Thread 3 - TalkExiles: "The Planet Goes On Being Round"

[Kucingsparkles]

Continuation of previous lifeboat threads 1 and 2.

Gather here all ye refugees from the JTT Flat Earth Society, welcome to the reassuringly oblate spheroid of MN! Ye all already know the answers to the questions "How the heck do I format my post?" "Why can't I edit my typos?" "What do those acronyms mean?" and most importantly, "Where is everybody that I used to know?"

So really we're all here just to chat randomly.

Happy birthday @Tricyrtis2022 ! I have to admit I'd hate a January or February birthday. I find both months full of meh and will winter ever end and why are the days taking forever to get long again.

January is the worst though as it's a neverending month of being skint.

Happy birthday, January people!

I caught part of a programme on NPR (national public radio) today about children and teenagers' mental health, in which an ER doctor in that field said that increasing numbers of children and teenagers, particularly those with autism, were making return visits to the ER for mental health crises, especially those involving aggression and agitation. She said that previously the main cause of people needing help in that area were for depression and suicidal ideation, but that this had now been overtaken by these other issues. Article about it and link to the broadcast here for interested parties.

I have to wonder about what's causing this.

'Something in the water'?

Phthalates?

Phthalates certainly cause me agitation. That sort of spelling should be banned.

Happy birthday month to the January contingent. Mine's February, but I don't mind that - helps break up winter.

Lovely to be able to put a face (or at least slightly blurred head) to Django.

I am a February birthday too - 28th, but I was not born in a leap year so sadly I can't claim to be 18 ¼ this year.

Happy birthday Tric. Hope you've had a nice day, weather notwithstanding.

Happy Birthday @Tricyrtis2022 - is this the first thread birthday since we decamped from t’other place? It’s certainly my first offering of cake and bubbly. 🎂🍾

I'd like to thank the other place for being a bunch of arseholes and sending you all hither and thither and mostly to here. Thanks to their arseholery I now get to talk about important trans issues and I've found articles and have subscribed to some writers (including GL) on a site that I can't remember the name of off the top of my head even though I just read one before coming here. (The funny thing with brain damage is most of the time no one would know that anything was wrong with you or assume that you were of around average intelligence but a little inarticulate. And you get by and it's fine because you don't think you've lost that much of your memory through the big black hole where cells used to be because brains are magical and do things like "Oh, yeah, we lost that part of the brain, oi, you lot over there doing that other stuff, do you think you can take on some new duties? Yeah, sure boss, I mean we won't be as good and stuff will have disappeared without a trace ..." and really all is good. And then you're having a conversation with someone about a thing that happened prior to brain damage and none of it is there, not one tiny bit of it. Anyway, I digress hugely).

Anyway! These are all things I've been thinking about and doing some reading about but having few people to talk to about it, though I'm lucky and the majority of my female friends are in the same place as me just not that willing to talk about it that much, having a group of like-minded thinkers, getting to read about it, write about it, think about it any time that I want has been a really good thing for me. So, on the one hand, I'm sorry that you got screwed over, as you know, I know how that was, but I'm glad that you're here and I think Mumsnet is a better place to be anyway. Far more users, far more women, and far less aggro and nonsense. So, yeah. Sorry for your loss but glad that you came here in your lifeboat.

Today I got to do something I bloody love doing. I was a friend's personal shopper in Brighton. She hates shopping but needed something "smart" to wear to her niece's MA graduation next week. She likes to wear boy clothes, so I figured out where we could go for decent stuff. We got into Brighton at 1130 and after stopping for some brunch we had got all we needed by 1400 because I'm a genius and she's decisive. She was going for a suit or a blazer/jacket and smart trousers. I suggested that we go to the Levi's shop first because she's a big fan of men's 501s and hasn't got any new ones for a while. Black jeans, a really decent suit jacket from M&S and then a glorious and wonderful shirt from a proper old school men's suit shop. The two men working there were very "Suits you sir" but he suggested the exact shirt I had pointed out in the window. I had no idea at the time that it was £129!!!!! Luckily, she's not poor, she doesn't buy clothes very often and that shirt will be with her for the rest of her life. If I had money I would only buy like that. Less, better quality and built to last.

