What happened to Bella?

from the Adventurists (Mongol Rally)

I said what happened to our donated vehicles?
They said..

Tom and Jenny are out in Mongolia now getting the reports on what the cars from last year haev raised. Some have been donated as vehicles for communities to use and others have been sold and the proceeds from the sales will be donated to Mongolian charity projects. The whole process has taken a while but when the guys are back from Mongolia we'll be able to send out a full update, finally!!

Better than the Stig!

Mr Tim Drake has just been on the phone to offer Gemma and Clive a chauffeured Jaguar for the 6th of June.

Gemma couldn't believe it!
I just called her in a cinema queue with the news and she asked Clive if he would like to go to the Fleece in Tim's light blue Jag with full leather and walnut interior!
Is it the Stig? said Clive
Better than the Stig she said!


And so.. the Happy Couple will be arriving in style, not in a black cab!
(We can safely scrub the Seat Marbella self drive option now!)
Do you want me to put balloons and ribbons on it saith he?

Aaah that's so brilliant

Tim asked me if I remember Ian Benn from Chinnor days.. which of course we do.
Google the name he said and he's the second image down! Yikes!

Great Grandma Sng

Bobby's mother passed away this morning in her 94th Year. She was known to be near the end of her life and we were advised accordingly so Jen went over to see her on Monday afternoon and said her farewell.  We will take the children to a service tomorrow evening followed by the anticipated Q&A, and the cremation will be on Friday.

Busy week.

Nic

Foul Play

Foul Play
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

It's not everyday my work gets inspected by a load of birds

These two miscreants turned up this afternoon and all I could think was here comes £3.99 walking towards me.

Last happy birthday of the day!

Thomas and I got home safely at about 10.45, I thought it too late to phone. We had a lovely day, Thanks love and kisses Cathy

Happy birthday Gdad - get the spoons out for this one!

love Gem and Clive xx

Dear Gemma, happy belated birthday greetings and best luck with all the plans over the coming weeks. See you in June.

Lovely Dad, happy birthday to you too, grand. We will skype you this afternoon as we also have a house full today.

We'll be sending you something eventually.

Love Nic, Jen, Claire & Daniel.

Happy Birthday for tomorrow Dad

I would like to see you on your birthday,so I shall be winging my way towards you on sunday morning with birthday greetings, I am hoping to be back in wales the same day so there is a challange for me.love Cathy

Lord Muck of Cuckfield

Lord Merrow of Cuckfield
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

hoo hoo haha haarr yep them boys don't 'alf run about a lot

Visit to the Footman

Yesterday we (Mum) had a noon date with her Mr. Cooke the chiropodist (Podiatrist) and he duly made her feet comfortable, but before that we visited Matalan and bought us some more holiday gear at ridiculous prices. I am sitting here in my new Slazenger zip jacket (£7) and a pair of sand shoes (£5). Mum also bought two new blouses, but she hasn't yet succeeded in getting one of them on as it is is in two parts and needs a bit of patience. The other one is in one part and that she can do - looks good too. The weather was a bit chilly so we did not hang around.
I am going over to Gibbs & Dandy, in Brackley this morning to look at some decking, as it is near to us.
Thanks for your phone call. Steve. I am awaiting the sample and brochure.
Tomorrow I have a date with my shoulder surgeon, to see how mine is improving. Trouble is the other (left) one hurts even more, so I will ask him to give me a stair-rod injection. Can't spell steroide.
Did any of you watch that programme of the two Aussies who bought a lion cub from Harrods. Fantastic. Watch it on U-Tube!
See y'all soon. Love from Dad

Doggy Greetings

Happy Birthday Gemma

from your proud Daddy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GEMMA

Dear Gemma,
It was lovely to see you, Clive, Will and Dad yesterday. I enjoyed the company, all the lovely food and, of course the lovely drink.
Sorry I couldn't help with clearing up, but I think I had too much of the drink. Hic!
I hope you got home safely.
love from Grandad. (and, of course the Mothers Day grandma)
p.s, I'm alright now!

Happy Birthday Gemma

Cathy,John,Edmund,Thomas and Kate.xxxxx

Still Here

Dear All,

Its been a horrendously busy time for me recently and I really haven't any moment to catch up. My skype details haven't changed but I don't seem to find Steve or Dad on skype anymore only Julian occasionally but  not today. I was looking to wish you a belated happy birthday, so here it is:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

March is also a busy month for birthdays and tonight we are off to celebrate Grandma Pecks birthday (No. 98) so shame we can't cart her over to Malmaison for that huge discount.

