Messymascot's faith in humanity and ginger safe haven

[Gwladysover]

Hi everyone, although still sad about Messy I have drawn on his positivity and strength over the last couple of days so I feel he hasn’t left us completely. On a positive note our grandson who’s 13 asked if he could come and spend the afternoon with Nanny and Grandad yesterday. It may have been so he could spend time on the iPad without his Dad getting at him but it was still good to have his company.

 

[Methuselah]

Thanks, Jazzy. I’m free of red ants but it seems Costa Rica’s critters want a taste of this Sassy As I was sunbathing this morning and now got bitten by a spider. My left leg is getting a bit swollen but I shall survive lol

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Back in the 1950's I was on jungle patrol in Malaya. We got a hand signal to hit the deck and I hit the deck in a column of marching red ants. They are about an inch long and have a bite like a red hot needle going in. I was covered in them and fortunately, we quickly got the message to move on and with some help I was able to get rid of most of them. When we returned to camp several hours later, I was getting ready for a shower and there were still a couple of the critters in my underwear!

 

[Gwladysover]

Hope you well after your culinary adventures @Barnfred 55

 

[anjelikaferrett]

Back in the 1950's I was on jungle patrol in Malaya. We got a hand signal to hit the deck and I hit the deck in a column of marching red ants. They are about an inch long and have a bite like a red hot needle going in. I was covered in them and fortunately, we quickly got the message to move on and with some help I was able to get rid of most of them. When we returned to camp several hours later, I was getting ready for a shower and there were still a couple of the critters in my underwear!

Can't trust anything red. That's Kopite behaviour ?

 

[Barnfred 55]

Good morning everyone.

@blue1thanks for your kind thoughts.
@sassycolombian the photos are fantastic. Costa ??Rica looks superb and very reminiscent of Grenada.

@Barnfred 55 how did the curry go?

Off to do some yoga today and then watch a bit of football on TV......come on you spurs!!!!!!

Have a good day everyone.

Morning all ,still so sad but we must stay strong especially with the virus wreaking havoc all over .A mention to @Barnfred 55 ,we have not forgotten you Fred at all and from your post I know you took Karl's passing hard so it would be great to see you post today ,unless of course you are still churning out curry for the masses .
@Sassy Colombian ,it seems you are as tasty as we all thought ,you too be careful and stay safe ,Costa Rica looks fantastic and great photos .
@jazzy good news will hopefully abound when the x-rays come I am so hopeful that medication will be the answer .
I must say that I love this thread and the folks that post on here but I too have been taken aback by the amount of people posting as the news has gotten around the forum ,to all the regulars a great big thank you for the help you have all given to Karl in his last weeks and I will be standing when his photo is shown at Goodison .

Sorry I didn't get a chance to post in here yesterday. I had a busy day cooking, and then entertaining. I also got some bad news which I'll explain later.

But the evening was a success, and I'm suffering a bit this morning as a consequence. TBH I was a little bit nervous beforehand on a couple of fronts. One was that I don't normally cook the rice dish; it's something Cal always did. I did all the prepping and watched her cook it, so I knew what to do. But rice is so easy to get wrong. The second is that the neighbour, the dad, is an absolute fussy bugger when it comes to food, and although I know he likes curry, he doesn't like anything too hot (which I do). When I'm alone with him, he's always moaning about his wife's cooking. When I'm alone with his wife, she's always moaning about him moaning about her cooking. If that makes sense, So I was a bit concerned that he wouldn't enjoy my food. I needn't have worried. they loved it. I put the food out in serving dishes so people could help themselves and we ended up with five empty serving dishes and five clean plates. The only scraps to go in the bin were the stems from 2 whole chillies that were in the chicken dish. The rice dish, which I'll share in Sassy's thread later, was almost perfect. It was a touch too al dente for me and could have done with a little bit more liquid in the cooking. But I was very pleased with it nonetheless.The neighbour has actually just popped around whilst I was typing this to say thank you and again say how much he enjoyed it. Said it was restaurant quality.

We finished the night off with a good measure of Remy Martin. It was quite fitting really as it was also my mums favourite tipple and she would have been 100 yesterday if she were still here.

 

[larbert toffee]

Good afternoon all, hope you're all doing okay, all quiet on my front at the moment but soon as New year is here I'll be travelling down to Merseyside through the week and coming back to work weekendsfor a month looking after my parents whilst my brother is in Thailand.

I'm out delivering presents today as I don't want to risk mixing next week before I start my treks.

@Sassy Colombian hope you enjoyed your holidays, can't believe how much your photos resemble Larbert on a good day?

 

[Sassy Colombian]

I'm ok Sassy, but thanks very much for your concern, which is very typical of you and much appreciated. ?

@Bluetintedspecs Good to know it is nothing to be worried about ?

Nice day today, enjoyed it. Kids togger then cinema, GAA on TV for the scran.

Karl’s last post of ‘Benitez has to go’ has made me smile many times throughout the day. Loving the imagery of it ??,

Seems like you had a fun time with the kiddos, how was Spider-Man? Hopefully more entertaining than my bite.

