Good Morning Friday 21st November 2025

Welcome Suzanna my grandchildren are older now, so I’m not much help. Do you live in Athens?

Good morning from Athens, the weather here is quite windy and overcast, but with temperatures around 22°C I'm not complaining.
It's lovely to read about folks from Yorkshire, so near to my home town and a favourite place of mine.
I've recently come back from Chios, an island where my daughter lives. I spent a month helping her with her 2 girls and trying very hard to get her organized so she can cope better. Not too much success there, I'm afraid.
Have any other grandparents noticed that mums with young kids don't seem to manage very well and they tend to be constantly overwhelmed? Any thoughts would be welcome.
I'm new here and hope to enjoy the general chat.

Good morning all from the Glasgow bus. A beautiful clear morning with snow on the hills.
I sat next to an old friend on the first bus which made the journey seem shorter. 😅

Your management company sounds truly awful gMattie. Can you sack them?

Mind you ageism gets everywhere, sadly.

I made it yoga and to ceilidh dancing yesterday. I was the caller for one well known dance and managed to get it wrong! Luckily others came to my aid and it worked well. A good turnout of around 40 despite the snow and ice.

Looking forward to meeting our Glescu pals for lunch and maybe do a wee bit shopping too.

Hope you all have a good day.

also don`t underestimate landlords. They were very keen to have self management, to keep their apartments in good condition at no profit to men in grey suits

Good morning all. -3 in Glasgow but aside from the fact it is bitterly cold, covered in frost, the sun is shining making the frost glisten, it’s actually very pretty. I’m watching the cat gingerly stepping on frosty grass to head back indoors to the warm.

Looking forward to our meet up today with the usual suspects but unfortunately a good few can’t make it. They will be missed but hopefully we can catch up at a later date.

GM your situation would drive me crazy, relying on clueless jobsworths deciding on how best to spend my money. Such a project should never be considered during the winter months and they must know that!

It that time of year when I am allowed to go OTT with fairy lights indoors and out. White lights only for me. Our local small row of shops already have festive lighting and decorations up and it looks so cheerful 🌲 I bumped in to an ex colleague at said shops. We started our nurses training together way back when and hit it off to become firm friends. She lives locally and we made plans to have lunch at a local Italian restaurant. Also a widow now we will have something to look forward to and pick up our friendship where we left off.

My best wishes to all for a good day and take care all going out with icy conditions underfoot.

There is freehold and there is leasehold, both are bought properties. Renters own neither the leasehold nor freehold. Freeholders normally have an equal share per property and can make whatever decisions they need via the shareholders

Leaseholders now have a legal right to manage the building. They need 50% of properties to have been bought. GM is one of them. Obtaining the right to manage takes about 3 months and is not a difficult process. Franbern lives in such a flat, in a self managed building.

There are restrictions to leaseholders eg building in a loft, changing windows, adding extensions but right to manage is there for the taking. Setting their own management charges, getting tradesmen in whenever needed, organising a sinking fund for big expenses etc

Forgot to mention the chap sitting on the other side of me in the theatre was whiffy 😨

Good morning from Sunnyside sandhills northwest coast.
Last night to the ballet, reluctantly leaving my own fireside, but so glad I went. I didn’t cough, even though it was incipient, and the woman next to me with her daughter was moved to tears as having reached her mid eighties, she had never been to the ballet in her life and didn’t know it was going to be a ballet. I prefer the ballet now as opera having been my life, it’s not so enjoyable listening to it in a technical way.

Hairdresser today and I know what you mean about not moving with cats on your lap Bella, the slightest move and they flounce off!
Thoughts to all🌺

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Just popping in to wish you all a good morning and hoping your day will be as good as possible.

Good morning. We had a good journey yesterday and then stretched our legs along the seafront. That blew the cobwebs out.
Cosy at the moment but we are off to an outside museum this morning so must wrap up with scarves and gloves. We’ll see what the rest of the day brings.
A good day wished for all especially those who are poorly or troubled.

Good morning all from a very frosty Black country, but the sun is out so hopefully it will soon clear.
Out with friends yesterday evening so hence a late start today, haven't read any posts yet will catch up later.
Hoping to get some Christmas shopping done today and need to rearrange DH appointment for bloods.
Best wishes for anyone celebrating and virtual hugs where needed.
Enjoy your day everyone whatever your plans and may you all find some ☀️.

Morning all from a frosty West Oxfordshire.

I had a good haircut yesterday. There is now an inch of grey showing but I’m having the roots done in a month.

The optometrist examined my eyes and said I have slack eyelids. Not serious enough to attend the Eye Hospital. I have drops and a sort of blindfold to put on my eyes twice a day.

I have to take something back to Dunelm which arrived broken. OH will come with me and we’ll look at new lampshades for the lounge. There’s a massive Waitrose nearby so we’ll pop in there too.

Have a good day everyone. I hope all is going well with the FGT2S.

Good morning everyone from a bright but distinctly chilly Torbay.

DH tells me he has snow in France just a light covering. It was our younger cat's first experience of the white stuff and he was singularly unimpressed despite being quite brave most of the time. The older cat now 20 is on her last legs but has benefited from a steroid injection while she was at the cattery. She has always been rather an airhead and this hasn’t improved with age. A beautiful cat, Bellasnana who looks completely at home with you.

I do sympathise with your plight, grandMattie regarding the management company. Ours is just as reluctant to complete any work until it’s absolutely necessary. Like you, I bought this flat so that I wouldn’t have to worry of all the maintenance. Owners were offered the chance to buy the lease last year, but I did not think that would be a wise move since I am the only resident who owns their flat everyone else is a tenant renting from mostly absent landlords.

I hope you will take great care of those explosives, Jaxjacky. Crackers are such dangerous items to having a house and have even been known to contain mottos that make people laugh!

Wishing everyone as good a day as possible. 🦩💐🦩🥰🦩

Good morning, Mick, from the frosty Westcountry. Ice on the pond. Take care.

Good morning everyone from a bright and sunny 🌞 but chilly again Northampton, -1°C at the moment. A dry cold day ahead.

Saw the 'Nuremberg ' film yesterday and thought it was very good, Russell Crowe excellent; the cinema was full.

Dance classes this morning then I need to get a bus to the other side of town to return a pair of too small shoes to a Pavers store - was.planning on doing it tomorrow but the forecast is for heavy rain all day.

Wishing all a pleasant day.

Good morning everyone. Wishing the Glasgow grannies a great day

Good morning from avery cold but dry Suffolk where I heard torrential rain at one time during the night. Sun is forecast all day but is yet to appear.

If/ when it does,DH and I will take a little trip with the dog to the seaside,only 5 miles away for a few lungfuls of sea air and coffee or perhaps hot chocolate in our favourite cafe there.

I rarely bake these days but made a Dorset apple cake yesterday which is delicious. I’ll take some of it to our neighbour up the lane who has been providing us with delicious small figs for the last month or so. The recent frosts will no doubt mean that the rest of the crop will be lost. He can never remember a year of such bounty.

Hope today is a good one for all.

Good morning all from a frosty Glasgow, where it is 5°C, brrrr!

GM, Reading your saga has me so confused, you own your flat, but cannot do anything to it, without the Management's say so.
The storage heaters and your bathroom are a prime example. You had to freeze, and were at the mercy of jobsworths. 💐

DH has just come up with two hot water bottles ( one for each hip) , a cuppa and two painkillers, to make sure I get to the meet up today. I am so looking forward to it.
However, DH has made me promise I won't do anything daft (like visit every shop in Buchanan Street and the Galleries 😉)
I shall get the bus from the station, to avoid climbing the hill and if I manage a trail around JL and a visit to the Swatch shop for replacement batteries, I shall be quite content.
I am so disappointed that many of our regulars are missing.

Yesterday, I benefited from a child free day. It was just as well, for Babydoll's parents also had the lurgy and it would have been so easy to catch it from them.

