Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
#7306
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Update on Not going home.
A little quirk I have. My mantlepiece clock which I stored away many years ago to be set up when I got home, well I just cannot get myself to get it going again. I always imagined it would sit on my mantlepiece back home and chime away those Westminster Chimes. I know its silly but its just one of those things.
A little quirk I have. My mantlepiece clock which I stored away many years ago to be set up when I got home, well I just cannot get myself to get it going again. I always imagined it would sit on my mantlepiece back home and chime away those Westminster Chimes. I know its silly but its just one of those things.
#7307
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
As for getting a dog, dogs don't live in the garden in the UK and so even when I had Suzy, the cats would come in my garden and foul it to their heart's content because she was indoors most of the time. I've heard of people putting lion poop in the garden, but online reports indicate that has no effect (and it's not cheap!).
I seem to pay for being the only person in the neighbourhood who has a garden (everyone else has lawn or "landfill/rubbish tip" landscaping, or they've concreted over every inch of garden, whereas I have lots of beds). Even the cats across the way cross the road to come and crap in my yard!
#7308
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
The buggers are too smart for that - they are off like a shot as soon as they hear the door (plus my garden is terraced so it's not easy to get at them). Besides I am out at work all day so they have the place to themselves.
As for getting a dog, dogs don't live in the garden in the UK and so even when I had Suzy, the cats would come in my garden and foul it to their heart's content because she was indoors most of the time. I've heard of people putting lion poop in the garden, but online reports indicate that has no effect (and it's not cheap!).
I seem to pay for being the only person in the neighbourhood who has a garden (everyone else has lawn or "landfill/rubbish tip" landscaping, or they've concreted over every inch of garden, whereas I have lots of beds). Even the cats across the way cross the road to come and crap in my yard!
As for getting a dog, dogs don't live in the garden in the UK and so even when I had Suzy, the cats would come in my garden and foul it to their heart's content because she was indoors most of the time. I've heard of people putting lion poop in the garden, but online reports indicate that has no effect (and it's not cheap!).
I seem to pay for being the only person in the neighbourhood who has a garden (everyone else has lawn or "landfill/rubbish tip" landscaping, or they've concreted over every inch of garden, whereas I have lots of beds). Even the cats across the way cross the road to come and crap in my yard!
#7309
Just Joined
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 7
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Well, I'm finally finished reading the entire thread started by Trottytrue so long ago ...... I feel like I have known you all for years now!
I was born in 1943, in Aberfeldy, where my Father's family were from (MacGregors). My Mother came from Orkney.
After the war, my Father joined the Colonial Civil Service, and we left for Ceylon, where he worked on a building a dam. We lived in a place called Norton Bridge, at the foot of Adam's Peak. I was sent to boarding school in Columbo just before I turned 4 !!!
Because he was overseas staff, he had 6 months leave every 3 years, so my mother and I, left 3 months before him, and returned 3 months after him, so that I could get a full year at school in Kirkwall. This carried on until I was 12, (the last time I was in Scotland!).
From Ceylon, we went to Nyasaland (now Malawi) for 2 years, and from there to Rhodesia for the building of Kariba Dam. I was at boarding school in Salisbury (now Harare) until I was 18 ( they still had the Cambridge System there, O levels and A levels.).
I married a South African, and my two eldest children ( I have 4 ), were born there. My husband was transferred to Cape Town in 1969, and from there to East London, where my two younger children were born.
I got divorced in 1978, and was a single parent for 10 years, before marrying a Hollander in 1988 - we traveled to Holland every year to see his family, and once went over to England for a week - it felt like I had slipped on a pair of old comfy slippers ! It felt like home, how do I explain that ? I can't ...........
My husband took early retirement at 63, due to ill health, and we were preparing to return to Holland - then the wheels fell off, and he needed heart surgery. The operation was very successful, but 3 weeks later, while at home, he had a lung embolism and died. This was in 1996.
I just want to say that I do understand where you all are coming from.
I will write more tomorrow and tell you my particular problem ..... I just wanted to give you a picture of where I'm coming from.
Go Well.
I was born in 1943, in Aberfeldy, where my Father's family were from (MacGregors). My Mother came from Orkney.
After the war, my Father joined the Colonial Civil Service, and we left for Ceylon, where he worked on a building a dam. We lived in a place called Norton Bridge, at the foot of Adam's Peak. I was sent to boarding school in Columbo just before I turned 4 !!!
Because he was overseas staff, he had 6 months leave every 3 years, so my mother and I, left 3 months before him, and returned 3 months after him, so that I could get a full year at school in Kirkwall. This carried on until I was 12, (the last time I was in Scotland!).
From Ceylon, we went to Nyasaland (now Malawi) for 2 years, and from there to Rhodesia for the building of Kariba Dam. I was at boarding school in Salisbury (now Harare) until I was 18 ( they still had the Cambridge System there, O levels and A levels.).
I married a South African, and my two eldest children ( I have 4 ), were born there. My husband was transferred to Cape Town in 1969, and from there to East London, where my two younger children were born.
I got divorced in 1978, and was a single parent for 10 years, before marrying a Hollander in 1988 - we traveled to Holland every year to see his family, and once went over to England for a week - it felt like I had slipped on a pair of old comfy slippers ! It felt like home, how do I explain that ? I can't ...........
My husband took early retirement at 63, due to ill health, and we were preparing to return to Holland - then the wheels fell off, and he needed heart surgery. The operation was very successful, but 3 weeks later, while at home, he had a lung embolism and died. This was in 1996.
I just want to say that I do understand where you all are coming from.
