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Julie CarmanHello Ladies. I hope everyone's well. I'm setting off tomorrow morning (Saturday) around 9ish to start my trip to Leicester. Have to stop overnight somewhere as I can't do 500 miles in one go like I used to. Getting old's not all it's cracked up to be is it. If I break down I'll get trucked all the way tomorrow, but I've just got to wing it and see. All packed and ready to go. I'm getting a couple of other jobs done on her whilst I'm down there. May as well use the guys knowledge and experience after going all that way. My brake calipers are the original 1989 ones and looking a bit worse for wear now so having those replaced. Another 300 quid!, but if it gets picked up the MOT in February I'll kick myself for not getting them done when I had the chance. David wants me to take the laptop with me as I'm going to be on my own mainly so that I can look up phone numbers and find out when shops are open for brekkie and stuff, but whether I can use it whilst I'm away is anyones guess. I've never taken computers with me before so no idea whether this wifi or whatever it's called works or not. Steph Harris is coming over to spend a couple of days with me providing she's well enough so be nice to have a bit of company whilst I'm there. Luckily, the garage have got a Volvo estate car that I can borrow for the duration of my stay so at least I won't be stuck in the Travel Inn room all day every day. Ikea here I come, ha. Blimey, can't remember the last time I went to Ikea. Hot dog fest! Yum yum. Civilisation is beckoning and as much of a pain in the arse as it is going all that way, I'm rather quite looking forward to seeing a 3 lane motorway again and doing more that 60mph. Now that is sad!!, ha. I lived in the Midlands for 10 years so there's plenty of places to go to pass the time. Taking my camera with me so can always go out on a photo shoot when I get bored of looking round the shops if the weather's half decent There's a Hilton hotel just round the corner from where I'm staying so I might go and see if I can use the swimming pool there. My back and neck are killing me as I haven't been able to get to the chiropractor for about 6 weeks now and I'm feeling it! A nice swim in the evenings'll do me the world of good. I just hope that they can fix my car without having to get parts from Classic Volvo as that'll be a 10 day wait and the minute you put the word 'Classic' on a part it adds hundred quid to the price!! Looks like I might be driving down in the first winter storm of the year according to the weather forecast. Oh joy! Hope they've got it wrong or that it comes in once I'm there. Lovely day here today and the mountains are covered in snow again. Looks beautiful out there. It was minus 5 when David went to work this morning. I hope everyone's well and that you all have a lovely weekend. I'll catch up with you all at some point. Love to you all ladies. Xxx
Evelyn Hamilton Brown oh my Julie, sounds like an adventure, quite exciting really, as long as they dont shut the gates and not let you out because of a sudden snowstorm. Take your laptop and do a blog for us at every stage and keep us updated if you can. Happy driving,, hope the world hasn't changed much since you were last in it haha.....keep safe xxxx
Julie Carman Evelyn Hamilton Brown Hi Evelyn. What's a blog? Am I being a techy divvy again??? Sorry. Laymans terms please, ha. I hope the weather isn't bad too. Once they shut those snow gates, you're not going anywhere are you. The joys of Highland living, ha. We went down to this garage in Leicester in Feb 2014 to get some work done and get her MOT'd and the journey from here to Lancaster was the worst in my life! and I've been driving for 36 years and used to be a cab driver too. It was horrendous weather and it took us over 10 hours just to get to Lancaster. We had every weather scenario going. At least there was 2 of us to split the driving. This time there's only me. David's going to be worried about me til I get there. I'll stay over somewhere tomorrow night as long as the car keeps going. If not, at least I won't be driving if I'm in a tow truck. I bet you any money you like all this'll be a really simple problem that they'll sort out in a matter of hours!! Grrrrrr. At least it gives me chance to get the brakes done as well. Nice that I've got a loan car. At least I can get out and about. If Steph does come over an doesn't feel like driving I can drive us anywhere we want to go. Just sitting here typing up the probs with the car to date so they've got the full SP once they start. Listening to Steve Wright in the afternoon and singing along to Rick Astley, ha. 🎶Together forever and never to part.....................🎵🎶 I'm rolling with Rick, lol. How are you my friend? xxxx 😊
Julie Carman Evelyn Hamilton Brown I've heard of a blog, but didn't know what it was. What a div eh. If you'd said a diary I'd have known what you meant! I'll just waffle on as I normally do and keep it simple. It's cold here today. Got some lovely pics of the mountains earlier. Make sure you keep warm won't you. We must get you sorted out before winter. I'm defo going to win the euromillions tonight so a new boiler for you my friend, fingers crossed! I'll give Steph a crafty hug for you. I hope she can make it. Be lovely to meet up. At least I've got a car for the duration to get out should she not be able to. I hate being stuck in, especially somewhere like Leicester. Not exactly the metropolis is it!! Keep warm and cosy. xxxxx 😍😊
Evelyn Hamilton Brown i'll get one at sometime, nice of you to think of me when you win your millions, you keep warm too, with plenty of stops xx (looks like a friend is typing a very long story down below) xx
Julie Carman Stephanie Harris Hi Steph. How are you? Are you any better? Hope you've been back to the docs to get checked out my friend. I've managed to get a car for the duration of my stay so we can go out in that if you do come over. At least it'll give you a break from driving. It's another Volvo estate so plenty of room for all that shopping, ha. I'm leaving in the morning so who knows where I'll be this time tomorrow. Hope all's well with you. Are you going to send me your mobile number? Just in case. I can come and meet you at the M1 junction when you get there if you like and take you to the Travel Inn. Hopefully I'll have t'internet, but I really don't know til I get there. xxxxx 😘😊
Stephanie Harris Julieeeeee.....helllooooooo....I feel better thank you...still not 100% ....but I am going out tonight .....so it'll either kill me off and I'll be unwell again tomorrow...like it happened the other week....or I shall be fighting fit....hopefully the latter mate xxxx and my mobile....hmmmm, it's broken....completely....I thought it was on the way out....so, we are going to get one or I shall have Ian's....so I'll let you have it when I'm sorted....and great..you've got a car...xxxx I'm getting ready in a min to go out...so unless I catch you later....please drive carefully and I'll txt you my number as soon as it's sorted xxxxxx Loadsa love Julie ...n see you Wed all being well xxxxxx 😘
Hazel Davey You take care Julie Carman on your drive down south, we have sleet and snow down here and the m6 at Shap is always dodgy in these conditions. Hope you get the old wheels sorted . Xx