Best wishes to all, especially the mountaineers and their carers. 💕

GN I hope the contractors check temperature and humidity first, I doubt they will and the paint job will not last, even with a so-called modern paint. By then they will have scarpered

www.thedecoratorsforum.com/exterior-painting-in-winter-can-it-be-done/

Good morning all from Polmont where it's currently -4° and dry. Very cold and frosty. GrandMattie that would have made me so angry. How patronising. Bellasnana dgs2 here loves food and cooking toys. Apparently he's going to be a chef when he's older.
Yesterday was busy in the school library. It was in quite a mess so lots of tidying up required. Later I was at a reading event in dgs1's classroom which was very interesting. They were using strategies I had used as a secondary teacher and it was good to see them again. I had sat on one of the children's seats, however, and the low level did my leg no good at all!
Today the cold I have been incubating has burst forth and I'm feeling a bit miserable. Sore feet, sore leg, sneezing, coughing ,running nose, sore head - you get the picture. I would have liked to meet up with the Glasgow crew but my leg is still problematic and the cold has put the tin lid on it. Ladies, have a lovely time.

good morning Mick and all GN's on a very dark and cold North Yorkshire day . Doesnt look as though there is any snow on the ground but really too dark to see yet.

I had a busy but reasonably successful day in the end yesterday. My plan had been to make the most of waking up early to get stuff sorted before the meeting. Ha typical, had a rubbish night but it ended with me falling asleep about quarter to five and then not waking until about 7.25am. Missed my Bach, felt rather like a zombie, trying to think what I needed to do and moving so slowly that I am sure I saw a tortoise rush past!

I do make lists of things fortunately and keep a pad by my bed as often I think last thing of something I had meant to get done and didnt do, to remind me to put it at the top of the list for the next day and to take it out of my mind too.
The washer got filled with the bedding and set off , but it was cold and bits of snow whirling around but not settling, so wasnt worth putting the first load out on the line and besides , hadnt really got time before going out.

Creaking along and rather exasperated by my slowness I went to my "go to" and went in the shower and that not only washed me, but let me loosen up a bit, whilst my brain also slowly got into gear about what I needed to do. So then it was a quick breakfast, whilst writing a shopping list, then sorting out my bag, as I had a bottle of wine to add to the hampers, 4 little empty bottles and a couple of small glass containers , which I thought could be used by the craft people or the bottles = which had had a single sherry in them - could have had a label attached to them and go in the hampers with a note stating what they could be exchanged for , so no actual wine bottles which could fall and smash or be taken or whatever. I kept looking out at the weather, trying to decide what to do. If I went in the car, dry but then would I be able to park and the pavements looked treacherous with autumn leaves and icy and cold. In the end donned my polar long johns and warm trousers and out came the big polar jacket and I used the yellow peril, which was a good decision as it seemed much safer to travel on and had no problems with parking etc.

Had to abandon the idea of any shopping before the meeting but managed to just get there as it started. So we did not have as many women as normal, the weather no doubt putting some people off, but those of us who went had a pleasant time. At first the heaters had not been switched on, so everyone was sat in their coats and I was glad of my polar jacket, but it soon warmed up. We got out all the various gifts that people had contributed and then sorted them out into appropriate hampers and I must say they looked very good and I think they should do well with the raffle, as there are lots of goodies to tempt people. We also made £70 from a previous raffle of things, and that goes into our own funds for the group. We use this for various things, such as transport to something we want to go to, so that everyone is able to go.

While we were sorting this all out, it was decided that we should have our christmas do here at our own place and 2 members were detailed to organise the food stuff , after looking at our suggestions , so that is arranged now, and then the Yoga lady arrived, and fortunately the room had warmed up a bit by now. I was struggling a lot with my right leg which has been a beggar lately with lots of very painful cramps and now pain right up to the groin, so I had to be a bit tentative with the exercises and sometimes had to sit down. She is a very good teacher and was able to give me good ideas as to what I could do seated, and she is a very nice person , with a very positive way of speaking, encouraging us all to try a little more, yet very accepting if we were unable to do it, giving alternatives that we might try. As there were fewer of us there we sat round in a circle and it really felt a good session, for me a much needed calming and relaxing time. So overall an extremely good time, but then off I went to get Joshuas present from Waterstones, to make sure I got it ready to wrap up and then whenever we get together I have it ready. wont be this weekend with the weather as it is.