Morning all, I hope everyone is okay after yesterday’s sad news, I was out for a pre arranged drink in the town with an old pal, it was a little subdued I must admit.
This thread has now been openly discussed and it's good that everyone is agreeable to it continuing and I also noticed there's a few of our friends who are not regulars who popped into pay their respects to Karl which was really nice.
Hope everyone has a good weekend, comforting to know we will be here for each other should the need arise.

@larbert toffee My heart also continues to feel subdue by Karl’s loss but I am trying yo cheer myself up by the vision @anjelikaferrett just narrated of Karl being with the angels and spreading the word up there about Everton, those angels are up for a treat!

Morning all ,still so sad but we must stay strong especially with the virus wreaking havoc all over .A mention to @Barnfred 55 ,we have not forgotten you Fred at all and from your post I know you took Karl's passing hard so it would be great to see you post today ,unless of course you are still churning out curry for the masses .
@Sassy Colombian ,it seems you are as tasty as we all thought ,you too be careful and stay safe ,Costa Rica looks fantastic and great photos .
@jazzy good news will hopefully abound when the x-rays come I am so hopeful that medication will be the answer .
I must say that I love this thread and the folks that post on here but I too have been taken aback by the amount of people posting as the news has gotten around the forum ,to all the regulars a great big thank you for the help you have all given to Karl in his last weeks and I will be standing when his photo is shown at Goodison .

@blue1948 thanks for the good wishes and for honouring Karl’s memory when his photo is shown at Goodison. When you stand up you will be representing all of us that can’t be there in person but will be there in heart. X

Good morning everyone.

@blue1thanks for your kind thoughts.
@sassycolombian the photos are fantastic. Costa ??Rica looks superb and very reminiscent of Grenada.

@Barnfred 55 how did the curry go?

Off to do some yoga today and then watch a bit of football on TV......come on you spurs!!!!!!

Have a good day everyone.

Thanks, Jazzy. Some of my best pics are on my good camera but I won’t be downloading those until I get home but tbh this country is so gorgeous and clean (one thing that has surprised me is no litter on the streets or roads) that there is no way to take a bad shot.

Enjoy your yoga and TV, but I was wondering if you are also a spurs fan? or want them to do well for our own Everton purposes?

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all OK. I'm still sad about Messy. I'm sure that given his sunny nature and positivity he has already made friends with the angels and will be spreading the word up there about Everton. A few miracles wouldn't go amiss.
@Barnfred 55 I learned a new word on Friday. Lalochezia. It means the relief of stress and/ or pain by using profanities. Comes from the Greek lalo- to talk and Chezia - to relieve. Some sources have chezia to mean defecate. Literally Greek for talking sh*t!! So I have concluded that I am not foul- mouthed, I have a PhD in lalochezia ? ? .

Have a good day folks!

Thanks for the good wishes, Ange. I have been trying to stay away from the bugs they just don’t seem to want to get away from me, as my hubby and daughter have not deal with the same issues. But better me than them, as they both can be a little wimpy.

Lalochezia seems a word I should have known for a while, now I’m just trying to figure out how this Colombian would pronounce it. Any tips lol

Any excuse to flash the flesh eh Sass. lol

Oh Fred, you shall know by now that I need no excuse for such things. I'm as flamboyant as they come ?

I hope your visit with the family of four went well and that they enjoyed your curry. Btw, have you posted your curry recipe and the rice one yet? I forgive your tardiness because you have been busy but sometime after the New Year when you find yourself with spare time then share it with us. Xx

Looks lovely, Sassy not sure about the spiders though, I’m terrified of them.

Thanks @Gwladysover thankfully I don’t have a spider phobia but my daughter does so once again I’m glad it wasn’t her.

 

[Sassy Colombian]

Good afternoon dear friends. Another day without Karl and another day getting woken up by the noises of the jungle. Even though we are at the beach we are surrounded by mountains and forests. At the house where we are staying we have seen a lot of wildlife, among them howler monkeys which we had not heard before we came to Costa Rica. The first night we experienced it though, the monkeys sound very scary but then the next day we found a whole family munching on tree leaves along with their babies and it was so cute to see them jumping from tree to tree while doing their sounds. Here is a clip of them.



This morning we are going on a dolphin and sea turtle tour. If we get lucky we may even get to swim with them so it is going to be another adventure before we depart from the beach tomorrow.

Have a beautiful Sunday, Blues! Xx

 

[jazzy]

@Bluetintedspecs Good to know it is nothing to be worried about ?

Seems like you had a fun time with the kiddos, how was Spider-Man? Hopefully more entertaining than my bite.

@larbert toffee My heart also continues to feel subdue by Karl’s loss but I am trying yo cheer myself up by the vision @anjelikaferrett just narrated of Karl being with the angels and spreading the word up there about Everton, those angels are up for a treat!


@blue1948 thanks for the good wishes and for honouring Karl’s memory when his photo is shown at Goodison. When you stand up you will be representing all of us that can’t be there in person but will be there in heart. X


Thanks, Jazzy. Some of my best pics are on my good camera but I won’t be downloading those until I get home but tbh this country is so gorgeous and clean (one thing that has surprised me is no litter on the streets or roads) that there is no way to take a bad shot.

