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Tea Room the Twentieth: The Greek Island

935 replies

asmallbunchofflowers · 04/12/2010 21:47

Welcome to the twentieth (yes, really) Tea Room.

We find ourselves on a sun-kissed Greek island, where our whitewashed, blue-shuttered house nestles in the dappled shade of a gnarled old pine tree. In the olive grove, Mellors the gardener/handyman/factotum is tending the tea room menagerie of horses, camels, bison and guinea-pigs, recently joined by some recalcitrant old donkeys. The distressed chintz sofa, aga and cardboard cut-out of George Clooney have survived the relocation from the south of France and the aspidistra has pride of place on the mantelpiece.

Come in, put your feet up and join in the conversation. It may not make sense, but that's not important. What matters is the lovely people here and the chance simply to relax.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
asmallbunchofmistletoe · 12/12/2010 23:34

So that's the date of the Buck House childen's party, is it?

asmallbunchofmistletoe · 12/12/2010 23:36

Err, I believe twiglets are often recommended because they are baked not fried.

UniS · 12/12/2010 23:39

well salt n shake type crisps seem pretty "safe" on the salt front... kettle crisps lightly salted if you want salty but not very.

Obviously its all about balance, a single pom isn't gonna destroy a kidney... I just think salt free crisps are an easy way to keep a limit on how much salt boy ingests. I still use salt when baking bread.

oxeye · 12/12/2010 23:39

no no no, you're just saying twiglets because that's what we all eat here surely??
maybe I'll try....

yes, one is having ones knees up next Sat. We are hoping the lovely Engaged Ones will turn up Smile

asmallbunchofmistletoe · 12/12/2010 23:52

Indeed not. The knowledge that twiglets are purportedly healthier because not fried is one of the things that has fed my twiglet addiction. And then I keep serving them here and so it goes on. But I suspect that they too contain quite a lot of salt.

Dare one check? Especially if a royal warrant is in the offing?

MaryBS · 13/12/2010 02:15

Oxeye, I didn't take the funeral in the end, but I did preach at it.

When the kids were younger, I used to buy salt and shake crisps and remove the salt packet. They were happy with that.

CMOTdibbler · 13/12/2010 08:20

I used to do the salt and shake thing too. Slightly posher, Tyrrells do Naked crisps with no salt at all which are actually my preferred crisp. But I am partial to the odd packet of Pom Bear myself.

I have a trip to London tomorrow to have some tests done, so will be mentally waving at the tearoom denizens

amberlight · 13/12/2010 08:39

If you contact an organisation with 7 days to go before an event and say "I am disabled and need a small amount of info - please can you let me know the details for this event" Would you expect complete silence for six days and counting?
I've promised to go to an event tomorrow. As ever with this particular sector (which shall be nameless), the response to an autism enquiry is silence. I've re-contacted them. I expect there'll still be silence. I guess I'm just feeling a bit down at having to work so hard each and every time to get even the tiniest glimmer of info so I can attend things...

Who's for breakfast? I can get Mellors to rustle up something large?

asmallbunchofmistletoe · 13/12/2010 09:15

Oooh, could Mellors do a bacon sarnie?

That's poor, Amber. Have you yet given them a virtual rocket up the backside?

amberlight · 13/12/2010 10:00

I've given them one last chance to redeem themselves. It's a radio broadcasted event so if that doesn't work, I'm going to be thinking laterally. Possibly very laterally indeed. Xmas Biscuit

DutchOma · 13/12/2010 10:19

I thought you had given up on that lot, Amber. They don't deserve you and it is a mark of your niceness that you keep giving them chances.

asmallbunchofmistletoe · 13/12/2010 10:33

Should you cancel and be the empty chair?

amberlight · 13/12/2010 11:06

I'd quite like to go to what is a broadcasted public event at a major church, as a member of the public, which seems quite reasonable to me.

They've just written to say that their other email isn't functional which is why no-one bothered to reply, and they have no idea what will be happening tomorrow in their own major church...but the radio station might know so why don't I ask them. So I rang the radio station to ask about how the church is handling disability access (like they'd know). It's on answerphone.

This is my life. Sometimes I get a bit tired of trying to access things. But what do I do instead? Sit indoors and give up?

asmallbunchofmistletoe · 13/12/2010 11:12

Yes, I understand why you don't want to be excluded and why should you be? But if they are not willing to make the (small) accommodations to include you, I wondered whether having to explain why you're not there (I'm imagining you're a speaker/leader) might shame them into rethinking their (indefensible) position.

