Hi and welcome to the forum which I hope you will find supportive.  My story is more that of my late husband as I joined when he was diagnosed and the support of the forum for nearly three years during his illness helped me considerably.  Since he passed away in January 2015  the virtual friends I made here continue to chat and show me kindness just by listening to me rabbit on!!

You are more than welcome to post on my thread but it may also be worth starting a thread of your own and perhaps mentioning the kind of cancer you have in the title.  This way others who may relate to your own personal journey can respond and I am sure there are many who will definitely understand the sleepless nights along with all the emotions you go through as you undergo treatment and wish you all the best with your treatment plan and hope you have family and friends who can also be there for a support network. Jules

Great news George and very pleased all is well. I am sure you will still be enjoying life with the family and faithful Ria.  My garden birds are eating there way through  my supplies and this morning had a fox wander through so camera has been busy. Best regards. Jules

Hi Jules,

have had a busy week. I took Mrs B out for a ride last Sunday  and my cars low oil pressur light came on so we had to come back home slowly. ]So Monday I had to take my car to the garage. Luckily it was just the oil pressure switch but with an oil change and new filter cost me £122.00 Och. Wednesday we had our club meeting and had two new people turn up, one from our last show and one from my stint at the library. Membership is at last going up.  Everyone seemed to like the new items I took along to show them. Its something we encorouge and we even take along some of our failures as we can all learn from mistakes.

Am getting ready as I am due to give a talk/slide show about beautuful and unusual trees of the world to my sisters gardening club in Chichester next Thursday. Still not completly got the hand of my new projector so still working on that.

Have also been busy in my workshop, working on new lines. Have got a good idea how to turn a meercat now. Its head and ears has been the problem but thing I have an idea how to do it now.

Mrs B has been picking strawberries from out garden and has said so much tastier than the shop bought ones.

Hope you have had a reasonable couple of days at work and bet you have been looking forward to the weekend. Glad you had a good visit with family. I send kind thoughts to you and your family, Brian

. 

Hi Brian

Ouch indeed as far as your car bill was concerned. Often the case that the labouring involved in repair represents the major part of the cost. I do not drive but luckily hubby, being an engineer, sorted most of his car repairs himself (and friends and family over many years).  It certainly saved a few bob over the  years!

Am pleased to hear that your Wood Club is seeing new interest and that your numbers will be boosted, in no small part due to all the work you have been putting in to raise awareness.  How satisfying that you can inform, encourage and all learn from each other.  I look forward to seeing the meerkat in wood as I amsure you will conquer any issues  - trial and error brings satisfaction eventually (I have no such skills Imight add ha ha).

  Our monthly Artisan and Craft Market is on tomorrow and if I get back from my son's in time (as planned)  hope to pop in for a browse.  Will not be purchasing my usual cheeses as due to be away soon. However I will find it hard to walk past without a little taster session!!

Hope your tree talk goes well (of course it will) and that more practice with the projector sees smooth running.  Your passion for the subject will help.

I m still finding it hard seeing Mum 'fading' but think she has amazed everyone with the strength her body is showing these past months (doctors pretty baffled too!!).  She continues to refuse treatment of any kind but eats her meals when offered them and the morphine patch keeps her pain free. At my visit this week she was awake and able to look at recent pictures of her great grandchldren though there is little other response.For the first time in three weeks she did ask me if it was 'Tuesday again already'.  I think her need for routine prevents me from going on different days as this would completely throw her though she would only need to ask.

Off to the gym shortly and then spending quality time with my son and family so really looking forward to that. Hopefully the weather will be on our side and there will be walks aplenty with both grand-daughter and their dog. New edition is due towards the end of next month so in about three weeks my daughter inlaw will begin maternity leave. i think she plans to take a little longer before returning to work this time round and also my son will take allowable paternity leave.Her Dad retires at the end of this month so she will have both her parents able to pitch in (her Mum already childminds one day a week to help keep nursery costs down) and once baby is here I will be helping where I can too of course.

