That sounds like a hard day at work for you Hicky?
Glad the dentist wasn't tooo bad.

It was a horrible, wet, cold day here.

I had Haggis, neeps and tatties in honour of Burns night.
Burns night was actually yesterday, but I forgot all about it, so I had it tonight.  

I already had the lot in the freezer anyway from months ago, so i didn't have to go to any bother.

I watched Survivors at 9pm and recorded CBB, so I'm just watching that now.
Stephie was very funny in the diaryroom, when she couldn't stop laughing.

Good Morning Everyone.

It's not too bad here, just a bit of wind, not very warm.

It will be interesting to see who goes tonight in CBB, hope Nicola stays in till Friday anyway.

I'll have to get one of those Haggis Emptybox, never tried them, but as I like any food I don't see why I shouldn't enjoy it, but they seem massive.

Good afternoon all

Hicky...
gosh, you did have a long work day yesterday. And sounds like you had a late tea too. Your OH must of fancied your potatoes when she smelt them. Hope you can relax and unwind a bit today.
Yes I agree, Vinnie is a silent assasin, but with any luck he is assasinating his own chances of doing well in this game.

Emptybox
glad you got to enjoy your Burns night meal, even if it was a bit late.  
I too thought Steph was so funny last night, well it was hilarious how she broke that trophy without even meaning too. I thought Ivana was so sweet and ladylike during that task. I hope her and Steph stay tonight. And I also thought Alex and the spray tan was hilarious.   I hope he stays too.
would like to see horrible Vinnie go, but sounds like for some reason, he has a lot of supporters. Haven't liked him at all since day 1. He sneers at others constantly, but can't take it back at all.

Time for me to sort the washing out again, then help daughter with some of her college work, because she has missed 2 weeks with being ill.  Last night her tutor gave me some notes to help her catch up.

Hi Mollie.

I might be going over to Costco to see if they have any crab legs in, just fancy a few, they are so yummy.

-----------------
Davina McCall will preside over a double eviction on Celebrity Big Brother tonight, but wll also enter the house in disguise.

The first evictee tonight will be wearing an animal costume for a dressing-up task, and after they are evicted, Davina is said to be entering wearing their costume as a disguise.

However, she won't be speaking to the celebs or revealing her true identity.

Big Brother viewers have always wanted Davina in the house - their dreams may come true tonight!

Its for everyone this place
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin
Better layout as well. My username on there is hyperupdate. I will welcome you on the newbie section all alongside the wonderful mod/admin team on that site:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=98

I went to Costco, but the Shellfish/Fish stall doesn't open until tomorrow, it's just for the 3 days 28-30th, so hope I can get O/H to go back tomorrow.

I got a Haggis to try, but it feeds 4/5 people, got a big box of crab sticks, a big piece of belly pork, a nice tray of Sushi, haven't had that for a while.
While we were there I had a Cottage Pie and a coffee, my O/H had a slice of Pizza, mind you they must be 60cm wide, massive ones.

Hi Hicky.
You must have got a big haggis. My Dad used to buy them from the butchers, and there was enough for two in them.

I presume it's one in a pudding shape?
The traditional way is to bring a pan of water to the boil, simmer the haggis till it's done, then take it out, cut it open and spoon out the contents, but it can be done in the oven according to this link.

It's already cooked, so you just need to heat it really, but it can take a while depending on the size. That site says 75 mins for a 1kg haggis.

they can have different consistancies, depending on the butcher, but to my mind the best ones are quite crumbly and spicy when you serve them. Goes great with mashed potato.

Hope you managed to get daughter's homework sorted Mollie.

Probably Alex and Jonas, would be my favourites to go. Just hope Nicola stays to the end.

You're not wrong there.
The boards go on forever. You can barely scroll to the end of them.

Hi Emptybox.

The Haggis weighs 2LB / 900grams and are available all year round in Sainsbury's, as you say there a few ways to reheat, just as well it's already cooked, it would be hard to cook.

I don't want to eat it on my own and waste loads, will see if my lad wants some.

Seemingly some mystery celeb is going in for a visit later.
Hope it's not a K.T. prize?

ETA: I hear elsewhere that it's just Davina going in dressed as an animal.  

Hi Emptybox.

It was supposed to be Davina in the costume that the evictee came out in, but Ivana and Steph are immune from wearing the costumes, Steph is probably the next evictee and she isn't in an Animal suit.
It seems that way anyway.

Good evening all
Hicky
pity about the closed seafish stall. Hope your OH wants to go back tommorrow.
we usually have a snack when we go to Costcos too. The kids have hot dogs, and I have the pizza. yes, the portions are huge. And the food very reasonably priced there. We like the cake area, because they always have free samples.

Emptybox
did you go out today? Or just do a few jobs around the house?

