Sorry to hear you aren't feeling better. Give it 48 hours. If you aren't better, go see the doctor.

I thought I was the only one who lived like a mole in this hot weather but my neighbour does too. Made me feel much better.

There is a nice breeze blowing so will go out shortly to water my plants - using the good old watering can as it is more efficient. Off to Oxford tomorrrow - hope it isn't too hot.

Morning all - anyone here?

I don't know nyannie
but the Ashes, start tomorrow

Good Morning
what lovely weather
took the day off yesterday
did nothing but relax in the sun

hope everyone else is enjoying it to

It was wonderful to watch
congrats to Andy
but i agree with you all
the BBC coverage was embarrassing
i turned the sound down
Andrew Castle is a first class prat
just so very annoying

poor you
that cold has been dragging on
hope you feel better soon xxx

thank you......


how are you and yours?

doing ok, father in law still not to good, good and bad days
family in Egypt all good, cairo is a huge
so the demo's are not near them, so all safe at the mo

had a nice rest yesterday, spent the day out in the sun
and have booked a few days out with mum next week
so i get a bit of a break

how are you feeling this morn
is your hearing back
or should i have posted this in shouting caps

It must be a worry to you georgy - hope the family in Egypt stays safe and sound!!!

Glad to hear you are getting a bit of a rest, think you need it with everything you do.

I am looking forward to seeing the Ashes but as we aren't on Sky or Virgin, we will have to make do with the highlights on Channel 5.

Just came back from sketching at the Ashmolean. Lots of fun with my friend.

augusta, hope you are feeling much much better.

See you all tomorrow

morning all....

I am feeling much better than yesterday , my hearing is coming back.......It was awful not being able to hear anything at all, very scary....

but it is starting to come back...now ive just got buzzing in my ears instead, but is very exhausting as my balance and energy levels are all over the place. I took the dogs out this morning, and came back sweating, and neuralgia.....most odd.....I think its my body telling me Im going to have to still take it slowly...

now I need a few more recommendations for books to read on the kindle....Ive just re read..Bring up the Bodies, and the White Queen....and the latest Jack Reacher book. What else is everyone else reading? it cant be that complicated as my head is still muzzy......



At least Big Brother is still fairly mindless easy viewing, I found the text button on the TV upstairs that gives you the written commentary below...im sure ive missed half of it, but im getting the idea. !!!!


Do we have any news of when and if John is still coming over?


love m xx

Morning everyone, how are you all bearing up in the heat?
We have a gentle sea breeze for a third day so it keeps it comfortable.
O/h says it's stifling down in the town, guess it's the concrete and cars that makes the difference.

Pleased to hear your family are safe where they are in Egypt, georgie, must be very worrying though.
Sadly things seem to be escalating.

Augusta, its miserable feeling unwell when it's hot like this. Good to hear you're feeling a bit better.

Have you tried inhaling? Fancy the dr not giving you something to relieve the problem. Have you tried the pharmacy, they can be very helpful sometimes?

Having balance issues is horrible. I have no sense of balance, can't ride a bike as I instinctively lean to one side. Suspect this is due to partial hearing loss in my right ear.
Also I can't walk in a straight line in the dark, I stagger about bumping into things like an old drunk!

If I lay on my left side noise is muffled, quite helpful when o/h is snoring like a drain!

Is John here yet do we know? The Ashes start today I think.

Glad you're feeling a bit better Marion

I do remember having something similar a few years ago.....I forgot what birdsong sounded like - well, almost! Very disorientating

As to reading, well, I've just finished a really miserable Gothic novel by Helen Dunmore, called A Spell of Winter......poetic if you like that kind of thing. Or I heard about something called The Woman Upstairs yesterday....apparently it's a kind of feminist novel about a woman who is angry at her life.......it's meant to be v good according to Woman's Hour

Or I love Anne Tyler's books .....have you tried her? This I think is where the kindle comes in, you can download a sample, or the whole thing, and get going straight away.

Anyway hope you continue to feel better

Morning all

Morning Lena

Sea breeze sounds lovely

I had to laugh at you account of staggering around in the dark.....sounds a bit like me tbh! and I lie on my right side to reduce the sound of snoring!!

Yes, the Ashes start today. Sky have a great app which enables me to watch the whole thing live, plus get match stats, hawk eye, that wheel thing that shows where balls have been struck, etc, etc. Far too much for my little brain, I think!

Got to get off to work, sadly

Have a good day everyone xx

Hi Lindy, what a shame off to work on a day like today.
I must admit I'm not a fan of cricket, for one I don't understand the rules.
There seems to be an awful lot of standing around with not much happening.
I have a tea towel that explains cricket (see below), but having read it I'm more confused than ever.

You have two sides one out in the field and one in.

Each man that's in the side that's in goes out and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.

When they are all out the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in out.

Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When both sides have been in and out including the not outs -

That's the end of the game.

Very funny Lena (just popping in, in between entering stats :yawn

Enjoy the sun

Morning all

Yeah!!!!! It is less than 23 degrees in the bedroom!!! First night I've had more than 4 hours sleep in over two weeks. Although I was born in the spring guess I'm more a winter person. Think age does it.