I will write more tomorrow and tell you my particular problem ..... I just wanted to give you a picture of where I'm coming from.
Go Well.
#7310
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: Back home now in my home town in England U.K. after 36 years in U.S. now retired and loving it,
Posts: 3,208
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Well, I'm finally finished reading the entire thread started by Trottytrue so long ago ...... I feel like I have known you all for years now!
I was born in 1943, in Aberfeldy, where my Father's family were from (MacGregors). My Mother came from Orkney.
After the war, my Father joined the Colonial Civil Service, and we left for Ceylon, where he worked on a building a dam. We lived in a place called Norton Bridge, at the foot of Adam's Peak. I was sent to boarding school in Columbo just before I turned 4 !!!
Because he was overseas staff, he had 6 months leave every 3 years, so my mother and I, left 3 months before him, and returned 3 months after him, so that I could get a full year at school in Kirkwall. This carried on until I was 12, (the last time I was in Scotland!).
From Ceylon, we went to Nyasaland (now Malawi) for 2 years, and from there to Rhodesia for the building of Kariba Dam. I was at boarding school in Salisbury (now Harare) until I was 18 ( they still had the Cambridge System there, O levels and A levels.).
I married a South African, and my two eldest children ( I have 4 ), were born there. My husband was transferred to Cape Town in 1969, and from there to East London, where my two younger children were born.
I got divorced in 1978, and was a single parent for 10 years, before marrying a Hollander in 1988 - we traveled to Holland every year to see his family, and once went over to England for a week - it felt like I had slipped on a pair of old comfy slippers ! It felt like home, how do I explain that ? I can't ...........
My husband took early retirement at 63, due to ill health, and we were preparing to return to Holland - then the wheels fell off, and he needed heart surgery. The operation was very successful, but 3 weeks later, while at home, he had a lung embolism and died. This was in 1996.
I just want to say that I do understand where you all are coming from.
I will write more tomorrow and tell you my particular problem ..... I just wanted to give you a picture of where I'm coming from.
Go Well.
I was born in 1943, in Aberfeldy, where my Father's family were from (MacGregors). My Mother came from Orkney.
After the war, my Father joined the Colonial Civil Service, and we left for Ceylon, where he worked on a building a dam. We lived in a place called Norton Bridge, at the foot of Adam's Peak. I was sent to boarding school in Columbo just before I turned 4 !!!
Because he was overseas staff, he had 6 months leave every 3 years, so my mother and I, left 3 months before him, and returned 3 months after him, so that I could get a full year at school in Kirkwall. This carried on until I was 12, (the last time I was in Scotland!).
From Ceylon, we went to Nyasaland (now Malawi) for 2 years, and from there to Rhodesia for the building of Kariba Dam. I was at boarding school in Salisbury (now Harare) until I was 18 ( they still had the Cambridge System there, O levels and A levels.).
I married a South African, and my two eldest children ( I have 4 ), were born there. My husband was transferred to Cape Town in 1969, and from there to East London, where my two younger children were born.
I got divorced in 1978, and was a single parent for 10 years, before marrying a Hollander in 1988 - we traveled to Holland every year to see his family, and once went over to England for a week - it felt like I had slipped on a pair of old comfy slippers ! It felt like home, how do I explain that ? I can't ...........
My husband took early retirement at 63, due to ill health, and we were preparing to return to Holland - then the wheels fell off, and he needed heart surgery. The operation was very successful, but 3 weeks later, while at home, he had a lung embolism and died. This was in 1996.
I just want to say that I do understand where you all are coming from.
I will write more tomorrow and tell you my particular problem ..... I just wanted to give you a picture of where I'm coming from.
Go Well.
Wow that is a very powerful first post of yours, you certainly had my attention, as a child you traveled around a lot, that must have been an education all on its own, I would have loved to have a childhood like that,
I have to take my hat off to you for reading all our threads, its a lot of reading, did you start with our original over 50's thread started in 2009, and then on to the over 50's part 2 thread and then on to this over 40's thread ?
how long did it all take you ? it would be like reading several big books,
Looking forward to reading the rest of your story as time goes on,
Take care,
Rodney.
#7311
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2010
Location: US
Posts: 4,224
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Well, I'm finally finished reading the entire thread started by Trottytrue so long ago ...... I feel like I have known you all for years now!
I was born in 1943, in Aberfeldy, where my Father's family were from (MacGregors). My Mother came from Orkney.
After the war, my Father joined the Colonial Civil Service, and we left for Ceylon, where he worked on a building a dam. We lived in a place called Norton Bridge, at the foot of Adam's Peak. I was sent to boarding school in Columbo just before I turned 4 !!!
Because he was overseas staff, he had 6 months leave every 3 years, so my mother and I, left 3 months before him, and returned 3 months after him, so that I could get a full year at school in Kirkwall. This carried on until I was 12, (the last time I was in Scotland!).
From Ceylon, we went to Nyasaland (now Malawi) for 2 years, and from there to Rhodesia for the building of Kariba Dam. I was at boarding school in Salisbury (now Harare) until I was 18 ( they still had the Cambridge System there, O levels and A levels.).
I married a South African, and my two eldest children ( I have 4 ), were born there. My husband was transferred to Cape Town in 1969, and from there to East London, where my two younger children were born.
I got divorced in 1978, and was a single parent for 10 years, before marrying a Hollander in 1988 - we traveled to Holland every year to see his family, and once went over to England for a week - it felt like I had slipped on a pair of old comfy slippers ! It felt like home, how do I explain that ? I can't ...........