I don't want Alex or Jonus to go. It is Vinnie I don't like, but I know he won't go, because some like him. I thought Ivana came over very well in her eviction interview.

Hi Mollie.

I just did a few jobs around the house.

Poor Nicola.
I'm surprised more people didn't vote for her to win.

This forum is really playing up for me tonight.

Emptybox
I thought you may of been doing a bit of sorting in the house today.
Yes poor Nicola, being chucked out with no shoes. At least she took it well though.
I just hope that big head Vinnie doesn't win now.

I have just eaten a Cadbury creme egg.
I suppose we won't get them any more them when Kraft takes over Cadbury?   And the choc will probably end up not tasting as nice, as it does now. The choc in Oz was called Cadbury, but it was horrible compared to ours here. It was obviously a different recipe..... maybe to stop it melting in the heat. But they were very Americanised over there, so I bet the choccy is as bad in the states as in the Oz. 

It is a lot milder here tonight than last night.

Goodnight all

Good Night Emptybox & Mollie.

I have 3 days to get some crab legs so all isn't lost.
The massive cakes and Gateaus, and a sack of onions (5kg) for £2.50 or so, some of the prices are ridiculous.
But I love going round there.

I'm very disappointed that Nicola is out, would have even loved her to win.
Not sure now if it will be Alex, Dane or Vinnie.

Not sure if Kraft will take over Cadbury, they have to borrow the money, and the bank they are going to borrow it from is mainly owned by us isn't it.
A bit confusing anyway.
I don't think we can afford to lose anything else, we have nothing left now, all the World owns us.

Good afternoon all
Not a bad day here, seems a lot milder.
Just taken the dog a walk.

Hicky..
hope you had a nice lie in for your day off.
Yes riduclous about Cadbury. I heard one of cadburys staff saying that as a tax payer, he was effectively paying somone to make him redundant. ie.. as a tax payer he was funding the tax payer owned bank.. rbs to lend to another American company (Kraft) to buy out Cadbury, ther Kraft will come in and axe staff already at Cadburys.   George Galloway said to him that he hadn't even realised that our state banks were providing loads of money to Kraft to do this, and it was ridiculous. Too true.

I am not sure who will win CBB now, I would prefer it not to be Vinnie or Dane though. Those two seem to have had a superior attitude to the other HM's.

Hope you all have a good day.

Good Afternoon Mollie.

Temp 5.5 outside, cloudy with some wind.
Had a lovely lie in.

Going to Costco tomorrow for some crab legs.

It's hard to say who will win CBB as the betting hasn't been a good bet this time.

It could be Dane, Alex or Vinnie depends who has made the most fans lately.

I was Sorry to see Nicola go out last night but she's do all right, hope she can get a job off the back of this show, I think she will.

Have a good day everyone.

Dentist at 11am
That's something to look forward to then., not.

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►*♥*♥* Good Morning Everyone *♥*♥*◄
►*♥*♥* Hope you are all well*♥*♥*◄
►*♥*♥* Still & Cool here today *♥*♥*◄
►*♥*♥* It's Happy Friday  *♥*♥*◄
►*♥*♥* Hope you all have a lovely day *♥*♥*◄
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Good morning all
Hicky
hope the dentist visit goes ok. Yes, not a pleasant start for a Friday for you.
Enjoy your visit to  Costco.

Yes, there seems to be no obvious winner for this years CBB.
So should be interesting tonight.
It is still mild here, but I hear it is cooling down up by Emptybox again.

Hi Mollie.

I might get brekkie from Morrisons after the Dentist, yummy.

I think maybe Alex will win tonight, he is becoming pretty popular in spite of his strange G/F.

Hoping to go to Costco again this afternoon.

Just heard we are hosting a party Saturday afternoon for one of the Grand Children, she's 5 I think.
So it looks like i'll be making Jellies and sandwiches, O/H can get Sausage rolls etc to warm up, also the cocktail Sausages go down well.

Just seen sleet or snow coming down, I'm on my way now anyway, see you later.

Well, that's my tooth sorted, how brave am I then, Dentist asked if I wanted the gum  frozen, I said try it without, it was ok, lucky really, didn't have to pay more either, pleased about that.

Went for Brekkie then, then picked up Medication from Chemist.

It's a Beautiful day here now.
Got my new car Tax as well, it came through yesterday, £215 for the year, it goes up £5 a year.

Hicky
well you get the bravery award of the day today.
Glad you got that tooth all sorted, is the infection all cleared now?.... that brekkie out was well deserved.
If I can bear it, I too prefer a filling minus an injection. Can't stand the way it takes ages for the numbness to wear off after.

Nice day here too.
So expensive now to tax a car, isn't it?

What a turnaround it would be for Alex to win, after he was so unpopular. But just goes to show, no-one knew him, we just had a perception of him from the press. After seeing him in the house, I do find him a likeable fella. He needs to get himself a new gf though.