Julie Carman Hazel Davey Hi Hazel. Thanks for that. I've been checking with various places down the A1 as I'm going that way and I've found out it's all a bit dodgy with the weather and a load of road works after Scotch Corner. Oh joy! We've had glorious weather here today and the frost is still thick on my car from last night. It's minus 2.5 degrees out there at the mo and it's only half 5 so it's going to be a cold one tonight. This is why I wish I'd have gone down there in September now as it'd be all done. Oh well, it's an adventure if nothing else. Gets me away from the hum drum for a few days. My dad used to have to go over Shap in the 50's when he was a lorry driver before the M6 was built and he always said it was a nightmare in the winter. It's a sod going over that high part isn't it. I'm just as concerned about the Drumochter Summit about half an hour down the way from us. That's always bad when the weather comes in. Hope you're all ok and have a lovely weekend. Take care mate. xxxx 😜
Hazel Davey I went to Ikea in Leeds on Weds with my daughter , I bought a big roll of white paper to use as Christmas wrapping paper, that's it , nothing else took my fancy! Suppose that makes it a dear roll when you factor in my diesel ! Lol x
Julie Carman Hazel Davey Forever frugal eh, ha. Love it Mrs. F. xxxxx#
Amanda McGlaughlan Take care on your journey Julie, enjoy your visit to the big city xxx
Julie Carman Amanda McGlaughlan Hi Amanda. I dunno about enjoy. It's Leicester!! Not exactly New York eh. Sunny Leicester in November. Oh I know how to live it up and have a good time!, ha I sent you a long message last Sunday asking how the Remembrance Day went and stuff. I don't know if you got it. I didn't hear back so I assumed you were busy. Hope you're getting moved in slowly but surely. Just heard that it's snowing hard on the A74. Gawd knows what I'm going into tomorrow. Hope you're ok my friend. Lotsa love from me. xxxx 😍
Sylvia Allan Stephanie Harris Liz Angus Tracy Jones Hazel Davey Amanda McGlaughlan Eve Houghton Evelyn Hamilton Brown Helllllllooooo ladies. Well, I'm here in Leicester at last. Left Aviemore at 9am yesterday and it took me 3 and a half hours just to get to Edinburgh on that A9. Had good weather all the way, but that A1 is sooo long winded from Edinburgh to Newcastle. Felt like an eternity. Luckily I got past the Metro Centre at Gateshead and up to the Angel of the North around 3pm without any holdups at all. That's a first! I didn't book any digs for last night as I really didn't know whether the car was going to keep going and I didn't want to pay for digs somewhere up north and end up here in Leicester last night on the back of a tow truck. I rang David at home and he was telling me where the Travel Inns were down the A1. I know where most of them are having stayed in them over the years with the kids, but I kept going until I could feel myself getting tired and it was getting dark so I called it a day at Scotch Corner. Not as young as I was, ha. I ended up staying at the Travel Inn at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire (the best part according to Hazel Davey!!). It was very pretty when I came through a lovely village this morning to get back on the A1 I must admit. The Travel Inn was really nice. A new one, but I was on the top floor so it was nice and quiet. I got there at 5pm, just in time to see Scotland play rugby at Murrayfield and win, another first! and then Strictly at Blackpool whilst having a little picnic of shortbread biccies, mini cheddars and Lindt chocolate in bed all on my own. Lovely jubbly. Nice bath and then beddy byes. Had a bit of a lye in this morning as I was well over half way and was at Doncaster and on the M18 by half 12. I drove for 8 hours yesterday with only three 10 minute breaks so today was much easier. I got to Leicester at around half 2 and didn't want to book in here that early as this is really old Travel Inn and a bit tatty so don't want to be stuck in here all the time. I went down to Rugby where we used to live to see the old chap that I bought my car from in 2002, but he was out! Typical. He would've loved to have seen the old girl again. Maybe I'll go back before I leave. It's only 18 miles on the M1. I had a big barny with my youngest son over a year ago now and we haven't spoken since. He still lives in Rugby. I thought I'd be the bigger person and try and make amends so I went to his house, but he was out too. I rang him and he came and met me with his new girlfriend and we got on ok so hopefully we might sort it out. Kids eh. Who'd ave em! I came back to this Travel Inn and unloaded my stuff. I changed rooms as I was downstairs and we always seem to get someone above pacing the damn floor all night when we're in a downstairs room so I moved to a room upstairs and I'm here now til Saturday or longer depending on what happens with the car. Believe it or not, she's not making the same bloody awful noise that she was!! Aaaaargh. I don't believe this. I've come all this way and it's not making that awful buzzing noise, but it is still whirring and it's whistling in the back where the fuel tank is so it defo needs looking at. Maybe a 500 mile run is what she needed to give her pipes a blast through! (the car, not me, although................!!) She doesn't get much of a run out these days apart from me going to Inverness once a fortnight and that's not good for her really and with David's mum dying back in May, apart from going down to London for the funeral in June, she hasn't really been anywhere this year. The rear brakes are juddering a bit too so I'm getting those done whilst I'm down here. Blimey, I'd forgotten what a dump Leicester is!! Sitting here typing this I've heard 4 plod cars whizzing past with their sirens at full pelt. It's sooo quiet where we live in Aviemore that any noise seems amplified when you get away from there. Getting onto a 3/4 lane motorway was nice though. Being able to sit on 80/90mph constantly is a novelty these days as we've no motorways in the Highlands. The car's running lovely. 500 miles and no spit farting about at all. She's amazing really for 27 years old and over 200,000 miles on the clock. That's why I can't lose her over this stupid fuel pump issue. Hopefully it'll be a simple issue that the guys can sort out quickly. Steph Harris is hopefully coming over to meet up with me for a couple of days on Weds so looking forward to that. Time for a bath now and then write down what's happening with the car so I can tell the guys tomorrow and then bed I think. Got to get up at half 6 to leave early and beat the morning rush hour (not something we get in Aviemore!!). Something else you forget after being away for over 5 years. Leicester's a nightmare for traffic and getting to the garage'll take over half an hour and it's only 3 miles away!! Well ladies, I hope everyone's well and that you've had a nice weekend. Lotsa love. xxxxx Sylvia Allan Glad to hear that you arrived OK Julie. Why didn't you contact me coming this way down you literally past Durham, you could have stayed with me last night instead of staying in a Travel Lodge. xx
Amanda McGlaughlan Glad to hear you arrived safe and sound with no mishaps Julie. Hope your old girl gets on all right xx
Julie Carman Amanda McGlaughlan Thanks Amanda. She went like a dream. Daft eh, with all these fuel pump issues over the last 3 months. Can't be anything too drastic. I said to Evelyn the other day, I bet you any money you like it'll be a simple problem that's fixed in an hour! It's a game innit. Thanks my friend. xxxx
Hazel Davey Glad you traversed the country fairly easily chicken. Bet you only stopped at Catterick cos you love a man in uniform haha. Fingers crossed you get the old gal sorted. Xx