My husband took early retirement at 63, due to ill health, and we were preparing to return to Holland - then the wheels fell off, and he needed heart surgery. The operation was very successful, but 3 weeks later, while at home, he had a lung embolism and died. This was in 1996.
I just want to say that I do understand where you all are coming from.
I will write more tomorrow and tell you my particular problem ..... I just wanted to give you a picture of where I'm coming from.
Go Well.
I was born in 1943, in Aberfeldy, where my Father's family were from (MacGregors). My Mother came from Orkney.
After the war, my Father joined the Colonial Civil Service, and we left for Ceylon, where he worked on a building a dam. We lived in a place called Norton Bridge, at the foot of Adam's Peak. I was sent to boarding school in Columbo just before I turned 4 !!!
Because he was overseas staff, he had 6 months leave every 3 years, so my mother and I, left 3 months before him, and returned 3 months after him, so that I could get a full year at school in Kirkwall. This carried on until I was 12, (the last time I was in Scotland!).
From Ceylon, we went to Nyasaland (now Malawi) for 2 years, and from there to Rhodesia for the building of Kariba Dam. I was at boarding school in Salisbury (now Harare) until I was 18 ( they still had the Cambridge System there, O levels and A levels.).
I married a South African, and my two eldest children ( I have 4 ), were born there. My husband was transferred to Cape Town in 1969, and from there to East London, where my two younger children were born.
I got divorced in 1978, and was a single parent for 10 years, before marrying a Hollander in 1988 - we traveled to Holland every year to see his family, and once went over to England for a week - it felt like I had slipped on a pair of old comfy slippers ! It felt like home, how do I explain that ? I can't ...........
My husband took early retirement at 63, due to ill health, and we were preparing to return to Holland - then the wheels fell off, and he needed heart surgery. The operation was very successful, but 3 weeks later, while at home, he had a lung embolism and died. This was in 1996.
I just want to say that I do understand where you all are coming from.
I will write more tomorrow and tell you my particular problem ..... I just wanted to give you a picture of where I'm coming from.
Go Well.
See I don't have your level of education Actually I do but that is another story.
Sorry about you losing Your husband.
I'm about 5 years older than you so you are a youngon.
We all welcome you on here
Cheers
#7312
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,610
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Mary Kay..So nice to have you on board I cannot imagine reading the thread from the start so many years have passed since we started this thread so many had left and returned home many of us are stil waiting and hoping.
You certainly did move around that must have been hard on you. We have something in common I was also born in 1943 but I was born in Lancashire.
Look forward to hearing from you again I am sorry about your husband I know how difficult that is my husband has been ill and it does cause such alot of worry. I hope you have plenty of good memories. Are your children close to you or are they scattered around.
Jasper.....Have you heard from Don the turner lately.
Curleytops....What a wonderful idea that will drive my husband and family up the wall but it will make me happy.....
dunroving..Here are some ideas for those cats....
Go hi-tech. Devices such as 'Scarecrow Sprinklers' detect an intruder's presence and fire a blast of water at it.
Thinking like a cat again, another thing we can say cats are fussy about is how something smells. You can use feline fastidiousness to keep cats away from your yard in a number of ways:
Commercial Cat Repellents
One of the commercial cat repellents available is a powder called, "Shake-Away." Shake-Away bears the scent of the urine of predators that cats fear, namely, the coyote, the fox and the bobcat. This commercial cat repellent comes in a granular form, which you simply sprinkle around the problem area. The product is advertised as being organic, making it an acceptable option to use around children and pets. Nor will it harm your plants.
Plants That Are Cat Repellents
Some plants give off smells that cats dislike. One such plant, Coleus canina, goes by the common name, "scaredy cat plant." As the second term in the Latin name indicates (think "canine"), it is also effective if you have trouble landscaping with dogs. Other plants often recommended for keeping cats away from yards are:
•rue,
•lavender, which is also a deer-resistant plant
•pennyroyal
Other Substances That Double as Cat Repellents
6. Try sprinkling "stinky" substances around the problem area, including:
•dried-blood ("blood meal") fertilizer
•mothballs (drop them into a can or jar, cover, and make a few holes in the cover)
Or if you really want to be sneaky.. Buy a bunch of catnip plants and in the dead of night go plant them in your neighbours garden they wont bother with yours.
hope it helps...
You certainly did move around that must have been hard on you. We have something in common I was also born in 1943 but I was born in Lancashire.
Look forward to hearing from you again I am sorry about your husband I know how difficult that is my husband has been ill and it does cause such alot of worry. I hope you have plenty of good memories. Are your children close to you or are they scattered around.
Jasper.....Have you heard from Don the turner lately.
Curleytops....What a wonderful idea that will drive my husband and family up the wall but it will make me happy.....
dunroving..Here are some ideas for those cats....
Go hi-tech. Devices such as 'Scarecrow Sprinklers' detect an intruder's presence and fire a blast of water at it.
Thinking like a cat again, another thing we can say cats are fussy about is how something smells. You can use feline fastidiousness to keep cats away from your yard in a number of ways:
Commercial Cat Repellents
One of the commercial cat repellents available is a powder called, "Shake-Away." Shake-Away bears the scent of the urine of predators that cats fear, namely, the coyote, the fox and the bobcat. This commercial cat repellent comes in a granular form, which you simply sprinkle around the problem area. The product is advertised as being organic, making it an acceptable option to use around children and pets. Nor will it harm your plants.
