Thank you Ann, I’ve had time to sleep on it now and I’m over it. I’m not going to let someone I’ve never met or have no intention of ever meeting dictate how I can express myself in public. So I’m simply going to ignore the grinch that stole Christmas and get on with engaging with those who do have a sense of perspective and a sense of humour. So thank you for your kind words. And once the project starts I’ll start posting updates. It will be slow at first as we don’t plan the big renovations until around 4 years time. But we will be making a start on the roof and getting the place weather tight at least over the coming months.
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No hate in my house. I don’t have to make fun of people I’m frightened of to make prepare me for the Christmas period. Life is good. Without the need to go for cheap laughs.
I do think its a shame that there are a few people on this forum (and others and in life generally) that appear to take great pleasure in slamming people at the slightest opportunity, if they put as much effort in to being nice rather than negative the world would be such a better, kinder place. In my opinion Jeremy Corbyn clearly mouths “stupid women” my eldest daughter has a hearing impairment and she agrees that’s what he mouths, but do i care he said it “NO” and i would not go to the effort of putting someone down if they are adamant they said “stupid people” NO. Yes life is to short to worry about what a Avatar on a forum thinks of you, but we are all human and want people to like us. What brightened my day today was the new LED light bulb my wife has put in the bathroom, nearly blinded me 
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A friend of mine uses the phrase “misery loves company”
Here’s a web reference;
Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris. This Latin phrase literally translates as “To the unhappy it is a comfort to have had company in misery.”
He also uses “in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king”
I like sayings there’s certain amount of theatre about them.
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No trees near me…and plus i enjoyed the moment interacting with this gentleman. A fond lil first Christmas memory here in St. POL
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I placed an order with Yves Rocher for some of my favourite perfume and body lotion (half price) and some for mum too. When the parcel arrived the body lotion wasn’t there but they had sent 2 coffrets of another perfume. I 'phoned to say that they had made an error. The customer services lady said we will send off the missing articles straight away. I told her that the big error was that they had sent 2 costly coffrets and asked how do I return them.
Today I received a parcel with the 2 missing body lotions, along with a thank you card telling me to keep the 2 coffrets that had been sent in error.
Just goes to show that honesty does pay ! We are well pleased, especially as the cost of the 2 coffrets amount to 120 euros 
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I made a brawn and sauce gribichefor my friend who is 92 and took it along for a Christmas present.
We were invited to taste it along with a glass or two.
It was pronounced superb.
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Seems Bathrooms can be dangerous to the health… 
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Aren’t you contradicting yourself here? 
Evening David. No i dont think so. What brightened my day today was driving from west London to poole to visit family and we did not get stuck in any traffic. 
You were very fortunate then… Poole… happy teenage memories of sunny days and messing about in boats…
Was very relieved to hear from my wife that she had touched down at aéroport Londres (Southend-on-Sea) 
after a 50 minute flight from aéroport Caen-Carpiquet. Her flight was delayed for over an hour by the Gatwick snafu, and as we left home early in case we encountered manifs en route she had a long and nervous wait. No hold-ups, just a few shivering GJs at a rond-point on the Caen périphérique.
So I was so glad to get a call she was safe and snug in Essex. She has gone to stay with our children for the holiday. I am looking after the hens! 
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Aren’t they quite amazingly bright? I bought a dozen and a half assorted ones from Amazon to try them out, and they take the skin off my eyeballs!
Don’t look at them closely when lit, they start to burn a hole in your retina… 
We were able to take advantage of the ‘offer’ of 6 LED bulbs for a euro 
I’ve got several cluster-type fittings that hold four halogen bulbs, but one LED outshines three of the older ones put together. I worry that four LEDs in one cluster will take the enamel off the bath or the chrome off the taps. 
Maybe even the enamel off your teeth Peter.
Hope that you are now feeling better, I am sending best wishes to you and your good lady for the season. I believe that she is now somewhere in the black hole of Brexit en route for la la land- oops sorry I mean the UK. 
Hope that she returns soon hale and hearty from blighty ! x
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“Maybe even the enamel off your teeth Peter.”
Not much of enamel left, I fear, Ann. I blame toothpaste. If you scrubbed your bath twice a day with an abrasive for 75 years it would have as many holes as a colander!
In Africa people clean their teeth with the fibres of a broken twig and spit, a natural lubricant and decontaminant. Most African adults have perfect teeth. And they consume very little sugar.
I’m feeling much better, Ann, and thanks for your kind enquiry: hardly any after-effects from the shingles, which cleared up in a fortnight or so.
Berlina needs a break from me, and needs to see our kids after a year’s absence. The house feels empty without her but I’ve got a pile of ironing to do and jobs around the house and garden to keep me busy. I’m not a Christmas person at all, find it tiresome and cliché. While I was nursing I spent most Christmases at work on the wards, which suited me well, and helped to give the women time off with their families.
Well Peter if ever you run out of jobs to do I can always give you loads of work !
I too am not really a Christmas person but do make an effort for mum’s sake. Hence the Christmas tree is up inside + a few lights outside around a broken branch stuck in the ground!
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Caring as you do for mum is the real Christmas spirit, Ann, so a peck on the cheek for you both from me 
and it beats me how I got round to describing African bush-toothbrushes ('tho it’s true)… Methinks I have too much time on my hands… Devil makes work for idle hands? 