Enjoy your yoga and TV, but I was wondering if you are also a spurs fan? or want them to do well for our own Everton purposes?


Thanks for the good wishes, Ange. I have been trying to stay away from the bugs they just don’t seem to want to get away from me, as my hubby and daughter have not deal with the same issues. But better me than them, as they both can be a little wimpy.

Lalochezia seems a word I should have known for a while, now I’m just trying to figure out how this Colombian would pronounce it. Any tips lol


Oh Fred, you shall know by now that I need no excuse for such things. I'm as flamboyant as they come ?

I hope your visit with the family of four went well and that they enjoyed your curry. Btw, have you posted your curry recipe and the rice one yet? I forgive your tardiness because you have been busy but sometime after the New Year when you find yourself with spare time then share it with us. Xx

Thanks @Gwladysover thankfully I don’t have a spider phobia but my daughter does so once again I’m glad it wasn’t her.

I have absolutely no interest in Spurs doing well Sassy but they just happen to be playing those scoundrels from across Stanley Park this afternoon.

 

[Sassy Colombian]

I have absolutely no interest in Spurs doing well Sassy but they just happen to be playing those scoundrels from across Stanley Park this afternoon.

Ah okay, just wanted to make sure and now I understand you wanting to cheer for them today because it would be lovely if they beat those red scoundrels.

 

[Barnfred 55]

As I mentioned earlier, I had some more sad news last night. During the meal I received a phone call from a friend in Liverpool, advising me that an old friend of ours has had a heart attack whilst playing golf. He was apparently resuscitated but had been without oxygen for a long time, and the family have been told to expect the worst. He's about 15 years older than me but I've known him for about 45 years. He used to manage the amateur football team I played for back in the day, and I served with him on the club committee for 25 years, he as chairman and me as treasurer. The club folded over 10 year ago but we remained good friends. As is often the case we didn't see each other as often as we should, but whenever we did meet up it was always business as usual. He was a very successful businessman but never lost sight of his roots. He has also been very generous to those not as fortunate as him. Basically he's one of the good guys and was one of the first to call me after Cal's death.

I phoned his wife last night after my guests left, and things don't look good. He has been put in an induced coma. The one positive is that scans of his brain show it to still be active, but 2 attempts to bring him out of the coma have resulted in him fitting. He has been on drugs they use to treat epilepsy and they are going to try one more time before taking him off life support. So unless there is a miracle he probably only has a couple of days. It doesn't help that she has been told that she can't be with him due to covid. Life just isn't fair is it?

2021 has turned into the year that just carries on taking and taking. I can't wait for it to end.

 

[Barnfred 55]

Hope you well after your culinary adventures @Barnfred 55

See post below Gwladys

Edit. Above.

 

[Sassy Colombian]

Back in the 1950's I was on jungle patrol in Malaya. We got a hand signal to hit the deck and I hit the deck in a column of marching red ants. They are about an inch long and have a bite like a red hot needle going in. I was covered in them and fortunately, we quickly got the message to move on and with some help I was able to get rid of most of them. When we returned to camp several hours later, I was getting ready for a shower and there were still a couple of the critters in my underwear!

I’m thinking the red ants of today are as fierce as the ones from the 1950s. My left foot certainly didn’t appreciate the vicious little reds.

 

[Sassy Colombian]

As I mentioned earlier, I had some more sad news last night. During the meal I received a phone call from a friend in Liverpool, advising me that an old friend of ours has had a heart attack whilst playing golf. He was apparently resuscitated but had been without oxygen for a long time, and the family have been told to expect the worst. He's about 15 years older than me but I've known him for about 45 years. He used to manage the amateur football team I played for back in the day, and I served with him on the club committee for 25 years, he as chairman and me as treasurer. The club folded over 10 year ago but we remained good friends. As is often the case we didn't see each other as often as we should, but whenever we did meet up it was always business as usual. He was a very successful businessman but never lost sight of his roots. He has also been very generous to those not as fortunate as him. Basically he's one of the good guys and was one of the first to call me after Cal's death.

I phoned his wife last night after my guests left, and things don't look good. He has been put in an induced coma. The one positive is that scans of his brain show it to still be active, but 2 attempts to bring him out of the coma have resulted in him fitting. He has been on drugs they use to treat epilepsy and they are going to try one more time before taking him off life support. So unless there is a miracle he probably only has a couple of days. It doesn't help that she has been told that she can't be with him due to covid. Life just isn't fair is it?

2021 has turned into the year that just carries on taking and taking. I can't wait for it to end.

Fred, I’m so sorry to hear about your friend, that’s very sad news for you and his family but at least his brain still is showing activity and where there is life there is hope ??

 

[Barnfred 55]

Fred, I’m so sorry to hear about your friend, that’s very sad news for you and his family but at least his brain still is showing activity and where there is life there is hope ??

That's basically what I said to his wife last night. Not much else you can say really. She's being strong for their two children but she was telling me that it's coming up to their 45th wedding anniversary so I know it's going to hit her hard. She has a very close knit family who will rally around and support her though.