A new watch.
It does not fit my big wrist so now i have to go along with the buyer to test many that will fit to see which is best. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!
I have enough but it's the thought that counts i guess.
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I agree but it's still a lovely time for kids mine was up at 5 am & didn't sleep much from 12 midnight!!
Ate 2x helpings of dinner and was stuffed but happy days.
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A broken Mac - see other thread :-(
Oh and some handkerchieves. Who uses them these days. I've slung hundreds out over the years. I don'y want any more!
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>>
>> Oh and some handkerchieves. Who uses them these days. I've slung hundreds out over the
>> years. I don't want any more!
I use 'em - can't abide tissues - one blow and there's a hole and correspondingly soggy fingers. YUK!
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SWMBO in mild panic mode all month leading up to and beyond the main event.
I hope things will calm down come the new year.
P.S, we only have two adult offspring to cater for and no travelling :-(
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A pair of slippers two sizes too big.
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The second 400g bar of chocolate. Better eat it though - rude not to.
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Absolutely nothing.
I bought all my own presents, both from where I work and my local beer emporium, then swmbo + t'others paid my boss and myself for the goodies.
Not a penny wasted and big smiles all round.
Why has it taken so long for this system to be introduced?
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Car & Kitchen Legacylad? No hidden agenda here, just happen to slightly know that business, or did anyway.
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It only occurred to me on Christmas Eve that I'd forgotten to get myself anything. Hurriedly bought a couple of classic car magazines and gave them to daughter to giftwrap and label. Problem solved :)
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No Humph, but warm!
For swmbo I organised a new, log effect gas stove.Organised I stress, not paid for.The old fire had been kapput for several months, so using my organisational skills had one delivered 5 days before Xmas, and fitted the following day.
To say I have a surfeit of brownie points, together with the surprise tree lights, is a gross understatement.
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>> SWMBO in mild panic mode all month leading up to and beyond the main event.
Not married to the same woman, are we, H ?
Ted
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>> >> SWMBO in mild panic mode all month leading up to and beyond the main event.
>>
>> Not married to the same woman, are we, H ? >> Ted
>>
It makes me feel a little better that I am not the only one who is griiting is teeth " Yes Dear, I am sure that will be OK" and I think we will have exhausted ( motoring link?) all those stock piled food supplies.
The good news is that a turkey crown is now acceptable so less hacking required and less days to get rid of its debris. The better news is that we , in error, got a smaller one so I am rehearsing for 2012 " That size was fine last year dear".
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SWM's policy this year...If it moves, shout at it ! (Me ) If it doesn't move, clean it.
She knew we had 5 adults coming together with 5 under 10s. Why did the tops of the doors have to be polished, the bed moved and vacuumed underneath ( bearing in mind it's an inch from the carpet ) ? The lounge and dining room were no strangers to the roar of the cleaner several times, only to result at teatime yesterday with the comment ' I don't know why I did all this cleaning '
Same as last year....the extension looks like an off-licence. The two fridges and both freezers bulge like a glutton's stomach...and that's after we've eaten.. We are the current owners of 6 pints of milk and we'd have two more tomorrow if I hadn't put a note out .
Two weeks of sheer madness prevail prior to the big day. It'll all happen again next year, I expect. Went out on a job this morning, it was a pleasure to get away for an hour !
Girls..I love 'em but I don't understand them !
Ted
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As mere simplistic males I think what we have to understand is that Christmas is like heroin to women. They know they shouldn't let it control them but the temptation is too compelling. Only outweighed by the ultimate power of weddings in this respect in my experience anyway. Our role is to agree to, cooperate with and praise the wisdom of the excess. Having survived the storm we must then offer reassurance that it was indeed all worthwhile and that the abject waste of and indeed aquisition of huge quantities of unused perishables is but collateral damage in the pursuit of a greater good.
At all costs, we must under no circumstances point out that a major side effect of all this is the fact that she's "porked up a bit" during the battle. This undoes all.
:-)
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"Porked up a bit"?
Good lord I hope she is not reading this. You might get away with your life if you say she has become more "Cuddly" -But porked up a bit? We'll all be attending your funeral, complete with mock tudor coffin.