We then had fruity cider, chatted about Spare with the barman (we'd seen a copy in Waterstone's for eight quid because it was damaged) and got the train home, me to Worthing, her a little further along to Barnham. Blah, blah, blah. Sorry, I can be terribly boring sometimes but today was a win in terms of enjoyment for me.

It’s great on MN, and I was really happy to find that you were here. Do you keep in touch with chaz?

It sounds like a highly satisfying day, Crows. My day was pleasant too. I was going to have lunch at a Japanese restaurant I like with a friend and a friend of hers I hadn't met. Friend had to pull out last minute because her husband tested positive for Covid, but her friend and I got on really well and discovered we had other friends in common. And the lunch was nice too - salmon teppan grill, yum.

That does sound like a good day.

And I'm enjoying swimming in the bigger pool here. There seem to be some interesting new people around, as well as long-lost ones from the other place who I'm very glad to reconnect with.

@bignosebignose alas no. He came to our small lifeboat for a while but then disappeared which was fair enough as it is quite gentle and slow.

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn you have reminded me that I want to start swimming again, so I must get round to finding out the hours and prices at my local pool. It's the first time I've had a local pool for over 11 years and I'm excited about it!

That sounds like a great day @IReallyLikeCrows

I too like boy clothes for smartness, however I do not have the body for it. The best trousers for me are thirties style high waist, wide legged ones. Which is why it annoys me that gender neutral clothes often means male default. Not easy when you have a eight inch difference between your waist and hips

Thanks, BNBN, and everyone else. Yes, first birthday here. A quiet, cosy birthday. We cooked up a Thai chicken curry in red sauce and made a Thai salad to go with it. Mr T always does the dressing for the salad and it's amazing. No bubbly but had some nice wine.

Regarding swimming, I used to swim a lot but have an issue with one piece costumes, which I prefer over two piece. As I've been told by various physiotherapists, but knew myself, I have an unusually long torso and can't get the costume straps over my shoulders. Even going up two sizes doesn't work.

Your day sounds lovely @IReallyLikeCrows!

Glad you had a nice birthday @Tricyrtis2022. Regarding swimming costumes, have you tried a tankini-type thing? My preferred swimwear is swim shorts and a tankini top, covers everything and much easier to go to the loo. (TBF they're probably not great if you're a serious swimmer)

Also: enjoyed this thread.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4718028-to-think-these-are-the-wealthy-people-habits

@Kucinghitam I hadn't come across the term 'tankini' before, but that set up would work for me. I'd also go for shorts rather than the skimpi knicker bottoms that most shops offer.

I looked at thread and couldn't make a lot of sense out of it. 'Not spending on perishable items' seemed like an odd thing to list. Not sure what it actually means, though.

@Tricyrtis2022 I have these sort of swim shorts in a plain colour. They're made of swimming costume material.

www.landsend.co.uk/Womens_Board_Shorts_-with_Swim_Briefs/pp/P_40291.html?

There are proper tight-fitting swim shorts too, but for going on holiday I specifically wanted ones that looked like actual clothes so I could just saunter into the hotel restaurant and back to the beach without having to get changed or carry a cover-up.

My tankini tops also look like actual clothes because ditto.

@Kucinghitam I do like the shorts, they look very comfortable. I think, for me, finding a costume that would fit became just too much hassle so I gave up on swimming and did other stuff instead. It's tempting to try again.

I have a long torso and prefer one pieces. I tend to go for to go for tie halternecks as you can alter it a lot better. But I am not a serious swimmer.

Swimming coatume buying is awful. I usually want something that is easy to wear a little but attractive and doesn't require an extreme bikini wax.

There seema to be little available that isn't high fashion and skimpy or practical sports wear. M&S used to be a good bet but now they all seem to habe that awful tight mesh tummy control stuff which is like trying to get in and out of a wet straitjacket. Not great on a beach in 35 degree heat. Yes, I have a little bit of a tummy but I give no fucks about it showing.

Uniqlo sorted me out last time with a decent one, via a collab with fancy French label Princesse Tam Tam. Let's hope that happens again

I do recommend the Land's End shorts for comfort and ease-of-getting-on-and-off and not needing a bikini wax! Fully tested by this middle-aged menopausal-tummied woman, in a hot humid equatorial setting.

Sod getting a bikini wax, I'll take the shorts any day!

Just looking at when the first jtt exiles thread was started here and it was in June. Have we really been here six months already?