Giving every £ a job

amber03

Have a lovely time away. Even better when you don’t spend much. Don’t think your cat is in a rush for you to return.xx

Blackcats

Thank you @amber03.  The spending is racking or is it wracking up but all in all it's not too bad.

the main spend was when we booked our activity a few months ago.  So, yesterday we visited an aviation museum to see a Lancaster bomber and taxy on it.  My dad worked on Lancasters when we was in the RAF at the end of WW2 so it was very special for me to see one, hear the engines and then clamber, squeeze and wiggle myself on board one.  There really is no elegant way to get on board!  my dad has been sharing lots of memories about his time as ground crew so it's been lovely to hear those stories and I managed to find a very old, battered photo of him with the other 2 people in his team.  I'm hoping I can get the picture restored.

It's hard to imagine the ordeal of flying a mission in the dark over the sea.  The space for the 7 crew was so cramped and the poor tail gunner needed 8 layers of clothing to try and keep themselves warm.  So many young men lost their lives.  It was a very dignified and respectful place and whilst it doesn't seem quite right to say it was enjoyable it was an experience that we will never forget.

ladyholly

My Dad also worked on Lancasters during the war but he very rarely talked about what he did. I think because he was only 55 when he died it was still to close for him plus as an armament fitter he wasnt allowed to talk about much of his work in the RAF. He was a regular and joined at 15 as an apprentice before the war.

badmemory

My father never talked about his war really.  Although when something was on TV he did tell us about being in Durban & running across a square to get out of the rain & not realising he was running through a fountain until he was almost through as the water everywhere was so deep.

ladyholly

My dad was also in Durban on his way to the middle east where he served for a time with the desert air force and then marched up through Italy. ( I understand he was held there for a short time because they suddenly realised he was under age for serving in a war zone as he was on the ship taking him to the middle east). We didnt even know he had been wounded until my sister found out when she was researching family history. We had seen the scar but had always assumed it was from some sport or other, He played lots of sport when I was very young.

badmemory

My father was a rower in college.  So we knew that the potholes in the back of one leg couldn't be a sports injury.  He was in hospital for 6 months from back kicking a hand grenade away, so my mother said.  Second time he survived against the odds.  It is amazing what you can find out through history once you have some very basic info.

Blackcats

@ladyholly and @badmemory - lovely memories of your family members - thank you for sharing.  It is good for us to respect and remember the things our relatives did.

we are back from our road trip - 5 different beds over 8 nights - we were like rock stars on a world tour 🤣

have had a nice quiet day, getting some washing done and onto the heated airer.  All bags unpacked and a supermarket stock up has been done.

I need to shuffle money around ready to pay our credit card.  The statement is usually produced on 5th of the month and payable on 25th so there is plenty of time but I want to know where I stand on budgets.  Last month worked well with my October credit card bill saving pot in Chase so that's been re-named November credit card bill.

I have one month to finish GD's birthday blanket which is doable but I need to make sure I make progress every day.  I stitched up another long seam today which leaves 3 more to do, then the edging.  I can make the edging as wide or narrow as I chose so that will be guided by the proximity to the birthday.  I realised I forgot to answer @PennysIntoPounds question about which book I'm buying DGD as part of her cosy birthday parcel.  I went to our local independent book shop but I couldn't bring myself to pay £15 for the book I wanted.  I was so lucky to find one in the charity shop for £1.50.  It's called "Wave me Goodbye" by Jacqueline Wilson and it's about a war time evacuee.  As both my parents were evacuees I think DGD will find it interesting.  

PennysIntoPounds

Glad you were able to shake the groupies off and get home from your rock star world tour

That's a really nice idea for the book, and an excellent price! 

badmemory

The thing I used to love about towing a caravan (only 50 yrs ago) was being able to sleep in the same bed wherever we went.

savingholmes

Glad you had a nice trip away. 

Good luck with the money shuffle.