Evelyn Hamilton Brown oooh Julie, sooo glad to hear from you, kept thinking about you yesterday, especially after reading about all the bad weather going on. I thought you were going to drive into snow after coming all the way from Aviemore where you would expect the snow. Folks were stranded in it but I believe it was up in them thar hills lol. Great to hear the car behaved much more than you epected, think you're probably right about it need a right old long run. Love the way you tell them haha xxxx
Julie Carman Evelyn Hamilton Brown Hi Evelyn. Yep, here safe. I didn't take the laptop in with me last night as I was knackered and it was dark when I got to Catterick. It was in the bottom of the bag and I was on the 3rd floor so I just took the essentials like wash stuff and the teabags and choccie. I'm all unpacked for my stay here now. Wish I was still in that Travel Inn at Catterick. Much nicer than this one and much quieter. The joys of city living eh. You forget how noisy it is. We've been away from it for over 5 years now. It seems more noisy as it's so quiet in Aviemore. You can hear a pin drop outside there. The mountains were thick with snow when I left yesterday until I got down to Perthshire around Dunkeld. Then it was a bit foggy with a few spots of rain and then the sun was out again and stayed out all the way. It was a really good drive down. Don't think Steph's going to make it. She sounds awful with her chest infection. I'd rather she didn't come over if she's really poorly, for her and for me. I don't want to catch it and give it to David. He nearly died of pneumonia in 2001. He was hours away from hitting the snooze button and it was scary. I only just got him into hospital in time as the doc wouldn't come out to him. I'd love to see Steph, but not when she's feeling so bad. I want her to rest up and get better. She's had this for weeks now. Hope you're ok my friend. I must have a bath. I said that an hour ago, ha. xxxx
Evelyn Hamilton Brown aww poor Stephanie, such a shame you're not going to see each other but yes, best she rests. Julie only you can make such a serious thing like your man being so ill sound funny lol. Loved the hit the snooze button thing haha. Go get your bath, it will be freezing, take care xxx
Julie Carman Evelyn Hamilton Brown I haven't run it yet!!! Still got my car conundrum to write up and it's half 11 !! Good job David's not here. He'd be nagging me to "get in that bath". Oh the peace and quiet, ha. I'll just finish this bar of choccie first 😋😋😋
Hello ladies. How is everyone today? Sorry if anyone's sent me a pm. I can't seem to connect to the chat thing for whatever reason. It keeps dropping off and I don't know why. Another eventful day here in Gotham city! Didn't go to bed til 1.15am after finally having a bath and writing up the catalogue of errors on the car for the guy at the garage this morning. Couldn't sleep at all. I'm on a dual carriageway here and it's old Bill and ambulance sirens all night. Not so much a leisure trip, more like a mini break in Beirut!! Some pillock on a motorbike went flying up and down the dual carriageway outside 5 times in the night backfiring all the time. Sounded like an AK47 being fired for half an hour! Was up at 6am to make sure the car started ok and that I beat the traffic going into the city centre as that's where the garage is, but it doesn't matter what time you go, it's just as bad. I've run the fuel right down as they've got to get into the tank and I did wonder if I was going to make it with all the traffic queues. Hardly making that damned noise at all now after I've come all this way. The weather's awful here. Mild, but hammering it down with rain. I got to the garage at 10 to 8 and left at 10am!! Had to wait for the guy who's working on the car as he had to drop his kiddie off at nursery so he didn't get in til quarter to 9. Then we went out in the car to see if he could hear the noise it's been making, but the rain was so heavy so the wipers were on full pelt and it was really difficult to hear anything and the traffic was murder. A traffic jam in Aviemore is a sheep on the road! I finally got the keys for the hire car that the garage have lent me, another Volvo estate, but an older one fortunately and stopped to put some petrol in it and came straight back here to the Travel Inn. I couldn't lock the car with the fob thing and stood in the car park getting absolutely drowned as the heavens opened yet again. The rain was dripping off my fringe, ha. I left my brolly in my car at the garage. I had to go all the way back into Leicester city centre through all the traffic again to get them to reset the alarm. Apparently it's a common fault on that model. Great! Good job I know where I'm going. There's roadworks everywhere. I came back here again and had a stinking headache. My eldest was supposed to be going to Ireland today to see this new bird of his, yet again as she blew him out once before, then I got a text whilst at the garage saying he'd had a bust up with her as she'd blown him out again after he'd paid for his flight and now he's finally given her the elbow. That lad's been blown out more times than a windsock!! Poor little sod. I'm waiting to speak to him now as he was on nights last night so he went to bed before I had a chance to talk to him this morning with all the capers going on here. He's asked me if he can come up here and see me for a couple of days so got to sort that out tonight. Was really looking forward to meeting up with Steph Harris, but she's unwell so looks like I'm gonna be doing me Claire Rainer bit again! Oh joy. Why is nothing ever easy??? Good old mum. She'll sort it out! Waited all day to hear about the car and it's not the news I'd hoped for. He's had her all apart and has found 3 or 4 things that look a bit iffy, but nothing conclusive. Maybe it is just a dodgy pipe, I don't know. He's taking her out for a long spin tomorrow morning as you can't do any kind of speed in the city so hopefully he'll be able to tell more then. He was still tweaking the engine at 6pm this evening. At least I've got an experienced knowledgable bloke on the job. He did find a couple of blocked breather pipes and that may well be all it is, but he'll see what she does in the morning. If she's ok he's going to do the brakes and give her a good going over whilst I'm here. I was really hoping that he'd have nailed it today and found a definite problem that he could say "yep, that'll be it", but he hasn't. I didn't go out at all today after getting back here, what with the alarm problem, the rotten headache, the pissistent rain! I feel better now, but only wanted a sandwich for tea and can't get one in this Travel Inn so had to walk round the corner to the Tesco garage and get one there. What's it coming to when you can't even get a sarnie in a Travel Inn eh!! It's so mild here that I walked round there in just a Tshirt. Well not just a Tshirt! I'd have been nicked on a public indecency charge, ha, but you know what I mean. At least we haven't got floods here like the West Country. Might go to Ikea at Nottingham tomorrow. It'll get me out and I won't have been up since 6am as I haven't got to go into the garage. Going to ring number one son now and get the full SP on his love life. I get all the good jobs!!! David's put the Christmas tree up today, lol. Gave him something to do. It was minus 11 in Braemar at 6.45am this morning and minus 8 in Aviemore. He said there was frost actually sticking to the house walls! When he went to the shed, he had to pour hot water on the padlock to get into it. At least the weather's lovely up there. And there goes another siren. What happened to peace in our time? Hope everyone's ok. Lotsa love. xxxx
