Thread 20 - TalkLair: "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness; that is life"

[Kucinghitam]

(Previous Thread 19)

Britain swelters in yet another heatwave.

In the TalkLair, all the curtains are closed against the blazing sun as the denizens lurk like creatures of the night... or maybe we are creatures of the night. But rest assured, despite our scary fangs, the denizens of the lair are a welcoming bunch, always eager for general chit-chat on all manner of topics. We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

@artant - Not the same thing, I know, but several neighbours have had cataracts sorted out at NHS clinics near us and come back full of praise for the service, which seems to include some sort of "tinkering" that means they no longer need specs, except for driving and reading. And once they're referred, it happens very quickly. So that at least is working! (The thought of it makes me cringe, though.)

I had it done, and it's brilliant! Vision is great with the naked eye for driving and out and about, but it does mean I need weak reading glasses to comfortably reading the phone and lap-top. Was a bit scary, though.

Ha! @moto748e - people who've had it done here are incredibly blasé about it, but I suspect they were probably rather less calm before, during and immediately after the procedure. They're all very pleased with the results, though.

I had an eye test earlier this week and my cataracts are apparently growing very slowly. With luck I'll be dead (or at least institutionalised) before it comes to the crunch!

My optician tells me that I have an incipient cataract that will eventually have to be removed and I'm fairly terrified of that, though friends who have had it done said it wasn't nearly as bad as they feared.

The trouble is, when people say things like that you have absolutely no idea how bad they feared it would be. 😆

It doesn't hurt at all, honest. But of course the idea is scary.

Has anyone been following the shenanigans in Northern Ireland, where a small bunch of frankly provocative Orangemen have been insisting on their "right" to parade through an RC area, just because they think they can? It's not even "the marching season" <insert eyeroll here>. It's been pissing down with rain all day, so while they shelter in the Protestant church, the protestors are getting soaked while blocking the road.

The late, unlamented Reverend Ian Paisley would be so very, very proud.

It's been on the local news for weeks because of their repeated applications to the Parades Commission. Different numbers, different times, agreeing not to play music during that stretch, some of the march dropping out at the previous road and driving to the next section... The number of variations they've submitted it probably was still marching season when they started. They have many faults, but lack of persistence certainly isn't one of them.

I hadn't seen that, but I did see the thread about the attempt to enshrine 'gender identity' into NI law, and the blackly comic sight of the DUP and Sinn Féin disagreeing about the possible number of different genders. And they wonder why people don't bother voting.

From the latest news reports I've seen, there are still a few people hanging around the church. But I must have a look for the NI gender thread!

I have just been enjoying John Crace's take on the Charles Spencer, Harry and the Sacred Memory of Diana vs. the Crown shenanigans. Crace is on top form!

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/sep/23/peoples-earl-charles-spencer-swan-song-diana-my-sister-digested-read-john-crace

@Gonners
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5582727-amid-myriad-crises-stormont-is-spending-three-days-debating-if-someone-can-invent-their-own-gender

I have just answered a loud banging on the front door (we have a doorbell) to be faced with a teenage girl, maybe about 14, all rolled-up skirt, peroxide hair and make-up. She stepped back and said at the top of her voice "Would you give us some work for money for a school project?" I was so startled that I simply said "Er, no" at which a bunch of boys on bikes on the pavement at the end of the path howled with laughter.

They are going to come back and throw dogshit at the house, or worse, aren't they?

Well played, Gonners. Have no truck with That Kind Of Thing.

With hindsight I should probably have asked "What project is this, exactly?", just to see what utter bullshit she could invent on the spot, but her delivery frankly took me aback!

Good answer - quick thinking Gonners. I am currently sitting on a plane at Boston Logan waiting for our flight to Heathrow - I’ll be in your time zone tomorrow!

Goodness @Gonners, what bizarre behaviour!

Unrelated, DD1 goes to a Catholic 6th form college. This doesn't really impact on their day-to-day educational experience (their intake is all faiths and none) - apart from once a week they have an hour's Philosophy and Religion lesson. They're usually quite interesting, says DD, as they explore various sociopolitical situations and vigorous discussion is positively encouraged.

This new academic year though, they have a new teacher and the focus has shifted to more reflective feelgood wafty themes, which has not gone down well with a roomful of cynical Year 13s.

Yesterday DD came home from college and said, "Today we were supposed to reflect on stuff like love and kindness in humanity, then we had to write paragraphs with the prompt 'Most people are...' - so I wrote 'BIPEDAL.'"

I'm going to get a phone call from college, aren't I?

@Kucinghitam Yesterday DD came home from college and said, "Today we were supposed to reflect on stuff like love and kindness in humanity, then we had to write paragraphs with the prompt 'Most people are...' - so I wrote 'BIPEDAL.'"

I told MrG that and for a moment the Alzheimer's fog lifted. Instead of looking blank, he hooted with laughter and said "That girl will go far!"

I concur!

I've just seen a story on the Beeb about the man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe and "preparing acts of terror" against Farage, and I can't help thinking that he's a cheery and likeable-looking cove. (www. removed to stop the the page automatically loading here.)

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv1j3lgrl6gko

My Muscat grape vine has produced 4kg of grapes (net weight, after removing stems and manky ones).

Will you be making wine, @ProfessorBinturong?

I had an Ocado delivery yesterday (because they are trying to suck me in with massive discounts so I will make the most of that) and foolishly ordered a chilled chicken jalfrezi. Yes, I know, but UK supermarket versions are usually conservative. This one, however, is competitive-vindaloo-standard ... the level of heat that men like to show off with after 17 pints. I think it will be scrambled eggs for me tonight!

How odd. I'd expect jalfrezi to be only medium hot, even without the supermarket downgrading of spice levels.

Not attempting wine. I am making grape jelly, raisins, and grape cheong. And freezing some to put in drinks.

I did manage a small amount of it, with a LOT of rice. MrG tucked in, though, and will no doubt eat the leftovers for lunch. Perhaps it's a Man Thing?

I hope Lidl doesn't decide to follow the trend, their jalfrezi is one of my fallbacks. It's just possible to discern some heat.

I very much admire Ms Kuc's pushback on the neo70s feelgood idiocy.

We had the boiler serviced today by a bloke who said about three sentences and (for reasons that completely escape me) I said "I'm going to guess your home town is not a million miles from Lisburn". And Lo! He was from Lisburn. So we chatted about that for a while, and about his subsequent army career and the weirdness of going straight from Kosovo to Trooping the Colour.

When I told him that the key-like gizmo that adjusts the water pressure had gone missing after the last service, he said that would be because the previous miserable git of a bloke had taken it away after changing the system so that there was now a cunningly hidden button for the job. The idiot hadn't thought to mention it to me, but apparently he has now been sacked and everyone is in agreement that this is good news.

I also mentioned that we needed a new thermostat and miseryguts had told me I needed to buy one and then phone them up and he would come and fit it. He rolled his eyes, went to the van, got a new wireless thermostat and receiver and installed them. No charge.

Tea and chocolate biscuits were served and, all in all, it was the best boiler service ever!