Canny lass

Don't you forget to make time for yourself! Caring for a loved one can be hard work at times and you need time for rest and relaxation if you're going to cope and keep your health intact.

"and Lord help anyone who taketh the tree I've had my eye on since early October" Book of CL (CL 1:1)

It's a very small percentage of trees that are exported and we import from Denmark to make up the deficit. There are about 4.5 million households in Sweden and about 3 million of them buy a tree. About 2.8 million of them are Swedish the rest are Danish. Of course, there are plenty of families who don't buy a tree as they own plenty themselves. Funnily enough it's not really acceptable to chop down one of your own so there's a lot of stealing in late December. It usually evens itself out. You take one of somebody else's trees and somebody takes one of yours. Not that I'd ever do anything like that 😇

Which "rising temperatures" would that be? Coldest summer I've experienced in almost 40 years here!

The weather is mainly COLD and WET! The forests are also mainly COLD and WET! Nine out of ten forest fires here are caused by people rather than climate so this year there have been much fewer forest fires as people haven't been outdoors BBQing and leaving 'single-use BBQs' to smoulder in anywhere near the usual amount - because of the weather Of the attached maps the first, mainly blue, shows July rainfall this year. The second, mainly green, shows rainfall this July as a percentage of July rain in the years since 1991. July 2023 must have been, literally, a gift from heaven for the fire brigade! We did have four days of 'proper' summer weather in June and then the BBQers, and the fire brigade, were out in force.

It's not looking good!

I prefer the word ’notion’ myself because the idea that women are better than men, when it comes to multitasking, hasn’t been proved either one way or the other. ”Myth” rather suggests that it has. Studies have shown a great deal of inconsistency, to say the least with results ranging from: they are, they aren’t, they sometimes are, they might be and they are in some types of multi-tasking – yes there are several types apparently, including even a type where the tasks involved ”do not need to be carried out simultaneously ” (Sorry can’t remember the researcher but it was quite recently, Bergen University, I think) - but you're right, we really shouldn't knock it and just be grateful that somebody can (she says while rocking the youngest great grandchild's 'bouncer' with one foot, scratching her lower leg with the other foot, reading a story to his brother, trying to write this and planning dinner!)

Now, if you had said that Mal, I would have thought ”Now there’s a sensible man who really understands the complexity of the female’s cognitive functioning. A rare animal indeed!

..... only female drivers then?

Quote: ”North Tyneside and Wansbeck will cease to exist, while new constituencies will be created elsewhere to reflect population changes. The BCE is under a legal obligation to propose constituencies within 5% of the electoral quota, meaning the number of registered voters for each constituency in the country must be between 69,724 and 77,062” (my underlining) Procreation! That’s the problem! There’s clearly not enough of it in Wansbeck. Get that improved and we can swing this the other way in 18 years!

Well, you're probably getting Sweden's share of the 'heatwave'! Coldest July I've ever experienced with temps between 9 and 17, and this is usually our hottest month! I've had to get the winter duvets out of storage.

Don't let anybody tell you it's over! It's still running amok. Despite five vaccinations and still rigorously hand washing, I am now recovering from my second dose pf Covid in 3 MONTHS!! Feeling, and probably looking, like a half wrung out floor cloth at the minute. Trying to catch up on the reading but don't expect any real input from me for a while. Stay safe!!!

OMG! That is horrendous! There should be a national 'Miner's Day' when we pay homage and give thanks to all miners for their efforts.

That was very thoughtful of you. Thanks.

Thanks Eggy! I don't know why that link doesn't work here and I didn't think to check it. It works fine for me, saved as a bookmark.

Derek Johnstone 1946 - 2022 It is with a great deal of sadness that I recently learned of the passing away of a valued member of this forum. Derek Johnstone, better known to us as ’Rigger’, is no longer with us. I first met Derek when he and I entered class JR1 at Westridge Secondary Modern School in Bedlington about 1959. I remember him there as a rather quiet, well mannered and very intelligent teenager who was very well liked and respected by pupils and teachers alike. He was a good classmate and I can’t remember Derek ever being in trouble for misbehaviour of any kind. I have particularly fond personal memories of being helped by Derek when struggling with the intricacies and mysteries of ’tech drawing’ which in my naivety I’d chosen to embark upon instead of needlework. He had the patience of a saint. It wasn’t just in the academic subjects he made his mark, Derek, a keen sportsman played football for the school team and went on to devote many hours of his time in training and matches with Bedlington Juniors where he was goalkeeper (pictured below in the scchool team, top row, 3rd from left). He became a keen golfer in later years, so his love of sport had clearly remained with him. After leaving school Derek became an electrician working first in his native Bedlington, at the Doctor Pit, before moving to the coalfields of Yorkshire then South Africa before returning to the UK to take up the very responsible position of overseeing safety in the Aberdeen Offshore Oil Industry. He remained in Aberdeen until his death. Derek was a family man. His marriage to New Delaval girl, Patricia (Pat) Brown, gave him three lovely sons: Kristian, Julian and Graeme. Tragically, Pat died very young leaving Derek to shoulder not only his grief but also that of the children and the responsibility for their upbringing. He seems to have done a remarkable job with Kristian now living and working in Dubai, Graeme living and working in Thailand (seemingly having followed in his father’s footseps in the offshore industry) and Julian living and working in Belfast. Derek did remarry but, sadly, once again a caring role was suddenly thrust upon him when his second wife, Irean, developed Alzheimers disease. After many, many years my path crossed again with Derek’s when he became ’Rigger’ a member of this forum. Rigger was not a frequent visitor but his posts were always informative and interesting, sharing valuable knowledge of people and places in and around Bedlington. Helpful as ever, he’d never forgotten his Bedlingtonian roots. Even in other areas of the Internet, Derek has left an an enormous legacy to anyone having have roots in Bedlington. His work ’Bedlington Soldiers Who Died in the Great War: Summaries of the brave soldiers from Bedlington and the surrounding area who did not return from the 1914 – 1918 War’ is a one-man masterpiece. (http://www.newmp.org.uk/memimages//05.%20Enlistment%20Project%20Compiled%20Version.pdf) It is, I’m sure, the result of years of patient research and writing on his part paying homage to the brave men of Bedlington who gave their lives in the Great War. I also know that this work was a tribute to his grandfather whom he loved and admired. It is not just an essay, it is a work of academic standard well worth a read and a valuable source of information to those, like myself, researching family history. Last year, Derek was diagnosed with an aggressive and inoperable brain cancer to which he succumbed after only five months. He died in November 2022 aged 76 years. His person has been described to me by his life-long friend David Cowans as ”a friendly boy and a nice man” who ”had a positive manner and a genuine, easy-going charm”. I cannot other than agree. Thank you for your contribution. Rest in Peace Rigger. Thank you to Derek’s brother Ray, David Cowans, and Glynis Lynn who have provided me with information and photos.

Hi Heather, welcome to the forum. Nesbitt has been a fairly common name in Bedlington, Netherton and Cramlington. It's popped up often during my research. Can you say anything more about Thomas: date of birth or parents names are always a good start. Do you know his place of birth or his occupation?

Even more late .. but hpe it was a happy one for all of you!

That's not a bad suggestion, Tony. Thanks.

.... tanker?