Bonus leaderboard

Thanks Jaffa, I did event. doze off early a.m. managed a couple of hours then awake again.

Hopefully it will get better as time goes on.

Mr F is a real DIY king.Can I borrow him sometime?

Glad to see Bruce is moving on with a survey or two.

Hugs to you and hoping you get some sleep🤗😴🤗

👍

Excellent👏

I think someone around 289 has removed themselves as those below are not going down 1

Thanks Marie, it’s very gradually getting a bit less dense- the blackness that is.

Sorry to hear that progress on Mr FP's eye is slow, FP. I hope at least it is improving.

We visited Warkworth castle today, then had fish and chips in Amble, got caught in lots of heavy short showers (every 20 minutes) Flaming June !!!!!!!

Nearly £8 today so far for me. :) Well done, everyone.

There is no set or average waiting time. Please remember that this free prize draw giveaway is like a lottery, you're best to hope you'll win, not expect to! :) Each member’s entry has the exact same chance of being selected in a draw. The system completes the draws from a database of active account ID numbers using a random number generator and the parameters of the smallest ID number to the largest. It then displays the postcode on the chosen account number as the winner of the draw. All it ‘sees’ is the account numbers of active members, it is not influenced by any other data or outside factors and is as random as a computer can be.

It's a random lottery, Dan. You can hope to win, but don't expect to.

Dan, How long is a piece of string ??? ;-)

Well done. My parents won within 8 weeks of signing up. I have been here since 2018 but mine hasn't come up yet.

Hugs from me.🤗🤗

Very good Barrie🙃 the oddities of the English language.

Well done. 👏🏻

Well done and keep going!

I think it will take me quite a while to get anywhere near the top guys, though. I get kicked out of all the high-paying ones.

Excellent 👍

👍

Hehe

Go that Lady!

Too much screen time, Flower?

Ditto what Jaffa said.

Never apologise and I hope things get better for you.🤗🤗

Thank you all, It’s been a combination of things but can’t discuss, having coping issues but trying to take my mind off things by doing this, sorry it’s going to be really late.

Edit- maddadof, Mr FP was happy to oblige 🤗

Yes take it easy today Flower.Sip water frequently it could be a bit of dehydration?🤗🤗

I hope you're feeling better today, FP.

2 paracetamol and a cuddle from Mr FP, will put you right FlowerPower ;-)

I hope he rewards your efforts by singing to you.We have one that sits on our ridge tiles singing its heart out every evening.

Sounds like you've had a nice day FP. I managed to get a bit of gardening and housework done today as it was a sensible temperature.. around 25-26 today. We've had a juvenile blackbird visiting in our little conservatory...I called him Bob cos he doesn't seem to be able to fly, have fed and watered him... let's see what happens 🤞

Everything that happens to me tends to be random lately.

If they wear souwesters they'll be soaking wet from sweating.

Hope the weather isn’t too bad in Falmouth Jaffa, though I don’t suppose Mr J. & friends will get too wet if they’re in a theatre, though it might affect audience numbers.

As long as you use the gentle setting…🤣🤣

Jaffa, Would that work on the WIFI. I've noticed recently that she is getting a bit wrinkly ;-)

Wow, that certainly a bit of a scorcher, mine never gets to that kind of temperature.

Take care collecting them, hope you’ve got a nice stable ladder, if you can’t reach them all, don’t stretch, leave them for the birds👍

I'll ripen them in the house as the greenhouse is far too hot. Even with the door open and 4 automatic windows and 2 side vents its about 45C Great for the cacti & succulents - too hot for anything else

We rarely ever got any when we had a cherry tree, all we ever got were rogue trees popping up here & there from the stones dropped by the marauding hoards.

Good luck with the crop Bruce8, we never thought about taking them off & ripening indoors? Or in the greenhouse?

I had a bit of a spurt but have now slowed down so we seem similar in our failures🤨

I really envy you cherries and hope the birds cannot get to them.

Well after the excitement of being mentioned on FP's list 3 days running the weekend slowdown has arrived.

Cooler today. Worked on preparations for planting on the raised beds and put my 3 surviving cucumbers into a deep planter. Have removed veg plants (died or alive) from greenhouse. Foxes been at some pots after worms, I guess. In preparing bed 3 I had an unexpected small crop of potatoes. Clearly hadn't cleared the bed as well as I expected in 2025.