Iknow tomorrow is an emotional day for many but wish you a pleasant weekend and hope you get to catch up with your son and grandchildren at some point.Jules

Good morning Jules,

Hope you are well. My talk about trees went off okay but there was a big problem with the slide show. The screen that comes down from the ceiling was right under a large skylight and allthough it had a built in roller blind, no one knew how to close it so my poor projecter looked like a gloworm in a jam pot. It got better as the evening went on but was nothing like I had hoped for. But everyone was very kind and said it was not my fault. I had several nice comments about the talk however and one woman asked me how I remembered everything as I didnt refer to my notes once. I told her I still have a very good memory but its a selective one.She asked me what I meant so I told her I can remember anything to do with my hobbies or wood, but utterley fail to remember what my dear wife has asked me to do ha ha. I also had some very nice comments about the small wooden items I had on display and people found it hard to believe the timber all came from palletts. 

My sister was over the moon with the wooden elephant I gave her and insited on showing it to all her friends. My car passed its MOT on Monday and they were able to sort out my reversing lights which broke two years ago. Instead of haveing to buy a new wiring loom which is very expensive, they were able to mend the broken wire by putting in a connector and only took 1/2 hrs work so well pleased 

My son is doing very well and has set another new sales record and the month isnt even finnished yet. I knew he would do well and I am very proud of him. He is selling products they didnt expect him to sell and has even sold more then one of the other depots that specializes in these items. They have a big display while he doesnt have anything much. My grandson is getting cheekier than ever and just loves winding me and his dad up. My grandaughter has been going through her exams at the moment so is feeling a bit stressed. She hope to go to Warwick University to do creative writing amongst other things.

Am having a break from wood turning today as it is allready quite warm in my workshop. I Have ordered some more miniture sanding belts and drums to go with my small dremell type tool as it will help speed things up. I can use them to further shape my turnings like grinding in the elephants legs. They remove wood very quickly and with very little effort.

I can truley understand what you say about it being hard watching your mother slowly fading as I felt exactly the same with my mother. The worst part is the knowing there is nothing much you can do to help. 

I hope you have a great time on your holiday. Sending kind thoughts to you and your family, Brian.

Hi Brian,

Lovely to read that your son and the family are doing well. Congratulations on his results (hard work pays!!) on his sales and I amsure your grand-daughter will have been very relieved when the exams were over.Have several friends whose children been feeling much the same.

Such a shame about the screen problems when you gave your talk but so pleased that your knowledge was appreciated and your wood ware admired.  

I had a lovely break away and am now trying to get out of holiday mode and back to the usual routine. Was back to the gym this morning and have done some shopping so meals planned for the week ahead.

My daughter in law has been feeling the heat (now 37 weeks pregnant) but had her final day at work yesterday and during the week  my son surprised and delighted her by arriving home with a portable air conditioning unit so her final weeks should be more comfortable (think the whole family are appreciating it!!!).My lounge only gets the sun at the end of the afternoon so I came home to a lovely cool room and  today there is a slight breeze which is very pleasant so hopefully will sit in the shade with my book in the coming days.  Back to work Wednesday but trying not to think about it!!

Best wishes to you and the family. Jules

Hi Jules, 

Glad you had a good holiday and thanks for the photos on the other thread. After coming home from being away, I have always found it seems strange for a day or two until we get back into our daily routine. Just bet you have been for your usual Sunday walk.

I have just finished writing two more stories and now have the job of transfering them to my book printing program which is reasonably easy. I have two more almost finished. One of them gave me a quandry as I had two differnt endings in my head, but decided in the end to leave the original ending as it give me the oppotunity to make a sequal to explain the parts I had left open. We have lost another club member to cancer he was a regular exhibiter and will be missed. It all happened very quickly.  

Its been far to hot to work in my garage. I tried it one day and started sweating even though I was just labeling up some boxes. But it now looks a whole lot tidier. This hot weather just doesnt suit Mrs B so she will be pleased when our weather returns to normal!!!!!!. Twice this week I have had to take her for r appointments, once to the vampires den for a blood test and once to see the diabetic nurse who was very pleased with her results.

Garden badley needs some rain but at least I havent had to mow the front lawn.