Hello all you pop pickers on this rather manky Leicester evening. Not arf mate. Hope no-one from Leicester's reading this, I'll get lynched. I've become rather accustomed to my knee caps where they are! How is everyone out there? All well I hope. I'd love to say that it's been a rather uneventful day for a change in Gotham city, but that wouldn't be any fun now would it and it wouldn't be me if it hadn't been funnily chaotic in a 'pulling my hair out kinda way mate'. I didn't go to bed til gone 2am as I was talking to number one son for over 3 hours on the phone. He's not coming up to see me after all. Would've been nice to see him, but got plenty to keep me busy. I was rudely awakened at half 7 this morning by a loud banging on the door. I flew up as I thought something had happened to the car or the alarm on it was rattling off as it's the garage's hire car. I opened the door in my towel (funny place to have a door!) and there stood the most gorgeous young dark haired guy in a skinny fit suit and shiny shoes (just my type!) who thought he was knocking on his mates door to get him up for breakfast as he was late apparently. Cor, he could knock me up any day, ha. I thought my luck was in there big time. He can wake me up again tomorra if he likes!! He was so apologetic poor lad and his face was red with embarrassment, but I can think of worse ways to be woken in the mornings. Good job he had it away on his toes down the corridor as I think I'd have had him for breakfast, ha!!! Phoarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Well that woke me up so kettle on and sat nursing a cuppa and dreaming of what might have been if I'd dragged him in by the tie. I'll stay here more often! Waited for ages to get a call from the garage whilst watching mind numbing day time tele, groan and rang several times to see if he'd taken her out for a long spin and got her up to some speed to see how she was doing. Finally got him at 1pm, but he was still trying to do something on her and said he'd ring me later. Decided to nip over to Coventry as they've got a big Range over there and a huge Sainsburys next to it so thought I'd have a meander around there as it's been raining here again all day. That hire Volvo I've got dunnarf get a shift on! Blimey. Was bombing down the M69. My face must've looked like I was in a wind tunnel with the G force on it. I never get to drive a different car so I'm making the most of this opportunity. Cov hasn't changed much since we left. Lovely to go to the Range again though and we only have one Sainsbugs north of Glasgow and Edinburgh and that's only a small one at Nairn so had a good look round the massive one in Cov. Once I'd done them I decided to go up to Nottingham Ikea. The lure of the obligatory Ikea hot dog at the end of the shopping trip swayed my decision somewhat and we need to stock up on batteries as David's put the Christmas tree up in my absence!! and we need lots of batteries for the various strings of lights that come out every year. It does feel nice to be back in civilisation I must admit. We used to go to that one regularly. Halfway round, I got a call from the garage. He was lucky as I hardly get a signal on my old phone past the front doors. This was the bad news time and took the wind out of my sails somewhat on what had been a not bad day so far. He can't hear any noise from the fuel pumps so apart from the little bit of tinkering he's already done, as there is no noise, he can't do anything more on the problem that I originally came down here with. Maybe the 500 mile journey did blast the pipes through and there is no longer a fuel problem. That I could've lived with. On my way down she was doing all sorts of strange things that can only be described as wacky. Never before have I noticed so many strange noises and vibrations on one trip, but then I questioned myself as to whether I was 'over-hearing' as I was listening for every squeak and rattle for 500 miles on the fuel pump front. What worried me most was the juddering of the rear brakes and this constant whining noise that we used to call a transmission noise. I'm wondering whether it's the main fuel pump that sits under the front passenger seat, that's been replaced that's humming or whether it's the rear diff or the gearbox. If it's the gearbox, I know it's gonna be an expensive job! My ex and I replaced a gearbox ourselves in our garage at home on a Triumph Toledo in 1985 and that was a nightmare job that took us 2 days. Well he dropped the bombshell that he too thought it probably was the rear diff starting to go. For everyone who hasn't got a scooby what I'm talking about, it's the rear differential, the long bar that goes between the 2 back wheels that connects in a T shape to a long pipe that runs under that lump in the middle of the car inside (the transmission tunnel) and connects to the gearbox at the front. If the rear diff goes, you basically can't drive the car as that's what makes the wheels go round. Getting one for my car that's now 27 years old will be a challenge in itself and cost around 2-300 quid and then someone's got to fit it as we don't have the tools or anywhere to get it up on a ramp so another 2-300 odd quid. It only started whining on the way down and it could go whilst I'm on the way home, in 3 weeks, 3 months or 3 years, who knows. it'll go when it decides to go. The garage guy said do we want to spend money on replacing the front brake calipers and the front and rear brake discs as they too are very corroded due to the road conditions we have in Scotland as the winter salt is very different from the type we have down here and it sticks to the brake discs and corrodes them a lot faster which is what's making them judder badly when I brake at speed. None of this was happening before I left, but the fact that I've had this fuel problem for 3 months now, she's hardly been moved as I didn't want to go out in her and break down so going from hardly moving to doing a 500 mile trip, for her, that's like us sitting still for 3 months and then running a marathon! We'd be completely seized up and it seems that in not moving her much at all, these things have all come to light now that she has. After chatting with James from the garage and asking what he'd do if it was his call from a mechanics point of view, he said he'd have to consider the age of her, how much we've already spent on getting this fuel issue sorted and if what he and I both think is that rear diff wasn't whining, then he'd do the brakes and just keep running her for as long as she'll go on for, but with the prospect of the diff going at any time, if it is in fact that, we've got to wait and see, then he said he'd probably put the money to another car, but he knows the sentimental value of her so like he said, it's a tough call to make and also, we also know everything that's been done on her so she's sound from that point of view. He's happy to go along with whatever we decide, but he doesn't want us spending a lot of money on her and then the diff does go, but again, it's a 'what if' situation. David and I had a long chat whilst I was stood in Ikea, well I actually ended up sitting on the floor as my back was killing me and I was getting some very strange looks! and in moment of clarity, I said maybe we should accept that this might be the final nail in the coffin for the old girl, but David rang James and said do the brakes anyway as I've always been hot on brakes and tyres carrying the kids around all these years and they're the only thing stopping you from crashing into the car in front so he started fitting them today and he'll finish tomorrow. I'll pick her up and give her a blast down the M1 for a 100 miles or so and see how she goes and if she's ok, I'll leave here on Thursday