Cherries: I think there are over a 100 - I'll have to pick many before the end of the week and slowly ripen them as I'm away the following week.

On Tuesday there is an 80% chance of rain. Would be my luck if my neighbours 2 doors each side got rain and I didn't

I think aches happen when the weather is about to do a change for the worse, it's something to do with the lower pressure.

It’s sympathetic back pain I expect.Do take care though Flower.

😂 always welcome...

Can I come next Sunday?

I cooked roast pork and all the trimmings today, guess what? I did all the clearing up too! 😂

🤣 I wonder how many of them would bother if they had to do all of it!

Jaffa.... good one! 😂

FP... don't be silly,.I am still clearing up the prep before we eat...and doing the washing up after...but he is a tremendous cook, I can't do it!

What is it with men & BBQ’s? Does he do the washing up & cleaning the thing afterwards, or do you end up having to do it?

Is he cooking on the bonnet?🤣🤣

It certainly looks like it Jax!

Thanks FP, looks like I need to be worried about awl more than Ralphypoodled.

I've done well survey wise for a Saturday already and it is only 8.30am. Still hot down here and the sun is shining. The forecast showers are now going to happen on Monday.

A few surveys but dumped from them all and only 5p so slow for me.

Don’t overdo the cleaning Flower.

Good luck to everyone.

I've tried a couple of surveys without success. Not many showing up.

Septuagenarian Susie, how wonderfully kind of you to do all this research for a fellow member.

❤️ how lovely, that's what makes the world go round.

Goodness Susie thank you for all of the work that you have put into this for me.I am so very grateful to you.My husband did after calling several companies find one that had capacity but it had to be done in such a rush your information will be very useful to us.

I wish I was able to give you a big hug but will have to make do with a virtual one from both of us.It can sometimes feel overwhelming as I am sure you know!😘😘🤗🤗😘😘

Hi Jaffa, Though I see you've found a homecare company to call once a day for an hour for Bristol Auntie, I also note the difficulty you have had and doing it all at such short notice. So, given that, I'm not sure if the following will help or is worth you and Mr J looking into.

I've needed homecare myself since end of January last year and have been having a company called Helping Hands (based in Warwickshire about 8 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, with offices all over the country, all registered with the CQC and I've found the one here in the NW - Merseyside - to be excellent) so, I've looked-up Bristol and there are 3 there. Here they are:-

1. Bristol Central (Sea Mills): 80 Shirehampton Road, Sea Mills, Bristol, BS9 2DR.

Overview: This is the primary central Bristol branch, providing both visiting care and live-in care across the city.

Reviews: This branch is highly regarded, scoring a "Good" overall rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Local clients and their families praise the carers for being professional, compassionate, and going "above and beyond" to ensure independence. Across all branches, Helping Hands scores an excellent 4.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot. Link:

https://www.homecare.co.uk/homecare/agency.cfm/id/65432222669

2. Chipping Sodbury/Yate: 35 South Parade, Yate Shopping Centre, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, BS37 4BB.

Overview: Located just northeast of Bristol, this branch serves the immediate surrounding towns and villages (such as Westerleigh, Thornbury, and Badminton).

Reviews: Families consistently describe the team here as cheerful, flexible, and responsive to urgent needs. While the vast majority of families highlight the carers' kindness and reliability, a small handful of reviews mention occasional communication hiccups with the office regarding specific care plan updates.

Link to Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HelpingHandsChippingSodbury/

3. South Bristol (Keynsham): Flexioffices, Unit 11, Ashmead Business Centre, Ashmead Road, Keynsham, Bristol, BS31 1SX.

This was a bit of a strange one, because it came up with the above address from a general google search of Helping Hands under the second of 3 in AI. Then when I added "and what are the reviews on each of them?" to this and searched again it came up with as the above - i.e. No 3, now became number 2, and this one (previously number 2) was nowhere to be seen - and was replaced with this at the end: "You can arrange care, read more testimonials, or find contact numbers for these offices directly on the official Helping Hands Locations portal." with the Helping Hands Locations underlined that takes you to the portal and a map!

On that map, I then put in Bristol and searched within 25 miles and it came up with loads of purple markers and an address for the keynsham branch as:

Helping Hands Keynsham, Station House West

Ashley Avenue

Bath BA1 3DS

So, not sure what to make of that!...AI gone Awol?!

