[gwrightson]

Texas  girll 
   A  Geordie is some body who thinks that  they have a good football team 
 geoff

[zeusjazmin]

what about the most famous geordie of all time mark knopfler

[windows_chepstow]

Some historians (Scottish ones mostly) say that Geordies are just Jocks - with their brains kicked in!  But obviously, I don't agree with them.

A simpler way to describe a Geordie would be to ask what you would have if you removed the following from a Geordie's character:

His sense of humour.
His intelligence.
His sense of good taste.
His good looks.

You'd have a C o c k n e y!  (Got to spell it like that because this site has an unitelligent swear  word changer, designed by a right cock!)

(Texas, that's someone from below the Watford Gap - London mostly - if you've ever seen Mary Poppins, or My Fair Lady (or read Pygmallion by George Bernard Shaw), you've seen and heard a C o c k n e y.  Also, E.T. was a cockney.  Or at least he looked like one!)

[AuRavelling79]

Windows:- LOL
Mary Poppins? I don't think D I C K  Van D Y K E's accent (You should see what the swearchecker did with that when I first posted it!) could be explained as true C o c k n e y "Meeaarry Pappns" don't sound too C O C K N E Y to me!

[Duke]

I always think of 'Auf Viedersehen Pet' when I think of Geordies....and that's not a bad thing ! 

[windows_chepstow]

Just a minor, but important point, mainly directed to MalcG.

SUNDERLAND is not and never has been associated with Geordies.  People from Sunderland are called Macams (there's a few different spellings) and derives from their daft accent.

Sunderland was famous for ship building and they used to say (now imagine a stupid North East accent), "We mack 'em, they tack 'em".  Translation = "We make them, they take them" (referring to the ships they built).

Over the years it's been shortened to 'Mack and Tacks' to 'Macams'.

They wouldn't be pleased (for some reason) to be called a Geordie and Geordies natrually dislike Macams.  It's a cat and dog thing, probably with it's roots in football (Texas - that's not rugby - you know what I mean).

Following that, people from Hartlepool may sound like a Geordie to the untrained ear; but aren't.  They're called 'Monkey Hangers', because during the American War Of Independance (when France joined in on the side of the Yanks (that's you Texas)), a French ship was sunk off the coast of Hartlepool and the only survivor was a... monkey.

Hartlepudlians, never before having seen a Frenchman, thought this monkey was one, so they accused it of being a spy, found it guilty in a court of law... and hung the poor creature.  Hence 'Monkey Hangers'.

[texas girl]

Hey Mal;

I will paragraph my posts from now on.  You know how we women are at times; we get on a roll and just keep going on and on and on like the eveready battery bunny commercial.


I get the impression that most houses over there get their windows cleaned a lot more often than over here.  My residential customers have their windows cleaned on average every 6 months.  It is rare that I have a client that has it done more often.

The average house over here has 20-30 windows and I charge $10 per window. So the average window cleaning price per house is $200 or $300.  My clients can afford paying for services and usually have many services they enlist to maintain their homes.  

It is not unusual to make $200 per day over here. I occassionally have a$400 day, but that is a butt busting house with 2 people;maybe 3.

Currently the people I contract to are pretty responsible. That could change at any moment. I have to keep on top of all scheduling and billing which is a full time job.

I have been in business over 20 years. I still learn something new every day. I still enjoy cleaning windows. Altho I have to say it is nice to remain in my office and still make money. Especially when my office is at my house.

I hope you have a great day tommorrow!

Take care and God bless!  

Texas girl

[Duke]

So where do they all come from then ? I can't believe Newcastle has that many inhabitant's...if I were to believe that...the place must be empty. Or has it become a collective noun for the region do you think ?

[texas girl]

Hey Chepstaw!

Thanks for the information about different heritages over there!  I am actually half English and half German. My mother's name was Sheffler and my dad's name is Jones. How do the English fit in over there?

I want to go to London one of these days. I have gone on several cruises the past few years;  always someplace tropical; sunny.   Went to Honduras,Cancun Mexico, Cozumel Mexico, Belize and Padre Island, TX.

I am ready for a change.  Thinking of going to Rome maybe next year.
I also want to go to several places here in the states. I have never seen the White House. I hope to travel more in the next few years.

