Tea room the 5th - welcome to the yurt

[UniS]

Welcome to the tea room. A warm welcome to everyone, whether you have one child, none, or ten. This is a tea-and-muffin or booze-and-sofasorcanapees sanctuary for all. But certain standards of behaviour continue to apply - anyone engaging in fisticuffs will be ejected by George Clooney, ably assisted by Mellors the Gardener.

You have found us- did you like teh slide/ bridge over teh HaHa. Teh priest hole is still available, its just over there.

Mellors and I have erected the yurt, strewn rugs around and good a good fire going in the wood burner. The place is feeling toasty and warm with not a draft to be felt.The kettle is now singing away on the hob. selection of teas for all taste on the shelf along with the hand made by potters mugs. Mellors very ably fitted teh yurt window with a window sill onto which can be placed a selection of pot plants and george.

Can someone sort out RP ( who I think came over with the sofa) and plump up the hay pile for donk.

A Previous incarnation of Tea room may be found here

Of course, most services (well, the bit I actually get to with ds anyway) are spent desperately trying to stop MJ making too much noise.... It is a very family friendly church - but there is a line!

I think his classic moment was a service we accidently went to that had no junior church - which was a mistake. We did go for a walk round the (outside of) the church during the sermon - but ds decided to experiment with the echo effect - a very loud 'Holy holy holy' after everyone else had finished singing that, and (more embarrassing I think), a huge shout just after 'the Peace of the Lord..' which was said from near the door, very close to where we were standing.

Then, of course, there was his Christening when he very audibly filled his nappy just before communion (the Vicar nearly lost it ) and I then had to send dh out with ds to change him (ds held like a rugby ball under one arm despite the 100 yr old christening gown ) as I thought that the rest of the congregation might think that we thought 'done communion, that's enough for us' - so I stayed put!

Any further news yet Donk? Hope it all continues positively...

Amber - weekend away sounds good - how much longer does Mr Amber need to take things really easy?

Oh my! That's a set of memories of his Christening that he'll never be allowed to forget

Mr Amber will need to gradually build up his stamina over the next three months, the Doc says.

Justabout - I sang for the Easter service just before MJ was born (2 weeks?). I got to sit in the 'mens' pew as there weren't too many men and the front one was filled. Going in was fine. However, when I came to try to lead out at the end (me first) ds had moved so bump had changed shape and I couldn't get out! I had to wriggle out rather uncomfortably - did get there, but it certainly wasn't as easy as it had been going in!

To my mind there is too much incense at reconstruction masses - each side of the choir was censed three times in a row which was a bit excessive as we were trying to sing at the time. I think that you probably get used to it... I wonder whether choir members and clergy ended up dying of incense poisoning or its effects way back then...???

Daisy reaches for the scones and cream and suddenly feels a bit, well, heathen

Morning lovely tea people!

Daisy, no feeling the heathens! They don't like it, y'know

Mr Amber would be nodding, anyway. He's got no time for all this religion lark.

Nice t-shirts everyone's wearing, Catita

Neither has dh...! Although I did manage to persuade him that a church marriage would be OK as he would be making his vows in front of all the people that mattered to him... . And I think I probably go to church because I'm singing at least as often as I go with MJ...

OK, so at a party yesterday I discovered that I have to come up with a costume for world book day on Thursday - quite what MJ has done with the letter I don't know as I'm normally quite good at taking them out of his bag and dealing with the things that need to be dealt with.

And this morning I discovered a piece of 'homework' that now has had 2 sets of dates on it as it hasn't been done. Whilst MrMistle started off quite enthusiastic about doign the post-school care (painting, cooking etc) things have rather gone down hill and not even homework is being done . I, of course, have the excuse that I'm meant to be doing work that I take home with me...

The place we went to last week would be worth braving the countryside for Daisy - it was in Leatherhead, just off the M25, and lovely. Beautiful views too.

Amber - lovely area to pick. Bourton on the water will be forever in my mind however, as the place I went on an outing to with a coachload of older (50-60 ish) people with mental health issues. Being a bit disinhibited, several decided to walk in the river, and we had to call the police to search for one who disappeared from a pub loo. We all had a good time though.

I am not having a good travel outlook day. Would anyone like to 'pop' to San Fran for the day next week ?

CMot - dh would be up for it!

I wish I could find some work for him - but we are on a recruitment freeze .

Am just annoyed about this meeting that it's me rejigging my whole life to do it again, when others who have much more family support say they can't manage the trip. DH is less than impressed about this one, not least because he now feels guilty that I am going to be jet lagged (or at least knackered with all the flights) whilst he is having a jolly weekend away

CMot - 'twas only toungue in cheek!

Its a pain when people that don't have problems just can't be *ed isn't it. I hope that the travel arangements aren't too frustrating - have you tried diet to help with jetlag? I think that there was somthing in the New Scientist quite a number of years ago about recommendations of the type of food you should eat when in relation to your flight and whether it was forward or back etc.

I'm very blessed in being able to sleep anywhere and anytime which generally means that I don't really get jetlag.

The problem in this case is that as I have a meeting on Tuesday in central London, I will be flying out on Wednesday, have meeting on Thursday, fly home in the evening, arrive back Friday lunchtime, drive home and pick DS - so no chance to recuperate !

Good day, all! Scones and cream sounds wonderful, although I might look around for a little savoury soup first.

I hadn't thought of a name for new pig; RacingMissPiggy sounds good. She is very nervous and skittish, not like RP, who is very placid. She is sort two-tone: back end white, front end mottled brownish.

Yesterday a friend with a small baby came round. WS spent the evening with RPig being carried about wrapped in a doll's blanket, being a 'Tout petit bebe' (little tiny baby). A very placid pig as I said.

