Tea Room the Fifteenth - The Viking Hall

[amberlight]

Here we are in the 15th instalment of the Tea Room for the One Child Family board. All are welcome, whether parents of a single splendid offspring or any other number.
We are this time in a Viking Long Hall tearoom, complete with optional helmets, roaring log fires (in case of chilly spring evenings), rugs aplenty, and all the usual mod cons of life as well.
Our Viking tea room contains Mellors the gardener/handyperson with a talent for relaxing massage (amongst a variety of other characters including Bishops, camels, bison, horses, guinea pigs, dogs, etc etc for reasons that would take too long to explain but you're welcome to read the other Tea Room threads and prepare to have your mind thoroughly boggled). Plenty of tea/coffee/cake/virtual bolly always on offer.
Join us, relax, chat, enjoy.

Evening everyone - I'm furious! A group of rather threatening viking heavies have just turned me away from the polling booth. Couldn't get the long boat moored for love nor money tonight. Concerned now that without a clear majority, Mellors may have to form a coalition government with the vicar!

So I'm the only one sad enough to stay up for the results then...

I'm gonna pay for this when MiniMindy gets up in five and a half hours!

Mellors can form a coalition with me any time, phwoar!

smallbunch!

I am so pleased those days of stayin up til the wee sma' hours are gone for me.

I remember the '92 election - stayed up in the expectation that the Tories would be out on their ear and sat in shocked disbelief when they weren't! Never did it again, it was too harsh.

Will be around for a bit Mindy/Smallbunch - how's it looking so far, are the results coming in?

Thumb!

Three results came in very quickly, but now we're twiddling our thumbs waiting for the next ......

I am a sad person. I have just been reading about UK general elections on Wiki - didn't realise it was only 1969 that the voting age was lowered to 18 from 21! It's quite an interesting page, if you're bored...

Now seems like an apposite moment to introduce a politically-themed musical interlude.

Thumb - great thread (non-MN) the other day re getting irritated about 'suffragettes died for you to have the vote' (from men to women) - poster pointed out that unless men in question are landed gentry people died for THEM to have the vote too.

There are 18 votes in on ITV, but I have no sound on ITV (!), only 9 on BBC, and lovely little David Mitchell on Ch4. OMG and Prof Brian Cox and Victoria Coren.

Hello ladies. Would you like to see my manifesto?

That's tantamount to "ello little girl, wanna see my etchings?" or "some puppies?", isn't it?? at Mellors!

Pity Mellors didn't publicise his manifesto a bit better - he might have had more success than the 3 main parties....

Well, in our area, our previous MP, who did an OK job and wasn't naughty with his exp has been reelected with a +10% swing. Still quite a lot uncounted when I left for work this morning.

Mistlechick and I went to vote after school, with mistlechick on his bicycle, cycling carefully down the pavement. We also had mistledog. Quite interesting getting up the steps into the hall with bicycle and dog lead... Small queue, but nothing much. We then went for a nice walk/cycle, including mistlechick bumping along a very ancient stone pavement on his bike - I was pushing him so could grab hold if necessary - its great having them able to balance so that you can just push them not the bike saddle - so much more comfortable.

Party tomorrow. Wish me luck! and I'll save some cake.

Ours is a Conservative hold. The previous MP was a good chap (and another who was scrupulous over his expenses), but he's retired, I hope his replacement is up to the job!

Our constituency hasn't declared yet (not counting until this morning, I think they've started now!) Very frustrating, especially as it's super-marginal and really could go either way. I'm going back to bed once it's declared, possibly to cry.

Mellors, please stop waving your manifesto about in the Hall

A colleague of mine just got elected as an MP! Well I never!

Don't you live in exalted circles Amber! What with MPs and Bishops....

Well, us cleaning ladies clean for the very best offices, y'know

I hope in an hour or two to NOT be on first name terms with our MP (because the candidate I'm on first name terms with, I didn't vote for, and don't want to be our MP).

Well i staye up until 5, and by then had learnt bog all. Not like 1997 when we were dancing in the dawn < grump>. and my mn link wasn't working so I missed mellors waving his manifesto < double grump> our constituency? Stayed con. Always con. Half the people here think claiming for moat cleaning on expenses is a damned fine idea and the other half have sacked their accountants for failing to think of it themselves < treble grump> there's a theme here can you spot it . And I'm at work. At least that means coffee. I'm going to turn my phone of and pretend I'm in a meeting < oxeye flicks her plaits over her shoulders and trumps off>

Didn't bother to stay up becuase there is no way anything would ever change in our constituency; I don't know why the other parties bother. Have wasted my vote by voting Liberal on principal, however. Just so that they know it wasn't 100%, just 99.999999999% conservative. There was a sudden rush at the polling booth when (gasp) two people passed each other in the village hall car park.

I at the reports on the news about the queues at the polling stations. There were 5 people in ours when I went in last night, 3 of whom were having a gossip.

I think next time we move, I'm going to insist on living in a marginal constiuency. So far, I have lived in 3 safe conservative seats, and 3 safe labour ones. It does make it a bit boring tbh

Oxeye - so are we on for Womad ? I've found you can pay to park next to the tent, which is v convenient, so am going to book. When DH reappears, I'll give him his ultimatum as to whether he is coming too.

I'm going to see the parents tomorrow - fortunatly no cooking from mum required as Dad is now trying to eat out everyday

And ... I am NOT on first name terms with our new MP. However it's possible he could be picking his kids up from DD's school in half an hour.

Note to self: don't hug him, that would be truly weird

CMOT - being in a marginal constituency has definitely been exciting, but I recommend one that does only finishing verifying the votes at midday, it rather takes the shine off things.

My Dad lives in Vince Cable's constituency so I was busy checking that to make sure ol' Vince got back in, which he did with an ever-so-slight increase. Hurrah! (And yes I have met him and Dad is on 1st name terms with him so I think I can get away with "ol' Vince")

Very impressed at amber's colleague as well - will he/she still be a colleague now? They won't have time to be anything other than an MP, will they? (shows remarkable lack of knowledge of an MP's life given above swanking statement )

s'going on a bit, isn't it...

It is going on a bit. And then a bit more.

He will be giving up his other stuff to devote himself to the fun life of an MP. We're clubbing together to buy him a duck house and something to clean his moat with, but aren't really sure of the purpose of these things given he lives in a modest house in a suburb without so much as a pond. Still, the others have that sort of thing so we didn't want him to miss out

at duckhouse and moat-cleaning equipment! Excellent gifts - if he can't use them himself I'm sure he'll be able to use them to curry favour in the Big House (maybe like trading ciggies in the other sort of Big House, hey? )

He's very good at curry, as it happens. Oh, I see what you mean

My email won't open. Oh dear, I'll have to do No Work for a few minutes.

Who's for a tart? Strawberry and whipped cream?