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

[MadBadandDangerousToKnow]

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.

Another post and run ...

Daisy - Am governor at a CofE school, possibly in the same diocese as the one in which you might be looking. I can't (natch) speak for them all, but many CofE schools divide their places into 'foundation places' (which demand church attendance) and 'community places' (which don't). Ours publicises the fact that it does this, but I've heard informally that some others don't and you have to enquire. So it may be worth asking whether your local schools - assuming they are C of E - do have community places. And I don't really understand how others can be full. Again, assuming they're state, they can't yet have allocated places beyond this September/January's intake.

Oh - and someone asked about Mr B - apparently they're teaching him sign language as he apparently understands Irish and not English which makes things a bit difficult - but it does sound as though he has fitted in rather well.

lol at signing to an irish dog! Poor Amber it's never easy

MadBad I probably don't understand the system too well - got rather daunted by the 100 page (seemingly) Council forms etc... each one having seemingly separate application procedures and proclivities.... must try harder since DaisyBoy is considerably over 18 months!

Daisy - I hear what you're saying about the 100 page forms. Now imagine what it's like for anyone whose first language isn't English or who has recently arrived from a country which doesn't have such levels of bureaucracy!

MadBad - I'll ask Amber what the 'sit' sign is next time I'm chatting and will let you know, just in case!

It is one of the things that I'm grateful about sending MJ where he is going - I didn't have the lottery of school places or the forms to fill in. One boy started this term in MJs class who had been at nusery with him - they didn't get a place at the school that they are a maximum of 5 mins walking distance from which was their first choice, and would have had to get in the car and drive 2 miles in the wrong direction to a school with a not brilliant ofstead - so they opted for private instead.

oh MadBad I hear you! I rather pride myself on my ability to handle forms and large amounts of information - but the Westminster School application stuff- I hear a loud white noise and have to run to the hills

CMOT what about Skipdowska for a cat? Maiden name of Marie Curie, Skip for short?

So, DH gave CMOTtiddler a choice of names from here, and he chose Boltzmann. Who is apparently a very calm and settled boy who is tolerating being cuddled and carried around very well.

Off to San Fran now on the final leg of this trip - am waaay too fair for Arizona UV levels

Ladies and gentlemen (ie Dave the Trucker) -

May I introduce the newest addition to the tea room menagerie - Carruthers the Cat, soon to be best friends with Racingpig.

Hi all! Sorry I've not been in The Tea Room. My time on the computer is limited and my attention was more on the Ragged Bits thread.

MN was all strange yesterday, wasn't it? I think the server was down for a while. But there were certainly some very strange threads going, with very passive aggressive behaviour. The one I was lurking on was suddenly deleted, which is odd. And I have to admit that I occasionally get very at posts by some male posters on threads where a male perspective is, shall we say, perhaps a little misplaced (at least in my very humble opinion)... such as one male poster who, for some strange reason, likes to post on the Breastfeeding topic and a few others. I am not saying that men shouldn't be on MN but there are some I'd like to send back to DadsNet.

LOL at Carruthers the cat. Does he bear any resemblance to Crookshanks in Harry Potter?

Looks very like Crookshank to me - but perhaps a little bit younger!

Where is RacingPig? And RacingMissPiggy? Did they notmove to the Tea Room Disco with us? Did they perhaps get left behind in the canapee sofa?
And what happened to the bison? Where is he going to fit in?

BTW, lots of love and non-touching sort of (((((HUGS)))) to Amber.

Hello, Jacksmama.

I haven't noticed the Ragged Bits thread (although I have seen a few such threads in recent months). I often feel a little at some of the posts from men or those claiming to be men (in contrast to Dave and Trevor the Truckers, who are pretending to be women but will soon be unmasked when they turn up in Anaheim!) There is often an undercurrent of 'Ah ladies. With your little fluffy brains you haven't been able to understand the issues, but now I am here with my huge male intellect to enlighten you and make you see where you've got it wrong'. I shall say no more than that.

This is a forum for parents and I wouldn't want it to be reserved for mums, but I think it's because women are so much in the majority that the men's contributions - and the different style in which (at the risk of generalising) they contribute - are so conspicuous. If it was more of an even split between men and women, it would have a different vibe, I think.

Anyway, enough wittering.

Wanna share my Bolly?

We still have a garden - although this one's more of a decking and potted palms style. The bison will cope, I'm sure!

I saw Racingpig and misspiggy in a lovely outside run where they can sit in the sun when they want to, outside in the courtyard where the herbs are in tubs (well out of the way).

x posts Madbad! Great minds....

BOlly -yes please!!!!

Hello MadBad! Hand over that Bolly!

Well, what I'd like to know is, since there is a MumsNet and a DadsNet, why are some men posting on MumsNet?

It must be because we're more fun. Yeah, that must be it.
Which is fine. But, oh, there are some... grrrr!!!

Oy - I WANT ONE TOO!!!!

I think I could manage a little something to wash down my icecream, thank you, all.

Not sure, JM, why men should feel that exercised about breast feeding - are they for or against?

Daisy - how worrying that all schools are full. However, places do come up as people move, especially as I have afeeling that you are in London.

Tea - are you really happy about Milk starting school at three? You sound so positive about it. I am lost in admiration.

I will just bring you up to date about my good friend RacingSnake, who has been rather busy of late. She has just finished packing 34 jars of honey into the cupboard in the garage, washing the honey out of the dog and detaching smaller pets from the kitchen floor. (As well as mopping the exhausted brow of RacingBee.) Already more honey ready to take; she just needs to find pressed labour friends to come and help turn the handle of the honey spinner.

She had a lovely day in London on Tuesday, representing her county at a conference about teaching languages, managing to forget that she was there because no one more important could bother to go. The lunch was worth it alone. She really appreciated the day as there will be few chances to go to London any more since the rail ticketing structure was streamlined last year by removing all those silly cheap tickets that clutter the place up.

MonsieurSnake, it turns out, has no longer a worrying lump in his lung, so great sighs of relief all round, but on the day the news came from the hospital, his boss came round to tell the staff that there will be redundancies at the end of the summer, so the joy was short lived. M.RS is still, therefore, rather high maintenance and a full time job.

Wriggle continues to be elliptical in her world view and to enjoy life to the full. She has now started speaking German as there is a German family staying nearby for 3 months with a three-year old.

So now, onto the news from the tea room (or whatever it is - I can't quite work it out). Without reading all the history which has been missed due to bees, lumps, etc, it appears that Amber is no longer a regular. MadBad seems to have been sulking without it being clear why - last I heard she was being psychoanalised by someone with far too many ishoos of their own. Hope she has recovered. Everyone else is as beautiful, bronzed and sophisticated as ever, and it's lovely to have a quick lurk and see you all toss your fascinators onto the hatrack and settle down to get serious with the Bolly.

Incidentally, two large black beetles have just dropped out of nowhere onto the keyboard. Time to go, I think.

Welcome back RS!
Here, take some Bolly with you!

Ermmm... BTW why are you toothless? Has there been too much honey consumed Chez Racing and your teeth have fallen out?

Hi RS - Amber has very recently sent waves....

I don't actually often consume much honey, but teeth are falling out like autumn leaves at the moment. Actually, falling out would have been preferable to all the pulling that took place this morning. I had had an infected tooth for literally years which luckily didn't hurt. Due to my skilled diversionary tactics during checkups (falling off the chair, starting a political argument, pointing out passing UFOs), the dentist had not noticed it, but my luck eventually ran out. I now feel very old and extremely unattractive. However, we have bought a tent. Definitely need to go to bed now to sleep off six injections.

Oh dear - hugs to you RS!!!