The Bluestocking - where women are women, and small furry animals are gerbils, quokkas, capybaras, or a red panda called Rosy

[MarieDeGournay]

Welcome all to the Bluestocking Pub, a haven safe from harsh reality [mostly] full of good company, and excellent food and drink served by the most efficient team of gerbils in the hospitality industry.

Spare tyre on the bonnet is a bit of a worry. Won't it slide off?

The poem is lovely - thank you, @MarieDeGournay.

A few years ago, I made a New Year's Resolution to read a poem every day - I bought a book with a poem for each day, and read it at bedtime. I also tried to listen to at least one new (to me) piece of music each week. I'd decided my resolution was going to be about adding something good to my life, rather than giving anything up - frankly, I always fail at the 'giving up' resolutions.

In fact, I've just been an ordered another book of 365 poems, so I can start again - thanks, again, @MarieDeGournay.

I think that’s normal, they have a mounting point.

my guess at mistakes is that LWB presumably stands for long wheel base, I think therefore it probably should be a four door rather than a two door model.

It definitely looks more SWB.

Just been catching up, I'm hope I'm not too late to wish Myrtle the best.

Some posts earlier in the thread reminded me of this

https://youtube.com/shorts/Uod5reMiAS4?si=iNjZocLXxP_pUMdh

That's lovely, Woley, I'm so glad you're treasting yourself to a poem a day
I was brought up with poetry, both my parents could recite lots of it, and it has stayed with me.

I think it's fair to say that poetry is still very central to Irish life - from Nobel Laureates like Seamus Heaney being genuinely loved by the public, to an oddball like the recently-deceased Pat Ingoldsby who used to sell envelopes with a poem inside on the streets in Dublin, and later became well known on TV.

When he died in March, his poem 'A Message for When I'm Gone' was gleefully quoted, by high and low, by politicians paying tribute to 'a national treasure', in newspapers and on the radio, and it went viral online:

Ireland -
it is little or no favours you ever did me or my poems when I was alive.
I have this terrible feeling that sometime after I’m gone
you will swing into your usual rearguard action,
so posthumously, in advance -
stick it up your ar*e.
😄

Now VBP on Facebook has the RAF exploding/non-exploding Tunnocks teacakes story.

Hm. Suspicious.

Does anyone remember a story from maybe 20 years ago, about an RAF crew who discovered a hole in their plane & said afterwards, "It was OK, because we blocked it with our teapot," & everyone who read the story was WTF coupled with How Very British?

In 2006 apparently.

The RAF denied that the crew was in any danger, and that plugging the hole with the teapot merely made them more comfortable on the flight.

Hmm.

No I never heard that story, but my mind is now racing with thoughts like -

what shape was the teapot - clearly not a fancy china one - well no they wouldn't bring one of those up in an aeroplane - but how come the hole was conveniently teapot-shaped - wait why are they bringing ANY teapot up in a plane anyway- I suppose if the hole was round a round-bodied metal teapot would do the trick - now when a plane decompresses are things sucked out or in? - yes, out, so the force might well be sufficient to hold the teapot in place and block the hole adequately to allow for a safe return and emergency landing - had they drunk the tea before the hole appeared I wonder? - the lack of a cuppa was probably minor compared with a hole in the plane- maybe the whole story was made up - 'Brits and their tea, what are they like, eh?' - but the Industrial Revolution was based on just such clever DIY fixes - 'bricolage' - wasn't it Claude Lévi-Strauss who introduced the concept of 'bricolage' into French philosophy? - well as well him as another - was he any relation of the jeans family I wonder.....

Now look what you've gone and done, Android! My brain doesn't have an off switch😕

Oh wait it's lunchtime, hunger will do nicely as an off switch😄

Thanks Cher & apologies Marie. You won't be helped. then, by another RAF story. A pilot was asked what he did when he was airborne & needed to pee, & he said, "We pee into a sponge," to which everyone's first thought was, 'Bathroom or Victoria?'🍰😂

Good news for the RAF - they can have Tunnock's with their tea again!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20x5x0g3kqo

OK. You found all the Copilot mistakes that I did. I won't trust it to complete my tax return any time soon.

See? I knew the massed powers of observation of the clever Bluestockingers would succeed where I failed. Dismally. Don't trust me to check out a second hand Land Rover for you

Just back from a walk along the canal, the towpath reopened in the nicer direction after being closed since last year because of a breach. We saw our first ducklings of the year.

There were Tunnocks tea cakes in Poundland today. Downmarket!

Speed interview done.

Only 30 minutes. Five interviewers, six candidates. I felt flustered but was able to answer all their questions and had some approving sounds from the (female) lead interviewer. To be honest aside from an Indian man, the other three interviewers were indistinguishable from each other - three balding white men in their late 50s.

Second interviews will be in person next Friday if I get one.

Relief that it's over!

Woo woo and pompoms waving from the gerbils.

Get the prosecco chilling Myrtle.

Thank you! The walrus has had a bottle in the fridge since Monday!

We're also going to our favourite restaurant by the river later.

That sounds perfect. Have a wonderful time. X

Keeping fingers crossed, Myrtle, and the gerbils, quokkas and capybaras are trying their best with their cute little paws

It has crossed my mind that these interviews could be an elaborate scam on Mr Walrus -

'Oh it's been such a demanding interview...'
'Let's go to our favourite restaurant by the river..., and have a glass of chilled prosecco ..'

Couple of week later
'Oh dear that interview was really difficult ..'
'I know - let's go to our favourite restaurant by the river, and I've had the prosecco on ice...'

and so on...
It's OK, your secret is safe with us.🤐
And usefully, Mr Walrus has converted your internet connection from wireless to cabling, so if you see any danger of his reading this - snip!
'bother! the internet seems to be down, can't think why..'😏

Only kidding - good luck with the interviews, and enjoy the well-deserved restaurant and prosecco

That is delightful!

It was more like him saying, as it's a lovely day, and it's my birthday week, so I'm not working, and because you had an interview, let's have the "cheap meal before 6pm option" by the river before coming home and drinking prosecco and red wine in front of some cosy crime on the TV.

But I like your version better 🤣

This picture just came up on my Facebook feed. Thought you'd like to see it. ( The brown animal is supposed to be a haggis 😀)

Let me talk to them, @MyrtleLion - I’ll tell ‘em they’d be privileged to have you!

@FuzzyPuffling wow the elusive haggis, not often seen, is it on the endangered species list yet?

Feel a campaign coming on, shit missed April 1st opportunity.

I don't think it's a haggis. I think it's an unkempt capybara.

Apparently it's doing a trade deal with the penguin.