Plants That Are Cat Repellents
Some plants give off smells that cats dislike. One such plant, Coleus canina, goes by the common name, "scaredy cat plant." As the second term in the Latin name indicates (think "canine"), it is also effective if you have trouble landscaping with dogs. Other plants often recommended for keeping cats away from yards are:
•rue,
•lavender, which is also a deer-resistant plant
•pennyroyal
Other Substances That Double as Cat Repellents
6. Try sprinkling "stinky" substances around the problem area, including:
•dried-blood ("blood meal") fertilizer
•mothballs (drop them into a can or jar, cover, and make a few holes in the cover)
Or if you really want to be sneaky.. Buy a bunch of catnip plants and in the dead of night go plant them in your neighbours garden they wont bother with yours.
hope it helps...
#7313
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Hi all - Mary Kay's posting prompted me to get on here again, plus a few people who write to me privately via email wondered if I was ever going to 'come home' to BE!
Update: I am in south Devon, in little Dawlish about 12 miles southwest of Exeter, on the rail link to places like Plymouth and Penzance, Cornwall. I am living in a one bedroom flat in a development with others of my age, so no wild parties to report (sorry) and no patter of little feet above my head, unless other residents have visiting grandchildren. I look out on an area of wild garden belonging to the neighbouring Nursing Home, and have bird feeders and planters set out for my enjoyment. I join in keeping our garden and flower borders tidy, as three of us agreed to do the gardening and the management then fired the contract gardener who was not dong things the way we wanted. I have been lonely from time to time, as it has taken a long while to make friends - I left a few good friends behind when I moved away from Frome last May. However, they do come down and stay here in our guest suite, and we email and phone - but it not the same as meeting up for coffee on a regular basis.
I help out at a local drop in center held in the Methodist Church, called Open Daw, where various community groups set up their stand for a day each month, so there is a constant stream of people with something to say or offer. I help serve coffee and tea, as there are regulars who make it their port of call on a daily basis - so many lonely older people. Most of the people I do know locally are in the upper 80s age range - this is an area where the older demographic settles. The trade off is that I don't have any of the problems I encountered in Frome - no pub brawls, no filthy streets, no disturbed nights etc.
I have started to take the train to see the sights - locally at the moment, with plans for St. Ives to the Tate and Hepworth galleries, and then a London trip to the Fashion and Textiles Museum near London Bridge. As a result of the day trips, I have posted new photos on my Flickr site if you want to see Morris Dancers and boats in Brixham harbor, as well as the black swans on Dawlish Lawn.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633303893425/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633397699570/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633397761532/.
I use my over 60s bus pass regularly - there is an excellent bus and train service from Dawlish, so it is possible to get to places like Exeter or Newton Abbott for a day out with minimal expense and the mainline train stops either here or up line at Exeter, or down line at Newton Abbott so travelling further afield is easy too. But we are far from the madding crowd, so the distance adds up in costs and time if you are venturing far afield to the 'grimy north' (step in here all those who live in Yorkshire or Lancashire or York or Chester - this was deliberately written to spark you!). No seriously - this is not nirvana obviously, but considering my living conditions prior to being here, it is quiet, somewhat boring, but peaceful.
I spent most of last year being ill - I thought of asking for a loyalty card at the medical Clinic! But after every test know to man or woman, all is clear and I am assuming that my body is unwinding after years of stressful living, in the US and in the UK in past years. I have never known peace, or fiscal sound living, since I was 18 yrs old, and it is nice to not have to worry about money - no I did not win the Lottery - just a state pension. regular money, careful budgeting, free at point of service medical care, free bus pass - all makes for a much more amenable lifestyle.
I get annoyed when people - who appear to have never travelled beyond the package holiday places such as Spain - knock the medical system. But I am learning to be British again (!) and ignore a lot of what I hear as it is basically said from ignorance. I am grateful for the care and service I have received, like the people I meet, and promise that I will take my camera out and about a lot this summer.
I have not caught up on all the postings on here and I know I won't read many previous, so wishing everyone on here who remembers me the very best.
Oh, as a sort of PS - I have a cat at last. A little black cat named Molly (though between us on here from the US I have renamed her Angela Davis, after the Black Panther woman from the 60s - who I met in Wisconsin and is a gracious lady if ever there were such a person) came into my life just when I felt I could offer a cat a home. So now I have scratched doors, toys on the floor and hairs in my food - and I am happier for them all!
Update: I am in south Devon, in little Dawlish about 12 miles southwest of Exeter, on the rail link to places like Plymouth and Penzance, Cornwall. I am living in a one bedroom flat in a development with others of my age, so no wild parties to report (sorry) and no patter of little feet above my head, unless other residents have visiting grandchildren. I look out on an area of wild garden belonging to the neighbouring Nursing Home, and have bird feeders and planters set out for my enjoyment. I join in keeping our garden and flower borders tidy, as three of us agreed to do the gardening and the management then fired the contract gardener who was not dong things the way we wanted. I have been lonely from time to time, as it has taken a long while to make friends - I left a few good friends behind when I moved away from Frome last May. However, they do come down and stay here in our guest suite, and we email and phone - but it not the same as meeting up for coffee on a regular basis.
I help out at a local drop in center held in the Methodist Church, called Open Daw, where various community groups set up their stand for a day each month, so there is a constant stream of people with something to say or offer. I help serve coffee and tea, as there are regulars who make it their port of call on a daily basis - so many lonely older people. Most of the people I do know locally are in the upper 80s age range - this is an area where the older demographic settles. The trade off is that I don't have any of the problems I encountered in Frome - no pub brawls, no filthy streets, no disturbed nights etc.