The great thing about having someone work for you is that you can get away and still have money to come back to. But the down side is that there are usually problems to come back to and you have to plan everything ahead and you must be prepared.

Have a great day tommorrow, and I hope you make a lot of $!

God Bless,

Texas Girl

[windows_chepstow]

Texas,

If someone asked me to do their windows on a residential every two months - I'd say no - six months; I'd wet myself.  My policy is every month - no matter what.  Then when we turn up, it's just a quick wipe, squeegie, scrim (optional) and off to the next window.

As for traveling, I did 17 years in the army and eight months of that was in Belize, (we have a jungle warfare school there - it's an old British colony) where I visited Mexico and Honduras (formerly British Honduras).  I liked it, but eight months was a bit long for me to keep on getting savaged by mosquitos the size of humming birds.  Belikan beer was bloody awful too.  I had to resort to drinking Budweiser, which is a bit like chilled wee (that's urine in American).  Where abouts did you visit when in Belize?  Was it the Cayes or did you venture into the mainland. 

With a name like Jones - you originate from Wales (where my missis is from).  It's such a common name in Wales that Welsh Regiments call their soldiers by their last two numbers of their army number.  Example, 'Jones 21' or 'Jones 34', just to distinguish them.  Being part Welsh, therefore, you must have a pointy head from too much inbreeding.

As for being part German, you must be quite a hairy girl, with big feet.  I've lived in Germany for several years too (lots of British army there) and know the girls there fairly well.  Normally they're called Birgit (pronounced Beer-gut in English).

You're photo does you justice.  No sign of a pointy head, hairy arm pits and big feet!

[AuRavelling79]

Windows Chepstow
Thanks for putting me right on the definition of Geordie - now I know!
Malc
(Modified to add - that bit about the monkeyhangers - v. interesting - I've heard of that before but didn't associate it with Hartlepool.

Pedantic head now:- France wasn't on the side of Texas in the American War of Independence  was it? I thought Texas  was part of Mexico until after 1836 (Davy Crockett - Alamo etc!).

[AuRavelling79]

We stopped going on about income ages ago! We're just degenerating off down Tangent Lane!

[texas girl]

Chepstaw,

Hey! What does it mean "a pointy head?" I have never heard that one. And hairy? No. A bit fuzzy maybe, but over here we shave everything!Not much hair anyplace. 

I guess we have gotten off the topic of improving your income. Improving information about customs and life styles, yes. 

I am  a more mature woman, but only chronologically. I believe in keeping my appearance at it's optimum. I do like to drink beer (not a lot), - Used to be a party girl- still have a wild tendancy now and then, but  I try to stay healthy and I work out.  I have a gym at my house. So I do not have any excuse not to use it.

 Since my son was killed I have been out of sorts in all areas. So I have gained 6 lbs and have not been working out like I should. It is temporary, but nothing has been normal this past year and even now. I thank God that I am established at this point because my income continues even tho I have been coasting as far as marketing goes, and effort.

I am going to attend  the International Window Cleaner Association Convention next month at Orlando, Florida. I  would not be going but my sister and I are going to be in Orlando because we are going to see the Daytona 500 races. I have never been, and she wants to go, so we will be there anyway. I will report back anything intesting to window cleaners. 

I am really intersted in learning more about the water fed pole system. I would like a lot more input from this forum about this. I am very interested.

Yes  it is a different type of market over here  but the basic ideas are the same. I do a lot of resuarants 1/week; stores every 2 weeks, and some offices and stores 1/month.  Every quarter I have a few regular accounts that are quite profitable.

 We just finished one of the largest jobs that I do. It is only 2 stories but has 400  windows. That is a $1000. job. It takes 2 people a 13 hour day, or 2 regular days. We usually choose 2 days. I wish I had that one 1/week.

I do not promote doing a lot of really large accounts because of the equipment needed, the personnel/time required, etc.  I have been in the business long enough that I do not have to engage in that market  because I have a large volume of the average commercial/residential accounts. Although I am doing a lot of real challenging types in the residential sector.

So if you do not charge as much over there per house, but you do the houses more often, the amount of money ends up being the same. I do  have a call-up list so that people are scheduled every 6 months so I have several each week when I call and keep them scheduled.

