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Tea Room the Ninth: I love rock and roll, put another dime in the juke box baby

1000 replies

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 16/06/2009 22:20

Welome to the ninth incarnation of the tea room. It's been a long and eventful road, from a tea room overlooking a cathedral garden to a beachside cafe, with a diversion via a yurt. Now - voila - we are in a music lounge. We cater for all tastes and, as this is a tea room of requirement, it manages simultaneously to be many things at once. For some, it is a 70s glam rock disco with a cool boho edge - glitter balls, smoke machine and much wearing of platform shoes and eyeliner. For others, a jazz bar where mellow music is played as cocktails are served. For still others, it's a concert performance of Spem In Allium. We still have a garden, with shady parasols for the summer, and a menagerie of pets. Our membership is international.

The tea room has few rules. Everyone is welcome. But anyone visiting with the sole intention of causing hurt or shouting abuse will be ejected by Mellors, the multi-talented gardener-handyman who (it turns out) is also a guitar wizard and rock god.

Please come in.

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MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 17/06/2009 20:16

You do seem, ljhooray, to have got the measure of this place very quickly.

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mistlethrush · 17/06/2009 20:20

Evening!

I do find these clothes a bit odd though

Allotment - no, just garden! Raised bed which I filled by lugging soil from an area I dug out to turn into a bog garden so that we could drain the garden... It being clay, it came up in lumps (one spade square and one spade deep approximately) that effectively stacked into the raised bed. Its also had a lot of compost in and now is remarkably friable! The planting would have gone much more quickly if I hadn't had to put a plank down so that I didn't walk on the soil at all. I'm aiming to get it completely no-dig in time!

UniS · 17/06/2009 21:03

hellllooooooooooo

just brezzeing in looking cool and glam at the same time. i've just done bed time for 7 kids! after 30 mins the boys room seems to have quietened down at last. Its boy's first night shareing a bed room. last time i looked he was also shareing a bed with the cousin he hero worships... suspect this will not lead to good nights sleep. am baby sitting for SiL & BiL so they can have first night out in 4 months.

the nmbs on strawberries is an interesting sight! they were very ripe strawbs and have left stains.....

off to try a tandem tomorrow.
mines a pimms, this is a dry house so tea room pimms only tonight.

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 17/06/2009 21:30

I'm channelling Suzi Quatro tonight. Do you like my leather catsuit?

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thumbwitch · 17/06/2009 22:03

I'm channelling Siouxsie and the Banshees - I'm Siouxsie, DS is the Banshee. He failed to go to sleep fully before being lovingly and gently placed in his cot and is now howling the place down while I try to ignore him in the hope that he might just give in and go to sleep by himself, something he really does have to learn to do

More Bolly here please - still got some cassis to go...

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 17/06/2009 22:12

Would you like a relaxing foot rub too, Thumb? Or would a pair of ear plugs be more useful?

Lovely eye make-up, though.

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thumbwitch · 17/06/2009 22:18

why thank you!

mistlethrush · 18/06/2009 09:01

TW - did he stop eventually? I must say, since ds was about 14mo, he's been really quite good about going down at bedtime - sometimes you can hear him singing to himself for a few minutes, but often not - although he does have a radio in his room which we set for about an hour (Radio 3) I wish mornings were slightly later though. This morning he did come in very quietly to whisper whether it was morning yet (it was the last 30mins before the alarm when you really don't want to get up) as he was hungry - then he couldn't find his elephant again (she was stuffed down the bottom of his bed when I looked later) then took himself off to the toilet (great) but sat holding the door and squeaking it (not great). Of course, by the time it was breakfast time he just wanted to talk rather than eat his breakfast...

thumbwitch · 18/06/2009 09:14

MT, he didn't - after he'd been going strong for an hour I gave in - he wasn't diminishing and I was getting upset so I went to fetch him. Manipulative little horror settled right down as soon as I picked him up but wouldn't go back in the cot.

Ah well - when we get to Australia it will all change so I'm not going to fret myself to flinders over it now.

Cup of hot chocolate anyone? With a flashing parasol?

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 18/06/2009 14:20
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mistlethrush · 18/06/2009 14:54

OK fabulous shoppers - you know that I'm going to the wedding with the guest list in the summer - and am on a crash diet to see if I can get into something and not feel awful about myself by then - but I also need to get something for ds to wear. I've already got some smart shorts - grey/black with a very fine grey pinstripe in a linen-mix. Was thinking of plain linen shirt (v. simple) to go with them. Saw a rigout that would have been fantastic in Monsoon - dark navy trousers and waistcoat with a plain linen shirt, but the waist coat was £22, the shirt £16 and I didn't look at the trousers! Pumpkin Patch (sale started today) linen shirts all have something printed on them. Any ideas - Oh, I did see some in Debs - but again fairly ££ for what they were and how much he would probably wear it. Would be happy with a nice smartish cotton shirt...

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 18/06/2009 15:14

Hmmm. I'd get onto Ebay for a bit of thrifty recycling. A friend of a friend who favours fancy and formal tailoring gets a lot of stuff from Ebay, as she reckons people buy it to wear to a wedding, wear it once and never have any reason to wear it again. She then buys it at a knock-down price when it's scarcely been worn. I reckon the same must be true of little boys' smart gear for weddings. Get browsing!

Alternatively, how close do you live to Bicester? The Monsoon shop in the shopping village often has fantastic bargains. The prices are in the right way!

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thumbwitch · 18/06/2009 15:24

Ooh, MT, I was in Monsoon yesterday and I think I know the stuff you are talking about - it was rather lovely!