Glad to hear you are getting better augusta. How about trying Olivia Manning's Balkan or Levant Trilogy. I have just finished reading the Inklings about Tolkien, C S Lewis and their friends. You could also try Anne Tyler or Annie Proux who I love. Also anything by Richard Ford. I have just started Romola by George Eliot and of course there are the novels and short stories of Hemingway, William Faulkner and F Scott Fitzgerald.

I have just stripped the bed and put the first load of washing on. Will then make the beds and do some ironing.

Have a good day

I think John may be over here and hope we get some news.

OK, who stole the sun?
It's a measly 61f outside!!!

Good to hear you slept better nyannie, always feel better when you've had a good night's sleep.

I'm most definitely a summer person. I was born in a heatwave in August. My Mum bless her heart, went to visit her MiL in hospital a couple of days before I was born and got told off by her for not wearing a coat. "You've walked through the streets like that, what must people think?!". My Grandmother would have a fit if she was alive today.

Any news of John? Off for a look around, have a good day everyone.

Afternoon all

It's still pretty sunny here though I don't have a temperature gauge.....

Am still working on project reports - how did we manage to underspend??? - I never knowingly do that personally!

Taking the odd break to pop in here and to take in Sky's excellent Ashes coverage - love Jimmy Anderson

Wonder whether John is genuinely lying low for this visit?

afternoon all....well my ears are getting clearer...but its such an odd sensation to hear things muffled and wrong. Like the Microsoft tone....when you switch the computer on..!!!!..I keep going in my head ...what on earth was that.. only to realise its something Ive heard a hundred times before..


Im back driving again, which Is a relief, on Tuesday I couldn't hear anything at all, and didn't think this was safe to drive, as im sure I use my hearing at times. and my balance isn't quite right either.


Its made me think of the sense of hearing in a totally new light, it must be so hard to have defective hearing in some way. you just miss things. I was trying to watch the Apprentice last night on TV and couldn't follow a word. But the news was better. As is sitting on top of the TV in the bedroom....

thank you for all your book suggestions, im putting them on my wish list for the kindle. I read a really sad book yesterday, it was on the Richard and Judy book list, called 'An Age of Miracles' IMHO, it was a brilliant concept , but ....not really that great a book.... The idea is what would happen if the world started to slow down and days became longer...how would ordinary people cope.? how would the world change.? But for me there were strands and plot lines that got confused especially as the story moved on. My advice for the author would be a brilliant book, needs a good beginning, which this story does have, but also a brilliant middle and end.....which I didn't think it did have.


I do wonder why John is being quite so silent? It makes me wonder if he has actually come at all?

I wish someone could teach me how to underspend. I try hard not to be too extravagant, and I don't tend to spend a fortune, but ...we never have quite enough money to be in the black.. Economising is a skill, I really could do with learning. as im sure if I could cut back on the daily bits and bobs...We could have more money to spend on the things we really want to do.

Apparently there is a programme tonight with Nick and Margaret from Apprentice fame, investigating benefits culture and how people cope living on benefits, this could be interesting to watch.

I saw that programme was on....could be interesting

I'm not much good at budgeting either . I make a plan and then when someone wants something that's not on it, eg a new fence, a holiday, meals out.....I struggle to be assertive enough to say 'Sorry, it'll break the budget'

Have always been like that, can't see me changing now

Edit: Whereas at work, I have often been called 'the fierce one' lol

Afternoon all.

No news of John I see.

I watch Superscrimpers on More4 which has great tips.

My parents really did teach us how to budget and not overspend. It is something I did from the age of 16 when I got a part-time job after school. I had to pay rent/board and I also set up a savings account - for university.

I am shocked by the number of people who don't charge their children how to budget. My o/h came home and told me his friend had 3 children over the age of 20 and none of them gave their parents any money for room/board. Don't think they are doing them any favours - how will they cope ?

Oh well.

Lovely day, not too hot - even managed a nap upstairs as I get little sleep on the hot nights.

I wasn't really taught to budget as a child. I think, in the post war years, that my parents (and a lot of others) just wanted their children to have a good life, whatever the cost. It came to a head in the 80's with the dot.com boom and all that .....

However, as interest rates have soared and plummeted, and as employment has got harder to come by, I've made my own decisions on budgeting. So our children do contribute to household expenses, even though we don't quite call it rent. And I'm really proud of both of them for having always worked, through college and afterwards.....

Some people may say they are workaholics like me....... but that wouldn't be true

You should be proud Lindy. Better to be a workaholic than not work at all - although I do think there needs to be a balance. I too worked throughout my university days and every summer holiday. Don't think I went anywhere exciting until I came over here. I hate having any kind of debt.

Well, the curtains have been closed and shades drawn although it is only about 6.30 in the morning. Started to do some cleaning as we have guests tomorrow. Will also start to do some cooking before the heat comes.

Wish the rest of the summer could be like yesterday - not too hot!

See you all later maybe.

I wasn't really taught to budget either, my parents were of a generation where they had had to scrimp and save all their lives, and the 60s and 70s weren't a period where this encouraged....!!!



The economic reality seems to have changed, my parents generation were encouraged to spend borrow and spend some more....if they hadn't the economy would never have grown or expanded....


but ......it feels very different now....

Great - another warm sunny day I love it, but I hope those of you who don't are able to keep cool.

See that our lad is following the cricket. Think it's next week that he was planning to get over here according to his cryptic tweet a couple of months back. Don't forget the suncream John!