bus network in B'ham, but there is something bohemian about buses especially if you don't know the area - they could go anywhere, unlike tube trains which are pinned down to that little coloured spagetti map.

Actually, whilst I'm on about buses, I'll tell you what's wrong with them around here - it's the pricing structure. You can do a 'short hop' which is 3 stops = about 200 yards for just under £2 a pop (useless - why would anyone do this?), or 'any other journey in the city' for £2.20 a go. Brilliant value if you want to live in a suburb in the north of the city and travel to work to a suburb in the south - or even to the City Centre (about 7 miles for us). Great.

But if I want to go just a couple of miles to Tezzies (bit far to walk, shouldn't really get the car out), or the same distance to the Hill, say, it is expensive; and I bet most journeys fall into that category.

Sorry, that should have been in the rant thread.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Right - I see that KoA has posted Thought of the Day - which indicates that my Thought at this time of the Day should be putting the house and all in it to bed.

Nos da, peeps!

[cariann88]

Good morning, I am feeling a lot better today. Going to go around to my parents house soon, so I can see the eclipse with my dad. He has some lenses that he can use to see it. Have a good day

[Florence Fennel]

Morning and happy Friday have a good one

[Nicos]

Mornin Flo'nall

Looking forward to the eclipse this morning...although we do seem to have 100% cloud cover at the moment
It'll be interesting to see if it goes a bit darker at least!

Weekend starts today......anyone got any exciting plans/ projects?
We are supposed to be in for a chill but dry weekend so I'm going to wrap up warm and get more weeding done...it'll be a relief to finish it off.

If OH can help, we really do need to thin out and extend our raspberry patch into the compacted field...and if the manure is delivered, that'll need moving!

Your plans folks?

[cariann88]

It's cloudy here to I remember the one in 1999. I was only 10, can't really remember it going dark. But I had some of them glasses, so I was just watching the sun.

Not really got anything planned. Me and the OH are meant to be having a chilled weekend watching films.

[cariann88]

Right I best finish off getting ready. Will see you all later

[Bren In Pots]

Morning, we've got cloud here as well so not sure what we'll be seeing.

[Jay22]

Wow, the clouds cleared here this morning just before and just long enough to see the partial eclipse!! So,exciting! Obviously not totality here but it went very dull. Hope you all had a chance to see it.

[Jeanied]

Thick cloud here but it did get very gloomy! The dogs have been busy sorting out the garden by digging up whatever they can and chewing the plants. Time to put the 'dig stop' strips down and use my metal obelisks to protect what is left. I think I will get a small sandpit for them!

[noviceveggrower]

Afternoon all. Well after all the cloud and the eclipse we now have bright sunshine. Shame I am stuck indoors as I am waiting for new washing machine to turn up.
Just had a chat with my mom, bit of a downer, my dad was poorly last week and they think he might of had a mini stroke. Had a major one about 18 months ago but managed to get back to work. Looks as if he is going to have to put his notice in at work now So going over tomorrow to cheer him up a bit.
Hope everyone is having a good day out there.

[WendyC]

Back from London too. Trip to see dad at the heart hospital. Still in icu. Valves repaired but now needs a pacemaker. Only stayed under the hour as he was exhausted, especially as the physio came and made him walk on the spot. Long way to recovery I think.
Thick cloud this morning, so no eclipse but beautiful sunshine here. Might pop up to the plot and do an hours digging.
Norwich tomorrow to get No.1 son from uni.

[Nicos]

Oh dear...big hugs to those of you with ill parents xx

Hope they make speedy recoveries