Been to Tesco to get some groceries today.
Got a nice French stick, brie and grapes for later today.

Hi Mollie.

The filling wasn't in the tooth that had the Abscess, don't think the abscess was associated with a tooth at all, think I must have poked the gum at the back.

Don't like getting the needle, but it depends on if a nerve is there or not probably.
I managed anyway without jumping out of my skin, he did say if it hurts raise your hand.

I got 2 crab claws and 4 legs £37 but they look delish, yummy.
Got a big bag of 'Naturally sweetened dried Apricats, and a bag of plums, to save eating sweets while i'm on the Puter.
Oh, and a 550g container of Japanese Mix - Rice Snacks, less than 1% fat, instead of crisps.

Your French stick with Bri and grapes sounds ok too, it's nice to have so much Variety these days.

I cooked a big piece of Belly Pork yesterday, the crackling was so good, I had just deep scored it and oiled it then covered with sea salt flakes, that's what they seem to use on all the cooking programs these days, not sure why though, but I like it.

CBB at 8.30 tonight, think Alex may win with Dane second.

Good evening all
Hicky...Glad you didn't jump out of your skin at the dentist. Let's hope you dont have any more problems now.
Hope you enjoy your crab claws.
You are being good , exchanging your sweeties for healthy snacks. I like those rice snacks, nice and light and low in fat.
Glad your crackling came out well.

Shame this is the last CBB ever, because it has been a good series, with good funny tasks. I really don't know who will win this one, think it may be close.

I don't really think it will be the last CBB, I think they will be revived, if they can find Celebs to go in anyway.
Not long to go now anyway.

I must have got half a pound of crab meat out of that claw, that's a lot of crab.

Hicky...  hope it isn't the last CBB, seems silly if it is, because they have had a lot of viewers, and media attention.
Glad you got so much out of your crabs.
enjoy the show.

Well, I thought Steph would be out first then Jonas, wasn't sure about Vinny next, serves him right though.
He shot himself in the foot, he must think all the US is voting for him.

Have a feeling Alex will win now anyway, he has done so good to turn things round.

Another pic of Diana during a photoshoot in some wooded area somewhere.

Evening.
That was brave at the dentist Hicky.
I always opt to get an injection for a filling, so I don't know what it would be like without?
Years ago injections seemed to last for hours, but they seem to be much better nowadays. The worst bit is getting the injection.

Hope your kids party goes well tomorrow Hicky.

That's terrible for road tax.
I expect the Jag will be about the same.
The van is a bit cheaper thankfully.

You're right Mollie. It was freezing cold here today. Sunny though.
I got a few hours of work done, but my fingers were frozen.
I had fingerless mittens on, and gardening gloves on top of that as well.

I went to the supermarket  at about 5pm. They are closing for a few days in a week's time to become a Haldanes store, and they had big banners outside saying 'Closing Down Sale. Up to 50% Off', so i thought I was going to get some bargains, but it was a big swizz.
My basket cost just as much as it does every week. It was only the occasional items that had anything knocked off, and nothing that I wanted.
Also they'd run out of a lot of stuff.

I suppose Alex was an OK winner, but I wasn't that bothered after Nicola was evicted.
Pity Stephanie didn't get a bit further up though.

Watching BBBM I see Preston in the audience. Pity Chantelle isn't there.

Hi Hicky Hope you don't mind me popping in, but missed you and all your info over on the BB forum. Sorry about the dentist....

Hi Emptybox and Bazille.
I thought I would try getting the filling without the injection because I wasn't sure if it would hit the nerve so I thought it's worth a try, it was ok, a bit uncomfortable but he didn't hit the nerve.

I could go straight to get brekkie but had to take it easy on the filling side so didn't have anything hard that needed chewing.

The party went well, only had 5 little ones and 5 grown ups so that's no problem really.

Had plenty of food anyway.

It was a lovely day, very Sunny with clear Skys, just a little cool.

That closing down sale wasn't so good then, maybe the good bargains had already gone.

I think Alex was the right winner, only because I didn't fancy any of the others winning, once Nicola was out I wasn't that bothered.

Hi Bazille.
No-one came to my CBB thread after the 19th so I assumed everyone was going to another thread, I was posting on DS most of the time so didn't know where everyone had gone.

Anyway, it's all over now till the summer, and we have Dancing on Ice and 'So you can Dance' to watch.

I know.... it was a bit confusing having two threads......I did try jumping from one to another for a while, but it got a bit 

Hi Hicky and Bazille.

Lovely sunny day here but very cold. Don't think it's been above zero all day, and it's below freezing now.
Glad your party was a hit Hicky.


Did some housework, hoovering etc, and was checking over the car and van - tyre pressures etc. That was cold.

