The Bluestocking Pub, where we continue to read about gerbils nobly and bravely working undercover in the Fen.

[AsWithGlad]

Welcome to The Bluestocking, the best (perhaps only) online women's pub. Nothing in the food or drink can harm you, everything is served by a very enthusiastic crew of gerbils, who enjoy doing this, and any curious menfolk are welcome at the Staunch Ally down the road.

Previous thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5564959-the-bluestocking-womens-pub-in-which-we-wait-excitedly-for-the-next-instalment-of-goseis-adventures

Oh my word - am so behind!

Been out shopping for DS uni room (bankrupted over bedding, I reckon); plus so much admin especially for the autism/ADHD support; also trying to finish his bloody college blanket. I’m not sure I can get it done by 18th Sept… and trying to work out how the hell to apply for grants for a post doc. My tutor/DirofStudies is dealing with redundancy issues and clearly very stressed, but I have no idea where to start!! Have written loads of emails to try and create contact with a potential mentors but it’s obviously the start of term as I’ve heard nothing back. Think I left it too late really. 😭

In an ideal world I would have hoped my DoS would have helped me, especially with the applications for post docs/abstracts so I feel a bit abandoned, even tho I know DoS has far bigger issues to contend with. am on the verge of asking Chat GTP to help me draft it all!

Good news tho as DD has got a place on a Level 4 art diploma so at least she has a structured activity for the year ahead while she decides whether to go and finish her classics degree.

As an aside - lots of rain. Grass is lovely and green! It was so worth all the systematic hand watering and patience just keeping it out of dormancy.

I couldn't agree more. Thank you for expressing what are also my thoughts so well.

Support from us all,* daughters of earth and fur, dearest Myrtle. *💐

Tbc in next post.

Confession, I do not have the words to express myself well so for the first time I tried using AI, and after a few iterations it gave me the expression ''daughters of earth and fur''.

That should not have been in bold, Myrtle should have been.
I blame the gaps between the asterisks and the words.

I wanted something that was a riff on 'man and beast' but meaning the Bluestocking women and our wonderful support animals.

@MyrtleLion so glad you had a lovely day, despite the service! Hope you didn’t have a red wine/meds combo headache this morning.

We have a concierge at our flat who decided my DH was touched by God and a saintly man the first day he met him. Always greets him with a hug (DH not a hugger… and he is atheist to the core). Apparently, by my being DH-adjacent, I am a Godly woman and much blessed [vicariously I assume]. Apparently he can see my goodness when he looks at me. But bless him, we were at the flat assembling furniture on Mother’s Day and he arrived at the flat with a bouquet for me.

By contrast, DH is so excited that I am so close to finishing my doctorate because he wants to be able to correct people who address me as ‘Mrs’ Anony or assume he is the Dr Anony in restaurant and hotel bookings. I think he plans to have some fun with it and is proving himself to be a real feminist ally as he ages! 😍 been together 34 years, 24 married, but I do think I love him more now than when we married. When you find a good ‘un [Godly or not] you have to hang onto them. :)

Pasta wrote
I am stoic as all get out at home because the family worry and fret. Then I think about what are the most crucial issues the family is facing, and I end up shushing myself.

We understand, and The Bluestocking is always here if we can be in any way supportive and helpful

"Daughters of earth and fur", I love that 💙

If I may, it might make it into The Gosie Chronicles.

I bet Gloria Steinem would have liked it too.

Some more gems of wisdom from her here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/sep/03/gloria-steinem-best-quotes

Her and Wendell Berry, one after the other, and so soon after Dolly and Tim.
:-(

Myrtle, we love the Gosie Chronicles but looking after yourself is so much more important.

I’m glad you’ve got Mr Walrus.

My holiday starts on Sunday so I’ll be writing about my Norwegian adventures next week 😀

Bore da, Bluestockingers. I, too, am catching up, although I have of course managed to read the latest Gosie chapter. It was a bit tense there for a moment, wasn't it?

