The day after Boxing day

Good Evening every one .Are you all recovering from all the shopping ,cooking ,buying cards and writing them and sending them off ,wrapping presents and opening them ! visiting and being visited Wow it goes on ...and where we have been looking forward to it all ,arent we all a little bit pleased its all over?I received such lovely presents,and have taken a couple of pictures of some of the lovely things I have .I got some nice bath products,a book ,a dear little birthday book ,Maurice bought me my watch ,my brother made the bird boxes ,and I told you I would tell you what was in the stocking from Jason ,he made a dear little Christmas cake and decorated it for me ,and some wine ,thanks Jason ,you are so clever ,and I loved it ....I got  £80 worth of M&S vouchers ,but Maurice is on nights now for three, so I have to wait until hes off ,Saturday or Sunday ,to go and search for the bargains ,I got chocolates  and biscuits ,So I was very lucky .

The TV programmes that,we  have been watching over Christmas have been mainly dissapointing ,though last night we watched a delightful drama called 'After Thomas'about how a little boy Kyle ,was helped by the arrival of a golden retriever Thomas,with his autistic problems and the dog helped him to unlock them .I am watching a profile of Connie Fisher at the minute who won the part of Maria on the west end stage .

And so dear friends thats where I will leave you for this evening, as I go to make myself some supper, and settle down with tonights viewing selection ....With Love From

                             

Boxing day

Look at Santa in the graphic above ,taking a well deserved soak, in his tub,after delivering all the  presents ,I received some lovely presents from all my dear family ,and so did Maurice ,we opened them on Christmas eve ,well I couldnt be expected to wait till six thirty on Christmas day could I ?

I woke early and rang daughter Kate then Jean rang me ,then Derek ,and Sharon ,at ten o clock Mark picked me up and took me to his house where Chrisie Mark and I had a lovely day together they cooked a lovely dinner ,then plated up another for Maurice so I didnt have to cook ?they were going to Chrisie's brothers for tea ,so they brought me home where I had a snooze and watched some TV  until  Maurice came home .

When he came home we spent a pleasant evening together ,our dear friend Glen came round for a while ,then Maurice went off to bed ready for work today ,he will be home tomorrow then three nights ~then he will be off ,while I spent some time on the computer ,

I went for a walk this morning ,and found Somerfields open ,I bought some milk as I was getting dangerously low ! So now I'm going to watch 'The King and I 'on the box ,before getting dinner ready ....so enjoy the rest of the holiday everyone ,With Love From

                                                          Jan

Thanks Chris for the amusing graphic of Santa ,

Christmas Eve

A bit more civilised time to do an entry ,the last one I did was  at Midnight Thursday ,here I am midday on December 24th 2006,as I was reading journals earlier I heard the church bells ringing ,reminding me that it is  Sunday ,Maurice went off to work early ,for his three days ,then its three nights then again three off ,so he will be off for the new year ! Mark is going to come and get me tomorrow morning ,for lunch with him and his wife Chrissie , The last three days  we have been busy ,Thursday evening as you know Jean and Pete ,Stuart and Viccie came over ,then Friday we went .....yes shopping ,we bought a new ,dvd/video player recorder ,so next year I plan to put all my home video's from years ago ,onto dvd ,then get rid of the tapes ,that will give me more room ! and something to keep me busy HAH 

It was open day at the home Aunty Kitty is in yesterday. So Maurice ,Mike, Jackie Bobbie and I all went bearing gifts to see her ,Bobbie was her dog before she went into the home ,Bobby now lives with Mike and Jackie ,(Aunty Kitty decided she wanted a dog ,called Bobby ,when she went to choose one she fell in love with this little girl ,but still kept the name Bobby !)

Maurice and I both agreed she didnt look so well ,this time ,maybe she was just over whelmed by it all ,she opened her presents from us all ,she said to Maurice 'is it my Birthday '?the home had put on some lovely refreshments and they had a raffle ,where Mike was lucky to win a hairdo !!!

We went back to Mike and Jackies to get our car ,and to exchange presents ,we also got a preview of Bobby's party frock ! a tu tu in pink ! Maurice took the picture of her and I got some video footage ,(I had also recorded Aunty Kitty opening her presents earlier )

Earlier... before we got to Mike and Jackies we called in at my Daughter Kates ,and a lovely surprise, my other older Daughter Sharon was there,(she manages a working mans club now ,so is always busy )so at Kates house we again all exchanged presents ,and Sam who hates having his picture taken was demonstrating his crazy straw, didnt object on this occasion ,so off course Gran took advantage and took two !