Oh CMOT I would love love love to go to San Fran for the day! pretty please and if you give me a crash course on your presentation can I go???

And I have a little sneaky feeling you went to Bockett's farm at the weekend I love it there, have been twice - last time for DaisyBoy's second birthday. It is heaven on a stick with bouncing and lambs together. It is quite commercial but in a generally good way I think (like lots of picnic places and food not a total rip off) and the possibility (albeit not probability) of getting away only with the entry fee and a bag of feed...

I must admit, we did "lie" about his age. Under 2 is free. 2 on the day? well we let him be under 2 for about 3 hours longer

Mistle I am sorry your DH seems to be wavering between helpful and hopeless which must be a strain with the joblessness. We have had one letter home from nursery so far, which I totally failed to see and only spotted on another mum's pin board!

Here ...

lunch anyone?

Go on then - just be nice to the geeks in building 32, and do a good flannel about development timelines to the prospective customer (yes, of course we will tell you everything we plan to release in the next 5 years )

It's up in Silicon Valley, rather than downtown. Weirdly, in 9 years I've never actually been to HQ as my business group don't have anything actually there, so it would be nice to visit - if there was anymore time

Yes, it was Bocketts - for once friend and I filled the whole day with no trouble at all. In fact we shoehorned the children out of there at 5.30 with a lot of tears as they wanted to stay in the sandpit. DS pretended to be 3 so that he could go on the pony ride. We will be going again I think

Dh now has picture of DS plus guinea pig as his phone wallpaper. I suggested getting one - till we came home and found what the cats had done to some more local wildlife. DH doesn't think a donkey will fit in the garden either. Sigh.

I think I might go straight on to the scones and jam if that's OK Daisy - to go with my cup of tea.

Provided we get down to Devon this summer (booked, but not sure whether we'll be able to afford it at the moment) we will hope to go to Pennywell Farm - sounds similar to Becketts - we've been there two years running so far (2x each year!)... they breed their own variety of miniture pigs - and if you time it right, you get to give a tiny one a cuddle! There are activities every half hour which are not compulsory - collecting eggs, milking the goat, feeding the lambs, feeding the deer, introduction to hedgehogs/ferrets/birds of prey etc etc etc - MJ particularly likes the pony riding (an extra - but he really loves it and has the most perfect riding posture, even with his heels down!) and being a sheepdog helping to put everything away in the evening (which involves holding the hand of the person in charge if you're ds - and being the last people there on a very wet day....)

It is lovely for them to get hands-on experience of the animals. I am afraid that ds has already started to develop his father's approach - which is to view quite a number of animals as a potential source of food... (my mil is but my parents (like me, both vege) are quite OK with it!)

CMot - you can always get a chincilla and a large chincilla ball - then the chin could terrorise the cats instead! (took chins with us one Christmas as we were travelling around - one was chasing the resident young cats in said ball - he's really good at speed moderation and directions...)

Ah, Bocketts Farm. We went there as my birthday treat when MadBadBaby was three. My birthday treat? How did that happen?

Would love to chat but must go and drag home the fruit of my womb!

Good morning all! CMOT, you'll be in my timezone this week!! Yay! Then we can start (virtually) boozing at breakfast together! [lush emoticon]

LOL at your birthday treat MadBad!

My 40th birthday treat was to take DaisyBoy to London Zoo and each birthday he gievs me a present we would really love to share! so far it's been Playdo and a game thing!

It's good actually because he gets some benefit from choosing my present and then something to play with leaving me with my birthday treat of a cup of tea and a gossip mag in bed!

Bockett's Farm not far from us either but we haven't been there yet - must get round to it!

CMOTD - my mum's cat was perennially confused by the g'pigs - I think she was more scared of them than they were of her - probably cos she was thinking "just like mice only bigger, and where's the tail gone??" Having said that, a friend of mine has a tom that brings home rabbits, so if your cats fall into latter category, g'pigs = large snack, so wouldn't try it!

MT - I always wanted to get one of those balls for the g'pigs but in the end didn't cos they're not wee-proof (my only issue with letting them run free was the wee)

Amber - love Bourton-on-the-Water, and all round that area. I know the people who run the toyshop in Moreton-in-Marsh; and many years ago I used to spend several sundays a year at Little Rissington, pit-crewing for my ex's brother doing his karting.

lol at birthday treats to share with DC - reminds me of my Valentine's pressie from DH this year - the largest box of Thornton's chocs he could get, because then we could share it!

If they were wee-proof - they'd also be sealed which I guess is not too good an idea for small creature shut inside

Only one of our chins likes it - the other just sits (I think she is rather lazy) - and he has never weeed in it - when he's out of the cage he will pop back in for a quick wee and then scamper around again.... Poo on the other hand....

My father really surprised himself by having conversations with Quetz as he manoeuvred himself around their house - Quetz really liked their hall as it had a wood floor and he enjoyed the space and speed. He also enjoyed bumping into the airing cupboard door - sometimes he turned away and went another way on purpose, othertimes he just accellerated into the door . Mind you, he (and Truffle) enjoyed bumping the door in the last house as it made a good bang if you jumped up and hit the middle of the panel at the bottom.

OOh, scones for me too please. With extra cream and jam por favor...

I'm glad to hear you all had fun weekends. I hope your feet are better Madbad.

Also, I am wondering how Donk's Dad is doing. I think its a good sign that he is complaining about something totally unrelated to the reason he is in hospital. When my Mum started to complain about the food in hospital I knew she was finally getting better .

at sealed balls - I know, I realised it was impractical to make them weep-proof.

On the high-speed thing - I saw a clever gerbil using one once, he used to charge at the skirting board at high speed and the ball would split open - FREEDOM!