Genealogy Chat

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I am all set for my little visitors tonight - I have made up 12 bags of mixed sweeties & have the odd extra bit - funsize chocs incase I get more - 4 years running we had nothing then in 2010 when I didn't have anything we had 3 visits - last year it was a continual drip of people - so I was sort of prepared.

Our last visitor was a girl from the end of the road OH taught her to drive - she was going round with her brother & little girl (aged 2) & his little boy (18 mths) she was a witch & he was a pumpkin

I said to her would you like some sweeties "no thank you" mummy said yes you do - so I put some in her plastic pumpkin - then I said to the little lad - you look lovely what a nice pumpkin & he burst into tears on me - daddy said he wanted to be a toffee apple but couldnt find a costume - so I gave him some sweets & said I thought he was a lovely toffee apple - rewarded by a big smile

All ready tonight to ask him what he is this year

Just been given a doughnut as a reward for clearing our desks ready for the move to the new building in January - they want us to be like battery hens - nothing personal on your desks - we have to in the new building - but most of us are going to wait till Christmas & then take our things home.

With a bit of luck - once we are in the building for a few months they will forget we should be battery hens and let us be people again.


Cynthia - I never left the UK when i was younger my first trip abroad was when I was 26 - if I had more cash i would still be travelling around

We have covered the whole of England - Wales & Scotland in between.

Back to the grindstone - Take care all <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Hi Everyone

Cynthia I live in OZ and I have never been to these places so don't feel to left out,I don't think people realise just how big Australia is .

I have been watching the storms in the us ...it is all over our TV continual.

It looks very bad , I do hope it all calms down soon but I think it will be days if not weeks to get back to normal with all the damage I have seem on TV.

We were to have had a lot of rain today but it has petered out.

Started to have more trouble again with the tree I do wish they would hurry up and get things sorted and i do not think it is all about those who use XP IE 8 either as some members are using FireFox ,chrome and others and are still having problems .
You would think after all this time it would be all sorted by now.

Are weather is warming up now ...not looking forward to Summer as it just gets to hot at times.

Going to try and add to my tree again....hope it works this time.

LOve to you all :-D <3

Suex <3

I feel as though I am on another planet..........I've never been to any of the places you mention - actually - I've only been abroad 2 or 3 times. Yugoslavia (as it was) was my first and only flight and that was 25 years ago!

After that, I have only been on coach trips to Germany.


Such a sheltered life I led!! :-D We always had holidays in GB when the children were small and couldn't afford to do much else. Mind you, we've seen some beautiful scenery and visited some wonderful places.


When I was little, my holidays were spent going 'down South' to Kent and Buckinghamshire where my grandparents lived. It was the only time we saw them so I can understand my parents wanting to visit and see relatives.


I don't think I'm too bothered by my lack of overseas experience 'cos I've made up for it in other ways with the people I've met and the life I've led. :-)



My word, it was cold here yesterday.......brrrrrrrr It's mild this morning but pouring with rain. Very flexible weather...... ;-)



Evelyn's mother is becoming a legend. There are bits of work going on in the background as various leads are looked at and then discounted with a sigh :-(
Some day, some time, we will get a lead. Keep hoping Evelyn...... :-D


Had better go and get ready to face the day......


take care all.....Love. Cx <3

Happy memories of my visit to Ballarat many many years ago.

There's also a very good "old" re-creation in Echuca in northern Victoria, on the Murray River ... that's in the area where Wayne lived.

It's called the Port of Echuca

Sylvia - I dont think it was that one - it was the one Prince Charles went to in the 80's - i thought it was ballarat (or something like that) isnt that a recreated town or something - could be me making it up - just losing it as usual

Edit

What a way to spend your lunch hour - googleing living museums in
Australia - i nearly got it right - so not lost it just yet


For the current generation of DVD and computer-game oriented kids there is nothing better than a trip to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat to give them a bit of perspective on life.

Take for example the 15-year-old lad down on the mine tour who was told that 100 years ago he would have already been working for two years pushing mine carts around. How would he like to do that? "Not much."

The kid gave it a go, however, and struggled to push the half-tonne trolley more than a foot. For that, he would have earnt one pound a week - about $30,000 a year nowadays - but the work was dangerous in the extreme.

It would be interesting to know if that little example of the hard living conditions on the goldfields of yesteryear would have had any long term impression on the lad, but let's hope so.

For younger children the gold-panning is a huge adventure and discovering little specks of gold in the pans have them grinning from ear to ear.

It may be a little bit of hard work for parents but, hey, you too can enjoy yourself swirling the water around and locating the sparkly stuff for the youngsters.

