Crafty art that costs nothing.

Hello. At last I am able to unveil my alternative hanging basket. Cue fanfare. It needs no planting up, no mucky compost, no dead heading, and no watering. 

A reminder of how it started. A chrome baskety thing that started life as a chandelier, retrieved from a skip. I stripped all the crystals from it and it was hanging in the garden for about a year, so is a little bit rusty. Not to worry.

Each flower is made individually using aluminium drinks cans and beads. I didn't count how many, but quite a lot. The frame is covered with green plastic mesh first, and the flowers attached with wire.

Inside you can see all the wire. It was a bit fiddly tying it all off because I could only put one hand in. I found the easiest way was to poke the wire through to the inside, and poke it back through again in a different place so the ends were on the outside. I then pulled them tight with pointy pliers and twisted them together, and pushed the ends back through to the inside. 

Hanging in a tree in the garden.

 In the porch against a white wall.

This is the original place I intended it for, outside the kitchen window, but now I am changing my mind. It has taken a long time to make it so I don't want to risk it getting nicked. I may put up a bracket inside the porch, which can be locked. Or I may hang it out in the back garden on dry days. It would look good inside, or outside the Summer House. I am pleased with my handiwork, it looks pretty fab. 

Talking of the Summer House, it is now on the Shed of the Year 2016 web site.
Take a look at it here. I have entered it into the Budget section. The organiser was very helpful and put the pictures on for me, I just emailed them to him. I will be tidying up the area around it and planting some flowers to make it look nice. You never know, they might want to come and film it, so I had better get it ready, just in case.

Awful weather again today. I did an extra 2 miles walk last night, taking my daily total to 5. Today I have done a 1 mile dog walk. I would like to get out later if it stops raining. Hope your walking is going well.

Dinner time, Rocky is looking at me. Yes, coming now Rocky.
Thanks for popping in.
Catch up soon. Toodle pip

1966 Another good year

Hiya. Val says. lets have some more from the diaries, so here goes. I'll skip a year and go to 1966. I went to work on January 1st, we didn't have a bank holiday then. I had moved on from Woolys and was working in a small grocery store. I remember that a lot of the stock was delivered in bulk and we had to weigh it out and wrap it. Big boxes of cheese, butter, and lard. Bags of dried fruit, flour, sugar, and rice. I did all the jobs in the shop except the book keeping, I liked to move about. I was on the Deli counter quite a lot, slicing bacon and cooked meats.

I see I was a saver in 1966, I put £1 in the bank and I had 8d interest, wow, ha ha. That was a lot of money then out of my wages.

Disaster on Thursday the 6th. I wrote, 'A lot happened today, First I've got a horrid cold. I broke a large bottle of coffee in an order, (we delivered boxes of groceries to customers), such a mess. Then I burst a 28lb bag of sugar on the floor. Then crushed a box of tissues. Then a fabulous lad met me out of work in his car, it was Howard. He drove me home, I wish he'd made a date but he said, see you sometimes.'  I was mad about Howard, flirted with him like mad, but got nowhere. Very sad.

I liked filling up the shelves and displaying the goods. I was often called on to dress the window, which I enjoyed doing. I used to volunteer for more hours, and I see that I got paid 9/- (9 shillings) extra for half a day. We used to get sales reps calling in, and sometimes we got a freebie. On the 15th of January, I got a tube of toothpaste. You can see where my love of free stuff comes from, ha ha. My best friend Sheila often gave me clothes that she no longer wanted. I got a cardigan, a red polo neck sweater, and a pair of gloves.

In March I was looking for another job, I was bored. I wanted a bit more excitement and a bit more money, and found a job advertised  for a nanny in London. Mum was very upset, she was crying. I went to an interview locally and was told I had to provide a reference. In the meantime, mum tried to talk me out of it. I ended up writing to the lady and said I couldn't go, but I really did want to go. Mum didn't have much money and was glad of the bit I gave her. I got 10/- extra for working a Sunday and bought mum some daffodils.

I did like my bike and used to ride for miles. On May 4th I went a bike ride to Tamworth, it was 34 miles and my arms got sun burnt. Sometimes I went with my brother Stephen, but mostly I went on my own.

