The one and only Tearoom, to be sure , it is.

[UniS]

To pinch an intro from the very first one and only tea room thread. in 2009.

The tea room is now officially open, serving hot chocolate, tea, freshly-squeezed orange juice and a range of home-baked muffins. Tablecloths and crockery are charmingly mismatched antiques (no Cath Kidston here). We overlook an attractive although somewhat overgrown garden, with a distant view of rolling countryside.

Everyone is welcome but house rules dictate that anyone indulging in fisticuffs will be ejected.

Please come in.

2011
We seem to have fetched up in Ireland, this place looks remarkably like a pub,There is even a guiness barrel over there. The NMBs are all sporting shamrocks. The mirror ball is here, but I leave teh rest of the unpacking to someone else.

Now feel like a bit of a thick having found how to flip messages!

Confirmation bias - very interesting discussions everyone. Is it better that now there us greater awareness and understanding of things like autism and aspbergers which could lead to greater support and tailored educational support that lead to better outcomes? Or is it a case of a great opportunity to put a diagnosis on something we perceive to be different to our expectations of 'normal' so feel less guilty when we judge and flame? Certainly I hear aspergers bandied about with wanton abandon to describe any challenging behaviour which drives me up the wall. It may be more years than I care to admit that I studied psych but I care about considered and evidence based diagnosis and support, not quick, convenient and small-minded labelling (that like others said are certainly something you see happen regularly with good ol' only child syndrome!)

AandO - only got a Siberian as I'm allergic and they are superb for allergy sufferers despite being a furball. Dd named him after the calm down boris books and it's only co-incidental that he looks like Boris Johnson!

AandO, hmm, tricky. It sounds as if he finds it really difficult to deal with negative feelings. Was he easier in India?

No, there is no-one who can help (apart from my sister who lives far away and anyway finds it all too stressful). Part of the PTSD (as we now realise) is that AP has always felt really anxious and uncomfortable with anyone other than close family. It was always completely suppressed when she was younger and working, but is now more of an issue., as it would make her even more anxious I suppose she grew up knowing that anyone outside was a great threat, and now it is hard wired into her brain.

Have never heard of a Siberian cat - only hamsters!

Mindy, flippin or no flippin, I don't like the app much either. I like to be able to see if anyone's posted on a thread I'm on, and unless I posted yesterday and there's a date today I can't see that - if I last posted today it just gives today's date and the last person on could be me or fifty other people. Plus I don't like that if you click on, say I'm On, and change your mind, you HAVE to wait for it to load before clicking on something else. But then I don't think I've found an app of a site yet that I prefer to the mobile version of the site.

AandO it's the 'pick your battles' thing isn't it - shall we bounce or see the cows isn't a battle worth fighting, screaming does not get you your own way definitely is. I've often said about that argument that you often don't know that a battle isn't worth fighting until you're well and truly embroiled in it. Nightmare.

I love Boris even more now, despite his resemblance to Boris Johnson (actually quite appealing in a cat). He does indeed look like Calm Down Boris too, who I like much more than Mr Johnson! And our clamping cat is my favourite cat (by a whisker) so that's good in my book. Our other cute is cute and pretty (though a boy) but clamping cat loves me so I love him.

I downloaded the app but don't know if I like it much better than the mobile site. In fact, I think I prefer the mobile site.

Luckily boris has currently shown no interest in whiff whaff, running for political office or joining the local conservative club. He does however make a lot of loud but essentially nonsensical noises.

Morning all.

Feel too far behind to catch up. Must.Try.Harder!

Hi to all the people I've never seen before. My son, LCT, just turned 2.

Swamped with work, try to be back later!

available for those rushing about, and Mellors is just making a nice round of Irish Breakfast

Thank you to and breakfast.

Feeling a bit nervous this morning. I have an appointment at the (whisper) breast clinic. Hopefully just me being paranoid and nothing to worry about (GP not too concerned but referred me for reassurance) but there's a tiny part that can't stop thinking 'what if...'

All positive thoughts gratefully received...

bean, plenty of positive thoughts heading your way. Let us know how it goes?? 9 out of 10 mysteries of this sort are nothing tricky, and even if they are, 9 out of 10 people with tricky things will now have a good outcome, so the odds are very good either way.

Thanks Amber, will let you know how it goes.

My thoughts are with you Spud. Normally if your gp isn't to worried it is a v v good sign.

Hope all goes well Spud.

s all round.

Mine will have to be a double espresso though I think - feeling woozily tired. Actually had a reaosnable night's sleep (6.5hrs) so don't know why. Its almost as if I drank too much last night - but as I drank some elderflower cordial and that's as strong as it got, that's certainly not the reason.

double espresso it is, MT.

I will sooner or later feel ok enough to go into work, I'm sure of it.

Let us know how it goes, bean...

[Looks sternly at Amber]

You must not try to do too much Amber!!! Look after yourself.

Thanks. Not going into work after all.

I know that its against your nature Amber - but in the circs you do need to be trying to give yourself a bit of leeway. Do you like tennis? You could keep me up to date with what's happening at Wimbledon today if its not been rained off?

Meanwhile, here's another and a jug of homemade lemonade (plus a glass you can use if you would like something more traditional to drink out of rather than just the jug), some strawberries and some homemade shortbread. I'm not quite sure what MC was thinking of when he made these shapes.

I know - I'm my own worst enemy. Just so bad at doing little. Not sure about Wimbledon - will have to sit down and watch it later but right now FineLad has the living room as his Panic Zone for tomorrow's double A level exams, and is sitting surrounded by notes and grapes (not quite sure what the grapes are adding to this). Hey, there's a tele upstairs! Why didn't I think of that!

Splendid and jug of lemonade etc etc! Though the shapes of the shortbread are a bit , I agree.

I 'think' that one was meant to be a tractor - an old one - so if you can flick through your copy of 'which historic tractor?' at the same time as finding out what's on at Wimbledon at the moment, that would be good.

It's not the tractor that's worrying me - it's the naked shortbread farmer driving it!

::distracts herself with Which Historic Tractor magazine::

How about this one then?

First you plant some shortbread seeds in nice deep soil, and then you wait for the sun and rain to do their work, and then you harvest them. Easy.

Naked shortbread farmer over here please!!

Amber - please look after yourself. If you Google "how to do nothing" there are lots of (not very useful) suggestions.

Thank you for the positive thoughts. They worked and I am just back from the hospital and feeling a lot better (I think). I have to go back in a fortnight for the results of a biopsy but the consultant didn't seem too concerned and I'd like to think that if there was anything to worry about it might be a little more speedy????

I have learnt today though that when it comes to medical stuff Google Is A. Very Bad Thing. In addition, I am now officially very old as I swear that the first doctor could only have been about 18!

Small Bean announced this morning that he would like to "go to the moon for the day on Saturday if that's ok please mummy". So, I am off to do some work and look for step-by-step instructions on building a rocket. By Saturday.