Pasta, I echo what others have said, looking after yourself is perfectly legitimate, and essential, if you're going to be good for anyone else. But, you can always come here, and we'll do our best to hold you up! 💚

Sorry your dinner experience wasn't better, Myrtle. At least you don't have to worry that you'll be missing out on the best food on the planet if you never go back! And, yes, I will wait for the next Gosie chapter I would wait a month for it, no worries! 😃

I don't like smelly, soft cheese of any kind.

Wendell Berry and Gloria Steinem- my first thought, as always, was 92! Then, why do so many people get to live into their nineties, but my Dad died in his 60s? I do struggle with that still. 😑

Edith, I hope you are looking forward to your Norwegian adventures!

Finally, when did MN start spellchecking and grammar checking my posts (little red underliney things)? Or is it just me and my phone?

''Daughters of earth and fur'' is wonderful. Slightly Narnian perhaps, and should be Bluestocking canon now I feel, so I think adding it in to Gosie's chronicles is only fitting.

Should it be daughters of earth and fur and feathers and scales and spines when using the long form?.
Or daughters of earth and fur and feathers and scales and spines and Colin? Not that he's been around for a while...

Myrtle, I'm glad you and Mr Walrus enjoyed your wedding anniversary despite the rather underwhelming meal. I'm sorry you now have a few difficult days to contemplate - we can't always control what life throws at us and sometimes it is just about getting through as best you can.

We all love Gosie and her gerbil adventures, but you should never feel pressurised to put out an episode every single day, otherwise, what should be a little light relief from everyday concerns, can become more like a chore. Having to wait for an episode will increase the anticipation and the delight when we receive one.

We go through alarming quantities of Baron Bigod when we have an excuse to celebrate. Bloody marvellous cheese.

Should it be daughters of earth and fur and feathers and scales and spines when using the long form?

And of frost, obviously. Also rather Narnian.

Myrtle and Pasta, sorry to hear about your trials and tribulations, and that things are difficult. Anony I hope you get the help you need for your application. I don't really have any wise words for any of you but as always, echo the sentiments expressed by the more eloquent of us.

@AngleofRepose I agree, mum died at 39 but the rest of her family lived until their late 90s.

Angle, I think you meant Empress. Edith is remaining on the windswept flatlands of the East. VERY windswept this morning, proper blow a-going.

I do understand what you mean about the injustice of when people die. My DM died in her early 60s, and knowing that she'd probably dead by now anyway even if she hadn't fallen ill so young is very poor comfort, considering what she missed. And what I missed, and my DC missed. She would have been a fabulous grandmother.

Myrtle, I second everyone else in telling you not to panic about a gap in the Gosie instalments. All the more time for the tension to build. Difficult days are hard to get through, especially when they pile up one after another. I used to think that they build your resilience, but I have learned that they can also wear you down and empty all your tanks of tolerance, goodwill and general cheer.

Pasta, take care of yourself, always. We need a Baron Bigod emoji for those who would probably prefer it to flowers.

And Rum [or Baron Bigod if you prefer] for you too, for losing your DM so young.

And on a much more cheerful note, I loved that Gloria S quote that Myrtle shared:
Men should think twice before making widowhood women's only path to power

Colin doesn’t mind not being mentioned. He’s still basking in the glow of having rescued Beetle from being lost when we last moved, and has just discovered Baron Bigod so he’s happily under a table licking his chops.

'Daughters of earth and fur' is lovely Aswith - it sounds so anthemic, I can almost hear the massed choirs of gerbils and capys and puggles and tree kangaroos and humans and dragons and so on and so on, lifting our voices in praise..

'daughters and sisters of earth and fur' might scan better in the Peak Wooian [National] Anthem - or maybe it could just start the second verse.

I think we should allow some poetic licence about spines and wings and feathers and frost, it might get a bit wordy otherwise😕We know we are all included.

