General Chat

a medium length bob with fringe, I have fine hair which is limp and greasy if I dont wash it everyday.


what is your best feature?

My legs, I've always been athletic, and do a lot of brisk walking daily.
Pity rest of me not in quite the same shape, but my BMI is just under the average for my height so mustn't complain. I'm in better shape now than I was 10 yrs ago.

What type of music of music do you enjoy ?

I have a very varied taste in music. In fact the only music I'm not keen on is opera - even then there are some favourite arias and choruses that get belted out in the car in traffic jams to pass the time.

I sing in two very different choirs one is the town choir established around 100 years where we sing a lot of sacred choral practising Vivaldi's Gloria, John Rutter's Requiem and Zadok the Priest at the moment. The other started up about 6 weeks ago and we sing current songs. Because of being so new we only have 3 songs at the moment, Sugababes song Overload, Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Killing me Softly. About to start a 4th this week Sleeping Satellite by Tamsin Archer. We've already sung twice in public - we were booked before the choir even met for the first time. And we got encores both times so we had to repeat our first song lol.

I love both of them and find them very therapeutic too.

Do you belong to any local societies and if so for what activity?

The Ramblers Association for obvious reasons, lol
And was either Chair ,Sec or Treasurer for the PTA inn both junior and Secondary Schools for 12 yrs, we had so much fun on raising funds for the school. we were the first in the area to have a Chocoholics evening, I'd printed flyers out and distributed them with the help of my children and their friends, we had such a response we had to move from the infants hall into the main hall and they were still overflowing into2 neighbouring classrooms.
I think we must have had all the women from the village there (it's a large village !! ). The lady from Chocoholics was so amazed at her takings, she never had so much before she upped our 'cut' by 75%. At our annual fete and BBQ we used to make close to £2K, We bought a computer for each class and 2 of the largest teles that very available at the time , one for infants and one for Juniors, (my eldest is now 24) plus loads of other useful items.. It was so much fun and we had community spirit !
Not quite so much fun in the secondary school,( up to GCSE level,) then my children went to different school for their A levels, so I hung up my boots !..lol

I'm not a film buff but have some favs..... Do you have a fav film..?

I love Dirty Dancing and Close encounters of the third kind, 2 very different films but can watch them over and over.

So pleased this thread is sill going strong- such a long time since Ive been on- cant believe a started it in 2008!!!!

Whats your favourite time in history ?

The 16th century mainly because of the Tudor period which I have always found interesting as so many changes were made to the church.


If you could go back in time where would it be and why ?

Only back far enough to tell Mum about some of the family stories I've disproved whilst researching my tree. She'd be fascinated.

Have you had your eyes opened to any myths perpetrated by your family?

Not that I am aware of.
My dad died 6 yrs ago, at 90, he was into researching his family tree, and born in the same village as my Mam ,she knew all her relatives also. My Mam's sister is 90 now and she helps me with my research.
Mam's aunt married my Dad's uncle, so they had the same cousins:)

Do you ever wish you could turn back time to alter a specific thing ..?
I know it can't happen !

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yes I think about when my mams mother was widowed and left with 4 young children and I wish I could have helped them as it was a very tough time.

do you wonder what traits/mannerisms have been handed down to you?

I know from my Mum that her Mother loved wild flowers and could always name them inlcuding unusual ones of the time. When I was small my Mum would tell me the names of any we saw but I wasn't really interested, however I remembered quite a lot of them and have now become interested myself and find myself having to learn those I didn't manage to remember. I wish I'd listened. I also know I follow in their footsteps as far as sayings and old wives tales go. For instance the other day I found myself going anti-clockwise round a church yard and promptly changed direction!

When it comes to my Dad though, I have to wonder. He was adopted and I know as a child I used to look very much like him. Now I'm a bit of a mixture of Mum and Dad. I'd love to eventually get in touch with someone on Dad's side for lots of reasons including discovering who I get some of my features from and if my own children have picked any up.

As I've researched my tree I like to find, and if possible visit places my ancestors lived or were associated with. Do you like walking in the footsteps of your forbears?

