mrsgoggins

Love those toenails 😁. Joyful photo - well deserved too!

I thought just the same. Good on you for your initiative though 👍

@grapau27 This would apply to me too, but I am also sending my congratulations for today to you both, and my appreciation to Pauline for her fabulous table display for the family meal you had last night - it looked so inviting 🥂

I know I'm not a 'regular regular' myself but I was thinking the same thing, especially about Avril. Andy sometimes takes a break I know. I try to give myself a reminder every now and then to post, because I would hate this threat to wither away. So I shall share that I am having a few days alone as DH has gone away on one of his hobby jaunts. Today I visited the dentist; nothing required not even a follow-up to the hygienist (it must be the quality chocolate I eat 😉). Tomorrow I'm meeting college friends for a meal not far from Oldham, an area I don't know well but I drive to my friend's house in Worsley (near Manchester) and she does the remainder of the drive in her car - a blessing since I loathe the M60/M62. I'll be meeting another friend enroute at Bent's, a 'destination' garden centre just off the East Lancs road, and trying hard to resist their (breakfast) thick, buttered granary toast, which must be the only bargain to be had in the place; it also has fabulous cakes at fabulous prices! I'm a bit miffed with myself because they give you a free cake in your birthday month if you hold a loyalty card. My birthday was last month and I missed it for the second year running. A bit far to travel just for a free cake though. I'm out for lunch on Sunday to a pub I've not been to before with my elderly neighbour. A pleasant couple of days until DH returns on Sunday evening. Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend whatever your plans ☺️

I seem to recall that you and I were on the same Princess cruise last year, and I agree that their system did appear to be so much better than P&O, but it has now changed. Last year you selected your boarding time in advance from available times, now it really does appear to be a ‘turn up when you want’ system. I’m cruising with Princess again next month and so I’ll get to experience the new ‘free for all’ system myself. I am puzzled as to why they changed it.

I have an 18 year old Jazz with less than 60000 miles on the clock but bought a new Jazz last autumn, mostly because 'it was time' and I wanted heated seats and a heated steering wheel ☺️But, DH still drives locally in the old one (the front seats go back further giving more legroom and he's tall) and we have another car, a diesel estate, which we use for long journeys (eg Southampton). He also has a (much cherished) long-wheelbase VW van for his hobby! Fortunately we have a very long, concealed driveway. And just to reinforce that we are a bit bonkers to have 4 taxed and insured vehicles for the 2 of us, importantly they are all red!

Absolutely!

I've only taken quick glances at the posts here just recently as life was happening at at pace! So I've skim read a few more pages today and thought I would chip in on the BBC chat with something that really puzzles me. I'm largely supportive of the BBC (I didn't approve of the cuts to local radio last year, and some of the salaries paid and DH was always irritated by the pay of Gary Lineker and Huw Edwards). My beef with them is the amount of duplication of staff to cover news stories in the regions which also have national interest. Just why? For my money, the local BBC team of journalists are very good so why can they not be used to do the same stories for the national news? Time and time again you see the BBC news reporting the same stories, from the same spots with the only difference being the presenters! I still regard the BBC as something to be treasured but that doesn't mean it should be free from scrutiny. It feels good to get that off my chest, as I've moaned about it for years 😉

Thanks for the suggestion, but even the Tech assistance operator in the Philippines was getting the same error messages when she went into my account, so unlikely to be my end. I am currently awaiting an email response from Customer service ..... 😏 I just hope our on board experience is happier than yours 🤞

Still sunny in SW Lancs Michelle 😉. Enjoy your day, hopefully those blue skies will return.

Good luck with that! I am on a Princess cruise in September - same one I think. My App has not worked since they made changes to the dining arrangements back in June, despite repeated attempts at reinstalling the App and following advice given! Their Tech support call centre appears to be in the Philippines and while they have tried to help, I have been promised interventions by Tech experts and one call-back, which has not happened. I rather think it's a bit of a mess right now 😏 My TA assures me that my booking is all in order and in place and so I remain optimistic that all will be well when I board. I hope you get a successful result from your calls 🤞

