Thread 14 - TalkLair: “What The Hell Are We Supposed To Use, Man? Harsh Language?”

[Kucinghitam]

(Previous thread 13).

Summer should be well under way, but the chilly wind, grey clouds and pouring rain beg to differ. Looks like 2024 continues to be a washout - on the bright side, the Tories got washed out too! In the TalkLair, we remain hunkered down keeping cosy and warm. 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…

I watched a couple of robot lawn mowers going at it on a cricket field (pitch? Whatever they call them) last week. I was with Snoop and we were both very impressed but we also slightly feared our robot overlords.

The pitch is just the bit between the wickets; the field is the whole area, so I think you were probably right.

We were at a bus-stop today, with an endless wait which was never explained, and got chatting to a couple of people who turned out to be (1) the mother of a next-door neighbour and (2) a man who said he recognised MrG from seeing him often at the cricket. MrG has never been to a cricket match in his life.

I am so delighted! After crushing Leeds Rhinos tonight,😀 the Warriors need just to beat Salford at home next to finish top of the league. I am so proud of my team. And, in fact, of my sport too, because in these sometimes troublesome times for women's sport, they have kept hold of their senses; training weekends for young boys and girls who want to play are booming, and the women's game continues to grow. Which is reflected in the very large numbers of women and girls of all ages watching the matches.

It turns out that almost all the world's oldest people aren't: theconversation.com/the-data-on-extreme-human-ageing-is-rotten-from-the-inside-out-ig-nobel-winner-saul-justin-newman-239023?

That's fascinating! And so is the levitating frog!

That is interesting. The whole “blue zones” concept has always seemed to be mostly marketing in any case.

That’s really interesting. But I’m also pretty sure the two people who’ve lived beyond 100 in my street really were as old as they said they were. I’m off to a 100th birthday party soon and my mum will be 99 next month. Perhaps I should be asking questions.

My Gran would have been 101, had she not died, aged 87.

That's really interesting and quite an eye-opener, though given what humans are like it shouldn't surprise me.

My gran was genuinely 103 when she died.

He sounds like a worthy winner, if only for this quote:

Do you think the Ig Nobel will get your science taken more seriously?
I hope so. But even if not, at least the general public will laugh and think about it, even if the scientific community is still a bit prickly and defensive. If they don’t acknowledge their errors in my lifetime, I guess I’ll just get someone to pretend I’m still alive until that changes.

This is another type of thread I find oddly fascinating to dip into. It's like vicarious anti-FOMO.
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5166349-to-ask-which-country-you-would-not-visit-again-and-why?

Forgot to add - I find the reasons given very interesting. Some felt entirely justified, others are bizarrely petty.

Brings out the worst in us all, i think.

Flandango · Yesterday 22:25
Wales. Ghastly place. Huge gangs of tough, sinewy men roam the Valleys, terrorising people with their close-harmony singing

Arf!

My DD often goes to places I wouldn't want to go to - most recently two weeks in Florida in August, which sounds like hell to me but they enjoyed it. They went to Vegas too, as part of their honeymoon. Another place I wouldn't particularly fancy. A couple of years ago they went to Dubai, which was on a lot of shit lists on that thread.

I'm going to have me a look at that thread (Greece and the Greek islands for me. I've been to Athens, Rhodes and Skiathos, to be fair I enjoyed the islands and eating feta from sheep just up the hill in Skiathos was heaven, but I just wouldn't go again because I found it a bit dull overall and I actively disliked Athens) but first news!

A call from one of my dieticians in Guildford to see how I was doing. Apart from an issue with my feeding tube being blocked (a nurse who specialises in that sort of thing is heading to mine, she's Worthing based) all is good so I'm on to the soft food diet!!! Joy! She also said that while it wouldn't be ideal - and I agree - if we couldn't sort my feeding tube we could do without it and within the next month it should be gone! I want to put on as much weight as I can and the feeding tube will help with that as I get used to eating more.

The madness of life. Just a few years ago I thought I ate too much, especially of the "wrong" food and now I'm worried about eating too little. What larks!

Feeding tube unblocked. Bicarbonate of soda did the job followed by warm sterile water. Lots of calories tonight!

Had a look at the thread and the only thing I wonder is what did people expect Dubai to be? It's a cultural black hole, a human rights disaster and basically nothing more than an expensive shopping mall.

Excellent news @MouseMinge

What in the fuckety fuck is going on here? https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149466458

Sounds like good feeding news @MouseMinge

I like Greece but very much as a place to visit when I want a relaxing, reading books on the beach type holiday which isn’t very often.

One of the things that’s amusing me about that thread is the readiness of some to rule out a whole country based on one brief visit.

Soft food - pates, cheesy mash, fried egg sandwiches?

I thought you'd maybe posted the wrong link there, VB - not my taste and not really a mews, but ordinary enough. Then I got further through the photos...

Greece is one of my happy places, but I can quite understand it wouldn't have universal appeal. Dubai is awful, but almost exactly what I expected.

I had the same thoughts as Bint about that house. What’s going on in that bathroom?!

I can understand why some people really enjoy Greece and it's very much a "not my thing" thing. I also has one holiday there with an arsehole so that had a huge impact on my opinion of it. I'm also not much of a beach holiday person and if I want to spend time on a beach then I'd rather do it on the south-west coast of France because it's closer, I speak a little bit of French and there's always somewhere not too far from a beach to go and do something a bit cultural. I'm such a snob.

@NoBinturongsHereMate sandwiches are a bit of a no no because bread is an issue although toast with lots of butter is apparently okay. I may try it. I had a small quiche this evening and some ice-cream. I can have all manner of things in that now there's more I can eat than I can't. Salads are a bit of a no no, things like steak are a complete no no. Steering clear of fizzy drinks on the whole and alcohol completely. I'm off in search of quorn cottage pie or lasagne tomorrow. I don't really want to eat actual meat but I fancy either or both of those.

MouseMinge · Today 15:10

I'm going to have me a look at that thread (Greece and the Greek islands for me. I've been to Athens, Rhodes and Skiathos...

I loved Skiathos, the smell of the pines and wild herbs was amazing. We rented little motorbikes and went to different places every day, including the monastery at Potami, it had tiny cells for the monks and a fair bit of precious items.

A monk turned up and told us that one of his brethren produced icons, but not for sale.