General Chat

Hello Carole

Your weather sounds terrible!

I know that the old saying is "it's either feast or famine" but it seems that in Oz it is all "flood or drought"

I'm glad that your son is home safely and I also hope that your home has not been damaged in the storm.

Diane has not posted in recent days and we are beginning to become a little concerned.

Regards

Allan

My Country Dorothea Mackellar (1885-1968)
(c) 1904
The work is still copyright.

love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!

Sinny

Edit PS. It's warm and humid here.

Hi Allan:-)

Our house is fine, as we live higher up in the hills, just out of town. We will need to do a bit of a clean up. Our little town down the hill is a mess!!
Ive lived here for 13 years and Ive never seen rain like this - it was like the heavens just opened up!!!

Hows things over in the west? Have you had any rain??

Carole:-)

Carole,

Parts of the Great Southern Have hade major storms.

Where I used to work in Gnowangerup the roof was blown off the local Sports Complex and several houses were also damaged!

Here in the South West, no rain but very hot and humid!

This is a weird State but is does take in one third of the country

Allan

Hi Colin

Weird, but as I posted on another Thread, I wouldn't live anywhere else!

Allan

I have been reading about your weather, Carole. It sounded so familiar - like the rain we used to have here about twenty years ago - but nothing like that since!

Once again, our forecast is for thunderstorms and heat for three days over the weekend. I'm sure they just put the same forecast in every week in the hope that just one time, they might strike it lucky!

It could rain in some parts of Sydney and not in others. My area is one of the "others". I have known it here to come down in a very heavy downpour for half an hour or so - and yet, not rain at all only three normal size blocks away! Unfortunately, we are not very far from the dam which is Sydney's main water supply - and it doesn't rain there as much as we would like it to, either.

So, yes, Carole - send it up here. We sure could use it!

Carole - I heard about your dreadful weather. When we went down to Victoria last week we had horrendous weather until we headed towards Frankston and then it brightened up. It was lovely on the afternoon of the wedding and on the Sunday but when we left to go home it was horrible again by the time we reached Sale where we stayed overnight. On Monday we drove in and out of the bad weather.

I sent Ali a message the other day but she still hasn't opened it so I'm quite concerned. I've also sent a message to Diane as we haven't heard from her for awhile.

Tec - I've seen many changes in our small city south of Sydney. A trip to Sydney used to be a major journey - at least 2 1/2 hours by train and not much less by car. Now we can do it in 1 1/2 hours by car. Our city was little more than a big town when I was a child. The whole area revolved around the steelworks and the mines. No high rise buildings and most furniture was bought from Sydney by catalogue. I can well remember the arrival of a new lounge room suite and my mother's excitement. I think we had waited a long time for it. The suburbs of the city have grown enormously over the years. We have lived in our suburb for over 30 years and the population has easily doubled in size. A whole new area has sprung up with two new schools and a large shopping centre. Yet we still retain the small town atmosphere where people tend to know each other and families stay close. The steelworks is no longer the major industry and I think that's one of the biggest changes.

I'll only be on for a little while tomorrow so if I miss anyone I'll catch you later:-))

Sue xx

I hope that things are fine with you Carole, your weather sounds more like English!

I slept last night from 11pm until 11 am this morning, but I am still really tired. I had to go to the Tourist Office this afternoon and was hoping that it would be quiet. It was until the last hour when I had two calls from people wanting to book holiday cottages for the half term week coming up, then a nice Australian couple wandered in looking for bed and breakfast for the next three nights. I managed to sort them all out, but it meant concentrating, which given my tiredness was pretty hard.

I will have to think about making dinner soon, annoying, I was just getting used to being waited on hand and foot. Oooh good news, I won the lottery while we were away, the bad news is that it is only £10, so the cruise is still on hold.

I will be planning my next holiday soon Berona. We always go to Crete for a couple of weeks at the end of May/ beginning of June. We have a hotel we love near Aghios Nikolias, so will go there .Before that, it is my birthday in April and we usually go for a city break somewhere. Last year we went to Rome, but we haven't thought where we will go this year. Plenty of time to think about it before then.