Likewise, hopping on to a stagecoach for a trip around the diggings makes you very glad we now drive around in comfortable cars with decent shock absorbers, CD stereo systems and air conditioning.

The hour-and-a-half trip from Melbourne to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat is easy nowadays, but back then it meant a long, bumpy and uncomfortable journey by horse or coach. And trust me, the springs don't make all that much of a difference.

The living museum at Sovereign Hill takes you back to the first decade or so of Ballarat's goldrush - where people from all over the world journeyed in to see if they could make their fortunes.


;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) :-D

Hi everyone
xxx


winter is slowly arriving here ............. for us, that means rain, rain, clouds, some sunny days, down here in the city. But snow on the moutnains across the harbour ........ and that has already begun to arrive.


Arthur ...............


Watched threads stopped working months ago .................... people were either getting no emails or serious duplications (like 20 or 40). So, GR stopped sending the emails out until the problem could be solved.

Use My Threads instead.




Sue ......................

I wonder if Anne was thinking of Old Sydney Town as a recreation in OZ that was similar to St Fagan???

We visited that back in about 1976 or 1981, and thought it was great.

I was disappointed when I googled it just now that it had shut down in 2003!




take care everyone



s
xxx

Feeling much better thank you - just a dodgy couple of days - we all seem to have had it here - must be the US strain we have this year - last year we had the Oz one

Have a good holiday Arthur after all the hard work on your footpath - I think you need it

Thank you for letting us know about the plug - I have that problem in the bedroom - our plugs are behind the wardrobe - so we had to cut a patch out of the back to be able to unplug the lights & clock etc - such a pain

At least in the kitchen the OH relocated all the sockets when we had the new units put in - so they are all head height for me - chest for him
Its only the Gas pipe we have to grovel on the floor for now as its behind one of the units.

Sue - most of us dont have the space to have the washing machines out of the kitchen. Mine use to be in the bathroom until we got rid of the old kitchen units when we got married.

I still look at Evelyn's thread - one day we will find Diane

I have to admit that this years WDYTYA was very dissapointing - they mostly concentrated on one or two people for the whole hour instead of finding great great granny etc Which is more of a history lesson than a family tree build. I liked the early series best. Out of the lot Greg Wallace & Annie Lennox were the best & I learnt somethign from Alex Kingstons - William Roach's one was interesting - I was really upset by the Patrick Stewart one it was all on his father & interesting for him but not for us

Oh well back to work then

Take care all <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Hi Everyone

Nice to see you all back again ...sorry but i seem to disappear every now and then but I loose track of the days .

I have been contacted by a very nice gentleman through Genes who just happens to be related to my OH,his Grandfather and my OH's Grandfather were Brothers ...they have never been in contact before as we did not know of him .

We had a very nice chat on Skype last night,my OH's Father came to OZ with his parents in 1926 and left all his Brothers and Sisters and Parents in the UK so we are just getting to know the ones that are still alive ..it is really great for the OH to find these relies.

I am madly getting photos now to show them.

Cynthia I had forgotten that you have your Washing machines in the kitchen over there.

I was never without my Conkers when I was a child ...we never needed goggles..we would get laughed at if we did .

I always prided myself of having the best Conker ;-)

Off to start dinner :-D

Love to everyone <3

suex :-D :-D :-D <3 <3 <3

Hello.... :-D :-D


I do seem to have caused something with my plug antics don't I? I'll try and explain.

Looking at the wall where my fridge and freezer are I have, starting on the left....

Washing machine - drawers - fridge - freezer.

The plug socket for both the washing machine and the fridge, is situated about 18" off the floor right behind the drawers.

When I take the 2nd drawer out, you can see the plugs through a cut out piece at the back.

The problem is, the backing of the units goes down to the ground but there is a kink where the plugs can thread through.

I just couldn't remember where that kink was, hence the fact that I had to bend down under the counter to find out and it was easier to actually lay on the floor.


Phew! I'm exhausted just thinking about it!! :-S


Speaking of conkers earlier.....I read a couple of years ago, that children were supposed to now wear goggles when playing conkers!!!! I don't know about conkers but I think 'bonkers' is the word to use here. All the fun of childhood is disappearing for 'health and safety' reasons. :-(


Arthur - I'm not sure about the Watched Thread thing as I don't use it. I am on here everyday so I just click on My Threads - far easier . Hope you have a wonderful time in Greece.....and yes, I'm slightly jealous. No. I'm very jealous :-D


Hope you're feeling better Anne.......we go for our flu jabs next week!!!! :-0


Had better stop waffling and get some work done.


Love to all.....Cx <3 <3


Ps. Evelyn - don't give up - we are still working on your case!!! <3

I am still in the land of the living, just been very busy with the garden when the rain relents.