The entry for Monday May 9th reads, 'Start work at Robirch. Smashing job the girls are nice. I was wrapping 1lb packs of sausages on bonus. Then packed 48 sausages in a white cardboard box. I've got to wear a white nylon hat, white overalls, white wellington boots, and a dark blue apron. I started at 8am till 5.30pm, and went home for dinner.'  The best thing about that job is that it was close to home so I could go home every dinner time. And it was piece work so I could earn bonus. My overalls and apron were too long so I took them home and took up the hems. I didn't want to look like a middle aged frump with my clothes hanging down below my knees, ha ha. I remember we used to go to work with our rollers in covered by the hairnet, if we were going out that night. Imagine that, like Hilda Ogden, ha ha.

Factory wages were better than shop work. I see that I got £6-0-1d and a 4/6 bonus on the 27th May. I had a little money for my birthday (17th) from family and put 15 shillings in the bank. Every pay day I recorded my wages and bonus in my diary. I was a bit competitive about earning bonus, so worked faster to get more. I see my wages at that time was always around the £5 - £6 mark.

My best mate had moved to Blackpool with her family and I went for a holiday. I had a great time, met a lad, and that was it, I wanted to go and live there. I had several more visits before I was able to leave home and go and live there. I had to wait until I was 18.

My employment with Robirch ended with me getting the sack, I left on the 28th of October. I couldn't settle on any job, I get bored with routine. The final straw was that they sent me into the cookhouse to make faggots, (savoury ducks) which involved a lot of pigs innards which smelled foul. I couldn't cope with that. Not to worry, another job came along a week later, and I started at Wesleys, a factory that made toilet rolls, flat pack toilet tissue, (remember that Izal stuff), and Christmas garlands. My friend Jean who also got the sack, came with me to Wesleys. It was piece work again, and I got around £6 a week. It was a good laugh there, I had a group of friends that I went out with, down the town, hanging around the market place where the hot dog van stood. we were a happy band of factory girls.

I also got myself a boyfriend, went out with him for a few weeks. I was invited to tea at his house, it was a bit posh, a detached house in a village. I got the feeling his parents thought I wasn't good enough for their son. The romance was very intense for a while, we both declared our deep love for each other. The entry on the 27th of November says, I went to the flicks with him in the afternoon, and chucked him that night. Not sure why, me being fickle I think. Then we made it up, it lasted another week and we agreed to finish. I already had my eye on someone else by that time, ooooh, I was a little flirt  :o)

And that was 1966.

I have finished the hanging basket of flowers, but there wasn't enough light to photograph it well. I'll do that tomorrow. I'm pleased with the result.

I did 3 miles this morning, and was only stopped twice for a natter, ha ha.

Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon. Toodle pip.    

I was in love with Paul

Hello. I'm amusing myself tonight, reading old diaries. Can you remember what you were doing in 1964? I can't but it is all here written down. I was a skinny bean pole of a teenager with goofy teeth, specs, and a flat chest. I was in my last year of school and left in the July of that year, age 15. 

It's a small diary and in the back cover is a pocket for a photograph. Paul was my idol, I dreamt I was in love with him every night. I screamed and nearly fainted when the Beatles came on the tele, and collected hundreds of pictures of them which were stuck all over my bedroom wall. 

I have to laugh at what I wrote. I hadn't yet had a proper boyfriend, but had many crushes on all kinds of men, mostly those I saw on the tele. The notes page is at the front of the diary. Full of useful useless information, ha ha. 1964 was a leap year. The Olympics were held in Tokyo. Bamber Gascoigne is fab. Clay beat Liston. The Queen had a baby, so did Alex. I wrote to Bamber Gascoigne. Cambridge won the boat race. I got John Phillips autograph. He was an older boy who I fancied at school, and Bamber did reply to my letter, I was mad about him.  

Here are some of my entries, an insight into what a 15 year old teenager got up to 51 years ago.

I made jelly and cakes at school. This was in cookery lesson. Another entry says I took the washing to school. They also taught us how to do household chores. Imagine if they did that now, ha ha.

I went ice skating at Nottingham with the youth club. I can skate, I fell over seven times. A few years later when I lived in Blackpool I went to the Ice Drome every week to skate. I got a job in the cafeteria so I went on the ice at every opportunity.

I cleaned my bike and mended a puncture. Then I painted the bike, and painted the handlebars silver. I had toothache. Next day I had two teeth out at Thompsons dentist. I remember that dentist, he had his surgery in the front room of his big house. He was horrible. I stopped going there.

Went to Derby with the girls. These were friends Rosy and carol, we went on the bus, I remember. I bought make up. Carol picked up a lad, and Rosy didn't like hers. Carol was snogging . I was not lucky with the lads.