It's also dawned on me that our England trip is less than 3 months away, and we should start to look at the details. So any up date would be useful. Before then you have the glorious trip down south to enjoy some fine weather and tropical winds, so don't forget to post up some photos.

Take care all,

Nic & family

My work and Clive's work!!

View Larger Map


View Larger Map

Google Street View of our house!

View Larger Map

Today we caught the free bus

Market day in Banbury with a light mist, but we managed to find the Meile vacuum cleaner man, where we bought some cheap bags, I bought a Voortrecker's wide brimmed hat to keep the hot (we hope) sun off my scalp in Mauritius, plus a new belt for my new trousers (M&S) and a new blue M&S shirt, while Mum was buying a new flowered skirt and a smart pair of long pants from the market man. We were like kids with money to spend. I bought Mum some new gloves and we bought some corned beef to eat with the potatoes I had put on to boil very low before we caught the bus. A new trick of mine to speed up the preparation of lunch. We got home at 12.15, had a light lunch and dropped into our armchairs, me in the garden and Mum in the front room. It was a lovely day.C U soon. G&G

Mother's Day Offer from Malmaison

Book a room at posh hotel Malmaison, staying on Mothers’ Day, and the age of the oldest guest will be discounted as a percentage off the room rate (must be proved with a passport/driving licence).

Thus ... If you're 60 you get 60% off. If you're 100 or more it's FREE. The discount is valid for both men and women; taking your mum’s not essential. Obviously the older you are the more stonking the deal. This promotion's cheapest room rate starts from a heftier-than-normal £170, higher than its normal £99 online rate.

If you're under 42, it’s not really worth it as you’d pay more than a straightforward online booking. The winner last time this offer was on was a night in a £235 room for £4.50, as her mum was ... 98yrs old!

LINK

£399.99 from M and S

Saw this in Shoreham today with a table and six chairs like a proper Sultan's dining room. For shade from the sun or shelter from the wind, close up the curtains.


£399.99 from M and S- click the image

Thoughts on Patio surface..

Hoggin like in the Oxford Parks would be around £100 a ton and that would provide a 40mm dressing over our compacted earth/railway sleeper stage.
Timber decking would be three times the cost! The saving we could use for some balustrade like this.





click images for links

PADDY'S DAY TODAY

6 days to Gemma's birthday on 23rd and a further 6 days on 29th to Granddad's. Do not send any presents, or cards, just say hello to show that you still remember me.!
Love from Patrick Hugh (Granddad)

Welcome to Spring !!!!!!!!!!!!!

What pretty pichures, Ruth. Isn't Steve marvellous to do all that super work for us
We have daffodils and a beautiful pink helibore shrub out in full. See y'all soon, I hope! Patrick,
My Saint day tomorrow. I'll have to sort out a green T-shirt. Love to y'all. Paddywack!

earthworks/patio

earthworks/patio
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

Get the boules out.. we have been grafting this weekend to get the sleepers in place and levelled out this charming corner of Northamptonshire.

first blossom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAREST BETH!!!!!! Wish you could be here to see this:

Ju ju made it out to see the first blossom! Isn't he pretty!

THE SMITH BMD

Sorry, Gem, your great granddad Leonard William Smith, was born in Woking, it is true but he moved to our ancestral home of Merrow, when his dad, my granddad William Smith was married to my grandma Smith (nee Spooner) Family said she married beneath her, but who nose? Look into Dad's (my) diary on the blog if you are interested. There is a lot there. G&Gxxx

Birthday girl...

Had a fun day out yesterday with an ill-advised visit to Oxford Ice rink. The ice skating was fun but whether the fun offset the resultant twists, strains, bumps and bruises for the older generation is difficult to justify in the light of the necessary ibuprofen needed to get me out of bed this morning.

We did, however, enjoy a very pleasant meal at the Cafe Rouge in Little Clarendon Street, which we highly recommend. Bathrooms are up a tight set of stairs, folks, but the service was superb, the food even more delicious and the price....ah well, what can you expect. Quality is quality. The majority of the staff are french and you get a really authentic experience. The walls are decorated with painted red words of french food on a mustard coloured back cloth. I sat under the bit that said Pain, which was ironically well targeted.

Beth had a very pleasant day, skinning me on the rink and eating healthily. It was a very pleasant afternoon if you were young. Today, the girls are off bowling with friends while Jan, Amy and I sit this one out!