I have started to take the train to see the sights - locally at the moment, with plans for St. Ives to the Tate and Hepworth galleries, and then a London trip to the Fashion and Textiles Museum near London Bridge. As a result of the day trips, I have posted new photos on my Flickr site if you want to see Morris Dancers and boats in Brixham harbor, as well as the black swans on Dawlish Lawn.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633303893425/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633397699570/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633397761532/.
I use my over 60s bus pass regularly - there is an excellent bus and train service from Dawlish, so it is possible to get to places like Exeter or Newton Abbott for a day out with minimal expense and the mainline train stops either here or up line at Exeter, or down line at Newton Abbott so travelling further afield is easy too. But we are far from the madding crowd, so the distance adds up in costs and time if you are venturing far afield to the 'grimy north' (step in here all those who live in Yorkshire or Lancashire or York or Chester - this was deliberately written to spark you!). No seriously - this is not nirvana obviously, but considering my living conditions prior to being here, it is quiet, somewhat boring, but peaceful.
I spent most of last year being ill - I thought of asking for a loyalty card at the medical Clinic! But after every test know to man or woman, all is clear and I am assuming that my body is unwinding after years of stressful living, in the US and in the UK in past years. I have never known peace, or fiscal sound living, since I was 18 yrs old, and it is nice to not have to worry about money - no I did not win the Lottery - just a state pension. regular money, careful budgeting, free at point of service medical care, free bus pass - all makes for a much more amenable lifestyle.
I get annoyed when people - who appear to have never travelled beyond the package holiday places such as Spain - knock the medical system. But I am learning to be British again (!) and ignore a lot of what I hear as it is basically said from ignorance. I am grateful for the care and service I have received, like the people I meet, and promise that I will take my camera out and about a lot this summer.
I have not caught up on all the postings on here and I know I won't read many previous, so wishing everyone on here who remembers me the very best.
Oh, as a sort of PS - I have a cat at last. A little black cat named Molly (though between us on here from the US I have renamed her Angela Davis, after the Black Panther woman from the 60s - who I met in Wisconsin and is a gracious lady if ever there were such a person) came into my life just when I felt I could offer a cat a home. So now I have scratched doors, toys on the floor and hairs in my food - and I am happier for them all!
#7314
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
if you are venturing far afield to the 'grimy north'
Seriously though, I just wanted to say how great it is to read your update and to hear that you settled in a nice town. And a little cat! How lovely! I know what you mean about scratched furniture and hairs everywhere ... isn't it brilliant?!
#7315
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Wow! I popped out for a quiet evening (which was anything but) and this thread has exploded.
Mary Kay,
Welcome to BE I enjoyed reading your post and look forward to your future posts. Orkney is high on my places to visit list. For years, I have been longing to go there and I hope this will be the year that I visit.
Trotty,
Your tips for Dunroving's cat problem brought back fond memories for me. I bought some blood meal to add to my soil and my dog went nuts for it. As soon as I put it into the garden he would dig it up. As I was planting, he would try to rip the box apart and went nuts whenever I brought the box out. Needless to say, I had to stop using it. Got to love those terriers.
Islandwoman,
Great to hear from you and I am pleased that things have improved since the noisy nights of Frome. Just make sure that Molly doesn't get into Dunroving's garden!
Mary Kay,
Welcome to BE I enjoyed reading your post and look forward to your future posts. Orkney is high on my places to visit list. For years, I have been longing to go there and I hope this will be the year that I visit.
Trotty,
Your tips for Dunroving's cat problem brought back fond memories for me. I bought some blood meal to add to my soil and my dog went nuts for it. As soon as I put it into the garden he would dig it up. As I was planting, he would try to rip the box apart and went nuts whenever I brought the box out. Needless to say, I had to stop using it. Got to love those terriers.
Islandwoman,
Great to hear from you and I am pleased that things have improved since the noisy nights of Frome. Just make sure that Molly doesn't get into Dunroving's garden!
#7316
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,100
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Mary Kay..So nice to have you on board I cannot imagine reading the thread from the start so many years have passed since we started this thread so many had left and returned home many of us are stil waiting and hoping.
You certainly did move around that must have been hard on you. We have something in common I was also born in 1943 but I was born in Lancashire.
Look forward to hearing from you again I am sorry about your husband I know how difficult that is my husband has been ill and it does cause such alot of worry. I hope you have plenty of good memories. Are your children close to you or are they scattered around.
Jasper.....Have you heard from Don the turner lately.
Curleytops....What a wonderful idea that will drive my husband and family up the wall but it will make me happy.....
dunroving..Here are some ideas for those cats....
Go hi-tech. Devices such as 'Scarecrow Sprinklers' detect an intruder's presence and fire a blast of water at it.
Thinking like a cat again, another thing we can say cats are fussy about is how something smells. You can use feline fastidiousness to keep cats away from your yard in a number of ways:
Commercial Cat Repellents
One of the commercial cat repellents available is a powder called, "Shake-Away." Shake-Away bears the scent of the urine of predators that cats fear, namely, the coyote, the fox and the bobcat. This commercial cat repellent comes in a granular form, which you simply sprinkle around the problem area. The product is advertised as being organic, making it an acceptable option to use around children and pets. Nor will it harm your plants.
Plants That Are Cat Repellents
Some plants give off smells that cats dislike. One such plant, Coleus canina, goes by the common name, "scaredy cat plant." As the second term in the Latin name indicates (think "canine"), it is also effective if you have trouble landscaping with dogs. Other plants often recommended for keeping cats away from yards are:
•rue,
•lavender, which is also a deer-resistant plant
•pennyroyal
Other Substances That Double as Cat Repellents
6. Try sprinkling "stinky" substances around the problem area, including:
•dried-blood ("blood meal") fertilizer
•mothballs (drop them into a can or jar, cover, and make a few holes in the cover)
Or if you really want to be sneaky.. Buy a bunch of catnip plants and in the dead of night go plant them in your neighbours garden they wont bother with yours.
hope it helps...
