The Bluestocking: where conversation should supersede cards

[MyrtleLion]

The Blue Stockings Society was founded by women emphasising education and mutual cooperation. Men could attend as invited guests, but in this Women's Pub, they are only welcome to peer enviously through the windows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Stockings_Society

All women welcome!

All tastes catered for.

All food containing calories will not increase waistlines.

All drink containing alcohol will not intoxicate beyond the mildy merry and slightly inhibited stage. Guaranteed no hangovers.

Don't mind the gerbils, hamster, capybaras, quokkas and other assorted rodents. They're all female, all staff and very accommodating...

Don't steal the art yet… It's not finished. Needs a bit more doing to it tomorrow ... I'll have a look at it in the morning. Provided it's still there!

You know me so well!

I'm currently sat outside in the car as apparently @inkymoose reckons it's not finished.

The neighbours have been out twice to have a whinge about me sitting with the engine idling and Meatloaf playing at full volume. Apparently it's not the done thing at this time of night in inky's neck of the woods.

The Tunnocks however were finished about half an hour ago. I suppose I'd better go home and replenish my supplies!

Peers through window.

Stunning. Just stunning.

Wow @inkymoose that's gorgeous!

Yikes...I thought mine ( pre op) were pricey at around £400. Post op ( on order) they have come down to £250- I no longer need thin lenses. My lovely surgeon made improvements to my astigmatism because he is flipping clever!

I love the people-made art. Particularly since I've managed to work out how to us AI.

Happy St Brigid's Day!

First day of Spring.

First day of Spring.

(Looks out of window)

You sure?

We have very clever and creative -people women in this pub.

I need to pick up a little textile project, it would do me good.

That sounds like the triumph of hope over experience.
There may be snowdrops, crocuses and a few daffodils but it's still the season for Winter gardens.

Spring is the season of growth and lambs and flowers and horizontal sleet and new grass and dandelions and unexpected blizzards and people in danger of death by starvation when summer eventually rolls in on May 1st.

We won't dwell on that last bit today, but on the 'cock's step' and St Brigid's promise - every other day fine from my day on, and half my own day'.

Tomorrow the ominous small mammals will have their day.

Here's another anniversary to think about.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1953

Apparently it's also World Wetlands Day today. Happy World Wetlands Day to you all!

And National Dark Chocolate Day.

I think that's just in the US but I don't see why we can't appropriate it.

Wait - it's spring? I thought that was March 1st. Does this mean I've got a whole extra month?

Happy spring all.

I'm up for that. So long as I don't have to appreciate US chocolate but can have something nicer.

I appreciate US chocolate. I appreciate the way the US keeps it for themselves, leaving us to eat the infinitely nicer non-US chocolate!

Spring by the 'celtic' calendar, which makes sense of you see day length and growth and harvest and cycles of animal reproduction as central to how you visualise the shape of the year.

It has many advantages, including putting midsummer day in (nearly) the middle of summer.

World Chocolate Day is 7th July, I am informed.

I think we need an official Belgian Chocolate Day. I'd be inclined to take a little trip over the Channel for it.

Mind you, prices for travel and accommodation would go up, wouldn't they? Might be best to designate my/our own private Belgian Chocolate Day. (Goes off to research Eurostar prices)

My tastes are so unsophisticated that I'm eyeing the box of Cadbury's chocs a pal got me for Christmas with happy anticipation.

I've eaten the top layer already btw, just deferring the lower one. So far.

Thanks Dean, I'm part Welsh and it's what Granny Marie would have wanted.

"There may be snowdrops, crocuses and a few daffodils but it's still the season for Winter gardens."

Maybe where you are mate, but over here we don't even get daffodils until the end of March as a rule.

You're words (there may be) led to a song playing in my head.

So here's Irving Berlin's "let's face the music and dance" performed by Fred and Ginger.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gACCCmFKP80

Yes, it's Imbolc, one of the big Celtic festivals - Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasa - roughly Halloween, 1st Feb, Mayday and 1st August/Harvest.

There's definitely a change already, mornings are brighter, and there's validity that classic Irish crepuscular greeting 'Grand stretch in the evenings!'

I was pleased to hear from my neighbour who is a primary school teacher that she has been out gathering rushes and will be teaching the children how to make St Brigid's Crosses from them, just like we learnt when I was a nipper.
Nice that the old traditions and crafts are being carried on

I’d love to know how to make St Brigid’s crosses, @MarieDeGournay - and I agree with you about the importance of keeping the old crafts going.

I have finished knitting the second blanket for the twins, and now I need to decide whether to crochet different pink edgings on each one, or to leave them plain and identical. I am leaning towards plain and identical - in which case my next project is another sweater for dh.

Here's a good link, it's from a primary school actually called 'St Bridget's School' and they make it look like child's play, which it is - once you remember that you always turn your work to the right, that's the bit I couldn't remember from my school days, and youtube came to my rescue!
How to Make a St. Brigid’s Cross | Scoil Bhride NS

Rushes are the traditional material, but I use anything to hand - drinking straws are fun, and it was a good way to use up a packet of those evil plastic ones I found at the back of a drawer

Here's one I made out of scrap copper wire, salvaged from inside one of the ten million old electronics cables that I accumulated over the years, I sat down with a craft knife and a snips one day and 'liberated' a whole lot of free copper wire from them!

PS I'm full of admiration for all the brilliant arts and crafts and models and paintings etc etc by other Stockingers👏

I need to do something crafty. For now I'll just celebrate dark chocolate day with a...with a <rummages in cupboard> waggon wheel 😃