I am the Membership Secretary ofr the Cyclamen Society and have just taken on Publications - when members want to buy any of our books they now write to me. The postal rises in April have made it very difficult to advertise post paid prices and I have been busy working on a way to show basic prices and then respond to individual enquiries.
Also arranging for our members to be able to pay by PayPal - hopefully quite simple, but needs concentration.

Have stopped receiving emails advising action on my watched thread - is this something that GR have instituted? It always served as a reminder to look at the postings.

Have enjoyed the WDYTYA series and wonder when the last episode - John bishop - will be shown. This week the BBC have started a new Michael Palin series on Brazil in that slot. Have I missed an announcement.

Looking forward to a break in Greece first week November. Going with 4 friends to the Peloponnese to see the wild flowers. Keeping fingers crossed that the weather will be kind - it is possible to get sunburnt if the season is good.

Sad to hear about Sue's relative. My mother had dementia and spent the last 2 years of her life in a care home. I had looked after her at home until she became too frail and did not recognise any of us. We were very fortunate that the care home recommended by Social Services was excellent. She was always smiling when I visited and the staff were very kind. They encouraged me to take her cat on the visits - she remembered the cat for much longer than any of us. All the residents were pleased to see the cat, although stroking a cat is not really possible unlike most dogs. The home had 2 cats that were allowed to roam freely throughout the home.
I admire anyone who can work in a care home - I couldn't..

The cat, Gemma, is now 18 and appears to be losing her sight. A visit to the vet was interesting - even though she only weighs 3.3kg two of us were unable to hold her wrapped in a towel. She is a feisty little thing and does not seem too troubled by her vision.

Must get back to the garden.

Hi Everyone

Anne its a date will meet you at St Fagans ..what a wonderful time we would have ...bring the family along.

I absolutely love the place,I can't think of anywhere in OZ that has something like St Fagans ..remember we are only a couple of hundred years old and St Fagan has house's dating back hundreds of years if not thousands.

We have been out in the garden all day today fertilizing and mulching ... I stink of fertiliser so off for a shower be back later :-D


Suex :-D <3

Lovely to see people back on the thread again

Sorry to hear about your friend Sylvia - horrible thing - my best friends mum has it I think you were very brave working in that kind of environment Sue - not if i was paid a million would i work there.

Reece lovely to have you back again - sorry the move has been put back again - hope its not delayed too long - at least you get another Christmas & spring in the house.

Cynthia I would love to know why your plug socket was on the floor too.

Evelyn - loving the Island hospital = we looked at a fews days B & B but it seems quite expensive so will have to leave it for another year.

Sue would love to join you at St Fagans - always thought you had somewhere in Oz like that - I seem to remember Prince Charles visiting a long time ago a recreated gold town or something in South Oz - something like ballarat or calgoolie (or is that Opals) i love opals they are my birthstone along with sapphires

Well better get the ironing done - we were at the inlaws yesterday so all behind today

Had my flu jab on Thursday - gosh my arm hurt for over 24 hours - and have a bit of a dodgy tummy since late saturday night - not sure if its part of it or not - had to get up in the middle of the night (early sunday am) to use the bathroom & again at 6am, Will take it a bit easy today - glad its Sunday.

Take care all <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Hi Everyone

Reece it is very nice to see you back and I hope you are doing a little better now.

We were blown away with St Fagans as there is nothing in OZ like it ,it is a good place to take the School children to learn about how everyone lived back in the olden days as my Grandchildren call it.

As we did not get around all of it then we are def coming back there...I have many Welsh rel-lies to stay with.

Sylvia I was so sorry to hear about your friend in NSW having Dementia...it is such a nasty thing to get ...I worked in a nursing home many years ago now and I was in contact with many people with the illness,it becomes very undignified for them after a while and that was the saddest thing for me to see.

I worked there for about three years until I could not stand it any more and vowed none of my parents would never go into a nursing home.

It had been very warm today so we have been out in the Garden all day....the long hot Summer is not too far away.
Lots of mulch on the Roses and they are looking a treat,the first flush of blooms are always the best.

I see there is a fresh round of RR again on the boards GB is not happy..it has all gotten to much of late .

Off to talk to my little Sister on Skype.

Cynthia I am like Recce and can't for the life of me think why you are on the floor to pull the plug out...can't live in OZ without a big Fridge and Freezer .

Love to you all <3

Love to Robert and his Wife ...hope all is well with you both ;-)


Suex :-D :-D :-D <3 <3 <3

Hello everyone,

No, i haven't any good news either, Evelyn. Sorry!