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>>Only outweighed by the ultimate power of weddings i<<<
add first prospective grandchild to that list!
Last edited by: pmh on Tue 27 Dec 11 at 10:03
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Oh ok, hadn't got there yet. Son is only 11. Do you think I should start putting something aside now?
:-)
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Son? ah at least you don't have the wedding to pay for.
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Is that still the deal? Good stuff !
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....and another thing. I was looking forward to a week off. I've managed to scrape an annual total of 9 days leave in 2011 which is two more than 2000 and blinking 10 so I mustn't grumble I suppose but now I'm being accused of being anti-chuffing-social because I can't bring myself to sit through yet another sodding period drama. How many scenes of anguished scorned women sitting on windowsills of country houses drinking tea in the company of an aged harridan of a dowager duchess are strictly necessary I ask? And as for Colin-ruddy-Firth...
Dog's never had so many walks I can tell you.
:-(
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A phone holder that mounts on my bike handlebars!
When I am cycling, I use the phone to listen to the radio or to track my journey. I have no need to touch the phone once I set off and if anyone texts me or phones me when I am on my bike they have got no chance of getting a reply!
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What did you actually ask for? Someone to give you a bell?...
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What did santa bring that you didn't need?.......
My in-laws. Last 2 days have felt like an eternity.
Spent xmas day being shown the 700 pictures from their holiday visiting the war graves of Germany
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Just been looking at all my pressies today (first proper chance I had).
Apart from all the selection box type things most of it is useful, the most crap thing is probably the Jeremy Clarkson book, I am not sure why my mother keeps buying them me all the other volumes are in the lock up, is that not a hint?
Although I used to find them entertaining, just can't be bothered now.
Got a book on how to trace local history, its actually very interesting but again it will only turn me into even more of a Roy Cropper character.
Got a Brother label maker which is actually very useful, been using it to price up all my stock, if the customer receives it with a price on it I feel less like I am ripping them off with 30% margins on some goods.
I suppose the Dewalt drill was over the top, but I did casually mention to my mother a few weeks ago, "I might buy a Dewalt drill when I next buy one, I am sick of buying cheap crap all the time" she must have thought it was a hint.
Bought my dad a pair of Senheiser PX100 MK2s and so far not sure why I bothered, I am not sure he would have been able to tell the difference between these (cost me £30 but cost £40 in Currys etc) and a £1 pair at Poundland.
The gift my dad seems most impressed by is his Eddie Stobart membership.
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>> not sure why my mother keeps buying them me all the other volumes are in the lock up,
Because she thinks you like him and the presents. She probably thinks that maybe they go to the charity shop (not the lockup) but you like them. You need to tell her.
>> Got a Brother label maker which is actually very useful
Is this like a Dymo... could work out expensive to run. I'd prefer an A4 (or A5) printed receipt with a breakdown of cost.
>> Bought my dad a pair of Senheiser PX100 MK2s and so far not sure why
>> I bothered, I am not sure he would have been able to tell the difference
>> between these (cost me £30 but cost £40 in Currys etc) and a £1 pair
>> at Poundland.
Why I am not surprised. You like music and good quality audio. Don't assume your dad did too :-)
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Books are always a problem present for me to get. My great passion is the history of Britain's railways, not particularly the things that run on them. One of my most treasured possessions is the 16 volume set ' The Regional Histories of GB Railways '
So, people buy you bools that hold no interest whatsoever for me...last year a friend bought me a book on the GWR......except it wasn't, it was just a small book of preserved GWR locomotives. A sort of ' mini coffee table book.
I like books with plenty of information and, perhaps, a few historical photos. The rest are re-cycled after a quick look.
My mother was crap at presents, loved her dearly but...a plastic knight in armour with a lance ?
A moulded plastic 3D scene of a joust in imitation bronze ? A made-up coat of arms for the family name ? I don't even like the ' medieval scene/culture ' .
This year I got me mug, a videocam with memorycard and bag and a bottle of Ardbeg. Plus the sweets I gave away.
That'll do for me.
