ADs deflower male cucumbers for the Greater Good. All phallic aubergines welcome .

[BogRollBOGOF]

Because bitter male cucumbers don't bring joy, but phallic aubergines can raise an irreverent smile.

AD chat continues about life, the universe and everything. We know the answer is 42 but what is the question?
6x7?
How many roads must a man walk down?
How many unsadly reincarnations have PHE put into the database?

@SirSamuelVimesBlackboardMonito I feel your pain!! I had a night like that on Sunday - period was due any minute, had done a big bike ride during the day so was exhausted but tossed and turned until 0230 when I dropped off for a couple of hours. Thankfully I don't have the DH to add to the stress !!!

Hope your day improves

Felt like I didn't have any freedom yesterday. I don't think it's fair that toddler groups aren't up and running. They've been closed since March and even though they'd be closed in the summer holidays anyway; I think it's wrong. I see a couple of friends with toddlers outside of toddler group but we're all looking forward to 4 safe walls where we can sit down and have a cup of tea together and support each other. I'm looking for paid work. I feel like no one sees parents anymore. Feeling so powerless.

@chocolatesweets, . I am beginning to wonder if there are ways to set up groups again amongst parents. Secret toddler groups like speakeasies. 'Andy sent me' ;-).

Posted too soon. Meant to add no one does see parents anymore, you're right but, with my feminist hat on, it's more specific than parents. It's mothers. Because they are invisible unless you can blame them for something.

I liked this a lot.

@CruCru thanks, that’s a great article.

She’s a really good writer.

And this

I introduced my teenage DD to Red Dwarf, we binge watched the old episodes a couple of years ago and we watch the new episodes on Dave together. She then introduced her friends and they all love it. They are now watching Misfits on E4 because of Umbrella Academy ( Robert Sheehan ) which they are loving too.
I don’t know where the non mask wearing people are because I hardly see anyone not wearing in shops. I don’t care I would rather people kept 2 metres away, but I felt like that before COVID-19. I am also at 50 getting spots on my chin and jawline, I blame sweaty masks. But I have now had a hair cut and my eyebrows waxed and tinted so I am probably going to die now. But my eyebrows look on fleek.

The non mask wearers are at home because going out has become an exercise in anxiety due to the mask stasi.

[quote ISaySteadyOn]@chocolatesweets, . I am beginning to wonder if there are ways to set up groups again amongst parents. Secret toddler groups like speakeasies. 'Andy sent me' ;-).[/quote]
Brilliant

Informal meet ups are 100% going to happen over the winter anyway - at least if they happen formally track & trace can operate and parents without existing friendships have somewhere to go. A friend of mine runs one of our local toddler groups and they'd love to get up & running. Its just finding a way within the current guidelines

@justasking111

Traffic at a standstill on A55 this afternoon. A flock of sheep had wandered into the tunnel. It is the little things that make me giggle these days.

Ah as an Irishwoman living in Britain I know the A55 all too well . Love the idea of tunnel-invading sheep. Would no doubt love the idea of tunnel-invading sheep much less if I was running late for a ferry.

Damn, I'm feeling a bit sad now . This is the first summer in forever we haven't loaded the DCs into the car for the usual fortnight in Ireland. I even miss our traditional pitstop in Holyhead MaccyD's.

So, Scottish contingent
Where is he?
He being Boris.

No clues except it is remote and has its own spring water.

My dd has home edded her children for the best part of 12 years, oldest is now almost 16 and they’ve done lots of meet ups at parents houses and I’m so pleased to say that she has lots of friends in the region.

She’s hosted meet ups in her kitchen which leads out to a largish garden where swing and climbing frame and trampoline were big attractions to houses that had a good bit of land .
Parks are good places for meet ups, naturally especially ones with a cafe, that’s open,
But they met regularly, even in winter at a city’s botanic gardens, which with an annual pass worked out very cheaply and it also had a nice cafe.
There’s lots of places you can explore to be suitable just needs a bit of creativity...and some more willing mums and dads

@Dowser

So, Scottish contingent Where is he? He being Boris.

No clues except it is remote and has its own spring water.

I’d be very surprised if Boris is anywhere near here 😂

I haven’t had any aggression or comments when not wearing a mask.

The train company have friendly staff on the platform, specifically to remind people. No hassle at all.

I wonder if the perceived ‘no mask’ aggression is being driven by the media to keep up the fear? ‘Non mask wearers allowed to continue their day to day activities without hassle’ isn’t much of a headline.

The one time I've been into a store I had the most utterly evil looks from people for not wearing a mask - well apart from the lovely staff in Tesco who've seen me have panic attacks before at the prospect of doing a covid rule wrong and knew I was dreading masks coming in - they couldn't have been nicer. I've got the hairdresser booked next week and they know I can't wear them (we were chatting about it last time I went in) - they rang me yesterday to move my appointment time - saying if they moved it it was only the boss and her bestie booked in so there was no chance of anyone giving me the side eye of evils since they knew I was worried about that.

As for random wildlife induced traffic woes... MIL's car got seriously damaged a while back - a highland cow decided to sit on the bonnet of it and made a massive dent. We still take the piss about that now.

Kids back on Sunday - I seriously needed the break from them (and to focus on exams) - I was hitting complete sensory overload.

That's good to hear. Thanks.

@WouldBeGood
The thought did enter my mind also.

That's a great article @CruCru and @DominaShantotto I love your hairdresser. She clearly cares and loves you a great deal

Taking of mothers not seeing anyone - Welsh Government put up a Facebook post a few days ago saying maternity services are still there to support you, though some of it might be over the phone, etc, etc. Anyway, there's a lot of comments on there making it clear that new and expectant mothers do not feel supported at all - key theme is no or very limited health visitor visits. How long is it going to take before we end up with dead babies because breast feeding was going poorly and no one was checking whether they were actually putting on weight, for instance? And unsupported new mothers with PND, some of whom might be ill enough to harm themselves or their babies?

Oh god, if things couldn't get any worse, I have got bloody shingles! The doctor asked if I was stressed about anything. Ha. I had no idea shingles was SO painful. It's not just the blisters that hurt, it's a deep ache in my torso like I've had a bloody good kicking, and strong painkillers barely touch it.
I was listening to 'The Reunion' on radio 4 this morning, (didn't catch all of it) and they were talking about black wednesday, which I remember well. Interest rates went to 12% (from 10%) and then to 15%. Then we left the ERM. I remember sitting at my kitchen table thinking that I would lose my house as there was no way I could afford to pay a 15% interest mortgage. I was terrified. But, can you just imagine the storm there would have been in the Internet - specifically mumsnet - about it? I expect there would have been quite a few people thinking that the government were doing a good job! In fact, I often amuse myself by imagining mumsnet reactions to many things, had it been around. WW2, the death of Diana, even the Spanish flu...but that one would be similar to Covid I expect. Sorry, I'm rambling a bit. I blame the painkillers.

@SomewhereEast re: going to Ireland you have to be canny like my friend Paddy, he went to N Ireland then snuck across the border no stops at all. Taps nose knowingly.

@Reedwarbler our mortgage went from 8% to 16& in the late seventies, it was scary but we survived just ate very ordinary food, watched, the leccy, etc. and shopped in charity shops or scoured the newspapers for furniture.