You certainly did move around that must have been hard on you. We have something in common I was also born in 1943 but I was born in Lancashire.
Look forward to hearing from you again I am sorry about your husband I know how difficult that is my husband has been ill and it does cause such alot of worry. I hope you have plenty of good memories. Are your children close to you or are they scattered around.
Jasper.....Have you heard from Don the turner lately.
Curleytops....What a wonderful idea that will drive my husband and family up the wall but it will make me happy.....
dunroving..Here are some ideas for those cats....
Go hi-tech. Devices such as 'Scarecrow Sprinklers' detect an intruder's presence and fire a blast of water at it.
Thinking like a cat again, another thing we can say cats are fussy about is how something smells. You can use feline fastidiousness to keep cats away from your yard in a number of ways:
Commercial Cat Repellents
One of the commercial cat repellents available is a powder called, "Shake-Away." Shake-Away bears the scent of the urine of predators that cats fear, namely, the coyote, the fox and the bobcat. This commercial cat repellent comes in a granular form, which you simply sprinkle around the problem area. The product is advertised as being organic, making it an acceptable option to use around children and pets. Nor will it harm your plants.
Plants That Are Cat Repellents
Some plants give off smells that cats dislike. One such plant, Coleus canina, goes by the common name, "scaredy cat plant." As the second term in the Latin name indicates (think "canine"), it is also effective if you have trouble landscaping with dogs. Other plants often recommended for keeping cats away from yards are:
•rue,
•lavender, which is also a deer-resistant plant
•pennyroyal
Other Substances That Double as Cat Repellents
6. Try sprinkling "stinky" substances around the problem area, including:
•dried-blood ("blood meal") fertilizer
•mothballs (drop them into a can or jar, cover, and make a few holes in the cover)
Or if you really want to be sneaky.. Buy a bunch of catnip plants and in the dead of night go plant them in your neighbours garden they wont bother with yours.
hope it helps...
Moth balls, commercial cat repellants!!! All chemicals that can KILL!
Last edited by windsong; May 4th 2013 at 10:17 am.
#7317
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,100
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Hi all - Mary Kay's posting prompted me to get on here again, plus a few people who write to me privately via email wondered if I was ever going to 'come home' to BE!
Update: I am in south Devon, in little Dawlish about 12 miles southwest of Exeter, on the rail link to places like Plymouth and Penzance, Cornwall. I am living in a one bedroom flat in a development with others of my age, so no wild parties to report (sorry) and no patter of little feet above my head, unless other residents have visiting grandchildren. I look out on an area of wild garden belonging to the neighbouring Nursing Home, and have bird feeders and planters set out for my enjoyment. I join in keeping our garden and flower borders tidy, as three of us agreed to do the gardening and the management then fired the contract gardener who was not dong things the way we wanted. I have been lonely from time to time, as it has taken a long while to make friends - I left a few good friends behind when I moved away from Frome last May. However, they do come down and stay here in our guest suite, and we email and phone - but it not the same as meeting up for coffee on a regular basis.
I help out at a local drop in center held in the Methodist Church, called Open Daw, where various community groups set up their stand for a day each month, so there is a constant stream of people with something to say or offer. I help serve coffee and tea, as there are regulars who make it their port of call on a daily basis - so many lonely older people. Most of the people I do know locally are in the upper 80s age range - this is an area where the older demographic settles. The trade off is that I don't have any of the problems I encountered in Frome - no pub brawls, no filthy streets, no disturbed nights etc.
I have started to take the train to see the sights - locally at the moment, with plans for St. Ives to the Tate and Hepworth galleries, and then a London trip to the Fashion and Textiles Museum near London Bridge. As a result of the day trips, I have posted new photos on my Flickr site if you want to see Morris Dancers and boats in Brixham harbor, as well as the black swans on Dawlish Lawn.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633303893425/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633397699570/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633397761532/.
I use my over 60s bus pass regularly - there is an excellent bus and train service from Dawlish, so it is possible to get to places like Exeter or Newton Abbott for a day out with minimal expense and the mainline train stops either here or up line at Exeter, or down line at Newton Abbott so travelling further afield is easy too. But we are far from the madding crowd, so the distance adds up in costs and time if you are venturing far afield to the 'grimy north' (step in here all those who live in Yorkshire or Lancashire or York or Chester - this was deliberately written to spark you!). No seriously - this is not nirvana obviously, but considering my living conditions prior to being here, it is quiet, somewhat boring, but peaceful.
I spent most of last year being ill - I thought of asking for a loyalty card at the medical Clinic! But after every test know to man or woman, all is clear and I am assuming that my body is unwinding after years of stressful living, in the US and in the UK in past years. I have never known peace, or fiscal sound living, since I was 18 yrs old, and it is nice to not have to worry about money - no I did not win the Lottery - just a state pension. regular money, careful budgeting, free at point of service medical care, free bus pass - all makes for a much more amenable lifestyle.
I get annoyed when people - who appear to have never travelled beyond the package holiday places such as Spain - knock the medical system. But I am learning to be British again (!) and ignore a lot of what I hear as it is basically said from ignorance. I am grateful for the care and service I have received, like the people I meet, and promise that I will take my camera out and about a lot this summer.
I have not caught up on all the postings on here and I know I won't read many previous, so wishing everyone on here who remembers me the very best.
