Autumn leaves, crackling fires, quokkas and puffins at the Bluestocking.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

A new thread - with apologies to the gerbils for leaving them out of the title.

Weetabix Banana Horror.

If I win the EuroMillions I am SO having some toucans. Not for dinner, obvs. Do they make good pets?

That actually sounds weirdly appealing. And I'm not even keen on Weetabix. It's just the promise of gooey excess sugar that comes with the word 'horror' in anything food-related...

How can you make porridge without salt? Might as well omit the oatmeal or the water.

Today is colcannon day, I hope I'll be able to find kale on the stalk in town.

Crocs are about walking a dusty possibly slightly piffy dog in the summer and being able to pick him/her up, walk straight out into the lake, drop the dog at human knee-high stage and proceed on the walk without any faffing around with changing shoes, or any getting feet bruised on stones.

Me too! I'm a Croc agnostic though, I like the idea but they don't have enough arch support for me to wear them a lot. I shall join you in marmite corner and avert my eyes from the dodgy videos. 🫣

I'd rather have parkin than fruit cake.

I love my porridge with the huge flat oats, made with water and a little salt, with fresh cream and some honey on top.

Bananas don't agree with me at all

And although I resisted crocs, as an ex punk, they are wonderful for helping me though plantar fascitus flare ups. And wonderful to slip on in the summer mornings here after a hot night, as I leave them outside the back door ready to wear all day in the garden. Not so good in the winter though.

I am due to make biscuits today but I'm going to see if I have the ingredients for parkin instead.

Crocs are useful beasts for having fun in!
E.g. DD took some slung on her rucksack for gold DofE as advised by the teacher for fording streams and camp wear. They're good on boating holidays too - ideally one pair to keep clean and one pair for muddy banks. Also for beaches etc - I knew a windsurfer who'd leave an oversized pair anchored in the shallows to pop on over his thin-soled neoprene shoes to walk over the rocky foreshore.

I use gardening clogs a lot more though, have a pair by front and back doors.

I have cheapo plastic outdoor clogs by the back door for weeding, watering, taking stuff out to the bins etc.

I also take them camping, for wearing in the tent having taken shoes or wellies off at the door.

I have even been known to pop round to the post box in them. No further than that though.

Oh yes, couldn't be without my gardening clogs! Although I rarely wear them for proper gardening - I have safety boots so I wear those for preference.

Damn, no treacle. Never mind.

Cat shaped biscuits it is.

They're good on boating holidays too

Won't the holes let the water in, or do you just have to paddle extra fast?

My semi feral cats when they were kittens last autumn used to sleep in and on my crocs. It was very cute.

I'm all for marmite, but crocs are far too fugly. They do seem very practical though if you're doing something, like rockpooling, where you need some foot protection but your feet are going to get wet.

On GBBO there was some sort of icing on the parkin, and crystallised ginger. I've never had parkin with a topping, although a slice with a slather of butter...or a sliver of strong cheddar might be nice. What sort of icing would it be, I didn't notice, and is it really necessary.

The only time I've had parkin it was in the Armouries at Leeds, & as soft Southerners we approached it tentatively - what is this strange native dish? - but it was delicious. No icing or ginger IIRC.

The building work has escalated & I now have a team of cheery scaffolders outside the window. We forgot to get any real milk & tea in for them so DH will have to go & buy some but he's waiting on yet another visit from the foreman.

I just checked out the Armouries & found this lovely video (no millipedes):

https://www.google.com/search?q=the+armouries+leeds&sca_esv=dd78f9e0c8abb7cb&rlz=1CAVARX_enGB1012GB1012&sxsrf=ADLYWILqdHzkIV2vqRSvqCWFQmQXgIYDUQ%3A1730371756394&ei=rGAjZ8XXF5-dhbIP97JH&ved=0ahUKEwjF3fmOubiJAxWfTkEAHXfZEQAQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=the+armouries+leeds&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiE3RoZSBhcm1vdXJpZXMgbGVlZHMyCxAuGIAEGMcBGK8BMgUQABiABDIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yGhAuGIAEGMcBGK8BGJcFGNwEGN4EGOAE2AEBSNxJUMsIWPNHcAR4AZABAZgBf6AB9xqqAQQzNC44uAEDyAEA-AEBmAIYoAL_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&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:dafbb969,vid:WFCv9foCLFw,st:0

Sorry for the long link. Ignore the long advert at the beginning, it's worth it.

Toucans make excellent pets, and are very reasonable to feed and house, in fact toucan live as cheaply as one

If your feet are in the water much on a 'boating holiday' (broads, canal boat type of thing as distinct from a holiday during which you do watersports) then you're doing it wrong!

Now I don't know if this is real, or an example of how any kind of nonsense gets put on on the internet, and there are always buckeejits who will believe it.. BUT.....
according to this website...
Meet The Iconic Women That Shaped Copywriting History (Part 2) | Copy Posse
the person responsible for writing the Guinness Toucan ads was....
DOROTHY L SAYERS!

@ifIwerenotanandroid No millipedes and no crumbs left in their cafe! He was a funny chap!
I've never been to The Armouries. It looks a good day out, and doable on the train for me.

As for Parkin. I've never seen proper parkin with a topping. That's confusing itself with carrot cake surely?

The vital question is: Lancashire or Yorkshire recipe?
What say ye all?

Is the link broken? It just takes me to the Google page for the Armouries 😥

It eventually morphed into the video for me, stick with it, it's worth it😂

It does that for me but automatically goes on to the video.

The Armouries is an amazing place. Some of the exhibits are unexpectedly beautiful.

Good video @ifIwerenotanandroid
The ad I got was short - it was for a series called 'Curfew', a highly unlikely premise something like 'Britain's becomes the first country to impose a curfew on men', then a woman's voice 'it was supposed to keep us safe'. I don't think I'll bother.

Very tangentially, that reminds me of reading a piece by Chris Packham about cats killing birds etc, in which he said we should have a pet curfew. But somehow I misread it as suggesting we should all have a pet curlew. Well, I suppose those bills might give most cats pause for thought!

That video has been doing the rounds of the reenactment group pages, to much appreciation.

I really should take a week to do the Armouries and the Railway Museum and other marvels of The North.

Anyone who likes blingy arms and armour, as well as paintings, should go to the Wallace Collection in London. Its caff also eats and leaves no crumbs, or did on my previous visits.