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 ...

V busy again but have to ask Mistle; what are milkmaids? Apart from the obvious and various consortsof Krishna, of course.

I'm also waiting for enlightenment about the milkmaids, as I can find several things called 'milkmaid' on the RHS website.

Cheers, everyone!

bolly o'clock, is it? Jolly good - I finished the rl bottle of the stuff last night. It was a little on the aged side but still good enough to drink happily (and all by myself as DH is still off the alcohol and anyway fizz makes his knees go completely!)

I don't know what milkmaids in horticultural terms are either and I thought I was quite good on weeds... ah well. Never mind.

Cheers, Thumbwitch!

milkmaids down a bit on here

They like my garden because its clay and wet.

They are also the food plant of the orange tip butterfly.

MadBad - I saw and agreed with you.

Bolly - sounds good to me!

Ooh, how pretty MT - it even tells you how to differentiate between them and the bitter cress (but only after flowering of course - not much use in early growth!)

Madbad - That gunner lives up to her name all right, doesn't she! Well done you for holding your own but the posts you were up against strike me as the sort of "head on one side, sympathising patronisingly with your pain as you are clearly struggling to come to terms with your own reality and living in a delusional state" comments that drive me NUTS!

Ah, lady's smock. Obviously some quaint Northern name. Very pretty; there's a whole field of them near my house but they won;t grow in my garden.

MadBad, have another glass and a soothing shoulder rub from Mellors, unless it is past his bedtime.

DH is coughing again. He does it to annoy. Cat Stevens is on the TV - shall we pull out the trusty tea room valved set from under the faded embroidered throw and all let ourselves be washed back to a more serene time?

Oh Mistle, that's rather pretty. And they do say that a weed is just a plant growing in the wrong place.

As for that other matter, thanks for the support. I made the mistake of going back to the thread. I've said far too much now - and have been quite rude outspoken in saying it - but really must walk away from it now. I'm hunkering down in the tea room.

Refill, anyone?

Ta - have a large one yourself - do you need to be in the priesthole or just behind the charmingly distressed sunbed? Have some Sophia Loren sunglasses and chiffon headscarf as well...

Sorry, hadn't seen the posts after Mistle's.

A shoulder rub from Mellors (who, after all, is on 24 hour stand-by) would be lovely. I'm not hiding, just not wasting my words. But I do love the Sophia Loren makeover, grazie.

A propos absolutely nothing at all, what I have always found very annoying and dishonest are those people who peddle a theory and then, if you agree with them, that is evidence that they are right. If you disagree with them, on the other hand, that is evidence that you are stupid/uninformed/inhibited/deluded and that they are right. The possibility that their theory is mistaken is never admitted. I really don't know why that came to mind tonight.

Now the camomile has gone and teh bolly and Cat Stevens are out, here I am again!
I will just hug you all and Hurrah that we are an exotica tearoom planning meets in California!! What a hoot
that means, Thumb, you will be next in line in Aus!

Mary course sounds interesting, hope ok

Mistle, thanks for asking I think we are exceeding expectations on the caring front (nanny)while still gently and happily getting to know one another

MadBad, your wit is as dry as the Bolly and just as good! Can't think why you would have had that random thought tonight and I totally agree with you.

Anyone who ventures out to Australia after the end of August will be welcome to come and find us - I'll be the one living with the mental kangaroos by then.

Daisy really pleased to hear re the nanny - must be such a relief!

RS - milkmaids - no, not a 'northern' name as it was the one I learned as a child - from my parents - so it must be from Kent or Dorset!

And, no, its definitely not a weed - whilst it might have partly got there by accident, I am definitely 'cultivating' them in that I'm not weeding them out and have even transplanted some of them to more appropriate locations in the garden! They are definitely wildflowers!

Madbad - I believe that we've come across more than one person that could fit with that description....

Thank you, Mellors. You are so skillful with your hands.

Am feeling in a much better mood now. Thank you all.

Thumb - Please explain the mental kangaroos. Are you going to be working as a marsupial psychotherapist?

Daisy - Three cheers for the new Mary Poppins.

Mistle - Hmm. I have a theory about that.

And I've just realised that it is weeks since I saw Racingpig or RacingMissPiggy. Does anyone know their whearabouts?

More Bolly anyone?

mental kangaroos - where we are going to be living is on the corner of the road down to the mental hospital, a lovely old one (which has its own historical preservation society) on the edge of the lake, and they have their own gang of semi-wild kangaroos. It's great - you can see them really up close, although not wise to get out the car when it is a big buck! Some of the inmates feed them so they are used to humans. So - short nickname for all of that = mental kangaroos!

Aha! Further enlightenment.

Great, Thumb I think the mental kangaroos will fit right in to the tea room

MadBad you rock

Mistle yes, it is indeedy a reliefy

What do kangaroos with mental health issues eat?

Thank you, Daisy. I'd been thinking that (as best I can recall) we hadn't set the glitter balls rolling since we arrived at the seaside, so here goes.

oh yes, I have a need to throw some shapes!

Hurraah!

Daisy finds her drink has magically transformed into a Pina Colada and she

madbad - anything the inmates care to give them! THey are supposed to eat things that are a bit like pony nuts - if you go to a proper wildlife park/zoo where they have "feed the kangaroos" you get a bag of small pony nutty things - but we have seen this lot eating biscuits and bread and stuff like that. They aren't noticeably overweight though...

Thumb - So leftover muffins and cake will be OK for the tea room kangaroos, then?

Daisy - Those are some amaaaazing shapes. Gravity-defying, even.

for sure, madbad. best keep Donk's carrots away from them though

Am going to have to go to bed as am yawning like a hippo - night all!

OOFF getting a bit out of breath here

I might have to climb down from the chandaliers