morning to start the journey home. I just never thought I'd come down here to be told that the old girl might just be on a slippery slope. I still can't believe it. I don't ever want a new car as I really hate them. You can't do your own repairs on a new car as they're too technical and I don't trust the garages and I can't keep coming down here to the garage unless we do actually move back here. There's a awful lot of really nice old Volvo's out there with only 50 odd thousand miles on the clock, but again there's the same old problem of getting the parts for an old car. We're coming up against that more regularly now and then there's the finding of another old but lovely low mileage car. We're not exactly centrally placed to go and look at them are we. Oh bloody 'ell, I don't know. I came all the way down here with such high hopes that it'd be all done and dusted and I'd go back home with the old girl in as good a nick as she's always been and then we get this body blow today. We've always known it'd come one day, we've all gotta go one day haven't we!, but we just weren't expecting it now. We're going to just take our chances and get the brakes done and see how long the diff goes on for. We'll know when it's getting really bad as you won't be able to hear yourself think for the humming! I hang onto my cars til the death and that's what we'll do again this time. I've only had 2 cars in 30 years and Molly's one of them. At least until we get back south again and we're better placed to go looking for something else. It seems she's got one foot in the grave, but then I'm a bit of a Victor Meldrew myself so we fit together, although I still don't bloody belieeeeeeeeeeve it, ha. Anyway, I digress. Looking round Ikea, I was like a kid in a sweet shop. I love that place. I didn't go mad as there's a car to pay for!, but I did get some essentials and me batteries and a couple of goodies too. Then the long anticipated Ikea hot dog. What a saddo, ha. The traffic coming back to Leicester was murder. I stopped at Trowell services to get a sarnie in Marksies and had to walk over to the other side as it's on the northbound side and I was on the south so that took nearly half an hour. I was hoping to beat the rush hour traffic, but with those 2 long phone calls whilst at Ikea, it held me up. Forgot how much traffic there is on the motorways. Funny how you just slip back into it without even thinking about it. Got really held up at Leicester services and then all the way into Leicester. I didn't know til I put the news on that Leicester City are playing at home tonight against Bruges so must be why there was so much extra traffic. Then the road where this Travel Inn is was closed due to the river bursting it's banks and flooding the road so I didn't know whether I was going to have to go all the way round the ring road again and come in from a different direction. I don't do pratt nav and Leicester in the dark with a football match on is a daunting prospect! Fortunately it's closed a bit further up from here so I was able to get in ok. I was talking to a lovely bloke when I came into reception from Wales (where men are men and sheep get nervous!!) and he'd just come through the flood in a taxi and the cabbie nearly got stuck. Then got chatting to the bloke on reception for half an hour who took my booking last week. Then I realised I'd forgotten my milk so had to walk round the garage and get some. Been chatting to David and my eldest all evening so only just got round to typing this. Just eaten my sarnie and just going to have my chocolate mousse that I bought in Marksies. Hope you're all ok ladies. Lotsa love. xxxxxx
Good evening ladies. How is everyone today? All well I hope. Well, today has actually been pretty uneventful for a change. The calm before the storm I don't doubt. Didn't wake up to the gorgeous hunk at the door again unfortunately! Weather's been manky all day yet again. Haven't had nice weather since I've been here. David says it's been lovely up in Aviemore. Sunny, snow on the mountains and very cold. Saw the weather on the news earlier and they reckon minus 10 up there tonight. Very mild here. Tropical in comparison. Had a bit of a lye in this morning as no reason to get up early. Sat watching that film Little Voice with Jane Horrocks til half 1 this morning and didn't go to bed til gone 2. The bloody flying eye was hovering overhead nearly all night. We got that a lot when we lived in Rugby as we were close to the M1, but it's something I'd forgotten about as there's not much call for it in the Highlands! The only time we get a helicopter flying over us is when the mountain rescue team go out. The noise here is non stop. That damned motorbike was back again last night, bombing up and down the dual carriageway backfiring all the way. There was a lot of bawling and shouting from people walking down the main road. Must've been the footie match and a lot of police sirens blaring all evening and all night so didn't get much sleep. I can see the dual carriageway as I sit here on the bed and it's blue flashing lights all the time. When I first got here it was quite a novelty coming back to the hustle and bustle of city life, but the novelty's quickly worn off and I'm pissed off with the constant racket and traffic jams and people cutting me up left right and centre on the roads. That didn't last long did it! I rang the garage late morning and he said he was working on the car, but having to literally hammer off the corroded brake discs and then he found a brake pipe that was disintegrating so another little job to add to the multitude of jobs already on the list. He said it wouldn't be ready til at least teatime so I got ready and pootled off down to Coventry again as it's only half an hour away. I went to a Toby Carvery for dinner. First decent meal I've had since I've been away and guess what? They'd run outta roast spuds!! ha. The poor Brummie lady looked really stressed out having to tell people that it'd be nearly an hour before they could get some grub. And I thought I was having a bad day! I sat and waited as I was starving and I was there. I'd fought my way through the Coventry traffic to get there so no point in leaving with no dinner. Finally the spuds came out so game on. That went down a treat. Out into the traffic chaos again. I realised today that you don't actually drive anywhere down here. You crawl in second gear! My right foot is permanently bent into a U shape! I could crawl on my hands and knees faster than I can drive on these roads. I've been away too long!! I am looking forward to going back to the peace and quiet of the Highlands. Please remind me of that next time I say "take me back to civilisation!". Clean air? What's that? I love all the convenience of all the big shops on the doorstep, but also love the peace and quiet and serenity that is the Highlands. No happy medium. Sometimes I think ignorance is bliss. Having lived all over this country, you do get to draw comparisons and it just goes to complicate matters even more. You want this, but you want that too and you can't have both. I made the mistake of going back to the Range to have a better look around as yesterday I only had a quick look as I wanted to get up to Nottingham Ikea at a decent time so as not to get caught on the M1 at rush hour. Big mistake, ha. So many lovely things and ooooh the craft department. I could've filled a flat bed truck. Then I had a good look round Sainsburys and picked up a few bits. The lady on the checkout told me that there's one of them Home Bargains shops now over the road at yet another retail outlet place. That shop wasn't around when we