Would you like some hot chocolate and ginger cake?

amberlight · 13/12/2010 11:17

Nope, I'm just there as a member of the public. but I was invited by the Bishop.

Any chance of a shot of brandy in the hot choc?

asmallbunchofmistletoe · 13/12/2010 11:19

Of course.

amberlight · 13/12/2010 11:19

Do you know what terrifying and onerous thing I asked for? An idea of how long it was going on for/a service sheet (which they invariably do in advance). The same info they already know.

Arrghhh. Just ignore me. I am just a bit ranty because we've produced a Diocesan newspaper with a centre page spread on how we should all welcome disabled people....and here we are at Christmas still ensuring they can't get to God and it makes me so sad.

asmallbunchofmistletoe · 13/12/2010 11:25

Oh no. That's exactly what I thought when I referred to the small accommodation they might have to make. You are perfectly entitled to rant.

While we're thinking about churches. Do you do any work with the informal churches which exist (as far as I can tell) outside any organised diocesan-or-anything-else structure? I often wonder about them. In all sorts of ways.

amberlight · 13/12/2010 12:06

Yup, I work with the Baptists, Free Churches, RC, Presbyterians, CofE, Methodists, Quakers, Jewish faith, Seventh Day Adventists, and every other mainstream group you can point a crozier at.

And only one of them is utterly cr*p at including me, endlessly, in every single sodding church apart from my own so far.

What are you wondering about?

asmallbunchofmistletoe · 13/12/2010 12:41

I am wondering about the very informal churches which meet near us, usually above a chip shop, and don't seem to be part of any structure or hierarchy. I wondered whether, because they are so informal, they are better at being inclusive because they don't have to wait for someone in "headquarters" to write a policy about it and they justs get on with it. Or, alternatively, do these things happen better or more quickly if they are being pushed from the centre?

amberlight · 13/12/2010 13:02

Two factors come into play re inclusion and any religious group (info from New Scientist magazine recently so I'm repeating it rather than understanding it):

a) Does the group have a very very clear idea what God thinks re inclusion.

b) Is the group very very comfortable in each others' company and thinks of each other more like a family than a group of like-minded acquaintances?

I will generalise. Clearly exceptions apply....

When they tested groups that were very comfy with each other AND only had a vague idea about God's mindset, they found that such groups were far more wildly hostile to anyone different to them than other groups.

The more people feel like they're with family, the more defensive they get about anyone who might threaten that family's sense of security. (e.g. in one test, they were far more likely to recommend waterboarding for terrorists after they had been asked to imagine a lovely friendly holiday with people they love).

And the more they are left to guess what God thinks of inclusion, the more their brains fill in the gap with "Hey, it turns out God hates/excludes the same people I do - wow, how great is that!"

Undeniable human psychology, it seems.

So churches that are comfy and vague are actually the most dangerous places for anyone different to try to join. It's the opposite of what people would expect, but it's true.

It needs really strong leadership to enforce inclusion on such a group.

That's why so many make it work, and those churches that thrive on vague leadership find themselves shrinking more and more and more, as their groups repel more and more people 'not like us'. Yet, to them, they seem really friendly so they can't figure it out.

Does that help?

amberlight · 13/12/2010 14:27

Blimey, that was all a bit serious [fbear]
Sorry about that Blush

asmallbunchofmistletoe · 13/12/2010 16:44

No, that's really interesting, Amber.

Are you ready for a cuppa?

UniS · 13/12/2010 16:58

afternoon all. will read back later.
Unis waves and scatters chocolate snowballs about liberally.
Boy is at his friend house to play, so I've had a quiet hour ON MY OWN. bliss.

climbed a tree earlier putting up christmas surprise lights for a friend. also been knitting hard today, mitten is 3/4 done now CMOT.

amberlight · 13/12/2010 17:02

No, I'm ready for a vat of gin with some brandy chasers, but alas a cup of tea will have to do me.
I have just been told that the event I was invited to...the event where I was told that I would be most welcome....is in fact completely unstructured and could end at any time at all, because they may have to repeat bits, do stuff again, re-run things etc etc.

All the stuff I can't cope with.

Well, good job I found out before I turned up and collapsed, really isn't it.