Nite nite
Ted
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My dads pleased he got headphones, he needed them as his were broken and uses his personal CD player a lot (remember them?) I just don't think he appreciated me spending so much money on them, but in the long term they will last much longer my PX100s (I use for portable use) are 5 years old and still work.
I get lots of books on buses and local trains, they are actually worth a quick read but thats it, and to be fair they are just £5 stocking fillers from places like the Works.
Music is very hard to buy for me, as my parents don't understand or like the music I like.
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>>
>> Books are always a problem present for me to get. My great passion is the
>> history of Britain's railways, not particularly the things that run on them. One of my
>> most treasured possessions is the 16 volume set ' The Regional Histories of GB Railways
>> '
>>
The only volume I've got of those is the West Country one, the cover looks like a boring 70s school textbook but the text is very readable for a book of line histories; written by David St. John Thomas IIRC. Must look for a few more volumes.
I see the Hornby compound is in stock at Hatton's so hopefully widely available now.
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>> I see the Hornby compound is in stock at Hatton's so hopefully widely available now.
>>
Indeed it is Spammy. My daughter went into our local shop to buy some vouchers for my birthday ( which started 3 minutes ago ) they had discontinued the vouchers but when they heard I was a regular, they asmitted to keeping a few ' under the counter ' so she bought me a couple.
They also told her that my compound was in and waiting. I'll be down there on Friday !
I may even post a photo..........just to bore the non-believers !
Ted
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>>My in-laws. Last 2 days have felt like an eternity.
Spent xmas day being shown the 700 pictures from their holiday visiting the war graves of Germany<<
Hehe! - That's how I learnt all about jamjars whch eventually led to a career in the mota trade,
I used to be bored to death on visits to the outlaws, so I'd be forever outside with my head stuck under the bonnet of my £30 Triumph Herald convertible (and luved it!)
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There's my eight-week-old grandson, my widowed SIL's wedding tomorrow and my eldest daughter's wedding next year.
I may disappear for periods as SWMBO goes into meltdown mode - Yes dear, I'm coming..........
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Never underestimate the power over the fair sex of an opportunity to "wear" or buy.
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>> What did santa bring that you didn't need?.......
>>
>> My in-laws. Last 2 days have felt like an eternity.
>>
I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to spend a night or more in someone else's home over Christmas (or any other time for that matter). You just can't relax like you do in your own pad and you feel you have to be interesting and entertaining all the time rather than slob about like you normally do.
And you have to put up with their choice of crap TV programmes.
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Absolutely, Robin - and the hosts would usually much prefer to have their house to themselves. If people must get together with siblings, outlaws etc. why not arange a 'bargain break' in a hotel during the summer - probably little more expensive given what gets spent on Christmas dinner.
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I dunno - up in Kendal at parents' place now along with sister's family and it's very relaxing. Not even missing Eastenders :)
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Nice part of the world, especially some of the outlying villages.
I was going to take the dog over Arnside Knott this afternoon, but decided to leave the car in the garage and walk over to Feizor. That got rid of any cobwebs.
One of my favourite pubs is the Eagle & Child at Staveley, not a million miles from Kendal. We hold our LDWA group Xmas dinner there in February.
Back to subject..i didn't need an Emirates seat sale on Xmas Day as that cost me dear. Swmbo has a milestone bday next year and wanted to visit foreign parts where daughter lives (again). Even more brownie points. Can I exchange them for Shell V Power?
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Ah yes ....Emirates ... not my favourite airline.
Last week I was delayed three hours in Dubai on the way to Doha when one of the planes had an engine problem resulting in me arriving arriving at 1:30 am instead of 10: 30 pm .
Return journey then delayed 90 minutes with no explanation resulting in a mad dash of what seemed like miles through Dubai airport at 2 :30 am to catch my connection to Gatwick....
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>> Ah yes ....Emirates ... not my favourite airline.
>>
>> Last week I was delayed three hours in Dubai on the way to Doha when
>> one of the planes had an engine problem....
Not an A380 was it?
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Not an A380 but a 777 Mikey....
We were at a stand next to an A380 but I have not yet flown in one.
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What did santa bring that you didn't need? - Roger.