So here's the link to their locations portal:

https://www.helpinghandshomecare.co.uk/our-locations/

Main Bristol Link:

https://www.helpinghandshomecare.co.uk/our-locations/bristol/

Trustpilot Link:

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/helpinghandshomecare.co.uk

Finally, one of the really good things about Helping Hands apart from the fact they're a long established company (established in 1989) is that, relatives can have access to their portal to view the rota each week and I think any notes the carer makes each time (they'll give you more details if you contact them), which is ideal for anyone like yourselves with relatives living at a distance.

I think I've given you more than enough to think about and wade through Jaffa and I just hope this helps as I really do empathise with your plight having been through this 26 years ago with 2 elderly parents (father in his 90's who'd gone blind over the previous 10 years as a result of glaucoma but, apart from a bit of cognitive decline after being hospitalised with a triple whammy - urine+chest infection+dehydrated - that meant he used to repeat himself sometimes and have a bit of a 'forgettery', he never lost his spark; and mother - an ex-headteacher - with dementia who was 'old school', always a stickler for it being her way or the highway and could very much be a 'battleaxe', particularly if she didn't like you! lol) but, both still living at home, fiercely independent, hadn't made any provision for their care as didn't want to be a 'burden', let alone to their 3 daughters!...I still remember the process we went through with them in those last few years but, we got there in the end and that was before the nightmare that negotiating the system has become now :-(

So, again, I hope this helps and leads towards you and Mr Jaffa being able to find more peace of mind with at least one of your respective Aunties, if not both (Devon seems to be bit more sparse with Helping Hands branches).

Take care and all the best, SS (SusieQ until recently!)

That’s another problem although we have it in reverse.Both aunties are unpleasant to anyone who is not family.

When I went to visit mum in a care home, I heard the way staff were talking to another resident.....I was overwhelmed with anger.

I'm glad you've managed to find a solution for now.

Well we have found a company that can do once a day homecare for an hour .That was not easy.Bristol Auntie is registered blind so she is terrified of having to leave her home but once she is permanently bed bound I hope that will be easier.

Poor Mr J was away in Belgium with friends and spent so much time dealing with issues as he is the one with POA.

Anyway another crisis temporarily averted .

You are right re care homes.When we were working I used to visit local ones for training of staff and although they often did not have en suite rooms which bearing in mind a lot of residents could not use due to infirmity they were happy and well run.

Now profit is the top line and help with residential care fees so hard to access it’s just cruel.

Rant over….

Barrie :-) :-) :-)

🤣🤣 Barrie

I had a girlfriend like that.

We had incredibly loud thunder and lightning with torrential rain for about half an hour, and then it was like it never happened!

Just the odd few pence FP i think, but i don't really keep a check on it. Good job i have you to keep me up to date, i do appreciate it..

Thought we'd get some heavy rain here too, literally felt 3 heavy drops on my arm and that was it. Extremely warm and muggy too now.

We had lightning for two & a half hours, some of the rain sounded like waterfalls.

We had epic thunder and lightening coming over the Severn from Wales.I got very little sleep as it was very noisy.Thankfully no hail.Its a bit cooler as now we have issues with Bristol Auntie and have to find private care within 72 hrs as that’s all social services can do.😳

We have the celery too, just like a nice mixed salad, with as much fresh crunchiness as possible, radishes, cucumber, etc nice & refreshing especially in this sort of weather. Tend to make different versions everyday, with variations on dressings & accompaniments.

Celery?

Very true Barrie but it’s the crunch we’re after at the moment, strange that there are no other lettuce at all, just the flabby ones, tried everywhere available, perhaps there was a glut of the flat ones 🤔 seems farmers etc are having lots of problems due to the degree of heat at the moment.

Anything has got more flavour than iceberg lettuce.

We’re taking care of the donuts, it’s hard work but someone has to do it.😇

Little gem lettuce for me as I think it’s got more flavour.Icebergs still about in my part of the world.

Hope the doughnuts don’t become scarce!

32 c here today.

I would have gladly helped out with the jam donut consumption, sadly a little far away from TN8 methinks. 😉

Thank you - I am on a mission now :) I love a challenge. :)

That’s a nice jump Mrs.West5, keep up the momentum 👍

I have gone up 48 places in the last few days. woohoo.

Thankfully it's a bit cooler here today.

Ah yes, when I was married and we lived in the big house (1860) 18" walls was great for keeping it cool. Took ages to warm up in winter.