What did I get up to while I was still at school? I went to trampoline club. Dancing classes after school. I went to Youth Club, usually wearing mums's calf length leather boots. I played snooker. I bought 'Jackie' magazine. I watched all the pop shows on the tele. Went to the bowling alley and was in the junior league. Went bike rides. Made my own clothes. Cut and coloured my own hair. Visited Grandma a lot, usually on my bike. Went to the pictures.

Friday the 17th of July was my last day at school. I remember running out of the school gates with a smile on my face. All the other girls were crying because they didn't know when they would see their friends again, except me and Celia. We couldn't get out quick enough. I got John's autograph, I had a big crush on him.

I had the summer holidays off before I needed to find work. We were all over the place, making the best of our freedom. Shopping, pictures, bowling, hanging around the town. On Monday 14th of September I started work at the Leather Shop. On Friday the 18th, I got the sack, ha ha. Didn't last long. I remember it was a pokey hole, a small shop with four floors and a narrow steep staircase. It was floor to ceiling with suitcases and bags of every size and colour. My job was to dust all the stock, over and over again. The manager and his assistant kept disappearing upstairs and leaving me. I had a good idea what they were up to. I was glad to leave, it was an awful job.

On Saturday the 19th I got a job at Woolys, and on the Monday I started on the sweet counter. The entry says, 'Woolys is fab, served all the time, it's great.' I got paid on the Friday and bought a pair of mod shoes, and some long white socks.

On Monday the 28th I went to the Jubilee Hall and saw the Kinks, with Carol. They were fab, got home at 11.20pm was great, really fab. Ha ha, everything was fab then. Hey look at this, I cut my hair short on the 1st of October. I'm still doing that now, amazing.

Oh look, they put me in charge of loose sweets. I went in the stockroom. I remember we had to stock check once a month, it was called 'doing the binders'. Everything was listed, I had to count it, and re order new stock.

On Sunday 20th of December I had my first real date. This lad came into the shop and asked me out. I said yes because he looked alright. He was very polite I remember. He was called Brian and we went to the pictures. We met at the bus station having both got a different bus from our villages. We walked from the bus station to the cinema. I had decided I wasn't too keen and when he put his arm around me I pulled it off. We walked back to the bus station and I was 50 yards in front of him, I wouldn't let him hold my hand. My bus came in first and I quickly hopped on leaving him standing there. When I got back home everyone was keen to know how I had got on. I said if that was dating I wouldn't be doing that again.

Aaah, those were the days. Such innocence. I was happy with my pop songs, watching the tele, fashions, makeup, friends, going out. Little bits of what I did then, I still do now. I even kept track of my money, being careful about what I spent it on. The boyfriends came later, I didn't get really interested until I left home at 18. Then it was all a whirlwind of fun and broken hearts, mine and theirs, ha ha. That's all in the later diaries, which I couldn't possibly talk about here. Oh alright then, I might pick bits out later on, a much edited version.

Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon. Toodle pip  

Walking club notes

Hello, What a rotten day. Rain and more rain. Thank goodness I did my walk this morning, it started when I was half way round the route, so I got a bit wet. It is very tempting to take a short cut back home, but then I thought, no, I've started so I'll finish. If I cut it short I will only have to make up for it later. I see a few more people have joined us, it's nice to see so much enthusiasm, let's see if we can keep it going. A few thoughts, you don't have to go out every day, but it's better if you don't get too far behind.

You can choose your targets, 2.73 miles a day, 19.23 a week, 83.33 a month, 250 in 3 months, 500 in 6 months, 750 in 9 months. The higher the numbers the more scary it seems, but don't worry. The weather at the moment in the UK is pretty naff, but you should be able to get out and do a bit when it isn't raining. Wind and cold are no excuse for not walking, you will soon warm up. Take care if it gets icy underfoot though, keep your fingers crossed, we might be lucky and not get any snow. Members in other parts of the world might be struggling with heat, make sure you take water with you.

Listen to your body. If you feel like doing a bit extra, do it. Put a few extra miles in the bank, then if a time comes that you can't do it, you have built up a reserve. As we come into spring you might feel like doing some longer walks, a day out perhaps. This will give your total a boost. As time goes on, you will begin to feel the benefits, your legs won't ache, you will look forward to going out. If you are taken ill at any time in the next year, don't push yourself too hard, take a break if you have to. When you recover try and do short walks to build yourself back up again. Ask your doctor's advice.