That was nice of your son to bring home that surprise for your daughter in law. Take care and sending kind thoughts to you and your family, Brian

Hi Brian

Well already a week since I returned from my holiday and the weather has certainly helped make me feel that I am still on it!!  Have managed to do a little bit of gardening as some of the spring shrubs definitely needed a 'haircut'.  I am hoping to have a section of fencing replaced so hae been clearing the area immediately in front of it to make it look tidier.  Once installed will have a think as to what to plant up against it as it will have full sun (when its out) for most of the day. So another little project to give me something to think about.

Glad Mrs B's results were pleasing though I do feel sorry for those who struggle in this spell of hot weather. I am lucky that my lounge is  cool place to be but my loft bedroom reached 31degs lst night so did switch on the fan for a bit.  If nothing else I have cut down my food intake and upped the water so, along with visits to the gym, hoping to see a reward by the end of the month ha ha. My daughter in law is now 38 eight weeks pregnant so will definitely be glad to see the back of the extreme heat or for baby to come a bit early now.  Just this week our butterfly emblem for hubby (small toitoiseshell) paid a visit to the proposed nursery so it appears we are being kept an eye on which gae us much pleasure as a family and of course the moment was captured on her phone.

Difficult days for my Mum and they had the emergency doctor out yesterday as she become completely unresponsive with erratic breathing.  Low and behold when the doctor examined her she responded and he has prescribed antibiotics for a possible urine infection.  We now have to see whether she will agree to taking her medicine.  She is 'quietly angry' but polite that her body continues to disobey her wishes to be at peace.

Well done with all your writings and those still to be finalised.  I really do not know where you find the time to fit everything into your day.

Sad to read that yet another member of the Club has succumbed to cancer. My mum always told me that as you aged yourself you attended more funerals that weddings/births but losing friends/relatives does, in mymind, remind us of how precious our own lives are.

Well another hot day in store so am going to the gym soon and then visiting the garden centre as they have their 20%off weekend and I am sure I can find a few gifts for upcoming birthdays (plus a visit to the coffee shop!).

Take care of yourself and Mrs B and hope the rest of your family are keeping ok.  Jules

Good morning Jules

Glad to hear you feel You are still on holiday ha ha. 

Mrs B was sorting out her china display cabinet this morning when she lost her ballance and has broken a lot of her treasured items. I manager to glue a couple of bit back together but most were to far gone to do anythinh with.She is feeling very very annoyed with herself but its all down to her hearing loss in one ear. I have tried telling her this and that its not her fault but it isnt making any differnce. 

Have finnished another two of my stories and am now almost up to date until I start some more. I have done the odd bit in my workshop but its too darned hot for most of the day so writing is all I can do for now. But I have found a use for our old oil spray bottles. I have thined some of my celliulose laquer down and with the pump action button, it makes a good spray gun. I used to buy my spray laquer from Wilco but it was water based and took a long time to dry where as the celluilose one dries very very quickly. So pleased about this. I have experimented with a new idea (see photo below) Using my dremel type mini drill I have doen a dolphin. It not as good as I want but it was only an experiment so know I can do better next time as I will do things a differnt way. Have another club meeting on Wednesday so will have to send out a reminder e-mail to our members as soon as I finnish this. 

My son has his club archery championships today so hope its not to hot for him and that he does well. Garden is very dry and needs some rain but at least the grass doesnt need mowing. Grand daughter now has a part time job working two days a week for a publishing company but is having problems with the trains at times. 

Sorry to read about your mother. She seems very resiliant as she always seem to recovery quickly so she must have a hidden strength somewhere Jules. I dont envy your daughter in law as it cant be nice with this hot weather. 

Take care and am sending kind thoughts to you and your family, Brian. 

[[]]

A couple more engravings Ive done. Still have a lot to learn regarding this.

Oh Brian, poor Mrs B, so sad thaat she has lost precious treasures and hope she did not hurt herself when she lost balance.  It is human nature to blame ourselves even when we know that sometimes our bodies let us down (I think we all do it!!). Hopefully Mrs B will savour the memories that the items brought her. Tell her I send virtual hugs.

Your new projects are pretty good for first attempts but know you will continue to strive for that perfection and enjoy the process too.  Much cooler start to the day but a beautiful sunrise (I was awake early as usua) so perhaps you will be out in your garage/workshop soon.

