Welcome to the Seventh Heaven Tea Room (BYOB. Biscuits, crisps and cake provided)

[Catitainahatita]

Hello and welcome to the seventh incarnation of the tearoom.

If you have found us by chance and/or curiousity you must know that the tearoom is a virtual safe haven for all those seeking a friendly word, a good cuppa and plenty to snack on. By virtue of its magic nature, no food can cause any physical damage, so chocolate, alcohol, transfat and all such can be consumed guilt- (and magically calorie-) free.

We have a wide range of soft-furnishing to relax on; a lovely garden with a swing and a ha ha; a variety of animals; a spa and (for some unknown reason) an apidistra.

Everyone is welcome, if you have one child, ten or none at all. We are a tolerant and fisticuffs-free zone. Instead we employ our energies swooning at Mellors the Gardner cum handiman thinking a silly things to get up to.

Please come in and say hello. You never know, you may end up joining us ...

amber, I have looked at it now - your re-write was superb and did bring a tear to my eye. Your essay was really well-written too - who says you have trouble communicating?!

I hope they move it to a different area.

Now - must be time for an early snifter - sherry, anyone? Restorative, of course! And perhaps some comforting soup - might I recommend the rather luscious butternut squash soup with lewd roll?

Well, I either have trouble communicating, or I fry the comms circuits in my brain trying to do it entirely correctly. It doesn't mean I can't communicate: it's more what it takes out of me, and the awful ominous silence it leaves behind for me, because I can't assess people's reactions that well so have no idea if I've made things worse or better.

Soup and lewd roll would be great, with a large splash of sherry. I am so glad all of this is calorie-free

Good idea Thumb. I read, Amber, I am truly shocked and sorry

I know how overloaded you are with so little support right now - believe me you have made things much much better on the thread

Thank you, Daisy - you're all lovely and I'm just in a right old mess right now

I couldn't find the thread Amber was referring to, but would like to, because I feel the need to ride in on Lady-Grey-- my white charger and level a cooking pot my lance at anyone who says horrible things about people with an ASD.
Amber, even though we all only meet virtually, we are friends, and friends protect and defend each other. The Tea Room has been a mainstay of my sanity during a very hard year. I say things in here, and tell you all things, that I don't tell friends in RL. If someone was being hurtful to me on another thread I would come offload in here and hope that someone would be outraged on my behalf and go give'em what-for. (Whatever what-for actually is...)

I have another reason to be outraged on your behalf, and one that, until now, I have been too disgusted with myself to admit. Here goes - the autistic spectrum of disorders have always frightened me near to death if I ever had a child, as have the other special needs. It's my own, probably misguided, belief, that life is hard enough if you're physically and mentally perfect, and with any kind of a disability, it (obviously) becomes even harder. In my mind, there was little quality of life to be seen... but reading your posts, Amber, has made me see how wrong I was. Of course I see that your life is immeasurably difficult at times, but I also see that you cope (and seem to cope quite well), that you have a terrific sense of humour, and many other lovely qualities... all of which makes me feel ashamed for what I thought (because I didn't know) and that I have something to make up for.

I don't know if any of this makes sense, and I hope, hope, hope that what I've said in such a stumbling way hasn't upset or offended you... I thought about just keeping my mouth shut and doing penance in my mind, but I have this odd character trait - when I've wronged someone, even in my thoughts, I don't really do well until I've said so out loud and have apologized.

Should I be running and hiding now, have I really put my foot in it?

Amber - I think that you had better leave that thread alone. There seem to be some people that are determined not to see the text for what it is, or for how it describes a huge variety of people, certainly for most of whom it is totally inappropriate. I think that it is really unhelpful, damaging and hurtful for things like that to be in circulation - and as I said, if similar had been written about skin colour, religion, or disability (rather than other ability) it would have received the outright scorn that it deserves. However I am going to distance myself from that thread, and advise you to do the same!

There is a goldfinch chattering away in the sycamore tree outside my office window which is lovely. I've been toying with the idea of getting a stick-on bird feeder to put on the window, but feel that I might get into trouble! It would also almost certainly break if it fell - and the one on our kitchen window at home definitely has fallen off a few times. There's also a horse chestnut - but its looking a bit blown about so all of its 'candles' are not necessarily facing straight up!

