I remember after the baker or the milkman had been round with their horse and carts my mother made us go out with our shovels and collect up the horses douvers for the roses. Like good kids we always did.

Yeah there used to be a mad dash for it didn't there

Glad everyone seems well if not a little cold. Except for Nippy Jen who seems to be living in the tropics today.
Not too bad here either but sun has gone and it has turned really cold again.
Forgot about the milkman how bad is that seeings as Gorden and my youngest brother and BIL were milkmen and dad was a grinder polisher and polished the milk tanks.
Also the baker and yes June remember when the dustman use to come and get your bin.
I use to love watching those cash pods.
Just remembering we use to have a van come round too with bread and tins etc., you could go out and buy from.

morning all....well only just
Moyra, nice to hear you got a lie in...Amber would get used to staying in bed a little longer you know
Lynn, hope you have a lovely day out
Mandy...lovely photos and those birds are too cute
Nippy...shove some sun my way will you
Sue and Tumbleweed, we have a little more snow than you but not staying
Brenda, have a nice lunch with Sara
TW, you go steady today...if there is even an inkling of slippage then stay home!!
I remeber the bin men coming into your back garden to fetch the bin and carry it down to the cart and fetching it back. The left over bits of batter are/were called scraptions here ..i think...never got those but they are the best bit in my opinion Lol
Spoke to mum and dad this morning, my dad had a collapse last night, he has been getting dizzy spells and has had a cough for well over a month, i kept telling him to go to the Dr but what do i know?? anyway, last night he was in the pub, he apparently went a very funny colour and nearly collapsed, luckily there was a nurse there who has said he needs to see the Dr asap as she is worried he may have had a mini stroke...the man really is an absolute tw*t, he won't ever be told, i had two TIA's and i lost my sight for 15 minutes and was getting all my words back to front (although it made perfect sense to me Lol) it was the only time i have ever been scared in my life....he won't change anything about his life..i told him when they got deags to sort himself out but nope..neither listen, well that's his job gone then as he won't be able to drive...just think, if he had gone to the dr before it might not have got to this stage

Sue, that made me smile, we think the same and a while back I tried to find out why, part of the answer is that the people who run most chippies these days don't have the traditional British attitude of cooking the chips correctly.

One (of several examples) is the temperature they keep the oil at, there is an optimun temperature and it's a lot higher than most chippies set it at. If you set the thermostat lower you save money but the quality goes down.

Yet people in their millions keep going to these places, why Not us, we do our own fish & chips now, I'll admit that we do have the time, many working people don't have time that's true.

So, yet another example of declining standards, really makes you wish you could turn the clock back doesn't it

Sorry to hear about your dad griff. Really hoping it isn't as serious as the nurse implicated. He would be wise now though to go and see his Dr.

I think a lot of men are the same my dad was a holy terror for it. He was rarely ill or off work but when he did become ill he hid it well for a long time back ache was gardeners back ache.
He was worried about my mum she had been diagnosed with Sarcoidosis and he got himself back on his feet to be her main carer. She still however outlived him and by a good few years.
So if he can be persuaded it would better for all.

Great, so you can probably confirm my theory above, to get good chips you need a high temperature oil, many shops turn the temperature down to save money and the chips come out soggy and tasteless. Am I correct

Oh dear Griff, doesn't sound good does it. He will have to do as he is told or suffer the consequences and they do not look good. Hope he listens to reason.

Just walked Amber, nice and dry out there.

Harvey, I parboil my chips and then deep fry the water out of them then turn up the temperature and finish them off so they are soft inside but crispy on the outside. No chips from the fish and chip shop taste the same now.

Hope it was just a 'one off' but keep nagging him Griff and try the approach of talking about his job, for a bloke that may work better, he knows you're his daughter so he expects you tell him to see a doctor.