Thread 10 - TalkLair: “The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles.”

[Kucinghitam]

Continuation of previous threads (thread 9).

Although the nights are gradually drawing in, the new lair of JTT escapees is all cosy and homey inside. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

Ah. I don’t want hints! The harder the puzzle the happier I am. I did buy one book where all the puzzles were impossible, and I mean all. Couldn’t do a single one, no matter how long or hard I stared. And I’m pretty good at killers, apart from that one book I’ve never been beaten.

My preferred puzzles are Hanjies (aka nonograms). MrK bought me a subscription years ago, I get a little book through the post each month. It brings me great joy. I also buy bigger books of them from Evil Amazon.

Preferred pencil shape - triangular.

I WILL FIGHT YOU (Not really! But because I do a lot of pencil art as stress-relief, I prefer round or hexagonal pencils for comfort. Even though they have a greater tendency to roll away).

Glad you're finally being treated, Mouse!

It's a beautiful day here. Last night Francis was sleeping next to me in bed while I read in bed. Django came to join him, stretched out behind him a front and back leg over/around Francis, licked Francis's head for a bit and then I had cats sleeping and spooning next to me. So much cuteness!

My lovely fox has been making good use of the flat roof next door to me. S/he was there when I moved in last December so I feel that they are my own fox.

My brother sent me a vid he took of Barney, the cat from next door who spends most of time on my brother's bed. Barney was lounging on the kitchen table purring and being petted by brother when he started rolling about and fell off the table. Fortunately, fell into brother's lap, got straight back on the table and started purring again. That's one blissed-out cat. Very sweet.

For anybody who is on the Book of Faces, this is my colleague's partner's cat who went missing for several hours - they reckon she fell off their garden wall into the canal and somehow (with desperate swimming) managed to find a tiny drain to rest in.

https://www.facebook.com/866285141/videos/870831641129874/

Blimey, lucky cat! That's brought loads of 'what-ifs' to mind.

We lived in a third-floor apartment with a balcony in Beirut, and our cat used to sleep along the narrow railing. My sister once startled him and he fell to the ground - unscathed. After that if we didn’t let him go out the moment he asked, he’d just jump off the balcony instead.

Cats are physically (and mentally) astonishing.

That must have been terrifying to watch, Mavis. The third floor is a long way down.

I recall one of my undergraduate physics lectures covering the mechanics of how a cat lands on its feet. I don’t recall the content, just the general topic (although I think twisting around a central axis may have been involved).

Yeah, something, something, gyroscopes....

They're magical beings.

It was even more truly glorious here today than it appeared earlier this morning. I went for a stroll with Snoop around the chazzas and a walk along the pier. She bought me a Mr Whippy in a container because I can't do the cone which is a shame as I do love an ice-cream cone. It was delicious. She went on to buy a lovely wrap dress because she's off to Seville on Tuesday. She didn't like the neckline because she doesn't like her upper chest area. I'm going to sew in a buttonhole and a button so that she can wear it done up a little higher. Those sewing lessons just keep paying off!

There's a video somewhere - probably on YouTube - where a possibly-Russian bloke (dubbed into English) demonstrates dropping cats upside-down in slo-mo. The one with a tail seems to use it to help the rotation, and the one without seems to use one of its hind legs to do the job. Fascinating, and crucially no cat can be hurt because they fall into a nice, deep, squishy cushion.

Still grey and windy today in Wilmington NC, but we visited an antebellum mansion in the city this morning, had a nice lunch with DH's granddaughter and toured the battleship North Carolina this afternoon. Now resting before going out to eat with DGD and her boyfriend. She's studying to be a dental hygienist and working her way through college by working as a dental assistant.

My youngest starts uni tomorrow at the age of 29. He lost a lot of his 20s to drugs and ill-health but has worked hard on an access course, and off he goes! It's all a bit prodigal son, a story I can now relate to emotionally though it never resonated at all before.

I didn't go to uni until I was 26, either, and I did ok. But the turn-around for my son has been incredible: he's gone from looking like Legolas and living in trees (well, not quite - but he does look decidely elvish), being arrested and hospitalised for various parkour-related incidents on the Cathedral - to a handsome young man, stylish, confident, a devastating smile and I swear he's about 3" taller.

So, some respite from the crushing guilt for my por guidance on his winding road. I generally feel everything is my fault anyway!

I'm bursting with love and pride; hope nobody minds my sharing.

That's lovely, angelico, I'm so glad for him and for you and your family. I hope he does brilliantly.

I've started a thread, but if anyone here can tell me more it will save my sanity.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4904360-what-are-these-tweezers-for?

That's lovely to hear, @angelico53 , you have every right to feel proud.

That is indeed very good to hear. I hope he's proud of himself.

That is wonderful to hear @angelico53! What a fantastic achievement for your son!

That’s great news @angelico53 - quite apart from the fantastic turnaround in circumstances, there’s a lot to be said for studying a but later once you’re actually ready for the work part of it. I went to university at 18 and had a great time but did the minimum required to get by and no more. I got a well deserved third. I went again at 31 (to art school) and worked properly hard. That time I got an equally well deserved first.

It's excellent news, @angelico53. I took a year out after school and went the following year, at 19, but dropped out after a term - wrong course, wrong time for me. I went back on a whim** at 38 and (like artant) had the maturity to focus.

** really bad day at work, so I went to the library, looked up my options for the course I wanted, walked into the registry at lunchtime, filled in a form and got a letter 2 days later from the department saying "You don't say what year you're applying for, but term starts in 2 weeks. Just give us a ring and let us know." So I did.

That sounds like a pleasingly random application process @Gonners but sometimes that’s the best way!

Just listened to this podcast with Glinner around the time of his Edinburgh cancellation, and it’s brilliant, in 3 parts, here’s a link to the first.

My brilliant but troubled brother dropped out of school with barely an O-level to his name, and slopped around my despairing parents’ house for the next 5 years, with a serious suicide attempt along the way. Eventually he got a basic job at Marconi, who let him do maths and physics A-levels on their time, and at 25 he went off to uni to do mathematical physics.

I think if you wait until you know what really interests you, you get much more out of further education.

Congratulations to you all, @angelico53 ! x