The Bluestocking, a unique location for daughters and sisters of earth, frost, feathers, fur, scales and spines

A party of gerbils in northern Sweden will be noticed. .. sorry, but I think that is a claim that has to be tested, can we get a party of gerbils together and send them to norther Sweden, and record local reactions?

I didn’t see any gerbils in Norway or in Southern Sweden when I went there a few years ago, Marie, so if they were there they were very inconspicuous.

Only names of posters who are on the thread will be listed but if you know the exact username you should be able to just type it in with a @ directly before it.

This is in many ways a more useful reason to tag someone than if they’re already on the thread IMO.

Cake always throws me because her capital i is actually a lower case L. I think.

You've just increased my stock of clean botany jokes by 100%, thank you! (Actually, any botany jokes, I don't know any dirty ones). Although there is "What's stomata with you?" but I class that as a plant science joke.

Oh god i blame the fags @Boiledbeetle packed in my rucksack for me

Solid admiration for botany jokes.

oh, good, off to Sweden! How exciting! Thanks for the latest chapters @MyrtleLion (please don't let Gosie be kidnapped again)

I am around, lurking, but don't seem to have anything interesting to say 😟But I'm enjoying reading the latest from everyone and hope Fuzzy is doing well, too. And everyone we haven't seen in a while. 💜(and loving Pasta's Barcelona pics!)

Can I just say: I love the way I look in the Gosie adventures pictures. Wish I looked like that in real life!

Nos da, pawb! ¡Hasta mañana!

Pasta, since you had the sleep gerbils last night, can you send them my way tonight.

I am knackered.

Life has been very busy for the past ten days and won't return to a normal tempo until next week. I'm supposed to be doing something useful at the village hall on Sunday evening involving a paintbrush, but something else has come up in Norfolk that needs me more, so to Norfolk I shall go. If I were to leave Norfolk sharpish at the end of the event, I could potentially screech back down the A140 and get to the village hall on time. but I have friends in Norfolk a few miles off my route so...

I'm on too many committees. That's part of the problem.

So yes, a good dose of sleep gerbils would be wonderful.

If they're not on the thread their name won't come up, but if you know it, you can just type it in. I don't have special premium membership, just a memory for usernames. 🤣

I see Errol also answered. Forgive me, it’s late and someone called me at 9pm for 75 minutes. She is also a woman in the arena, so it was good, but long.

Good night everybody.

Edith, there were a couple of gerbils hanging about and I've had a firm and resolute conversation about directing them your way rather than playing tig with the mice nearby nor chatting with the large bat population that visit in the evening.

I hope they shall be with you tonight because I did mention Gillian's exercise classes for any gerbil unable to put in a Sleep Gerbil shift.

Tonight's wine appears to have been AntMan. Unexpected.

The aloe vera one was made up on the spot, BTW, inspired by Magpie's

That is one weird picture on the wine bottle, Pasta, just as well you have photographic proof, otherwise
'... and there was this guy, right, and he was, like, riding an ant, wearing a bowler hat - the guy, not the ant, <hic> an ant wearing a bowler hat would be silly wouldn't it...'
Yes of course there was Pasta, perhaps you've had enough for one night😁

Sleep well Edith, g'night to you too Janes, nos da Angle.
It was nice to have you both in da house tonight Swash and Hedgey .

Wishing everybody a good sleep and pleasant but not over-demanding dreams👋

‘…only the back end of the ant was a wine barrel…’

goodnight all

What can I say? Sometimes real life swerves into the surreal.

I am in a shared canal boat cooperative and all hell has broken loose.

i am the financial controller. The elected officers are all female.

there has been a massive fall out since a new owner bought a share. And there has been handbags at dawn between two male owners.

the chair has resigned.

it transpired the new owner was a Freemason and then the other combatant accused two other males of being Freemasons and then left the watsapp group.

so i directly asked who is a Freemason. So another confessed he was and a third admitted he used to be

they say of course sticking together is an old trope and not true.

so i now am in a co op with two Freemasons and an ex Freemason,

this could have implications for the votes at the AGM.

one is a barrister and probably knows he is gonna have to watch his conduct but FFS

there are 12 owners .

what a nightmare.

Urgh. More of a non co-op than a co-op?

I'd say you should learn the funny handshake, @Hedgehogforshort but I think they might notice the non-maleness.

I would rather do that thing where you go to shake the hand but you put your thumb on your nose and wiggle fingers instead

I recall that the Eastern Star has an equivalent funny handshake. A female Head tried it with me one time....It's to do with pressure, I've been told, and she nearly broke my hand the first time she shook it. She shook my hand on subsequent occasions, but never in that manner again.

Winters in Aberdeenshire were looooooong; a family member was in both the Masons and the Eastern Star (go figure) until he moved down to Fife. I'm told that it was all about charity work in those days. However, judging from what I know about a Fife member of the Masons, in the central belt it's more to do with connections, jobs, etc...and possibly canal boats ?

I had a relative through marriage who made it to inspector in a particular police force. He was given two offers of joining the Masons (via more senior officers). When he refused, his career was sidelined.

That sounds like an absolute nightmare, Hedgey, poor you😕
But you can handle it -
leather jacket✔
shades ✔
background🎶' You're messin' with with The Hedge'✔

Good morning.

Bad and all as Ireland can be at times, at least we have hardly any Freemasons so the scope for that is limited.

Boo has been a little poorly so I was worried, but he is recovering so I had several intervals of urgent pats on my hand and being dribbled on during the night. And loud purrs.

I got a delivery of bulbs yesterday, and planted a Colchicum to increase the current ones (which are nearly one over), and some autumn crocuses that may or may not live. And some Hyacinths, again to add to the current display in the semi-wild are. Resolution is to plant all the rest by the end of October at the latest.

HAGADAPA

Very constructive of you, Dean! Argh for all the canal boat hooha, Hedgey.

I have done nothing of note and plan to continue in this idle manner for the rest of the day. Except for a bit of packing later on - we leave the Airbnb tomorrow morning for a Travelodge near Barcelona for two nights.

Glad to hear Boo is OK, and purring, Deano. And.. dribbling? is that a good thing in recovering cats?

.

Dribbling is a euphemism, it's more copious drooling.

Such a loving little pud. So delightful at 3 am.

Actually a bloke (human) I stepped out with at one stage was a drooler when feeling enthusiastic. Sorry to say I found it very offputting.

I think I would also find a gentleman friend who drooled quite off-putting. Call me shallow if you wish!