Hope your son enjoyed his archery and did well and no doubt needed plenty of sunscreen!  Lovely to hear that your grand-daughter has a part time position at a publishing house and bet she now understands more about 'dodgy commuting' than she would like!!

I saw a couple of different friends during the days yesterday so caught up with the tennis on the highlights show and pleased to see Federer march onwards.

Yes the gardens are looking a bit parched but enjoying the bonus of not mowing and they always recover eventually.  Some colour from everlasting sweet peas/fushcia/roses and the buddleia which seem pretty resilient so far.

Will go and visit Mum this morning having been staying in touch by phone. Her body's inner strength is amazing us all but sadly she no longer resembles the Mum I knew and her mental torment at being 'resilient' is deeply sad;  I am and will be forever grateful to the care home staff who treat her like precious cargo and are wonderful and keeping me informed (as it is her wish that I only attend on my (her) routine days).

World cup fever has hit the area and shops/homes so no doubt not much will get done tomorrow evening (other than more garden BBQs)..........remains to be seen whether I switch it on or listen to everyone elses ha ha.

Take care and best wishes to you and the family. Jules

Hi Jules, 

Hope you arev enjoying the weekend weather and bet you have been you your usual sSunday morning stroll. Luckily Mrs B was unhurt allthough still blames herself. She saw the film The Legend of the Glas Mountain the other day and said how she loved the music so I managed to find a five cd collection of Mantovani and on the first one is the theme tune. We both loved Mantovanis Music.

I am writing a crime type story at the moment  about an ex dectective investigating the unsolved disspearance of four young girls and for the front cover wanted a picture of an old dark green Austin A40 with gold lettering on the sides. So I typed  Austin A40 into the intenet and the very first picture that came up was a drak green Austin A40 with gold letterin. How wierd is that?????? So have downloaded that picture. 

I took Mrs B our for a drive yesterday and took her to Eastbourne and on the way bought her a big bag of Kent cherries and a punnet of Strawberries. On the way back we stopped at Berlin Gap amd I thought it was a province of Shanghia. and got ourselves an ice cream each. We both enjoyed the trip.  Well this morning all the cherries are gone!!!!!!!!!! and I bet Mrs B's sugar level is pretty high. 

My son won his archery commpetition and even if they had added second and third place scores togther he would still have beaten them both.  So we are both proud of him, Went out to the garage early this morning but have now given up as I dont want to end up "oven baked" ha ha. 

For our wood club meeting last Wednesday we had a lady who uses driftwood to make amazing sculptures. I may have persueded her to join our club. I am experimenting with what I call Stick Ons. Similar to my engravings but these are small pieces of timber shaped to differnt patterns and then stuck on a backing plate. Photos attached.

These are quite quick to produce so will do some more of these before our next craft show at the end of next month.

You sure struck gold when you found the home where your mother is, as we hear of so many where the care falls well short of what is expected. Hope your daughter in law is okay especially now the weather has turned hot again. 

Take care and enjoy the weather. Sending kind thoughts and best wishs to you and your family, Brian.

[[]]

Hi Jules, 

Hope you arev enjoying the weekend weather and bet you have been you your usual sSunday morning stroll. Luckily Mrs B was unhurt allthough still blames herself. She saw the film The Legend of the Glas Mountain the other day and said how she loved the music so I managed to find a five cd collection of Mantovani and on the first one is the theme tune. We both loved Mantovanis Music.

I am writing a crime type story at the moment  about an ex dectective investigating the unsolved disspearance of four young girls and for the front cover wanted a picture of an old dark green Austin A40 with gold lettering on the sides. So I typed  Austin A40 into the intenet and the very first picture that came up was a drak green Austin A40 with gold letterin. How wierd is that?????? So have downloaded that picture. 

I took Mrs B our for a drive yesterday and took her to Eastbourne and on the way bought her a big bag of Kent cherries and a punnet of Strawberries. On the way back we stopped at Berlin Gap amd I thought it was a province of Shanghia. and got ourselves an ice cream each. We both enjoyed the trip.  Well this morning all the cherries are gone!!!!!!!!!! and I bet Mrs B's sugar level is pretty high. 