Before I close this entry I want to wish all my friends in journal land a very Happy Christmas ,and when Santa comes tonight I hope he will bring you all some lovely presents ...Have a peaceful Blessed Christmas every one ,With Love From Maurice and I XXX

                 

A Midnight Entry !

Just a very quick late entry ,to show you the pictures ,I took this evening ,I got a phone call from Derek last evening to say ,he wasnt going to risk the trip up here today .Well though he lives in Dorset he actually works in London near Heathrow ,and I'm sure you have all heard the news reports ,saying all planes have been grounded due to the fog,so though I was dissapointed ,I perfectly understood,and I would sooner have him safe ,We have had freezing fog here ,and all the water ways in the fens makes it particularly bad .

When I rang my Grandson  Stuart to tell him  his Uncle Derek wouldnt be coming ,he said could he still come over ,so he and Viccie his fiance' ,came over ,and so did Jean and Pete ,so we had a very pleasant evening together ,and swapped presents and cards ,the men had a beer ,and we had a cuppa and a chat ,Maurice worked last night and didnt have alot of sleep today ,he is fast asleep now on the couch ,So I decided to dash of an entry becasuse we will be busy tomorrow and I'm not sure if I will have time to post ,any way its now almost Midnight ,on the shortest day ! So I will wish you all a peaceful night With Love From

                             

Tuesday 19 Decenber

Donna's frozen rose is lovely ,we have had freezing fog the last two days ,and it has turned cold ,I took my library books back this afternoon ,and posted some more cards and it was very cold,my ears were stinging ,and I have just waved Maurice off to work,and  I could see my breath ,he will work tomorrow night then three days off ,then ,yes he is working over Christmas!

Well the cards are done and posted,the tree dressed as you can see from the pictures,every thing wrapped phew,I started last evening after Maurice left at about five thirty ,I was just about done at nine thirty,with a break for some supper ,but when you think I have nine Grandchildren there is plenty to wrap!

You will also see,a (blurry picture )of the Santa sleigh ,that came around the other night ,it was the Rotary club again ,and the President was the man who knocked on our door to collect, he told us this year that the money was to go to  Diabetes and Dr Barnarnos this year ,I mentioned that we all had the collecting boxes when we were young ,and that I had seen one when we visited Bodsey house in the Autumn,he said the man that lives there is a Rotarian ,and was himself a Barnardo boy !so in spite of him having a hard start ,he has done well ,as so many of them have .

My son Derek is coming up from Dorset ,on Thursday night ,he will stay over ,and we will all meet up ,a lovely family get together ,well as many as are able ,so you can imagine I am getting excited .I will have to get the batteries charged up ,for my camera .So now I am going to have my supper ,So have a good evening every one With Love From ...

Thankyou Donna,for my graphics today .

Busy ,busy ,busy !

Thankyou Donna for this graphic ......

As promised I have posted the pictures I took when I went to the Womens Institute (fondly called the W I ) meeting last Monday evening.......It was so much fun ,as you will gather from the pictures ,my sides ached with laughing ,what good sports are those ladies .and would you believe all amateurs ?...! !

The last two pictures I have added are of some thing I bought from the craft stall ,little Angels for the tree ,I bought three ,one for my sister Jean ,one for Jackie Mikes wife (Mike is Maurices brother )and of course one for moi ! I understand that sort of needlework is called hardanger! dont know any more ,except that it is Norweigion ,I will be asking the lady when I go again ,but it was such a busy evening ,though she did tell me that she sends the proceeds from her sewing to the childrens hospice  ,WI ladies are so nice .

I suppose like me you are all busy ,doing all those tasks we tell our selves, have to be done each year ,(we love it really )I have still got to wrap all my presents. I like to buy them all first ,then have a big wrap up session ,well I think now I have bought all I need to... so I have no excuse !......actually if I stop now ,I could go and do just that ! So on that happy note have a Blessed Sunday everyone ,With Love From ...

