Have a Chat

Yes, it's the 5th of November and the fireworks are flying high in the sky.
We just open the blinds/curtains and a wondrous display can be seen.
The colours and zooming rocket stars look good and all from the comfort of the living room! LOL!

A few days ago the grandchildren really liked their sparklers and it took me back to when I used to write my name in the air with them ... happy memories.

Safety is always key though!


All the best Jan

Oh I used to love Firework Night! There used to be an absolute riot of fireworks from about 6 o'clock on, I didn't know which window to watch from next, or when was best to have our own display.

I used to make them too, with a fair degree of success but usually a lot of smoke. Nowadays they'd probably arrest my parents and put me into care.

They no longer sell fireworks in town here and haven't for years. There's a big display at the Big House, carefully concealed in a bowl in the landscape so people who haven't paid don't get to see them except for the highest mortar shells and things. There used to be a big display in a nearby village where we used to live and the Police would seal off a lot of the local roads again so people who hadn't paid couldn't see them.

Our children loved their Playmobil sets, and it seems they are still going strong.

Playmobil pirate ship continues its round-the-world adventure

I thought this was such a sweet picture of Ollie Ferguson and brother Harry, with their toy pirate ship.

"A toy pirate ship which sailed from Scotland to Scandinavia has been launched off Africa for more adventures with the help of a Norwegian tall ship.
The Playmobil boat travelled to Denmark, Sweden and Norway after being launched by Ollie Ferguson, eight, and his brother, Harry, five, from Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, at the end of May.
It has now been transported more than 3,000 miles (4,828km) south to the Southern Atlantic by Christian Radich, a Norwegian full-rigged ship, who offered to help the toy ship on its journey."

Read more here
https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2017/11/10/playmobil-pirate-ship-continues-its-round-the-world-adventure/

All the best Jan

Oh bless!

Several years ago neighbours had a coffee morning and raffle for a charity for MS (which he subsequently died from, I think at only 71 )

Among the events was one where you guessed how far a Teddy bear which had been in their car for a year had travelled.

I won the bear, so I put it in my car and then re-raffled it the following year. I can't remember who won it then but I expect it's still lurking around the town somewhere.

Boy snaps Loch Ness monster in eighth 'official' sighting this year

Monster fever is sweeping Loch Ness

Monster fever is sweeping Loch Ness again after a boy of nine took a photo of a mysterious "fin" in the water.

Eager Sam Knight snapped the amazing picture during a cruise on the loch.

It shows a dark triangle shape breaking the surface in an area known as a top Nessie haunt.
And experts, who at first were divided over whether it was a wave or an animal, have credited it as an official sighting of the monster at the centre of the 1,500-year-old Highlands legend.

The sighting is the eighth this year, the highest annual total so far this century.

Sam was so keen to go monster-spotting during a family holiday in the area he even brought ropes in the hope of tying Nessie to the boat and a kit to take genetic samples.

During the cruise he took hundreds of pictures of the loch – and it was as the family studied them later the incredible "fin" shot emerged.
Mum Dr Jo Knight, a genetics expert at Lancaster University, said: "Sam is very excited.

"It appears to be a very dark shape somewhere in Urquhart Bay. It is part of the mystery."
Dr Knight said she and Sam do not think Nessie is a long-necked dinosaur, but possibly a giant eel or sturgeon.

Nessie records keeper Gary Campbell said 2107 had been a "vintage" year for sightings, with newlyweds Rebecca and Paul Stewart spotting a large fin just last month.

The most famous picture of the monster, the 1934 Surgeon's Photograph, was later exposed as a hoax.


https://www.aol.co.uk/travel/2017/11/14/boy-9-snaps-loch-ness-monster-in-eighth-official-sighting-th/

...wouldn't it be great if there was a loch ness monster ? ! ? !

All the best Jan

There've been a lot of myths about sea monsters, there was the Lambton Worm in Durham, and of course Great Orme head. Of course dolphins and whales are regular sightings on the coasts, and sometimes they get beached, it's not impossible they would make it into Loch Ness. Seals too, we sometimes get them way inland on the local rivers. A while back I saw three or possibly four otters doing a credible monster impression at Minsmere, swimming in convoy looking like a long thing with humps.

I've seen some pretty big pike, and carp too, as Eddie would likely confirm.

Change of subject again!
Well why not

It's the Annual BBC Children In Need Day ... out earlier and there were quite a few getting in the swing of things.

The Marathon Show is on BBC 1 later tonight, however, I don't think it will be on in our house.
Good luck to all who help raise funds ... people always seem to give generously.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/corporate2/childreninneed

All the best Jan

This year's Children in Need took place on Friday, November 17 at 7:30pm on BBC1.