My son won his archery commpetition and even if they had added second and third place scores togther he would still have beaten them both.  So we are both proud of him, Went out to the garage early this morning but have now given up as I dont want to end up "oven baked" ha ha. 

For our wood club meeting last Wednesday we had a lady who uses driftwood to make amazing sculptures. I may have persueded her to join our club. I am experimenting with what I call Stick Ons. Similar to my engravings but these are small pieces of timber shaped to differnt patterns and then stuck on a backing plate. Photos attached.

These are quite quick to produce so will do some more of these before our next craft show at the end of next month.

You sure struck gold when you found the home where your mother is, as we hear of so many where the care falls well short of what is expected. Hope your daughter in law is okay especially now the weather has turned hot again. 

Take care and enjoy the weather. Sending kind thoughts and best wishs to you and your family, Brian.

[[]]

Hi Brian,

Well am loving the sunshine but the temperature could do with coming down a bit to make life a little more comfortable. I did indeed go for my usual Sunday walk after going to the gym. The Artisan and Farmers' Market was on so  popped in there and stocked up on my favourite cheeses as well as grabbing an iced coffee to enjoy whilst I sat and read my book whilst listening to the live music.

My Dad was a great fan of Mantovani and I asureMrs B is delighted with her present.

Seems you can google anything these days and does indeed cut down some research time.  Hubby's workmate used to have an Austin (7) but it saw its final days languishing in a barn. Glad you were able to find a picture to help illustrate your tome. Are you getting them published now?

I also bought strawberries and blackberries and enjoy them with my breakfast most mornings. Have to eat the quickly in the hot weather as they do not last as long (hence much reduced in the greengrocers this week:)  Glad you both enjoyed the outing out.

Congrats to your son; great result and also to you for producing more great works in wood.  Hope they sell well for your craft fair.

Spent some time with Mum this morning bringing her up to date with family news and though no words from her did get a nod as I said goodbye.  The antibiotics seem to have helped physically at least but her only request to the visiting social assessor was that she be allowed to pass in peace.At 92 she is very frustrated  that she cannot have her own way on this bless her.

Well off to have a bite of lunch and then get dead-heading in the garden again.  Still nice to have a respite from mowing for a few weeks.

Take care and best wishes to you and your family.  Jules

Hi Jules,

Just a quick post. I came across this information while doing our clubs newsletter which included an article about The Moringa trees which are native to India but are grown elsewhere. .

The most commonly harvested species, M. oleifera, is a small, fast-growing tree used for centuries to combat many different ailments, including symptoms associated with a mesothelioma diagnosis. That species also is commonly known as the drumstick tree because of its long, slender, triangular seedpods and the horseradish tree because of its taste.

Will post again shortly, best wishes, Brian

Thanks  Brian. There are some fascinating facts out there.

My late hubby would be very proud as our son and daughter in law welcomed a baby boy into the world on the 24th weighing in at a healthy 9 lb 10oz. That makes me granny to four now. A lovely piece of happy news.

Still waiting for some rain for my concrete garden ha ha. Hope you and MRS B coping ok. Jules 

Hi Jules,

Have had to put the lights on to write this as its dark and raining at last. Not that I'm complaining about the rain. We do need lots of it. Our back garden is so cracked Mrs B nearly fell in one of them. Congratulation on the latest addition to your growing family. Bet everyone is pleased, especially your daughter in law.  My youngest grandson becomes a teenager next week. Tried to tell him he is getting as old as me but he said "But that would mean I would be as old as a dinosaur just like you grandad". See what cheek I have to put up with. We have had more members join our club so our recruiting campaing is working. I told our chairman, we cant just w=sit and wait for people to join up;we have to be more pro-active.

Have spent some time tidying up some folders on my laptop; something that needed doing. Bought some more frozen chestnuts yesterday so enjoyed some last night. Have been cracking on with my stories. Am well advanced on one about a guy who inherits a big house and factory which is losing money. And another one about an ex detective who is investigating the dissapearance of four teenage girls. Both going along nicely and I think my writing skills are a lot better than they used to be. Practise makes perfect they say allthough I am way off being perfect ha ha. 