               

Such a nice day

Look at Donnas busy Santa dashing up and down ! I know the feeling its what I've been doing all week.Monday morning I had a phone call from a lady to say it was The Christmas Womens Institute meeting ,and if Iwould like to go ,she would pick me up at seven ,fifteen ,so I went and really enjoyed myself,the drama group did their  panto it was so funny I have some pictures to be shown another time .

On Wednesday Maurice and I went to the Tenants association lunch ,which again was nice meeting all our friends and exchanging Christmas cards ,After we left we called round to see Aunty Kitty who you know is in a care home ,she was in a great mood, considering she had bronchitis the last time we were there, and she was quite poorly ,but she has bounced back yet again ,she is so amazing for a very frail eight six year old.

I have enjoyed all these fuctions ,but today had to be the best .My friend Debbie who lives near me ,invited me to her son Jasons Christmas concert at a church in Huntingdon Jason was eighteen last month and attends a special needs school near the church we went to today ,the church was packed with the family and friends of these children ,and the children themselves ,their problems are many and varied , and on many levels ,and some of them are in wheel chairs some deaf or blind ,but the thing that came over today was happiness ,those kids in spite of all their problems were so happy ,and they sang and signed as they sang,they clapped and is was so humbling ,There were readings  Ok maybe just a few words or  even  a sentence telling the Christmas story ,but those kids did it ! and the pride on their faces ,oh yes the true love of Christmas was in that church today , the teachers and helpers are Angels ,Jason is such a sweet ,happy boy he was delighted to see his Mum and I there today, as you can see from my pictures ,So yes I had the nicest day today ....have a great evening everyone with love

Sunday Stuff and Sorry AOL !

This Graphic by Donna ,is so lovely,

look at all the animals behaving so well together ,for Santa ,

It seems I owe AOL ,an apology ,when I mentioned the other day ,I had found  an adult site in the box where my pictures should be  ,Jeff was very prompt getting back to me ,and pointed out that they wouldnt do that ,and suggested I do a virus scan  ,I did, so fingers crossed  ,he also asked me for a screen picture ,but when I went back to my journal the box ,and site and of course my pictures had all dissapeared .I have to say Jeff has been excellent, whenever I have emailed him ,he has answered me promptly ,I find that very reasuring ,and would like to put it on record ,especially since I'm amomg the first to moan if something is wrong ,So Im saying a public thankyou to Jeff .(journals editor)

 As I read my way round all your entrys I see you are all  busy decorating your homes and Christmas trees ,well ,after tomorrow we will start to do ours ,wont do it before the eleventh of December ,as it is my second sons birthday ,Derek will be fourty five tomorrow ,and when they were small ,we always let him have his Birthday ,before starting on Christmas ,he lives with his wife Tricia and their three sons in Dorset ,I am hoping he will ring me tonight with plans for a visit before Christmas .

I bought a couple of books recently ,from the charity shop ,in our little town ,one entitled  A Fenland Christmas ,it is a complination of a number of writers ,among them a couple by dear Sybil Marshall ,an exerpt from The Nine tailors by Dorothy L Sayers ,the book starts off with a rather spooky ghost story ,that I might add ,here some time ,The other book is Elizabeth, a biography of her majesty the Queen ,by Sarah Bradford ,quite a big tome ,to be reading in bed ,they get heavy dont they ? but I'm sure Ill manage !  it says in the blurb ..that Sarah Bradford has come up with new confidential material ,throwing light on intimate family relationships and their effect on crises in the  family history,like the Princess Margaret_Peter Townsend affair and the break up of the Wales's marriage .It was published in 1996 ,but has lots of historical facts regarding the Royals ,so I am going to enjoy reading it .And still on the subject of the Royals,a report has been published stating that the chauffeur,driving the car in which Princess Dianna and Dodi sadly died had been drinking ...thus putting an end to all the speculations and accusations that have been flying around for nearly ten years now  hmmm !

Maurice is in bed at the minute he worked last night ,after he'd gone I cleared up all my ironing,whilst watching strictly come dancing ,I was sad to see Louisa voted off ,I have to knuckle down to day and write more Christmas cards ...and so dear friends have a blessed Sunday ,with love  from

                                           

Friday fings

Good morning every one ,Ouch its not its afternoon! Oh well !.....Donna called this graphic  Chilly girl ,and yes I am ,I have just been out to the bin and it is cold out there ,but nice and cosy indoors .I mentioned the tornado that hit London yesterday,apparently seventy familys are waiting to see if they will be allowed back to their  homes today , some sadly have to be pulled down ,how awful for these poor people ,I feel so sorry for them ,yesterday they were going about their business no doubt making their Christmas plans ,Then Whoosh ,poor souls ,its a mercy no one was badly hurt ,A train was hit too ,how frightening for the passengers ,again thankfully no one hurt ...you just never know do you ?