lived here last so I'd like to see what it's like. I see people on Jodie's page talking about it all the time so I'd like to have a look. The traffic was hellish as usual and it was gone 4 so I headed back here. It took me ages as the M6 was snarled up (no change there then) and the M69 at the M1 junction was queuing for miles so it took me over an hour to get back here and it's only 22 miles. The guy rang me from the garage just as I came off the motorway at 5 o'clock. He said the car was ready, but I couldn't get there before he left through all the city traffic so I'm picking her up first thing in the morning. God knows what the bill's going to be. Think I'll take the Valium with me to be on the safe side! I just hope we haven't chucked a loada money away and she doesn't even make it home. I'll probably stay on here again tomorrow night now as James wants me to test drive her before I head home as I can't just take her back once I'm 300 miles up the road can I. I'll take her for a blast down the M1 for 50 miles and see how she goes, but I can't check out of here as if she needs to go back to them, I need somewhere to stay tomorrow night. If all goes well, I'll leave on Friday now and hopefully get to Glasgow. I was desperately trying to avoid travelling on a Friday as it's the worst day of the week on the roads. I'm going home on the M6 as the A1's a poxy road once you get north of Newcastle. I came down that way and don't intend doing it again! They've had snow and floods over that way too. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan. Nothing's gone to plan so far, but we live in hope! Cuppa tea time I think. Hope you're all having a nice evening. Lotsa love. xxx 😜😉
Stephanie Harris Liz Angus Sylvia Allan Tracy Jones Hazel Davey Amanda McGlaughlan Chrissy France Leslie Evans Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Helllooooooooooooo from the peace and tranquility of Aviemore ❤️❤️❤️😍Ah, it's good to be home. No bloody blue flashing lights and sirens, dickeads on motorbikes, boy racers, rain, traffic queues and smog. Peace in our time is resumed. I picked the car up yesterday morning at 8am. The bill came to £695!, but fortunately the high dose of Valium kicked in very quickly and softened the blow once they'd picked me up off the floor!!! James showed me the old brake discs (well, what was left of them) and I did wonder how I'd managed to drive the 500 miles down there without smacking up the arse of the car in front. Blimey what a mess. Good job we had them done. It's this salt we have on the roads up here. It's mixed with molasses to make it stick to the roads in sub zero temperatures, but it also sticks to your brake discs and corrodes them at a rate of knots. As for the initial fuel problem I went down there with, he found nothing conclusive which I still can't get my head round after 3 months of problems. I took her for a test run down the M1 to Rugby, over to Coventry and back to Leicester and didn't like the noises she was making or the fact that she just wasn't driving right at all. The humming/whining is getting louder which does indicate that it probably is the rear diff so our time left together may be shorter than I ever imagined. I expected to be driving back with the old girl having a completely clean bill of health and as good as she's always been. Instead, every day might now be a bonus. I checked out of the Travel Inn in Leicester on a spur of the moment decision whilst I was driving down the M69. I rang them at 12.40 and said I was 15 minutes away as you have to check out by 1pm for a refund and I got to the reception at 12.59! I quickly shoved everything into my holdalls and loaded the car and was off by 1.30. Thank gawd for that! What a dive. I was taking it really easy to start with, but I'm not known for 'taking it easy' and was soon sitting on 80-90mph. If she was gonna blow, we might as well go together and have one last blast up the M6! Just me and Molly, cruising together with the music on and having a sing song, same as always. As it happens, she went really well, as always! No spit farting about, just the constant whining and a growling sound from underneath which seems to come and go. The drive was good for a Thursday afternoon. I'd intended to leave in the early hours of this morning and try and make it to Glasgow, but the sun was out, the roads were crap!, but I didn't really get held up much at all which is a first. I timed it right yet again. Years of experience, ha or just a jammy sod. Once I got up past Blackpool, David started looking at accomodation for me for the night. The Travel Inns were all over 80 quid so he booked me into Gretna Hall Hotel where we got married 10 years ago. 45 quid for bed and breakfast. Luvly jubbly. Once I started getting up into the Lakes, the traffic started thinning out, as it does and I started to feel better. The stress of the past few days started to quickly subside and I could feel myself sinking into the car seat rather than feeling like I had a steel rod up my back. As I picked up the snowy hills of Westmorland everything started to feel alright again. I was coming home. I stopped at Carlisle for something to eat at the Toby Carvery and there was still thick frost on the ground which had been there all day apparently. Then on up to the border. I rolled into Gretna at 5.45pm. Being the saddo that I am, I had to stop at the Welcome to Scotland sign (it's obligatory you know!) for the usual photo of Molly next to the sign. The temperature had dropped to minus 3 from the tropical 12 degrees of Leicester and I still only had a Tshirt on. I got to the hotel and walked into the reception to be greeted by 2 smiling receptionists, a lovely Christmas tree and a gorgeous log fire. Heaven. A far cry from the office block looking reception at Leicester Travel Inn! My room was lovely and looked out over the front lawn of the hotel. Unfortunately, as it's the winter season, they've got workies in doing all the cabling for the computers etc so the free internet thingy wasn't working which is why I couldn't post anything last night. Bum. I nearly fell asleep as it was, so had an early night for a change as it had been a stressful and worrying day and also a very long one, but Molly had got me the 280 miles over the border safely and swiftly and for that I was truly grateful to the old girl. We had this conversation (a bit one sided admittedly!) before I left her out in the freezing cold bless her. I slept with the curtains open as there were no flashing lights or light pollution of any kind. I could see a million stars from my bed and fell asleep looking at them. Up at 7am and several cuppas later, ambled down to breakfast. A coach load of oldies were in the breakfast room queuing up at the help yourself brekkie nosebag trough and we had a laugh about the good old days and my years on the coaches when I was a kid so that got the morning off to a good start. I took a few photies before I left as it was a beautiful morning. The churds were burping, the shun was sining and it made you glid to be alav, ha. After scraping half an inch of frost off the car whilst still only wearing a Tshirt I finally left at 9am on the dot. Yet another beautiful day and as I shot up the M74 the scenery was beautiful. Gone were the tower blocks of the Midlands and the snarled up traffic of the M6 and into the wide open spaces of white frost laden trees and sparkling white mountains. Up over Beattock summit in the glorious morning sunshine and me and Mol were flying. Radio 2 blasting and Suggs singing in the studio. Got to Glasgow just after 10am and was now on the home straight. Unfortunately it's the longest part of the journey as it's all dual carriageway and then single carriageway and all uphill, but also the most scenic, no matter how many times you've done it before (I dread to think in 41 years!!). Got to Perth and stopped off at the big Tesco Extra for an hour to pick up a few bits for the weekend and have a bit of a stretch. Only 70 miles to go. The further up I got the better I felt and actually shouted out "I'm home!". Cruising up into the snowy mountains and singing along to Max Bygraves!! Yes, I do have a Max Bygraves mini disc in my car and sadly I do know all the words. All those years on the coaches with OAP's as a kid wasn't wasted after all, ha. 