Oh, as a sort of PS - I have a cat at last. A little black cat named Molly (though between us on here from the US I have renamed her Angela Davis, after the Black Panther woman from the 60s - who I met in Wisconsin and is a gracious lady if ever there were such a person) came into my life just when I felt I could offer a cat a home. So now I have scratched doors, toys on the floor and hairs in my food - and I am happier for them all!
Update: I am in south Devon, in little Dawlish about 12 miles southwest of Exeter, on the rail link to places like Plymouth and Penzance, Cornwall. I am living in a one bedroom flat in a development with others of my age, so no wild parties to report (sorry) and no patter of little feet above my head, unless other residents have visiting grandchildren. I look out on an area of wild garden belonging to the neighbouring Nursing Home, and have bird feeders and planters set out for my enjoyment. I join in keeping our garden and flower borders tidy, as three of us agreed to do the gardening and the management then fired the contract gardener who was not dong things the way we wanted. I have been lonely from time to time, as it has taken a long while to make friends - I left a few good friends behind when I moved away from Frome last May. However, they do come down and stay here in our guest suite, and we email and phone - but it not the same as meeting up for coffee on a regular basis.
I help out at a local drop in center held in the Methodist Church, called Open Daw, where various community groups set up their stand for a day each month, so there is a constant stream of people with something to say or offer. I help serve coffee and tea, as there are regulars who make it their port of call on a daily basis - so many lonely older people. Most of the people I do know locally are in the upper 80s age range - this is an area where the older demographic settles. The trade off is that I don't have any of the problems I encountered in Frome - no pub brawls, no filthy streets, no disturbed nights etc.
I have started to take the train to see the sights - locally at the moment, with plans for St. Ives to the Tate and Hepworth galleries, and then a London trip to the Fashion and Textiles Museum near London Bridge. As a result of the day trips, I have posted new photos on my Flickr site if you want to see Morris Dancers and boats in Brixham harbor, as well as the black swans on Dawlish Lawn.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633303893425/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633397699570/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandw...7633397761532/.
I use my over 60s bus pass regularly - there is an excellent bus and train service from Dawlish, so it is possible to get to places like Exeter or Newton Abbott for a day out with minimal expense and the mainline train stops either here or up line at Exeter, or down line at Newton Abbott so travelling further afield is easy too. But we are far from the madding crowd, so the distance adds up in costs and time if you are venturing far afield to the 'grimy north' (step in here all those who live in Yorkshire or Lancashire or York or Chester - this was deliberately written to spark you!). No seriously - this is not nirvana obviously, but considering my living conditions prior to being here, it is quiet, somewhat boring, but peaceful.
I spent most of last year being ill - I thought of asking for a loyalty card at the medical Clinic! But after every test know to man or woman, all is clear and I am assuming that my body is unwinding after years of stressful living, in the US and in the UK in past years. I have never known peace, or fiscal sound living, since I was 18 yrs old, and it is nice to not have to worry about money - no I did not win the Lottery - just a state pension. regular money, careful budgeting, free at point of service medical care, free bus pass - all makes for a much more amenable lifestyle.
I get annoyed when people - who appear to have never travelled beyond the package holiday places such as Spain - knock the medical system. But I am learning to be British again (!) and ignore a lot of what I hear as it is basically said from ignorance. I am grateful for the care and service I have received, like the people I meet, and promise that I will take my camera out and about a lot this summer.
I have not caught up on all the postings on here and I know I won't read many previous, so wishing everyone on here who remembers me the very best.
Oh, as a sort of PS - I have a cat at last. A little black cat named Molly (though between us on here from the US I have renamed her Angela Davis, after the Black Panther woman from the 60s - who I met in Wisconsin and is a gracious lady if ever there were such a person) came into my life just when I felt I could offer a cat a home. So now I have scratched doors, toys on the floor and hairs in my food - and I am happier for them all!
#7318
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,100
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Well, I'm finally finished reading the entire thread started by Trottytrue so long ago ...... I feel like I have known you all for years now!
I was born in 1943, in Aberfeldy, where my Father's family were from (MacGregors). My Mother came from Orkney.
After the war, my Father joined the Colonial Civil Service, and we left for Ceylon, where he worked on a building a dam. We lived in a place called Norton Bridge, at the foot of Adam's Peak. I was sent to boarding school in Columbo just before I turned 4 !!!
Because he was overseas staff, he had 6 months leave every 3 years, so my mother and I, left 3 months before him, and returned 3 months after him, so that I could get a full year at school in Kirkwall. This carried on until I was 12, (the last time I was in Scotland!).
From Ceylon, we went to Nyasaland (now Malawi) for 2 years, and from there to Rhodesia for the building of Kariba Dam. I was at boarding school in Salisbury (now Harare) until I was 18 ( they still had the Cambridge System there, O levels and A levels.).
I married a South African, and my two eldest children ( I have 4 ), were born there. My husband was transferred to Cape Town in 1969, and from there to East London, where my two younger children were born.
I got divorced in 1978, and was a single parent for 10 years, before marrying a Hollander in 1988 - we traveled to Holland every year to see his family, and once went over to England for a week - it felt like I had slipped on a pair of old comfy slippers ! It felt like home, how do I explain that ? I can't ...........
My husband took early retirement at 63, due to ill health, and we were preparing to return to Holland - then the wheels fell off, and he needed heart surgery. The operation was very successful, but 3 weeks later, while at home, he had a lung embolism and died. This was in 1996.
I just want to say that I do understand where you all are coming from.
I will write more tomorrow and tell you my particular problem ..... I just wanted to give you a picture of where I'm coming from.
Go Well.