The money donated is used to change the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.
To date the charity event has raised more than £890 million to help make a difference in the lives of the children who needed it.

On the website they write: "We are currently supporting around 2,400 projects that are working with children facing a range of disadvantages.
"These include poverty and deprivation; disabled young people and children who have been the victims of abuse or neglect."

What was the total raised?
A grand total of £50,168562 was raised by the end of the night, beating last year's record comfortably.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/4693062/bbc-children-in-need-total-raised-presenters/

All the best Jan

Maybe they should have an NHS In Need event. Just pondering . . .

I had crabs once, but not like that

It might be December but I'm still enjoying British elsanta strawberries from Somerset  

graham64 wrote:It might be December but I'm still enjoying British elsanta strawberries from Somerset  

Haven't had any strawberries for a while ...
They do taste great with some double cream.

I bought some melon the other day and we enjoyed a melon and prosciutto ham starter ... tasty!

All the best Jan

Jan1 wrote:

graham64 wrote:It might be December but I'm still enjoying British elsanta strawberries from Somerset  

Haven't had any strawberries for a while ...
They do taste great with some double cream.

I bought some melon the other day and we enjoyed a melon and prosciutto ham starter ... tasty!

All the best Jan

I usually buy a punnet of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries every week, well I do need something to add to the double cream 

The Star Wars films have been popular over the years with many cinema goers ... including two of our sons who have seen many of the films including the latest.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi where I am reliably informed you meet the popular Porgs, who are saucer-eyed mewling creatures ... the mind boggles

It was declared a hit, and they are already talking about when the next film will come out

Talking of films - hope there may be some good ones on over the Christmas Season ...

All the best Jan

Jan1 wrote:

Talking of films - hope there may be some good ones on over the Christmas Season ...

All the best Jan

They seem to be putting all the drivel on early this year so we can but hope.

If not I have a whole bunch of stuff archived from earlier in the year to catch up on.

There is generally a mix of some good and then some not so good ...

One of the very good 'old stuff' around, are the re-runs of 'Only Fools and Horses' whether its the films or the series I think they are excellent.

All the best Jan

I used to like Open All Hours and Last of the Summer Wine, but in the end they got repeated so many times I no longer bother.

I reckon most of the TV is complete crap. I spend the time I used to watch the box watching stuff on Utube. Time to up-date our old TV to a so called smart job and watch Utube on a big screen.

[quote="Eddie"]I reckon most of the TV is complete crap. I spend the time I used to watch the box watching stuff on Utube. Time to up-date our old TV to a so called smart job and watch Utube on a big screen. [/quote
Hi Eddie, you don't need to update your TV Eddie, get yourself a Chrome cast for c.£20 to £30  and you can cast YouTube directly to your large screen television using a smart phone app. The smart phone then acts as a control and the results are good at standard definition.
ATB
Derek

I have all the kit and cables, just need to plug it in. Oh wait, that means going under the desk. I don't think I want to go there, unless David Attenborough accompanies me.

Long birder wrote:

Eddie wrote:I reckon most of the TV is complete crap. I spend the time I used to watch the box watching stuff on Utube. Time to up-date our old TV to a so called smart job and watch Utube on a big screen. [/quote
Hi Eddie, you don't need to update your TV Eddie, get yourself a Chrome cast for c.£20 to £30  and you can cast YouTube directly to your large screen television using a smart phone app. The smart phone then acts as a control and the results are good at standard definition.
ATB
Derek

Thanks for the info Derek. I will get one of our kids to sort it out for me, I still struggle to program a video recorder. That's the problem when you have smart kids and get them to sort out tech, I never bothered to learn, trouble is they leave home, and replacing a fuse is about my lot these days.

chris c wrote:I have all the kit and cables, just need to plug it in. Oh wait, that means going under the desk. I don't think I want to go there, unless David Attenborough accompanies me.

All you need to do with Chromecast, Chris, is plug the unit in a spare hdmi socket on your Tele and connect mains to the Chromecast three  pin plug and the rest is done via wifi!
Derek

Long birder wrote:

chris c wrote:I have all the kit and cables, just need to plug it in. Oh wait, that means going under the desk. I don't think I want to go there, unless David Attenborough accompanies me.

All you need to do with Chromecast, Chris, is plug the unit in a spare hdmi socket on your Tele and connect mains to the Chromecast three  pin plug and the rest is done via wifi!
Derek

That's to much information for Eddie Derek   will make his head hurt