If you start losing motivation at any time, tell us, we may be able to talk you through it. This is not a race, we are all winners, no matter how much we do. If you see the finishing line getting further and further away don't worry. The fact that you are taking part is the bonus. You are doing this for your health and fitness. Although we don't have a physical finishing line to cross, we will all arrive at the 31st of December at the same time, regardless of how many miles we have covered. And if anyone is struggling I will do the extra month, just so I can hold your hand.

Does anyone remember the first London Marathon? Do you remember what happened in the last few hundred yards? Two athletes had been running together for a long time, it was going to be a fight to the finishing line, but they didn't fight. They held hands and crossed together. That one act of kindness told the world that it wasn't about winning, it was about taking part.



Well this post has gone completely off topic, I started it with another idea, deleted that, then had another idea, and ended up here. Non walking club members please bear with us until we get into the challenge, I won't constantly witter on about it. I just want to make sure that we are all on board, all keen to give it a good go, and fire up some enthusiasm. Once the numbers start adding up and people start feeling fitter, it will bimble along by itself.

Hey, anyone know how to eat this chuffin ice cream, it's like a chuffin house brick. A treat I bought myself for Christmas, I haven't had my favourite Magnum for at least five months, so I thought I would get this for £1, on special offer. Good grief, I didn't expect it to be so hard, I need a power drill to break it up. It tastes nice though  :o)

Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon. Toodle pip


 

Happy Blogging Birthday

Hello and welcome, I see we have some new kids on the block, come on in. Today we are partying, Bloggy is 8 years old. Whooopeeeeee.



I've been looking back picking out random posts to read, I got quite into it. I hope this is still floating around in cyberspace when I am in my care home, I will be able to look back and think, oooh, that's me.

This morning I got out for my walk, it had been raining then it stopped, so I thought let's get it done. Only trouble is walking around the village in the daytime means that people want to stop and talk. I happened to meet someone I hadn't seen for a few years and it added twenty minutes onto my usual time. It was nice to have a catch up, I used to walk her dog, and little Teddy the Westie remembered me and was wagging his tail and jumping for joy. Half way round it started raining and I was a bit wet when I got back.

These are the preferred furball sleeping arrangements at the moment. Heidi seems to like the bath. I thought she would have been put off this since getting a soaking when she unexpectedly jumped in while it was full of water. I have put one of the pet quilts in I made to make it more comfortable. This has put a stop to me saving the bath water to flush the toilet with for the time being, till she moves on and finds somewhere else.

I was searching all over for Mayze and found her in the office room which I don't use as an office any more. There is a box of street maps covered in a blanket, behind the door. This is her hidey hole. Mind you, I've found her sleeping among my sweatshirts in the cupboard in the bedroom a few times if I have left the door ajar. Now I've got cat hairs all over my clothes, serves me right.

Bugsy is settled camped out in his suitcase bed in the living room. He only has to get up on a chair and table to eat his food, and the litter box is nearby as well. Eeeee, tis a good life being a pampered puss.

Here are some of the pressies I got yesterday. Colouring in is all the rage now and I have a book and pencils to get started. Also two packs of embroidery threads came my way, they will be useful.

A tin of shortbread biscuits, the tin will make a nice container to keep. I think I have seen this on another blog, someone else had one, but I can't remember who.

I picked up a copy of Stitch magazine at the newsagents today. What a rip off, it has jumped up from £4.20 to £4.99. I don't think I will be getting many more of those.

Has everyone found the new page. The names of those taking part in the 1000 miles challenge are listed, I will be adding any updates which come in. You don't have to report back every day, just a little note on how you are getting on if you like, and the total at the end of the month, will be fine.

I am trying to get this artificial flower hanging basket finished. Not much more to do. A few more flowers to make. Dinner time now, still chomping my way through the yellow stickers. Salad and more salad. Won't need to go shopping for a while. I'll sign off now, getting a bit peckish, need food.

Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon. Toodle pip

Just checking in

Hello. Just a short popping in post tonight. I've had a fabby day with my Aunt and cousins in Nottingham, have eaten too much, the food was great, cousin Kerry is a good cook and hostess. It was lovely to sit down at a table and share dinner and tea with the family. They make me feel very welcome.

I was late back so I have to confess, I HAVE NOT DONE A WALK TODAY! OMG what a let down I am. Here's me the leader of the walking group and I have hardly put one foot in front of the other today. I will make up for it, promise.

I have just sorted through loads of comments, it's great to see some of you report getting off to a good start. There were a few last minute joiners, I have added the names to the list.

It's fast approaching midnight, so I'll say Goodnight, I'm ready for my bed.
Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon. Toodle pip

Off you go

Start Walking



Have a nice day. Catch up later. Toodle pip