AI could probably produce a Peak Wooian Anthem in seconds flat - I prefer to just imagine how it would be if it existed, and leave it at that

Anony, you are operating on so many fronts!

Hope DS settles in to uni He has all that lovely bedding to keep him snug until The Blanket turns up, and it will probably turn up at a point where the excitement of the new surroundings may be giving way to a bit of Muuuuuuuuum🙁and hey presto! a parcel will arrive full of Muuuuuum's love

DD doing an Art Diploma sounds great, it engages more of the mind than just Classics, doesn't it? Creativity as well as learning. I hope she loves it, and it helps her towards feeling more whole and centred in her own version of being a young woman.

And very importantly, yourself! I think using ChatGTP to organise things and get the down on paper isn't a bad idea, you can then apply a whole lot of your own thoughts and editing to it, but if it's Your Starter for 10, why not?

As is often the case, I have nothing useful or practical to tell you, except 'you go gurl'..
sorry that should be 'you go DOCTOR Gurl'😁

Not all the gerbils are on undercover missions, Myrtle, and the relaxing massage team are on their way round to you as we speak, plus the massage capy - it feels better than it looks, I'm told.😬

Well, we've had the sun, we've had the rain and today we have high winds, although it's quite dull at the moment. More in hope than expectation, I put out a full line of washing and it's all blowing about merrily. Provided the pegs hold and it doesn't fly off in the direction of North Yorkshire, it should dry enough to iron or fold later.

I do love a good drying day! 😁

Cool and cloudy here today and I’ve seen a couple of trees starting to turn colour, though the full glory of a Maine autumn comes at the end of the month when we will be on our way to England. The best September days are when the maples are flying their scarlet banners and the sky is clear and bright blue.

Do any of the clever bookish ladies of Bluey know if there are any resources to help me put together an application for funding or fellowship? Website link or books [ie idiot guides for formerly self identified intellectual, I may be de-transitioning back into my natural idiot self).

'when the maples are flying their scarlet banners and the sky is clear and bright blue.'
Beautifully put, Chic, poetic even, have you ever thought of... oh wait..😁

It sounds like the start of a ballad, doesn't it?

Kitty, really looking forward to hearing about the Norwegian adventure! Don't forget to look closely at any stained glass windows you come across <taps side of nose meaningfully, though I've never understood why we do that..>

I hope you've learnt the Norwegian for essential phrases like
'Are there any unusual marks on this window?' and
'Is this nave high enough for a large dragon to take flight?'

Lol @MarieDeGournay missed your reply before I posted. I think I’ll start with ChatGTP/Ai and see where it lands me. Think I am slightly panicking as not got a sample to look at - oh, but I can ask AI for one of those too.

I have even written to the uni where I did my MA as it is nearby to see how the land lies there. Essentially am emailing everyone I’ve met on courses, who has taught me on the MA and moved on to other unis, etc to see if anyone takes a bite! Issue is that uni terms start next week, so many are still away or focused on start of term admin/duties, so keeping fingers crossed that I get a flurry of interest next week.

If it is meant to be, it’ll happen. I have said that to the kids so many times in the last 20 years that I really ought to put my faith where my platitudes are…

You're braver than I am, Dauntless - the gazebo's fabric roof has been ripped off in the gusts so I didn't dare risk pegging the washing out!

I've seen one, but I can't remember what it's called. Will check and get back to you.

Been a bit 👻 here I'm afraid. Start of term and a weird mood, so I shall just dispense 💐💐💐 to all. And agree with the Baron Bigod appreciation society.

Where abouts are you? We had a ridiculously windy night last night in Surrey/Hants - too muggy not to close windows so doors rattling against the frames and kept me awake. Not helped by dogs jumping up every time it sounded as though one of the DC was up!!

Image of my canine centipedes attached for no reason other than they are cute and I can’t conjure up gerbils and capybaras!