Garden full of leaves from horse chestnut trees, gutters too. I just heard something on the radio about a dearth of conkers somewhere ?? and that they might have to use brussels sprouts instead!! There are masses of them (conkers) here and the children no longer seem interested.

Wish I were in Dorset so I could help Viv look through those papers for Evelyn. Not going now until March so have stopped sorting and sifting and reading for the moment.

Anne and Sue - we loved St Fagan's when we visited about four years ago now - I still haven't found my Jones ancestors from Carmarthenshire you won't be surprised to hear. Have you seen Huw Edwards on The Story of Wales - it was very good indeed and I am hoping that I can buy a Dvd of it to send to my sister in Sydney.

Sylvia - best wishes for your OH and the cataract removal.

Cynthia - I can't work out why you were lying on the floor to remove the plug from the socket! Hope you are enjoying your gleaming new fridge/freezer, too. Are you doing lots of cooking to stock it/them?

Lovely young neighbour called with a jar of damson jam that she had made from fruit from my damson tree hanging over
the street! So I will make some scones this weekend - found an excuse at last.

Love to all

Reece <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Hi everyone.

Glad you're getting used to the tree now Sue. I think the more we use it, the easier it will get.


Sorry about your cousin's dementia Sylvia - it's such an awful condition to have both for the sufferer and their family.


I hope the Ven Robert is okay too Anne. We've had a lot of rain lately so I do hope his shell is quite waterproof.


Haven't seen Arthur for a while either :-(


I've had a hectic day. We have just bought a new fridge and freezer because the old ones, whilst they still worked, had rusted at the bottom and had various broken, cracked and missing fittings.

The new ones arrived at 7.30am this morning.......and I couldn't remember how to remove the plug from the socket for the fridge!! I had to go on hands and knees and then lay on the floor trying to sort it out.

An hour and a half later, it was all done! Phew......getting too old to be grovelling all over the floor :-D



Take care all. Love, Cx <3

Hi everyone
xx


I've just heard that one of my elderly cousins in Australia, aged 85, has been diagnosed with vascular dementia, and has had to be put into a care place ................. she's in a little town near Nambucca Heads in northern NSW



We've had pouring rain since Friday .............. until today, when it was sunny, with clear blue skies!

More rain is due tomorrow!


OH had his first cataract operation on Friday, and is still recovering well ............. still having problems putting drops in his eye. He has to put 3 solutions in 4 times a day for the next 4 weeks. He has very long sight, so he can't see himself in the mirror to check what he is doing. More drops miss his eye than go in!!!

So we have settled that I will definitely do the morning and the bedtime drops, and possibly the 6 pm one, to make sure that he gets at least 3 good lots of drops!

He goes to China before the 4 weeks are up ........... but hopefully, he will be doing better by then!!


Went to the hairdresser's this afternoon, and had my hair shorn. She's leaving the salon in 2 weeks .............. I'll have to take 2 or 3 buses to get to her in future. That will take about an hour each way. It's due to major problems with the owner of the salon ................. who was doing things like telling clients of her staff that she would do their hair for cheaper (:-0 ), and wanting the staff to hand over part of their tips.




take care everyone



s
xx

Hi Everyone

Anne we went to St Fagans on our last trip back ..it was wonderful there was not enough time in the day to see it all.

I am going again when i come back next.

My Sister who lives in Yorkshire is coming to Oz next year with her OH so I am waiting for her to gets some dates for me so I can plan mine trip.

I am finding the site OK now and I am still using XP IE8 so i am not updating yet but I will.

I was thinking about Robert too ..I do hope his wife is OK.

Going to watch H D Y T Y A it is about Martin Sheen and I like him ..don't think much of Charlie but I guess he will be part of the show .

Talk tomorrow :-)

Love <3 to everyone .

sue :-D :-D :-D <3 <3 <3

Very quiet little thread again

Where has everyone gone - been very busy in the office - needed the weekend to get over it & bang this morning - its started all over again

Need a holiday to get over it all

I loved St Fagans - not very far from my Welsh cousins

Hows the BIG Uk trip going Sue - mapped it all out yet

Hope Robert is ok in his little shell with Mrs Robert in all this wet weather - his shell may have floated out to sea & back again

Well I had better get back on the phone

Take care all

Hi Everyone

Can't believe how well the site is going.

The tree is much faster and I am getting used to the new things ,already had a new contact and I have not had one of those for a long time.

Still not keen on the colour scheme though...it is far to bright .

I hope you are all well...we are having a lot of rain today but it is warming up ,Summer is just around the corner .

Watching a really good show at the moment on St Fag ans In South Wales.WE have been there on our last trip back ...great place .

Better get back to it.

Love to you all

Suex <3

Edit ...I think we must have posted at the same time Cynthia :-D <3