There were other things I wanted, but time was going on so thought I had better just get the prescription and get back as the cleaners would be coming, so off I went to chemist , only annoyingly to find it had gone 1pm and so they were closed for lunch time. So then home and first thing was to get the washing and go down and get it all hung out to at least dry a little I hoped and definitely smells better, then got myself some hot soup to warm up, I felt quite shattered by then and was glad to just sit down for a bit. Then the cleaners came and carried on in their usual efficient manner, sorting out all my new bedcovers and the kitchen looked better for their ministrations. The floor always looks so much better when they have been as they can bend and pick stuff up, and they sweep and mop and accomplish a great deal in an hour that would take me all day if I could even do it!

So today I am waiting for the day to warm up a bit and then it is out to get the prescription, paper and a couple of other bits and then back to the warm here , with no plans to stay out at all. Just looked out and quickly closed the curtains as a blast of cold air greeted me. No snow but frosty roofs everywhere and the graass looks frosty too. Wonder how my lovely salvia is coping. I had covered it with plastic overnight so hope it has survived but if it is going to continue to be freezing for the next few days dont hold out much hope.

Think it will be safer to go on the yellow peril again, so will not have to do much walking around. Will make prescription first port of call as am absolutely down to my last tablets, which makes me feel rather edgy until I have safely got my new ones in the cupboard. So it will be polar stuff on and my big polar jacket will get another airing. Think I shall be making use of it quite a lot in the near future.

Mick hope your trip goes well and you enjoy your fish and chips. GrandMattie I recommend making some bread today as an outlet for your anger and frustration as you pummel it hard thinking of who you wish you were thumping. Have any of you thought of going to the citizens advice or even I know that you can go to some solicitors for a free half an hour first meeting and see what they might recommend and how much it might cost to sue them, or at least send a solicitors letter where you can show them your legal rights and perhaps scare them into doing something. What a hopeless shower they all are and you can do without the hassle and rise in blood pressure that a meeting with their useless and insulting people. Harrigran great that you are ok now with your computer. Baubles hope that todays meeting goes ok. Wish we had a local group here but so far no takers. If I am ever up your way I will send a message and it would be lovely to meet you for coffee somewhere and put some faces to names. Bellasnana a good picture of a happy cat. Have you thought of letting your hair go back to its normal colour? My hair is totally white now, looks ok to me, and of course I dont have to waste time and money in the hairdressers. As I try to do quite a lot of swimming, it is only worth getting a good cut as it is very fine and goes everywhere, so whilst I admire many very good hairstyles and a variety of colours on friends I dont attempt to emulate them, just glad if it looks clean and doesnt get in my eyes!

Blimey, I have just looked out again and swear it is even colder rather than warming up and the grass and the roofs all look whiter than ever. It might be afternoon at this rate before I venture out, but the lure of my paper will get me going at some point. May you all stay safe and warm today and have an easy day with whatever you choose to do

Morning all from a very cold North Leicestershire where the temperature is -2°.

We have a man coming to quote for new carpet in a bedroom, I have to go to Waitrose and the pet shop but then I am meeting some friends for lunch.

Nonnadiana you might be better to start a thread about your query.

Have the best day possible everyone.

Good morning Mick and everyone from dry, clear Carlisle where it is currently -4°C.
I have to go out today with no prospects of it warming up much. I was hoping to do a countryside tour to round up various items but may reconsider and just go to my dental appointment in town.

Yesterday was just a gentle pottering day doing little jobs and then reading and writing in the afternoon after my post lunch walk. I had the best of the weather there, it clouded over when I got back and I expected a snow shower but no...

How annoying grandMattie, what a silly time of year to be painting outside. And why, because we're oldies, do they think our brains are half dead and we need to be spoken to like children?! You tend to get this in hospitals in my experience.

I hope you all have a successful day, especially in Glasgow!

As for outdoor painting in February, I was assured that “modern paints can be applied in temperatures as low as -20 degrees”. He wasn’t amused when I asked him if it was C or F! 😂

Good morning from a chilly and frosty S E Essex.

The 10yr old is curled up in DH’s chair eating an egg and bacon sandwich with fresh orange juice. (Totally against my no food in the sitting room rule, but he is sooo gorgeous 💙)

Off to the gym, hopefully it will clear my tension headache.

A sit down before school pick up ☕️

Out to dinner with friends this evening to a favourite local Tapas Restaurant.

grandMattie I am cross on your behalf.

Enjoy your meet up Glasgow Grannies I would love to join you one day.