I was born in 1943, in Aberfeldy, where my Father's family were from (MacGregors). My Mother came from Orkney.
After the war, my Father joined the Colonial Civil Service, and we left for Ceylon, where he worked on a building a dam. We lived in a place called Norton Bridge, at the foot of Adam's Peak. I was sent to boarding school in Columbo just before I turned 4 !!!
Because he was overseas staff, he had 6 months leave every 3 years, so my mother and I, left 3 months before him, and returned 3 months after him, so that I could get a full year at school in Kirkwall. This carried on until I was 12, (the last time I was in Scotland!).
From Ceylon, we went to Nyasaland (now Malawi) for 2 years, and from there to Rhodesia for the building of Kariba Dam. I was at boarding school in Salisbury (now Harare) until I was 18 ( they still had the Cambridge System there, O levels and A levels.).
I married a South African, and my two eldest children ( I have 4 ), were born there. My husband was transferred to Cape Town in 1969, and from there to East London, where my two younger children were born.
I got divorced in 1978, and was a single parent for 10 years, before marrying a Hollander in 1988 - we traveled to Holland every year to see his family, and once went over to England for a week - it felt like I had slipped on a pair of old comfy slippers ! It felt like home, how do I explain that ? I can't ...........
My husband took early retirement at 63, due to ill health, and we were preparing to return to Holland - then the wheels fell off, and he needed heart surgery. The operation was very successful, but 3 weeks later, while at home, he had a lung embolism and died. This was in 1996.
I just want to say that I do understand where you all are coming from.
I will write more tomorrow and tell you my particular problem ..... I just wanted to give you a picture of where I'm coming from.
Go Well.
#7319
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
We have a substantial problem in the village with dog-owners who don't "pick up", including areas like the kids' school, playground, and the local football pitch (disgusting!), but no-one considers piles of cat-poop to be a similar problem.
I know some people who just throw the cat-poop back over the neighbours' fence, but that seems extreme (especially if they are lying on the sun-lounger at the time and get it in the face). The dual standard for cat-owners and dog-owners seems a bit strange to me.
#7320
Just Joined
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 7
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Thank you for all the welcome messages
Rodney - Yes, I read from the very first post in 2009 ..... every night, for the past two weeks, I have been sitting right here, for hours on end .... so I have been with you all, every step of the way in virtual reality, and shared many (not so virtual) glasses of wine along the way !
My childhood was certainly different. I've been to many places, seen wonderful sights, and met many incredible people along the way. Being sent to boarding school at such a young age, ( 3 and a half) with just a handshake from my parents and a request 'to be a good girl', has resulted in me being fiercely independent - sometimes to my own detriment ! I do believe my parents loved me, I certainly never wanted for anything .... they were just uncomfortable with words like 'love', and hugs and kisses .... to the end of their days.
Cheers - You made my day ! A YOUNGON ? Seriously ?
I'm not in East London anymore sadly, that's part of my problem. I will explain after this post.
Trottytrue - What can I say except thank you again, for starting this thread and hope that one day, your dreams will come true - you always give me inspiration.
Islandwoman _ I last left you in Frome. I have loved all your postings and photographs throughout the thread - so good to hear that you have a home in Devon now..... and a puddytat too. Making friends in a new place is difficult for sure - I've been here, in Port Elizabeth, for 10 years now and I have precisely 3 friends .... 2 of whom moved from my old hometown, and one who is my neighbour who is sadly getting dementia.
Dunroving - a cure for stray cats is citronella oil, they detest the smell. You can buy a small bottle from the chemist, dilute it in 4l water and keep it in a plastic bottle - fill a waterpistol with this and spray all over your garden once a week. I can send you some lion poo too I live down the road from the lion park.
I think about Ed and Anna and all those who have left, and wonder how they are doing ..... it's like reading a book and the last page is missing.
I going off to have something to eat now ..... will be back later with the rest of my story
Rodney - Yes, I read from the very first post in 2009 ..... every night, for the past two weeks, I have been sitting right here, for hours on end .... so I have been with you all, every step of the way in virtual reality, and shared many (not so virtual) glasses of wine along the way !
My childhood was certainly different. I've been to many places, seen wonderful sights, and met many incredible people along the way. Being sent to boarding school at such a young age, ( 3 and a half) with just a handshake from my parents and a request 'to be a good girl', has resulted in me being fiercely independent - sometimes to my own detriment ! I do believe my parents loved me, I certainly never wanted for anything .... they were just uncomfortable with words like 'love', and hugs and kisses .... to the end of their days.
Cheers - You made my day ! A YOUNGON ? Seriously ?
I'm not in East London anymore sadly, that's part of my problem. I will explain after this post.
Trottytrue - What can I say except thank you again, for starting this thread and hope that one day, your dreams will come true - you always give me inspiration.
Islandwoman _ I last left you in Frome. I have loved all your postings and photographs throughout the thread - so good to hear that you have a home in Devon now..... and a puddytat too. Making friends in a new place is difficult for sure - I've been here, in Port Elizabeth, for 10 years now and I have precisely 3 friends .... 2 of whom moved from my old hometown, and one who is my neighbour who is sadly getting dementia.
Dunroving - a cure for stray cats is citronella oil, they detest the smell. You can buy a small bottle from the chemist, dilute it in 4l water and keep it in a plastic bottle - fill a waterpistol with this and spray all over your garden once a week. I can send you some lion poo too I live down the road from the lion park.
I think about Ed and Anna and all those who have left, and wonder how they are doing ..... it's like reading a book and the last page is missing.
I going off to have something to eat now ..... will be back later with the rest of my story