Have you tried local charity shops? I have managed to find some really nice stuff for DS for very little. It is a bugger though - so much money for so little wear! Or you could try the supermarkets - sometimes they do have half decent shirts (although never decent shorts as I discovered)

What about M&S? If they have their sale on you might get lucky...

daisy99divine · 18/06/2009 16:11

Hallo!
Wonder how Catita is getting on [sigh]

Mistle what about UniGlo? Do you have one near, they do dead good cheap tailored plain shirts, as do Muji and ditto M&S also, sounds odd, but TM Lewin do work shirts at a price but round me are always DESPERATE to off load so you can basically breeze in and make an offer, but maybe that is not your stylee? And it works best if you are buying more than one (so that's not so helpful is it )

daisy99divine · 18/06/2009 16:12

by the way, MadBad I am finding Spem in Allium all too easy to misread, that and the wimples is making me feel a little queasy - will stick with Siouxie!

UniS am in awe of bedding 7 at once (you Snow White you!)

ljhooray · 18/06/2009 16:13

Mistle - mini Boden perhaps? Second MadBad on ebay - I've bought dd some fabulous Zara stuff on there for less than the price of another play of 'Let's Groove Tonight' on the tea room's jukebox.

Catitainahatita · 18/06/2009 16:25

Hello from sickness central.
Sorry I've not been around. Unfortunately I managed to get the tummy bug and spent much of Tuesday night/yesterday being sick every where. Ditto my dad and DH

Happily Sam is a bit better but still won't eat (will only drink his milk nothing else, and believe me I have tried) and has still got a bit of the runs.

The swine flu response team got back to me today to inform me that Sam does not have this illness.... So at least we can get him to a doctor tomorrow if he still shows no sign of eating.

The bad news is that I am supposed to be at my conference today. I had to ring and cancel yesterday. I was and am in no state to be waltzing round conference halls. Plus, I am probably still very contagious ...

Nice place we have here. Hello and welcome to ljhooray and yappybluegod, waves to everyone else.

I hope to be online again soon, sickness permitting.

Catitainahatita · 18/06/2009 16:26

yappybluedog. Sorry.

mistlethrush · 18/06/2009 17:02

Catita - I'm sure she won't mind being god instead of dog! Sorry to hear you're all so poorly! For adults live yoghurt is a really good way of getting some positive things back in your gut after a situation like this. I wouldn't worry too much about the eating - as long as he's drinking - and the fact that its milk is even better. When ds had something similar aged 10mo, he didn't eat removetely normally for probably 10 days - but as soon he started drinking properly the Drs weren't worried anymore. But I would make sure that there are small things that might tempt him..

Ohh some good ideas about where to try. I will send dh on one of his 'in town' days - to take back the 2prs of trousers that he bought for ds and to see if he can find a shirt in one of those places - although we might well come back from holiday via Bicester!!! And yes, I'll have a look on Ebay too - have had some really good things for ds from there....

daisy99divine · 18/06/2009 17:22

i'm a bit Mistle, I thought we were planning your outfit not MJs

I mean, stripey shorts to a wedding was a bit odd for you, but I just thought whatever rocks your boat. It was mini boden that was the clue
scrap my ideas. particularly TM Lewin and the work shirts....

GULP ok, what about mini mode from Boots who do some lovely on line clothes???

Catita, glad things are a bit better for you, have you tried the JM booster potion? Milk is of course a complete food so don't worry for Sam but I wondered for you

Jacksmama · 18/06/2009 18:28

Cat - ((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))) to you, at sickness central, how horrible for all of you.

Was PMSL at self earlier - kept misreading as "SpeRm in Allium" and felt a bit but didn't want to say so 'cause I thought "something's not right about this" - now I know what it was, my reading skills!!

Am envious of MT's garden. But just harvested a mahooooosive amount of rhubarb from my flower bed (and found that the pansies underneath the rhubarb had multiplied in a very surprising way) so now have to decide - rhubarb pie or rhubarb crumble?

Must also harvest the overflowing oregano, thyme, lemon verbena, basil and mint some time... maybe tomorrow.

Pea soup with mint, anyone?

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 18/06/2009 21:34

Mistle - I wondered whether there might be anything suitable on Vertbaudet. I found this. Although it's as £££ as some of the others you've seen, I think Vertbaudet has a permanent discount if you know where to find the code.

Jack - Spem is the Latin for hope! What do you do with the lemon verbena? My plant is doing quite well but I don't know what to actually do with it. Thumb mentioned something to do with burning it to kill germs.

Daisy - I was at the idea of MJ being kitted out by T M Lewin. I succumbed to one of their 3-for-1 deals but the shirts are a booger to iron.

Catita - Oh no. What a disaster on so many levels. Hope you'll all be better soon.

Ljhooray - Have you been looking at my CD collection? I like your musical style.

Would anyone care for a little glass of something? For anyone who's feeling well enough, I thought we might celebrate our arrival in the music lounge by setting the glitter balls in motion and strutting our stuff on the illuminated dance floor.

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CMOTdibbler · 18/06/2009 21:38

Hello all - big sympathies Catita.

Off to lovely agricultural show tomorrow. DS hopes to be allowed to sit up in one of the huuuge tractors again

daisy99divine · 18/06/2009 22:28

Pour out a glass of Baby Cham and stick on

"I will survive" courtesy of Gloria Gaynor!

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 18/06/2009 22:39

Wow! Look at Daisy! Go girl! Would Cmot like a drink?

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