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...

Nor me!

There was no way anyone could tell I was a baby girl!

(Dungarees made by my mum).

I'm a child of the 70s. Most of what I wore, along with everyone else, was brown! Short hair and practical clothes, and a square jaw, meant I was being mistaken for a boy until I was into my tweens.

I was a bit younger so it was a mix of colours and big brothers' hand-me-downs.

Clear and bright here today as well, temperatures at -19C. Snow still on the ground but not on the roads thanks to the city plough, and not on the driveway thanks to DH's snowblowing and shovelling skills. The man is 82 but still won't let me help him there and claims it's good exercise for him.

In retrospect, I realise that I had hand-knitted cardis and jumpers, and beautifully hand-sewn skirts - including a kilt - thanks to my mother and grandmother, respectively; but that as soon as I got bigger than a large doll, they obviously thought 'feck this for a game of cards, life's too short', and that was that for the lovingly hand-crafted clothes😄

My father, being an ex-soldier, did his share of running repairs on our clothes - though no fancy embroidery. He also often used to cook our tea for us.
So no strongly stereotyped gender roles in my childhood - no wonder I turned out as I did😋
Not quite as bad though as:

🎶 Dear kindly Sergeant Krupke...
......
My sister wears a moustache
My brother wears a dress
Goodness gracious, that's why I'm a mess!

Ah Sondheim. Ahead of his time there!

That bit is one of my favourite bits of West Side Story.

I love Gee Officer Krupke too, @MarieDeGournay! My parents didn’t have a lot of records, but they did have West Side Story, and I listened to it over and over again, as a teenager.

Another one here who was clad in brown for most of my childhood!

Then, horrors of horrors, as a teen I was exposed to brown and yellow school uniform.

Can't bear anything brown now, find the colour traumatising!

Another fan of Officer Krupke, our local theatre group recently put on a production of West Side Story, I'd totally forgotten about that song until the young un's were performing it. It did make me smile.

Funny how we go off our school colours...Mine was petrol blue skirts, blue and white checked shirts and fawn socks and cardies. All bought from very expensive outfitters. 😥

Has anyone seen the Spielberg version of West Side Story? I have recorded it but not watched it yet.

Awwww, bet you looked soooo cute 😄

In all the years since highschool I've owned one jumper that was the same colour as my uniform. Other than that I avoid it like the plague!

I'm still traumatised by the matching colour pe knickers though which may have Something to do with it!

Yes. It was remarkably good.

Nothing will ever be better than the original though!

@MyrtleLion yes I thought it was very good, though agree it’s a different creature from the original.

We had to embroider our names in letters half an inch high, in white thread on the front of our navy gym knickers. Ghastly. I'm still traumatised.

If ever there was an argument for a 😱MN reaction emoji....!😐

Agree! None of the others quite convey

😱

I'd tell you my old school colours but I think it would be outing.

But yes, gym knickers. Horrible things.

That's why I have not revealed mine!

The colour that is! Not my knickers!

I can remember my excitement, when DM returned from town saying she'd bought me something, being dashed when it turned out to be navy gym knickers.

Our name embroidery, in house colour, was on skirt and Aertex shirt.

So glad I left England half way through my secondary school career. I remember that stuff. It was barking.

However, I did get shedloads of O levels!
( Not boasting, it was just what we did. Very academic, sciency school, which was highly unusual for girls in them olden days).

That's just cruel!

However...

Count yourself lucky! I inherited my older sisters pair! Plus the rest of her pe kit. Which would be fine but my sister was built like Twiggy and I resembled a brick shithouse! The pleated gym skirt that wrapped round my sister with lots to spare just about touched at the edges on me. But at least I had the gym knickers covering my modesty!

Can't think why I hated PE!