I was also doing some sorting out in my Father's workshop.
He was a stickmaker (shepherd's crooks and fancy walking sticks etc), and he ran a local club, and he wanted all his stickdressing stuff to be donated to the club. There's someone coming to pick it up on Tuesday, so I was getting it organized.

Hi Emptybox.

It's not quite as cold here, hovering between Zero and 3 deg, too cold for working outside.

That was an unusual job your Dad had, never seen anyone doing that recently, but have seen the results, some remarkable walking sticks, I suppose it was allprivate sale stuff with it all being hand made.
I don't suppose you want to carry on with the tradition then?

Hi Hicky.

It was a hobby of his, along with his motorcycling and vintage bikes.
He won many trophies and prizes, but never sold any sticks, although he had plenty of offers. 

I've got no skills or inclination in that direction.

Good evening all
I must be going doo-lal-ee, I thought I had posted this afternoon after I had read the posts here, but then saw there was no "Mollie posting" today, then remembered that I had forgotten to post here.

Emptybox...
well it seems nearly every day you are coming up with a little bit more of fascinating info about you or your family's history. (as does Hicky with his different tales). Fancy your dad making walking sticks.   Like Hicky, I too have seen some lovely ones of these. My OH's brother used to do a lot of mountain walking, and he had a few of them.
This is what I like about real people, the more you get to know about people, the more of interest there is to find out about them, or their families.
Aaawww I bet that will be sad for you Emptybox when they come to pick them up, but at least you know where your father wanted them to go. Are you going to keep one for yourself?

below zero all day... sounds like winter is back for you again. You did well doing a couple of hours work in that cold. Hope you soon warmed up when you got home.
It was cool and frosty this morning here, but has been a lovely day here today, and quite mild when the sun was out.
Shame you didn't get any bargains in the closing down sale, lets's hope the new shop is ok for your staples when it opens.

Hicky
Glad to hear the family party went well. I bet the kids had real fun. And I bet you and your OH enjoyed a few of those party snacks too. Hope you aren't too exhausted after the party. I like the Diane pics. I have a smiliar nice coat with a fake fur trimmed hood. Very warm it is.

Yes I think Alex was a worthy winner, such an inoffensive fella, and he seemed to get on well with all the HM's and have fun in the house. 

Me and OH went to Asda for brekkie this morning. Very nice as usual.
Had to get son a suit for his performance with the drama club. Luckily we got a nice one for £20!

Bazille
welcome to Hicky's chat thread.
I like your avatar.

well, nearly bed time for me, think I will have a read of one of my books in bed.

did anyone see Pop to Opera?  I recorded it last night, and just watched it. I am really impressed with Corrie's Kim Marsh.   They are finding it really hard learning to sing these opera songs in a foreign language in such a short time, but are doing really well. I think Marlene looks really smart on it.
Goodnight all.

Hi Mollie.

We are keeping all my Dad's finished sticks.
We decided that each member of the family should get one, and I've kept my favourite for myself.
My cousins all chose theirs when they were up for the funeral, and my nephews have chosen theirs as well.
It's his unfinished sticks, hazel shanks and horns etc, and the equipment that he used to make them, that is being donated to the club.

Here's a piccy of the one I'm keeping for myself.
It's not his most fancy one, but I think it is lovely and well balanced.



The head is made from a water buffalo horn and it's on a varnished hazel shank.
It's based on a shepherd's neck crook (for catching sheep round the neck ).

I watched some of Popstar to Operastar.
That Marcella Detroit is fantastic.
Darius isn't half bad either.
Be better without that idiot Meatloaf though.

Hi Mollie & Emptybox.

I've done that Mollie, thought I'd posted before today, some times the post doesn't go through.

A lot of clearing up to do from the party though.

I didn't see the Pop to Opera, don't really like Opera anyway.

It's a good idea to distribute the stick Emptybox, and it's nice to give all the related equipment away.

It's a while since I saw a water Buffalo around here.

Aye. You have to know where to look Hicky.  

Night.

Good morning all
It's another lovely frosty sunny morning here today.
A day that I really enjoy pegging out my washing. I prefer it to hot sticky summer days.

Emptybox
what a lovely piccy. What a work of art it is. I am not surprised he won trophies and prizes for them. Glad to hear you and the family are keeping all those completed sticks. No water buffalo here in Wales either Hicky.
Oh yes,Pop Star-Opera... I forgot how good Marclla is, and Darius was really good this week.
Hicky.. I think you would like this show, I don't like opera, but it is mainly light stuff that I have heard, and I think you would enjoy seeing Marlene and Kim Marsh on it.

Hicky..
I am not surprised it was a lot of tidying up to do, after all those people came for the party. That is the worst thing about a party, the tidying up after.
Do you have any visitors today?

Brekkie time for me.
Think I will have a bit of the toasted granary bread I bought yesterday.
Hope you all have a good Sunday.