A couple of final photos of today’s outing as we head home tomorrow. The first is in Cochem and the other just a Mosel view as we travelled along. My husband has worked extensively in Germany, mostly in Gelsenkirchen and also Berlin and I have visited many times. We also camped, but in the late seventies and by the Rhine. I remember how noisy it was with trains both sides of the river. @brian1 you and Phil have crossed my thoughts a few times, most notably looking at the water level marks, with dates, alongside the Mosel river. After climbing 5 steps to enter a clothes shop yesterday, the owner showed us how far up the flooding had been inside her shop around the time of the Danube flooding that you were rescued from. Such a pity, but from what you say, TUI did right by you at least 👍

😁😁 Sure am! But the days when Blue Nun or Liebfraumilch were of any interest to me are long gone - now Apfelschorle (sparkling mineral water and apple juice) is my preferred drink 😇. Meanwhile, it’s been a surprise to see they still have cigarette machines dotted around the place, even in villages. This was in Bacharach, a town by the Rhine - the buildings weren’t really leaning! Cigarette machine Bacharach By the way @grapau27 those chips look so good! Tonight’s German meal has been a tuna salad from Lidl! Living the high life after our week on Iona last week 😉.

View of the Mosel river from the town of Zell And I do like a good carb-heavy continental breakfast 🙄 Wrong emoji, but can't change it, should have been 😁😁 to the breakfast.

I had breakfast by the Mosel river in Germany yesterday morning and the cappuccino's presentation was amusing!

Good morning all We have no interest in football, other than wishing the national team well. However we are coincidentally not very far from Dortmund at the moment, but intend to leave the area as soon as possible! It was 33C in this part of Germany yesterday so we are hoping for a slightly cooler day today after heavy thunderstorms. @indiana123, @lincslady and @Eglesbrech I could very easily have joined you all this morning! Is this mostly a female thing? DH sleeps easily whereas for me a good night is one with only two loo visits followed by returning to sleep immediately! Too much information 😉? @grapau27 I still love your morning ‘snack/breakfast by the sea’ photos - it makes me feel that all is well with the world somehow. Good luck to all with their BP quests; it has served as a reminder to check mine again once I’m home as it’s a few months since I last did it. @Vampiress88 Lovely photos of your girls at Disney. I have photos taken in front of those pots at Disney Springs too 😊

I am still getting the exact same message despite also being Platinum and having paid in full. My sailing on Sky is this September, so it doesn't have anything to with being more than a year out. Further proof comes from the fact that I have been able to book my dining on my next Princess cruise, also on Sky, more than a year out. Same App too! I have reinstalled the App several times and it doesn't change the message for my upcoming cruise, which is exactly the same as yours.

Oh that takes me back Avril 😅

I miss @Harry Peterson and the things we didn't say together....... I'd love to think he's left this forum because he's enjoying debating elsewhere 🤞

This exactly. I have LPAs for an elderly gentleman with dementia and despite it having been agreed with both the hospital and in his care plan at the home, he still gets taken to the hospital in the middle of the night from time to time when he vomits blood. This lovely man (he's a sweetie still) was released about 2 months ago with an 'end of life' plan in place and I was asked if he died in the ambulance returning him to the care home, whether they should continue or return his body to the hospital. Those of us close to him were convinced that we had said our goodbyes that night. He will celebrate his 95th birthday at the end of the month with a chocolate cake 🎂 at his request 😁 I just hope that they don't take him to hospital again and I wish the same for your mum @P&O SUE, unless it's for something they can actually 'fix'.

I'm definitely with you on that. It's awful. We go in early and always hope that nearby tables don't order it. We did try it once when we dined outdoors and enjoyed it, but won't be ordering it inside, ever!

I would really like TWO laughter emojis for your posts! PS I didn't ask if coffee is included now and we didn't stay after eating. It is in Epicurean but not in the Beach House, where you pay for Costa coffee I believe.

😁 Obviously luck of the draw! My cruise is 15 September on Sky, paid weeks ago and Platinum as previously stated. A shambles!!

I get exactly the same message. And I have paid and I am Platinum! I have reinstalled the App but it's just the same plus elsewhere it tells me that as a Platinum member I can have a discount on the internet. Others on the same September cruise have had success. My TA says they are working to fix the issues. In short, it seems to be a mess.

I can see that the mains might not be too clear so I'll try a different shot: