Tea room the Eighth - sun, sea, sangria, and perhaps a sandy Mellors

[DontCallMeBaby]

Greetings, welcome to the eighth incarnation of the tearoom.

The tearoom has been, and will be again, a virtual safe haven for anyone up for rather random chat and a comprehensive range of virtual snacks. Nothing in the tearoom will make you fat, or drunk (unless you want it to) or cause an allergic reaction.

The new tearoom location is a beautiful beachside cafe (no need for factor 50, the virtual sun will just lightly tan you, bring out your freckles or simply warm your skin, as you prefer) with a range of garden swings, hammocks, sunloungers, deckchairs etc (as well as a rather incongruous, but well-loved, chaise longue). For those in need of sanctuary, we have managed to fashion a new priesthole out of woven grasses.

Our fellow residents include Mellors the rugged gardener of few-but-well-chosen words, the naked mohawk babies, a coterie of bishops, various domestic pets, and a selection of others. On the human side, all are welcome - while we live in the One Child topic some regulars have more than one, and we are welcome all (except people who put their heads on one side and tell those of us with one child that it's just not fair to have only one child).

Please help yourself to a glass of Champagne and a canape on the way in ...

Carry on films - I loved some, hated others.
Carry on Cowboy was a particular favourite, as was Carry on up the Khyber.
Brilliant, both of them!

sorry not been around, have had a busy and tiring week!

Hi Scottishmum - how are you doing?

Bleurghhhh, Unis runs into tea room and sticks her head under a cushion going Can;t see it can;t see it. go awaya.

DH just came home from cricket covered in blodd with big plaster on chin. removed plaster to reveal nasty looking deep cut.... So I've packed him off to A&E. He wanted to cycle there! I persauded him into teh car.

NOw, can I please have a stif drink and some nice mental images to remove the gory on.

Penguins, I quite like penguins as in, find them interesting birds, but they don;t half smell and get filthy dirty and look very little like their cartoon counterparts.

this 'ere is an interesting book about 2 brothers and a kidnapped penguin. It's not as funny as it could be but has some great humour moments, as well as some good pathos and some real oh ffs grow up bits. Penguins STINK!

UniS you are always so active at last I feel I can hold my head up high, I went for a swim tonight [smug] now pass the margaritas quick!

just read the end of the "entertaining 4 1/2 year olds" with very wise words about allowing children to be bored (our very own UniS and Amber) and also not being afraid to invite other families over.

I realise I do slightly have that fear, particularly friends with older children (which is all of my contemporaries, all my "pre-children" friends - even their 3rd and 4th kids are older that DaisyBoy I took so long to fall ) - what do you all do?

did any of you see the lovely Joanna Lumley on her visit to Norway for the Northern Lights? She had a book about a penguin she'd had since a child, made me at the impact that children's books have on you - in her 60s she was still chasing that story!

(not sure it's quite the same wanting to meet Moonface and Silky. Somehow being a child in the 70s just doesn't cut the mustard )

what I liked most about the link of Mary's was that the penguin researchers are heaving a sigh of relief that now they can do their jobs via satellite and not have to go near the pengiuns the poo

Why the tea room? Because I can visualise it as a safe very visual and relaxing place where people don't mind me being me, and I won't get myself into deep water by discussing anything more than tea, buns, penguins and bison, really.

Would love a cup of tea lowered down, if that's ok?

What did we do re friends and ds? Anyone and everyone over, really (eek for me and dh, but important for him). Or he went to theirs. Or we bunged him into every social sports event possible that he enjoys. Or we take friends on holiday with us (ones who know what we're like and don't get too shocked by our elusive/eccentric/fretting behaviour from time to time. It's worked beautifully.

One flask of tea coming right down Amber

DS is yet to have anyone round to play (apart from friends daughter who comes to stay). This is as all his friends are from nursery, and no one wants to use their weekends not being a family

DS starts rugby tomorrow - so this afternoon I need to take him to buy some more suitable shoes

Ds has a sponsored walk today - the third time lucky. But at least we know that he can easily do the distance, particularly over a nice flat playing field! Dh is going along to help later on.

I'm not surprised that the researchers are glad that they've found the penguins by satelite - I've seen some of the films of the emperors on ice, in a blizzard with a gradual movement from the edge to the centre of the group for mutual warmth - I think that the camera could only film for very limited amounts of time before it froze. Sitting in a nice cosy office and looking at satelite pictures must be much more civilised! (Please don't get me wrong, I'm all for going out and seeing things 'in the flesh' but there are limits in terms of reasonable temperatures and amount of danger...!)

Has anyone seen Justabout? Or talked to her? Any news on her, ahem, delicate condition?

Hiya JM.
I spoke with Justabout last week (or was the week before? Can't remember now). She was doing fine with the delicate thingy but said she needed to reduce her MNing a bit so she could concentrate on her other full-time jobs...

LOve teh idea of researching penguin behaviours by satalite. MUCH less stress for teh birds too, as well as obviously warmer for researchers. I am guilty of having been a penguin botherer in my youth. I did stick to teh guidelines but teh birds do tend to waddle up to you from all directions and suddenly 10 ft in any direction contains a bird so where DO you go.

Mucho mucho tea consumed today in my RL tea room alike mums and tots group. The kids played with the newly recued from skip stuff out in teh garden, while I was fainlty flakey having had a Very broken night. DH got in 1.30, boy woke at 3.30 & 4 , alarm at 7, K arrived to play at 8.

THat penguinis stillinteh fridge you know, I flung a fish in when I realised, but it will need mucking out soon. DO you think Mellors would oblige or should I ask one of teh horsey types?

Aaaaah - penguins....

In teaching there is a wonderful story about a penguin that always has happened to "A friend of someone I know". It is a teaching myth.

It is that there is a school trip to the zoo. And when the class get back to school... a boy (interestingly never a girl) has a penguin in his bag!"

I told the story to a teacher friend of mine.

"Well I don't believe it.... you can't just pick up a penguin!" She genuinely exclaimed.

But I think she'd find you can....www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI0Fa66h6Qo

I know someone that did research with Merecats - and there are photos of him with wild merecats on his shoulder and head - on the basis that he was the highest thing around to act as a look-out post. Not exactly staying out of the way!

Hello everyone. I'm shattered after a hard week's mango-farming, so here are some

decanters of sherry
crystal flutes of champagne
twiglets
olives
cracked black pepper crisps
galvanised buckets of tea
hugs
winks
supportive nods of the head
clean duvet covers and pillow cases for those in the priest's hole

Goodnight everyone!

It's the new fascinator, don't you know?

Momentous day today - DD has decided she likes tea. Well, a 50/50 mix of tea and milk with two sugars (in a rather small cup) masquerading as tea. But it's a start.

We went en famille to a science festival even this evening. Not bad, but not as good as I was hoping for. And I forgot to go to a grown-up one last night, which I am extremely unhappy about (it was about faith and science; might have given me some ammunition against the pair who seem to be picketing the venue with a big sign quoting biblical verses to the effect that 'science is bad').

Oh well. DH and I off to another tomorrow morning, while DD plays next door but one, then I have something in the early afternoon and all three of us in the late afternoon ... said to DH that DD will be quite shocked if/when she leaves town to discover that not everywhere has a Festival of Something every other weekend!

ROFL at meerkat on head as new fascinator - may I have one?
Thanks for the update Catita! How hot is it in Mexico? It's been so hot here - I'm loving it - but cooling down now. JB's been in his splash pool for a good part of the afternoon.

Here, have mine JM, I'm off to bed. It doesn't like it when I got to bed, it has to stand on top of the wardrobe instead, and every time it moves something falls off. Very disturbing.

hello latenight tearoomers!
Once more I really shouldn't be here but tonight I really have had it - I can't be doing with any more sorting out! I shall be here for a little while and then get some sleep - I was up until 2am sorting last night and the pile has barely diminished

On a lighter note, I have been finding some funny stuff, including my school reports from upper fifth throught to upper sixth year - quite embarrassing how little work I did, and am quite that I had "erratic attendance" - God knows where I went!

DCMB - I don't really understand the whole "science is bad" thing - after all it is only knowledge and what is wrong with that?? Are these placard-wavers of the crazy loon variety?

Love the idea of meerkat fascinators - miniThumb would love that too! He's getting to be very good at waving and making the appropriate animal noise at the tv when animals come on

TW - I sympathise - its probably like one of those jobs where the last 10% takes 90% of the time.

Just think how sorted you'll be when you get there though!

Thumb, they did look quite loony. I'll have to see if they're still there today (in the rain) and have a closer look at what their placard says. The one side was something about 'prattle', and the other 'Theos is the logos'. Admittedly, I suspect a lot of people attending the science festival DO have a smattering of ancient Greek, but still, not the most accessible message. Which I should deem a good thing.

I hope DD gets the distinction:

Mummy and Daddy - nice atheists
Rev W at school, headmaster etc - nice Christians
People with placards - crazy people unrepresentative of anything except crazy people

Hm.

DCMB - we may have crossed paths yesterday as we were trawling round the same town - but in search of a) trainers and b) sandals for DS. We were successful with the first after 2 shops and not with the second.

Do you ever go to the noodle bar 188 on the high street ? They are ludicrously child friendly, and the food is excellent.

DS went to his first rugby session today and loved it. A parent even spoke to me which was nice.

DS seems to be campaigning for a baby . On Thursday when I picked him up from nursery everyone was in the same garden (usually toddlers, babies, preschool and after school are separated) and he suggested that we take a baby home with us

Oh dear CMOT.

I've been spending a lot of time with my friend with the newborn, and JB doesn't seem to have much use for him (deo gratias, at least so far) - he pokes at him and looks up at us with this "?" expression... very funny... even funnier how puzzled and concerned he looks when the baby squawks.