Like I said, I have been coasting this past year; trying to deal with the shock of losing a child. And it is a blessing that I had a crew( A good one at this time). Because I have been all out of sorts. Hell is a description of what it has been like.

But; we window cleaners love what we do, so we rise to the occassion and we keep going!

In answer to Belize, we went to the mainland but were only there one  long day. We went down the river in a kayak, and saw a good bit . When you go on a cruise you stop at all these ports for a day and then travel back home. You can go on a cruise out of Galveston or Houston for 5-7 days. Depending on what month it is (cheaper in winter); it can run $500 per person, to $1,300 per. That price includes everything; all food, shows, certain drinks, etc. Alcohol is not included. 

Here I went rambling on again. Hope next week is a profitable one!

God Bless,

Texas Girl

[rosskesava]

Hi Texas Girl

Where you are sounds a great place to live. Where I live is a very odd place. We did a new job last week (the outsides) and every wall inside is mirrored and this place is huge. Must of cost a fortune.

In the summer Brighton is full of tourists and in the winter there are only a few. It's a seaside town surrounded by the South Downs. Along the coast where most of our work is, is all cliffs. We did one house today where, from up the ladder, if I looked one way I could see along the coast line and the cliffs, and the other way looked towards a windmill on the downs. Most days I think I'm so lucky to work in such a stunning place.

Like a lot of places in the uk, Brighton has some really old parts. We do one cottage that was built in the 1500's although the windows are newer ... 

During the summer the weather is pretty much predictable but during the winter it can be bizare. If we have work the other side of the downs (about 5 miles away) we have to phone first because it can be sunny where we are and pouring with rain where they are.

Cheers

Ross

Also, in an earlier posting I wrote that in a large pub we do two cleaners are pygmies. I meant they are very short - about 4ft tall. We done that place again today and every time we go there it cracks me up.

[texas girl]

Ross,

Sorry it took a while to reply. It sounds absolutely beautiful where you live.  I would like to visit there sometime. There is a lot to appreciate in older buildings and dwellings.  I would love to check out that pub!

We have had temperatures in the upper 70's this past week 8)Fantastic window cleaning weather! My crew did a very large house today. It had 55 windows. On the golf course by Austin.

I have got to go back to that area soon, because it was full of expensive huge houses the kind that we love! I will spend some time distributing door hanger ads.

I have decided to stick with my pricing set up at $10.00 per window.  Most people do not blink an eye. If they do, I will move on.

Well, take care; be careful out there!

Texas Girl

[windows_chepstow]

I'm not sure about Brighton being famous for its beauty.  I think it's more famous for being the gay capital of the UK!

I've never been there, so my evidence is based purely on hearsay and BBC 2 documentaries.

[rosskesava]

Brighton is the gay capital of the uk by a long long way. Apparently one in 3 males in Brighton is gay and as there's 3 of us who work together ........ and it's not me. Brighton is an unusual place where anything goes as if it was normal.

In some parts of Brighton you don't tie up your shoe laces in public.

The thing around here is that the 'gays' along with trannies, wierdo's, cross dressers etc are so common that after a while you don't notice it at all.

One of our small team of 3 is new to the area and to start with he couldn't get used to it. We do the (huge) house of one elderly gay male couple and they are very 'touchy' people. By that I mean when they speak to you, they touch your arm or shoulder and it's all very dramatic, theatrical and camp.

When there was 2 of us, me and my partner would argue about who does the insides and who does the outsides not because this couple try anything on, but because it's a nightmare because they follow you around and make constant gay lingo type talking and there's the touching the arm thing and so on.

When the 3rd one of us started working with us, we sent him in to do the insides. We finished before him and when he emerged red faced from the front door these 2 gays waved 'bye bye' to him and he had a garland of flowers around his neck and had been given a phallic candle.

We ped ourselves laughing and called he us every name under the sun.

[kwakakid355]

Texas Girl Marry me ??

[windows_chepstow]

Texas Girl Marry me ??

She might miss this thread.  I think you'd have more chance of a positive reply if you PM'd her!

Don't stalk her though!  That wouldn't be nice.

[dustycorner]

Does anyone know the difference between a geordie wedding and a geordie funeral. its one less drunk.

Cheers Mark.