Other than my maternal grandfather who was born near Bristol, when the Severn tunnel was being excavated,and his line of the family, all my other grandparents and great grandparents were from the village where I was brought up, or within a mile or 2 .
I love it now, I go to the chapel where nan and gramps were married, unfortunately the one in the village where they ,mum ,aunt and uncles went 3 times on a Sunday has been demolished. When I was a child I did it every day( walked in their footsteps), although they had all died before I was 5, Mum and Dad still had my grandparents respective houses for some time before they were sold and I lived in the village until I married at 21. But dad still lived there until he died 6 years ago,so I was always back an fro and still am:) So yes I am still walking in their footsteps and cherishing what might have been.
Mum and dad used to tell me stories, and I do remember gramps, and my mums' sister is still alive, physically and mentally marvellous at 90 as was my dad at 90 and they loved /love to reminisce :))

Do you have any photo's of your great grandparents ?
I have a lot of old photos but neither dad or my aunt could /can recognise them.

just one of my mams maternal grandmother Phoebe and even then my cousin has the original but I have it on a disc. My mam didn't like her by all accounts lol.

Do you take many photographs?

I used to when hubby bought me a Ricoh SLR in the early 80's'
I have files full of both children it still is an excellent camera. Don't use it now so much tho, may put it on E bay !..... No I won't I will keep it. whilst it is not digital it produces beautiful photos., and I have probs viewing the picture on the digi.
I like to see what I'm taking thro the viewer , dau thinks I'm outdated, but my photos well out beat hers !

Yes I still take loads of photos on the digi camera and my phone, but I must upgrade the camera, will go to my local specialist shop for a good /best updated digi.

I enjoy making pottery and creating Art.... Do you have a similar hobby, or another ?

Although I work for the local Arts Centre & Theatre and have two Uncles that were artists plus my brother lectures in Art history, unfortunately I have no artistic tendency whatsoever. My job is accountancy but I really appreciate artistic talent which I see every working day among my colleagues. My main hobby is gardening which also takes up a lot of my spare time.

If you have a garden, do you spend much time in it ?

I don't have a garden,just a small yard with a few pots and hanging baskets. I do sometimes do a bit of weeding/watering in the church garden.

Do you like to have cut flowers in the house most of the year or only if someone buys them for you on special occasions?

I would love to have flowers always in the house but I wouldn't be able to afford it as I'd have to have them arranged for me. I'm pretty hopeless. I do sometimes treat myself to some from the supermarket if they look like they can be unwrapped and plonked in a suitable vase without much doing. And since we moved here I find there are enough roses in the garden to sometimes bring a few of those in. I also have a couple of wigwams of sweet peas which smell good indoors. It's mad really because I have quite an inheritance of vases from Aunts and Mums but they have to serve as ornaments in themselves half the time.

Do you have mementoes that are not put to their intended use?

Yes many,
Since my dad died I've inherited loads of things I couldn't throw out.
My sister lives in USA so she couldn't take with what she would have liked so I have kept them, some lovely collectible plates in their boxes in the attic, I've no space to put them but I would never part with them.
Nan's tea set which is in my glass fronted cabinet., to name but a few.

Are you sentimental or will you throw things out..?

I can't throw things out, but if I know something I don't use that someone treasured will go to a good home I can part with it knowing it will be looked after and well used. For instance Mum had a silver cigarette lighter but none of us smokes or has need for such a thing. Her neighbour does smoke and was often very helpful so she got that as a little memento among a few other bits and bobs that she liked and we weren't so attached to. But there are a few things of Mum and Dad's for example that meant a lot to me but OH wouldn't give house room to, so I have them tucked away safely and they won't go anywhere. So I'm a bit of a mixture.

I always wear my Mum's wedding ring on my other hand and her watch, my brother wears our Dad's. Do you keep anything of a loved one's on you at all times?

I have my mum's rings but would have to have them made smaller to fit my fingers, my husband wears his dad's wedding ring.

I have some very old decorative plates that belonged to my great grandmother and possibly her mother's.

What is the oldest possesion you have had handed down to you ?