Only about a month to go now before our next show which again is a three day show which I am looking forward to. Have got some small multi coulor led lights to put on part of my stand. Hvae plenty of new lines to exhibit so looking forward to see what the public think of them.

I bet your mother is glad its cooled down. We have both felt for those in homes. My son went out to try and get some photos of the red moon the other night but as he expected, it was too cloudy. But He did get some nice photos of the lightening storm over one of our coastal towns. My youngest granson is having to do cooking classes at school. He is not happy about this as he had told them he will never be able to eat. When they said well when you older and someone come to visit you, you will be able to cook them something. He replied, they can blooming well bring their own food for I wont have need of a cooker. Plus as he said, If I cant taste what I'm cooking, how do I know if its eatable. He has a point.

 Sending kind thoughts to you and your family, Brian

Hi Jules,

Just to add to the above, Just had some good news.  I have just had an e-mail asking if we would like to have our three day exhibition in the mansion house at Wakehurst Place in August rather than having it in marquee..

This is where we always used to have our exhibitions so am looking forward to going back there.We have always had good sales when there.

Take care, Brian

Hi Brian

Lovely news about having your exhibition back in the mansion house. Whatever the weather I an sure the footfall will be greater for you and hope the whole event goes well for everyone taking part. Also good news inthat the Club's numbers are rising and being pro-active in advertising/talking about the Club can only be a positive thing.....I bet the Chairman thinks so too and you must be very proud of your own achievements in this respect.

Finally, like you, we had a day of pretty steady rain yesterday.Thankfully no cracks in my lawn but very hard  and dry beforehand (though the weeds carried on growing!!). After a couple of hours I had a lawn full of sparrows and starlings as obviously could access the insects/grubs etc.  Happily most of my shrubs have managed fine  and as I usually keep annuals to a minimum not too much lost. Cooler temperatures meant I could get out and do a bit of weeding between the showers too though it was very windy.

How quickly time goes and hope your grandson has a lovely birthday as he becomes a teenager.  His sense of humour/cheekiness is wonderful and it is a shame that the school curriculum does not allow for some choice (but that would be going back to the good old days when girls did home economics and the boys did wordwork etc). I can understand his thoughts on cooking when he is unable to enjoy it himself, He manages so well and know you are very proud of the whole family.

Not too much going on this week.  The calm before the storm as I have my daughter and two grandsons coming to stay next week which will be lovely but busy,Fingers crossed for dry weather for the most part as they catch up with old friends and we have a couple of days out planned as a holiday treat for them.

Also have the decorator coming in (probably tomorrow) to assess state of walls in hall/stairs/landing (stripping old wallpaper) so we can find out whether just skim plastering will be sufficient (hopefully as less expensive option) before work starts next month.

Will pop to see Mum tomorrow and would be nice if she is awake so I can tell her the news of the latest edition to the family, her fourth great grandchild and show her photos. Unfortunately in the past three years or so she has shown little interest in family events and even refused to have other members of the family visiit and so she has never met my son's daughter and now will not meet their son. At least I can celebrate the news with the staff. Social Services carried out their yearly assessment of Mum's care and have informed me that she is still 'eligible' to receive support (red tape forms completed and the boxes ticked!!).

Had some sad news yesterday as my best friend's brother has been diagnosed with lung cancer.Pre op appointment next week followed by the operation the following week so worrying times for all the family. She has put herself on standby to fly to Ireland.  He is apparently in no pain and they only found it when a chest infection refused to clear up and his GP quickly send him for follow up tests/scans etc. All hoping for a successful outcome from the surgery which is said to be a little tricky as the tumour is close to his windpipe.  Am giving what support I can though she does not like to be fussed over.  As a former Samaritan volunteer of over 25yrs  experience she is a very organised person but know she will be worried sick and she supported me and hubby throughout our own journey.

Well, dry here just now though apparently some sunny intervals forecast so am going out to clear my head with a gym visit and a walk and then trying to research my ideas for a 2019 summer break (via the computer).