Good Morning/Evening Everyone,

Sue.......It could be that Alison is in hospital, so not opening her messages, and yes, it is worrying. I also pmd Diane yesterday, but as yet that hasn't been opened, which suggests her internet connection is not working - I hope that is all it is.
It is interesting to hear how your area has expanded, I think that has happened in many towns here too. The little market town we lived in prior to moving here has pushed out its boundaries in all directions. New housing developments, out of town shopping areas where the multi-nationals have moved to, causing many shops in the former shopping areas and High Street to close down. I think the population of that town has at least doubled, if not tripled in the last ten years.
Whenever I visit the town now, I'm completely lost within the new one way systems, and now pedestrianised areas. The town is now dis-jointed, nothing flows. I think the town planners were having a laugh.
The infrastructure of the UK has improved enormously in 30/40 years. I can remember when there were no motorways, and a car journey from Essex to North Wales took seven hours. Now it can easily be done in four.
By contrast, the area we now live in hasn't changed in 100 years. We have no motorways, or dual carriageways.The nearest set of traffic lights is 45 miles away, as is the nearest roundabout. Can't remember when I last saw or heard a police car - and news has just reached us that Mafekin has been relieved.

Tec

Hello everyone:-)) Hope you are all well.

Tec - I had thought that Ali may be in hospital. Of course we have no way of knowing. Hopefully Diane is just having internet problems or maybe she's in jail awaiting trial for the murder of her neighbours.

Tec we have noticed on our travels in Australia that we now by-pass many of the lovely towns that we would have stopped at. This is good when you are going from A to B but a little sad for the small towns and villages in that they are missing the passing trade. We've noticed the same in the UK. However, OH"s family are lorry drivers and they quite often map out a route for us taking us through nicer areas.

Candie - you're nuts:-)))

Sue xx

I hope you have recovered a little Linda, I expect returning to the North Pole has been a bit of a shock to your system.
I was thinking about your worms - as one does - thing is they curiously came to mind while I was eating dinner, which is no reflection on the Duchess's cooking, it just an indication of the way my mind works these days. What I wondered was, do worms freeze to death in these conditions? Do they have to be kept warm? How do you manage that?

Carole......I hope things have improved weatherwise, and that you've been able to mop up. It seemed so strange to hear that you'd had all that rain.
Anyway it's good that your house was not damaged, and that no one was injured.

CC.......I'm sorry the thought of me in khaki and a pith helmet boggled your mind - hope it is now unboggled.
Trouble is, all my OHs relations seem to think I'm very straight laced, quiet and reserved, when all the time underneath this man in a grey suit, sombre exterior, lurks a nutcase, with a manic sense of humour, and a very bizarre view of the human condition.

Tec

Good evening Sue and Tec and CC, although, it is a couple of hours since she posted,so I think I have missed her.

I'll pop over for the wedding Tec - I'm very good at sitting quietly in the background and egging closet renegades like you into action. I'll then slip out of the door and leave you to cope with the aftermath - probably divorce:-))

Sue xx

Hi Linda.

Nah Sue,
The Duchess would never divorce me, she knows when she's onto a good thing - where else would she ever find another one like me?

Besides, she knows about me after 47 years, she knows I'm a nutcase,

She is careful not to let me eat too much chocolate prior to a public engagement.

Tec

We have the worms in the garage at the moment Tec and they seem to be fine, Normally, they would dig down deep in the soil to get away from the cold. They didn't move much when it was very cold, they were just getting perky before we left. I think OH looked at them today

I have never thought of you as straight laced, quiet and reserved Tec, I always thought of you as being daft as a brush

Tec I bet you are the one who pipes up and objects when the vicar asks if anyone knows any just cause..

I can just see it Linda. The Duchess tugging at Tec's sleeve hissing at him to sit down. All the other mischievous men giving Tec sly "thumbs up" because they would love to do it but haven't got the courage. The reception will be a hoot:-))

Sue xx

Good evening/morning all

Carole I have just been reading about the wild weather in Victoria. Yhere was also a pso on the Men Only thread from Tony about it. I haven't visited that thread yet today so I don't know if he has posted an update.

Linda, If you will jet off to exotic places there is a price to pay :0)) In your case it seems that jet lag is the hard currency.

Tec, I'm still giving your question yesterday some thought. Part of the problem is that sometimes the changes are so gradual that it is only when you stop and reflect, that you realise there have been changes!

Good morning Sue, I hope that your meeting went well

~~~~ to CC

Allan

Hi, Allan - although I'm also saying bye bye. Yes it did go well thank you. Now we're off to see the solicitor and find out if and how we proceed.

See you all later.

Sue xx

Linda, I'm glad to hear that the worms are ok - there is something very odd about a man who worries about someone elses worms hundreds of miles away - should I be phsycho - analysed?

It is so hard to keep quiet when the vicar asks that isn't it?

I really struggle to maintain my composure at weddings - strange women, in even stranger hats........I try so hard to behave, but just want to scream with hysterical laughter...........then the tearful mums and grannies - and that does it,............ I'm creased.......

Tec