Just to be clear the house was built in 1860, it wasn't when I lived in it

I am lucky as my property was built in 1720 and has 2ft thick walls it is very cool apart from an extension.

Was supposed to be 33 in Cambridgeshire and 34 back here. However the outside temperature monitor in the car reached 36 on the return, thank goodness for aircon

29 degrees today, same yesterday. Haven't been out of the flat since Saturday morning. Last couple of days with the fan on the whole day. Got a blood test Thursday, so probably won't go out till then.

That sounds more plausible, think you’d have them all over if bugs were involved, hope it soon disappears.

Don't panic guys, don't think it's bed bugs. The red itchy spots had disappeared when I woke up, only surfaced a little as I moved around and warmed up. I think it's some kind of contact dermatitis (no.1 suspect... leaking washing up gloves!!)

Barrie they are becoming much more invasive, councils are having to spray regularly especially in communal properties, I was speaking to someone recently, they said it was partly people with old clothes, blankets etc travelling from other countries- where the problem is rife & a general increase in warm & comfortable living conditions.

Also said “Stay away from any companies who offer to remove your old bed/ mattress, when they deliver the new 1, cross contamination is a frequent spreader of Bedbugs!”

Bedbugs? Years ago I knew a woman who had to call the council because she had been invaded by them.

You may have come into contact with something that has caused a histamine response.Have you been in the garden?

Thanks both, I think you might be right Bruce8. It's calming down a bit now as I am resting. I believe it was around 35 here today. So with a cooler temperature tomorrow I hope it'll clear. English weather is bonkers 🤯🥵👍

Can't help either Susiewoo2. I do have the same problem with ichy red spots on the back of my left hand. I've tended to think of them simply as heat spots. I get them when it gets very hot, like now and they disappear when it gets a little cooler.

Can’t help Susiewoo2’s, despite 1 diagnosis of rheumatoid, mine is still classed as osteo. My finger joints are swollen up too as are my toes, I found the compression gloves too warm to wear at the moment

Do you have an anti inflammatory cream you could use? the ibuprofen 1 is quite good, just a bit sticky in the heat. I’ve got a Flexall 454 gel which is quite good too, though a bit on the expensive side.

No idea about the red spots, maybe too strong a cleaning product. Hope it soon clears up, if possible maybe a GP appointment would be a good idea, while you’re off at the moment.

North side 84.2F, i blame the weather ;-)

Maddadof - I'd stick with the North face 29F is just below freezing !

One of the rare times since moving from Australia I walked into the house and headed straight for a cold shower. Feeling much better....for now.

So am I 🥵 head under a cold tap every couple of hours works! I am SO grateful that I am not in the classroom today.

Do hope they can sort out your meds. NokeyBlokey it’s bad enough being ill without all the things that are supposed to help, making it worse.

I was lucky with my brush with cancer, quite fit & healthy & younger of course, been ok since the op.

It seems to be everyone you know nowadays, let’s hope the research will help those with rare kinds too.

Take care, we’ll be thinking of you, you don’t need to reply, just concentrate on getting better.😘

Really good to hear from you, NokeyBlokey. I do hope things get easier for you.

Glad to have you back N B, just take it steady...

I do hope being yourself gets easier as time goes on Nokey.🤗🤗

Thank you Flower, for yesterday’s mensh - I have been out of circulation recently so, sorry, haven’t made any contact. My medications are fighting each other and I'm the one in the middle getting beaten up by them. I was so out of touch that I only learned, earlier today, of Simon's battle coming to an end. I have left what I hope are appropriate sentiments on their memorial tribute page, but I am not very good at this sort of thing and didn’t really know what to say to Emma. Meanwhile, I am still hanging on and wishing I was someone else - anyone would do! Thank you for still thinking of me, and yes it is hotter than I am comfortable with, particularly with my low immunity reminding me with everything I do. Let's hope this beautiful weather continues - I need Vitamin D more than ever right now!

Thanks FP, our water supply wasn't affected. Incredibly hot here though. We got a few jobs done, I decided to clean all the window rims/edges...ended up looking like a beetroot so sat with my feet in a bucket of cold water for 10 minutes....that cooled me down 😂 it's way too hot for me.

P.s.we know who to call when our washing machine breaks down!

Glad to hear you’re safely home Shyboy, hope you had a good time.👍