Sounds as though your writings are coming along nicely though I am not sure where  you find the time to fit everything in. Keep up the good work.

Wishing you and Mrs B a very pleasant week.  Jules

Good morning Jules. 

Bet you are pleased the weekend is here once again and that you are looking forward to the arrival of your family visitors. Bet your grandsons are going to keep you busy. How does your mum cope with this warm weather? My youngest grandson is now a teenager and called his mun and dad old wrinkleys last night when they commented about his age while he reckons I am older than the diinosaurs. He just love a wind up. whenever I go there with a bag of any sort he come up and wants to look inside. So I played him at his own game some while ago. I took a bag up with me and he grabbed it out of my hands. Inside was a box which contained another smaller box. after her had got to about the fith one there was a not saying What a nosey little devil you are. Hr took it well thankfully even though his parent had a good laugh at his expense.

Instead of getting our club A/ Frames re=lettered, I have altered them so we can just slide some small wooden sections on which will list what sort of items are on display/sale like wood turning wood carving etc In addition I have made up another slide show of members work but still have some alteration before I am happy with it. I hope to take my older laptop with me to our show at the end of the month. We have been told we may be able to play it on their big television screen which would be brilliant. We also have a dvd I did years ago that has six slide shows on it which we will set up to run continusly. I have also yesterday put on to my two 9 inch high display upstands two sets of ultra bright colour changing LED lights. Took a lot less time than I thought it would and am very happy with the result.

I have noticed over the years at our shows, the men set the stalls up but those whos wives attend will nearly always re-arrange the items on display. Me I just put it on how I think it should go but often wish Mrs B was there to re=arrange things. You ladys are so good at things like this. After all display sells. I remember one year one of our member sold nothing much all day. Next day his wife was withhim and she completely altered his display and he sold very well one the alterations were complete. 

Our grass in the back garden has grown and greened up nicely since that drop of rain. Trouble is, it now need mowing . We had two lots of 10 free begonias earlier in the year and the first one has now just come into bloom, much to Mrs B's delight. Mrs B has an electric dehidifier in our bedroom which stopped working yesterday so have taken that apart and cleaned the motor and housing this morning and it is now working quieter than before.  Almost as good as new. Dont like throwing things out if they can be repaired. My mother was just the same and often repaired items her friends or neighbours were dumping.

I wish you a pleasant few days and am sending kind thoughts to you and your family, Brian.

.

Hi Brian,

Just a quick response as I am shortly due to leave my family to their own devices and go to work. Hot weather earier inthe week meant a slight change of plans as my daughter's health condition means her body does not cope well with high temperatures.  Lovely day yesterday with a visit to the cinema in the morning followed by lunch and then a visit to see the newest member of the clan, already two weeks old and doing well.

Mum is no different whether it be hot or cold but the carers make sure she has plenty of fluids and there is a lovely big floor standing fan in her room which I certainly felt the benefit off when I visited last Sunday.  Most of her time is spent sleeping other than when meal times come around.

Sounds as though all your Club business is being very well looked after and hope the slightly cooler weather now upon us will help with your preparations for the next show event.

Best regards to you, Mrs B and the family.  Jules

Hi Jules,

Just a quick post. We had a very good club meeting last night. I was so pleased as we had six potential new members come along and one of them has allready joined up. We have never had some many new people turn up for a meeting since we started the club 33 years ago. Plus the veneers and brass locks we had donated to our club, I gave to one of our members who makes these lovely veneered boxes. He was so pleased he very kindly gave the club a donation of £100.00. I guess he had nearly £300 to £500 worth of goods so he had a good bargain. I know he will make good use of them.

Hope you are enjoying your break, Brian

Hi Jules,

Just a P.S. to the last post . Since then we have had two more people pay up so for the first time in years our club membership is going up. 

My youngest grandson is unhappy;.................. He wont be able to come and wind me up at our show as he is on holiday. Apparently he had worked out several things to pull my leg about and is quite upset about it. But my son said, he will no doubt make up for it later on. Trouble is Jules he has a very good memory and just doesnt forget.

Here is a picture of the big Begonia which is one of twenty free ones we had.

Hope you have had a great week and have made lots of memories, Brian.

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