🎶Fly me to the moon and let me play amongst the stars.....................🎶Oh yes. I'm a bit of a crooner on the quiet. Poor old Mol was probably glad to get home after listening to me sounding like a bag of kittens drowning in the river! I stopped at the 'Welcome to the Highlands' sign and got a photie and had to walk across the snow to do it. My screen washers decided to stop working on the worst part of the journey so had to get a handful of snow and rub it over the windscreen to clean it as I couldn't see a bloody thing! The salt on the screen was thick. I had to drive 40 miles like that as the 'snow wash' didn't last 2 minutes once I pulled out of the layby. I got home at half 2 this afternoon. All unpacked and sitting down with a cuppa by 3. The Christmas tree looks beautiful. Bit previous!, but beautiful. The old fella's done a great job for his ever so perfectionist Mrs! The mountains are covered in snow and the weather's lovely. It's soooo quiet. It's nearly 11pm now so I'm going to have a nice bath and go to bed. I think you were right Hazel when you said about using the term "civilisation" loosely. It's great to have the convenience of all the big shops, the motorways etc, but it's 10 times better to come home to peace and tranquility and beautiful scenery and just to feel like you're 'home' in more ways than one. Thank you Hazel and you too Evelyn for pointing that out and reminding me that I am actually where I'm supposed to be. I just wish things could work out better for us here and that David could feel more content as I really don't want to move back south permanently. It's taken me 35 years to get here and it all seems such a waste if we turn round and go back to the madness of the south. Thank you all so much ladies for keeping me company and keeping me sane whilst I was away with everything that was going on. At least I knew I had someone to talk to when I was on my own in the Travel Inn in the evenings. It was very much appreciated. Catch up at the weekend. Lotsa love from Bonnie Scotland. ❤️😘 xxxx Hoots mon!!!!!
Sylvia Allan Amanda McGlaughlan Stephanie Harris Liz Angus Tracy JonesHazel Davey Anna Iazzetta Evelyn Hamilton Brown Chrissy France Eve Houghton Adele Clark Gail Grosvenor Julie Biggerstaff- Le Geyt Lesley Soall
Jan Collyer
Julie Carman
This is starting off as a ‘wee ramble’ as Liz would say, but who knows where it'll end up. I’ve no idea what’s about to come, but here goes. As a former touch typist many moons ago, I crash away really quickly and don’t realise how much I’ve written until the end or when my fingers are smoking. Who knows where I’m going with this if Leicester’s anything to go by so are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin. Well ladies, here we are on New Years Eve yet again. How fast it's come around. It's been a funny old year. David lost his Mum very suddenly and very unexpectedly in May to a bleed on the brain at the wheel of her car. She wasn’t even ill. She went out to buy baking stuff to make some muffins and never went home again. She died in hospital 12 days later. This is the first Christmas and New Year without her around which seems strange as she absolutely loved this time of year and went overboard with everything. Her decorations were a sight to behold and one of the great wonders of the modern world. It looked like she'd loaded all the deccies into a canon and fired it at the tree and then covered it in lametta! Oh dear. She was a larger than life character, always with a fag on and a glass of wine in her hand by 10 o’clock (in the morning! no I’m not kidding, ha). She really did live life to the full and she is very much missed, especially at this time. This year’s seemed somewhat of a blur, like watching old cine
footage of yourself and thinking "is that really me/us?" but not
really feeling a part of the film. It's all happening around you, but you're
not interacting with it. All very odd. I've also recently gone back to my first love which is cross
stitch for the first time in 8 years after giving it up to do card making. I've
got so many huge projects all shoved in boxes as we can't put them all up on
the walls in this rented house and it's a shame to know they're all hidden
away. I had a light bulb moment in Asda back at the beginning of October when I
picked up a cross stitch mag for the first time since 2008. I put a post on
Jodies page and never expected any response at all, but I was inundated with
replies from ladies everywhere who'd been inspired by my ramblings to pick up
their needles again and drag their unfinished projects out of the dark depths
of the cupboard. Even our own Jodie started stitching a Christmas present. I
didn't know what to start with as the old peepers aren't what they used to be
and the holes on evenweave fabric are so small, but I was pleasantly surprised
at how well I could see them and decided to start with stitching a cushion just
to get my eye in again after all these years away from it. I'd forgotten how
fast I can stitch, ha. After telling everyone that I was going to start a
project asap I thought I'd better put my money where my mouth is and get on
with it, but to be on the safe side I didn't say that I'd started in case it
all went tits up. I've now completed no less than two cushions in two months,
steps back in amazement! Sneaky eh. I even took one to Leicester with me to
pass the time. This year also saw me being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Everyone laughs at me for being such a dinosaur, but I've managed, with considerable success I might add, to get this far in avoiding technology in most areas of my life. I’ve always maintained that I don’t belong in this time zone. I’m absolutely convinced that I’m an old soul thrown back from a life far removed from this one by several decades. I'm half expecting the Tardis to land in our garden and take me back to the time I actually belong in any day now! In September I asked David to look up Jodie to see where she’d gone out of interest after she disappeared from C+C and he said it looks like she’s got a crafting group on Facebook and did I want to him to send her a request to join me to it. Needless to say I didn’t go a bundle on that idea as it meant that the dreaded technology could be imminent, like winter flu and I didn’t want that either!! I never envisaged myself having anything to do with this devil they call progress, not in this lifetime anyway. David assured me that he’d show me what to do and sort it all out for me. Quietly thinking to myself “this ain’t gonna work gal, you ain’t the type!” I left him to it and went to dig out my crucifix and Jodie accepted me into the fold. The dark forces of change were gathering overhead and the technological grim reaper was rubbing his hands together with glee knowing he’d grasped yet another unsuspecting victim into this cyber world of madness. This old laptop that I’d only ever used for typing letters and snippets of information for my scrapbooking of the kids lives to date was now going to be an ‘everyday tool’ (with David, two sons and an ex-husband in my life I should be used to that!). Oh gawd. Was this the end of life as we know it. Help! So here I am. Julie Carman with my own Facebook page. Whoever would’ve thought it. Not me that’s for sure. I took my first tentative steps on the evening of the 12th September, two days after my 55th birthday into this brave new world. For the first time ever this gobby ‘more front than Southend’ southern gal was actually afraid to talk!! “No, surely not” I hear you say, ha. It was all a bit overwhelming if I’m honest. I introduced myself on Jodies page and I got sooo many lovely welcomes. This thing was going off its nut with bongs all evening and into the wee small hours. Gail Grosvenor was the very first person to send me a friend request as we shared common ground in that she lived in Plymouth where I’d lived for 18 years. Needless to say I had no idea what to do with a ‘friend request’ and I don’t doubt Gail thought ‘Oh Christ, what have I done?’ Bless her, she talked me through it and it worked. Result! That evening was fun and a good laugh and I really enjoyed my introduction to Facebook and chatting with so many lovely ladies and I thought “d’you know what Ju, this ain’t s’bad me ole cocker.” A few days later I got into a conversation with Hazel who’d put
on a picture of a wreath she’d made from a tape roll! ummm. Before I knew it,
Hazel, Tracy and Amanda became a regular little group of gigglers and our own
Frugal Rock was born. (Don’t ask). Tracy, the Red Rose of Lancashire, thank you for helping David and I to try and sort it out when it all went horribly wrong in the beginning, for putting some of my pics on Jodies page for me when we failed miserably and for being a good friend in recent weeks and also for helping me to sell of some of my craft stash. Hazel, the White Rose of Yorkshire (turf wars still rule apparently nearly 600 years on!) for being such a good sport when we’re extracting the urine and for your regular heartfelt insults. Thank you very much for the lovely wreath and Christmas card you sent me. Only you could send a package through the post addressed to “Julie Carman, the woman with the old Volvo, Aviemore” and it actually arrived! And you call Me mad. I hope you have a better New Year than you did Christmas my friend. Amanda, for being consistently lovely, great fun and genuinely caring in equal measure. We’ve had some lovely chats and some great laughs and ‘frugallers’ still makes me laugh 3 months on. Thank you so much for the lovely Christmas deccie you sent me which is hanging on the tree and for the frugally made gift box. Sylvia, my very lovely and extremely talented and funny friend who always seems cheery and chatty and makes me laugh every day and who has invariably left me a long message to read the minute I turn on the laptop, albeit indecipherable at times! The OED won’t help me with this one. Steph, my crazy Brummie friend who’s as mad as a box of frogs and has had us all in stitches until we’re crying on so many occasions. What would we do without you my friend? I could chat with you all night as we have so much in common, don’t we Roxy! Spooky. Liz, my Scottish pal who surprised me somewhat by agreeing with me on a particularly sore point north of the border! We’ve shared lots of laughs and many a confidence once we’ve got started haven’t we my friend. I hope you get everything sorted out very soon. Evelyn, another Scot who like me tries to smile through the pain! You’re a legend my friend and I’m full of admiration for you and what you do every day and can still laugh about it. I hope 2017 brings you much better fortune and a new and more rewarding job. Gail, for being my first ‘friend’ on Facebook and forgiving me when I promptly deleted you and didn’t even know it! You regularly eat my share of a cream tea though so yes, I accept your offer of an extra big scone and a bucket of clotted cream when I next get down to Plymouth. You’re lovely. Chrissy, thank you for your warm hugs and lovely words and for enduring my daily diary drivel which was apparently ‘better than Crossroads!’ when I was in Leicester. I’m assuming you were saying that it was a decent storyline, but if that’s the case, what was a decent storyline doing in Crossroads??! ha. I do hope you get better very soon my friend and I'm glad that you're home. I’m worried about you. My turn to send you huge warm get well hugs. Eve, your lovely messages when I went quiet (yes I do sometimes!) were very much appreciated and were always warm, sincere and heartfelt. I hope Christmas wasn’t too much of a runaround for you and that you got some time to yourselves and that tonight is quieter for you. Adele, your drawings have always made me smile and we used to have some funny late night conversations giving them names didn’t we. I still haven’t got over Pink Jesse, ha. Hope you do some more soon. Lesley, your friend Trevor was responsible for us striking up a conversation wasn’t he. Let’s hope he’s in a better place now and at peace. I hope the lad had as good a Christmas as he could and I’m thinking of you both. You never did let me buy that lovely gold card. You my friend make some beautiful things. I just wish I could’ve sent you some snow for Christmas. Anna, one of my most recent new friends and a very lovely one at that. I only asked you the make of the advent calendar and we gelled instantly and it seems like we’ve been friends for years. I’m so pleased for you with your new job. You’ll be fabulous. I’m sure you won’t need it, but good luck anyway my friend. Julie, we started chatting many weeks ago when I first joined Jodies group and have continued to find that we have many things in common. I’m glad you enjoyed your Christmas in bonnie Scotland and maybe next time we can meet up if you come for longer than a couple of days. Meghan, my latest new friend who’s also in Scotland, although we started talking back in September didn’t we about cross stitch. It’s lovely to have a cross stitching friend as no-one I’ve ever known has been a stitcher. I’m looking forward to seeing your lovely baby project when it’s finished and you are going to finish it this time aren’t you! I only have a handful of friends and I don’t follow any of you
as it all gets too confusing for this bear of little brain in this new
technological existence, so if I miss things that you do and what you’re up to
that’s why. I do try to stay in touch and keep up with what’s happening and
remember what everyone’s said which is why I keep my group so small. I try my
best to listen, help and laugh and try and make light of the situation and to
just be here when you share your troubles. I learned from a very young age and
through bitter experience that we have to laugh at ourselves and with others as
if we take life too seriously it literally does drive us mad. It’s a tough old
life for all of us and it does make me wonder why we’re here at all. We’ve all
discovered through these friendships that we’ve all lost people dear to us,
we’ve all got aches and pains, we’ve all got something to moan about, we all
get the right steaming ‘ump sometimes and need to rant and rave and get it off
our chest and we’re all getting bloody old, so really we’re all in the same
boat which seems to be sinking fast for all of us. Just thought I’d end (yes
I’ve nearly finished on the off chance that you’re still awake!) this inane
drivel on a cheerful note! ha. Happy New Year to you all my friends. Lots of love from Me xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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