Again Yesterday ,I didnt make my self very clear ,I meant the St Ives near Huntingdon in Cambridge shire ,But of course if it had been the Cornwall St Ives I would have gone to see Jayney and her dear Mum ,we could have swapped knitting patterns ! Nor did we come across the man with seven wives and all their cats, unfortunately ,if we had I would have taken a picture. he he he !

Talking of pictures I have just been to yesterdays entry in order to add todays one and guess what ? in the white box where my pictures should be is a website offering me ~100 fittest lads ~Topless beach~Adult contracts on line ~sex ~Into fat chicks!....... to name but a few. Err no I dont think so ! And I dont think I am very happy at my journal being used to advertise these sort of sites .

I had a lovely day on Wednesday ,at the senior citizens club,posh title but thats what it says on the Christmas card they gave me ,I was picked up by Len ,who kindly collects me and a couple more Ladies ,we left at twelve thirty ,this time ,and as we entered the hall it was decorated up for Christmas,and the tables were set up so nicely table decorations crackers etc ,We were served our lunch by the gentlemen from the Rotary club ,who had provided half the cost of the delicious meal ,The Town council had paid the other half , there were ninety people ! after lunch we were entertained by the town choral society ,and we joined in singing some carols ,really got me in to the festive mood ,so yes it was a really enjoyable afternoon.....and so on that very happy note I will wish you all ,a lovely day with love from

                       

Last Monday at St Ives

 

 

    

Thankyou for the Graphic ,Donna .Donna called this one' by the fireside' and yes tonight that is the place to be ,today has been very cold with blustery winds ,I put out two loads of washing as the day started  bright and windy ,but soon turned rainy ,so in it all  came, a minor detail ,considering at lunch time a tornado hit a street in London and caused a lot of damage to homes ,causing hundreds to be homeless this evening .

  

Do you remember, I told you Maurice and I ,went to St Ives on Monday , though it was cold we had a lovely day ,looking around the town and shops ,there is a great market there each Monday ,before we went my friend Debbie commented, when I told her where we were going ,'the home of much of the technology that we use today , inventor Sir Clive Sinclair had a company in St Ives' ,and Debbie found me this info on Sir Clive ....                                                                                                             

Sir Clive Sinclair is an inventor who was born in London in 1940.  He left school at 17 having completed his secondary education at St George’s College, Weybridge and became a technical journalist for four years.

In 1962, in Islington, London, he founded his own company, Sinclair Radionics.  First products included radio and amplifier kits sold by mail-order advertising and, from this base, Sinclair rapidly developed a reputation as a pioneer in the field of consumer electronics – particularly in miniaturization. In 1967, when company turnover reached £100,000 and the product range included hi-fi systems, Sinclair moved to Cambridge – so setting a trend for many other high technologies companies.  Continued expansion took the company to neighbouring St Ives in 1972.  Later that year, Sinclair launched the ‘Executive’, the world’s first truly pocket calculator – initial selling price a then revolutionary £79 – which was to win numerous design awards and earn over £2.5 m in export revenue.  Introduction of the ‘Cambridge’ range took Sinclair to the number one position in the UK calculator market. From 1973, the company invested heavily in R&D for other products, notably digital watches, a pocket television and instruments.  As a result, late 1975 saw the introduction of a low lost digital multimeter, the DM2, and the digital wrist watch, the ‘Black Watch’, which used a new chip (integrated circuit) technology –I2L. In 1976, following 15 years of strong turnover and profit growth, Sinclair Radionics sustained moderate losses due to difficulties with supplies of chips for the Black Watch.  Accordingly, additional funding was sought from the then National Enterprise Board (NEB) to support the final stages of the pocket TV project.

I do hope you enjoy the pictures we took, whilst  we were down on the quay looking at the swans and the ducks ,I couldnt post earlier ,for obvious reasons ,Fingers crossed all seems to be well again ..Have  Lovely Evening Everyone