Happy birthday Beth - we eat the cake today...

Isle of Wight History Society

My friend at work Gaynor is tracking her family history at the moment and was telling me about her latest discovery of her Husband's grandparents on IOW. After mentioning our link to IOW she offered to look up Arnell. Within a couple of minutes we'd pulled the information from the database -

Patricia Martha Arnell (Mother's name Coleman), born 1903, married Leonard William Smith in 1924, and it could have gone from them if I known then that Grandpa was born in Woking (thanks Dad).

With the recent success of shows like 'Who do you think you are?' family ancestry is now more popular especially as there is less need to visit records offices adn work through through huge registries as its all online. Click on the BMD Index (Births, Marriages & Deaths) and give it a try...

Isle of Wight History Society

Beth's Sixteen.. wey hey lads!!!!

Apparently I am anaemic

Went for an important blood test last Wednesday and when I rang up yesterday afternoon all the ticks were clear (heart, liver, prostate, renal), except that I am short of red blood cells so I have to go for another (non starvation) b/t this Wednesday.
Is red wine any good for red blood cells? I expect to have to eat more red meat, liver, eggs and other lovely grub but stay on a low fat diet.
I looked up anaemia on the web and they say ---
"Anaemia is the name for the condition where the red blood cells in your body don't have enough 'haemoglobin' in them. This is the stuff your blood uses to get oxygen to all your tissues. So, if you don't have enough of it then your whole body is functioning at a lower level of energy than it should be. It's like the fuel in a car. When you are running low on fuel, you have to drive more slowly!

The commonest symptom of anaemia is feeling tired. Anaemia can be caused by a shortage of iron or of other things your body needs, like folic acid, vitamins and so on. The commonest cause in a woman is loss of blood from heavy periods and the commonest treatment is iron tablets. I see you are taking folic acid and I presume your doctor has prescribed these to treat your anaemia."
No wonder I feel so lacking in energy!!

But to happier things HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BEAUTIFUL BETH from G&G XXXXXXX

Remember this one?

Today

Well, we have now paid the balance, including June's contribution. Also I have paid Saga for our Travel Insurance, which is a good job done. I just hope we will not have to make any claims!! Things are now moving well. - Only a few weeks to go. Love to all from Dad

YESTERDAY

Up early to catch the free bus, but changed our minds and went in by car, as there are often some vacant car spaces in the early morning. Got a disabled car space at 0845 and did some fruit and veggie shopping in the market, and were able to take it back to the car to save humping heavy stuff around. We were able to walk round unencumbered and popped intp BHS for a hot chocolate. The previous day Mum had managed to buy some of her holiday stuff in Bicester, so we did not have to go into the clothes shops. I had bought some new lightweight slacks online from M&S and needed a new matching belt and/or braces. I knew there would be some in the market and was able to buy both items. I look a proper spiv!
We had lunch at 11.05 of ham off the bone, chips and two eggs for less than a fiver, to save having to cook when we got home and by noon we were home and dry - sorted! A short sleep in the afternoon - magic. Sent off a card (too early) for Beth - Happy birthday tomorrow, Beth. Love from G&G XXXXX

www.rascrctmusicians.co.uk

Today I are been mostly chatting about the old days with Ticky Barney Taffy Twiggy Guru Noddy Kitch Bungalow Mac Jim Syko Colin Mark Geoff Geoff Gordon Mick Kenny Bren Carmel RB Clive Andy and many other old army muckers.
Official Site

verree funneee

just had my haircut - short back and sides suit you, sir. Beau brummel

Acceptable costume!

Black tie?

I hope we do not have to wear a tie. Only joking of course - I understand about a suitable dress code, but I hope we do not have to pack suits!
Presumably the no sandals bit means flip/flops Dad

Holiday Packing

Just a quickie about Mauritius..
It is required to dress for dinner at the BMP and generally to be covered up in the evenings.

Fact Sheet BelleMar Plage

Breakfast / lunch : smart casual (no bikinis and no sleeveless T-shirts for men)
Evenings (after 6:30 pm) : elegant chic (no T-shirts, bermuda shorts, sandals or slippers).

Funny Uncle Peter

Funny Uncle Peter
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

peep giggle
peeep giggle
pip giggle
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pip peeep giggle
peep giggle
peep giggle
peeep giggle
pip giggle
... giggle
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peeeeep giggle
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