Nope, no feet here. And thank you - you're lovely too.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs/749953-My-Name-is-Autism

Don't look. I fear I may need to be put into the priest hole and have someone sit on the lid....

I think mn have just removed the thread....

I just read the opening post on that thread and I am speechless. See, THIS kind of toxic crap is why people like me, who are uninformed, fear the ASDs so much.
Oh, I'm so pissed off!!!

Oh, I am really upset now.

Jacksmama, there can't be a parent on this planet who wouldn't have the same thoughts. It's why that weird poem was so awful, because it 'bought into' every negative stereotype imaginable. Hell, I wouldn't want to have me as a child either if I thought I was anything like that, in terms of worth and future. Goodness me, no.

I know so many people with an ASD, whether low functioning or high functioning or anywhere in between, and they're such fantastic people, no matter what their level of ability. But yes, parents can find it very, very tough going. I did. Was it worth it? Oh yes. As I wrote on the now deleted thread, I know exactly what it's like to care for a challenging individual. Few people in my life aren't, in one form or another. But I love how my life has been (for the most part), and I love them.

Thank you Amber.

Phew! So many posts to read to catch up.

Would anyaone care for a cup of tea and slice of lemon drizzle cake. I'll lower some down to Amber, using Mellors' new dumb waiter - a marvelous piece of handiwork.

For anyone wanting respite from nasty threads (thankfully, that one was deleted before I could read it), there's a frivolous and diverting one about Robert Redford. Paul Newman has also been mentioned.

anyone
marvellous

The Health Care Professionals' Lounge

I may havebeen either brave or foolish or both but come check out my new thread!

T42 falls into the tearoom - someone rescue me I have been doing something so so tiring I have no idea how to recover......

I have been.....

looking after.....

TWO CHILDREN

[overwhelmed emotion]

Fans self and puts feet up!!!!

Tea - congratulations - you have survived! I have found that three (ds, ds's friend and friends older sister) is actually slightly easier than two there's no hope for us is there!!!

Amber - I am so glad that thread has been deleted!

I didn't realise that there was room in an eglu for pigs. Must be miniature ones.

We looked into rabbits and gps before we got the chins - definitly would have gone for indoor ones though, with perhaps a run outside for the daytime during the summer.

MaBad, I just looked at the Robert Redford thread... deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelish!!!!!!! Oh, he's aged well, hasn't he? Mmmmm....

Jacksmama - I've been looking at your health care professionals cafe, although (sadly) I don't qualify for admission. It's so like this tea room - even down to the Daniel Craig and Wesley Snipes eye candy - it's like being in a parallel universe!

And yes, Mr Redford has aged well, although for me his zenith was in The Way We Were. I blub every time I see it. In fact, I think if we make George and Wesley budge up, we have room for a Robert Redford cutout next to Paul Newman. Butch and Sundance ride again!

It's wine o'clock. Who'd like a drink? As always, there's some Bolly on ice.

Wow, I'm drinking in two thread tonight!! [blush[
MadBad, the HCP thread is not meant to be an exclusionary one. Not at all. Come on in and visit!! Or perhaps you could help me with a small problem we're having - we need a waiter, and one has appeared, however, he lacks personality...

here is cake fro Amber

Robert Reford was definitely 'easy on the eyes', but I will now expose my inherent geekishness - oh the shame - when I was younger I thought that Captain Kirk (William Shatner) was the bees knees...

Donk - The joy of the tea room is that we can all confess our sins here, in a supportive and non-judgemental environment. Even crushes on Captain Kirk. Actually, I think my first crush was Manolito in the High Chaparral.

Would a galvanised bucket of tea be welcome? I'll be having a glass of Bolly.

I like JM's idea

A bucket of the universal panacea known as 'tea' would be most welcome.
I was rather fond of Manolito too MBDTK!
Far more interesting that Blue Boy.
My most recent drools have been over Adrian Paul in Higlander...