The Autumn Bluestocking - mist, mellow fruitfulness and hot chocolate!

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Welcome one and all - as the nights draw in, pull up a chair to the fire, and the gerbils will be along soon with hot chocolate and Tunnock’s teacakes.

I interupt this thread with an important advert...

https://x.com/GussieGrips/status/1964741032400269407?t=05YYbWyeoPydlmnnH5JbJg&s=19

Ah good.
someone should do regular public service announcements on here -

GET A GRIP!

Poor Getagryppe's mum thought it was such a pretty and unique name...

The National Library of Scotland thread has a link to a TwiX post GussieGrips has made, about the books mentioned at a book group in the library.
Some interesting ones there - in addition to TWWWW, naturally.

I couldn't check with my Grandad who's words I quoted as he has crossed the bar. He was born in a fishing village and went to sea on a fish boat at the age of 14. He joined the Merchant Navy at 16 and swallowed the anchor when he was 21.

I have checked with DF and he says that following seas means a gentle motion. If you are heading into the sea then the ship goes up and down dramatically. If the sea is on the quarter or on the bow then the ship corkscrews but if the sea is astern (a following sea) then there is just a gentle up and down motion.

Probably far too much information but it was great to talk about my Grandad with my Dad

I do apologise for startling her.

Thank you, it was nice to hear about your Grandad, and to learn something new about the sea and the wind
It seems appropriate to say goodnight with this from Masefield's 'Sea Fever'
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over 🌛

My American cop show DVD habit brought me to NCIS, its spin-offs and its precursor JAG (more of a legal drama) all with a naval background, so Fair Winds and Following Seas gets heard from time to time, and is the title of the last ever episode of JAG.

I used to enjoy JAG, especially the later seasons where they got more heavily into courtroom drama and there was a bit less jumping out of helicopters.

From Bellisario's account I think the Navy were a bit sniffy about a show that dealt with the military's failings, but the Marines took the view that all publicity was good publicity, and eventually the Navy came round.

I saw a few bits of NCIS and it re-awakened the profound question that always troubles me re 'The Senior Service' - how the heck do they keep their uniforms so clean? and do naval ships have really really big laundries? [I know they don't wear whites all the time, but they have to have them ready and gleaming at all times..]

Unfortunately I didn't question my ex-army [Irish Army] da closely enough about how soldiers know what outfits to put on in the morning - he told me there'd be an order given at some point but I don't remember when and how - did the Company Sergeant go around in the evening and said 'Right lads, we think you'd all look spiffing in Service Uniform tomorrow, but let's see how you look in Combat Uniform the day after, and maybe we'll mix'm'match at the weekend...'

I've shared before that my father used to say to us 'You'll get the stick today' if we looked neat and tidy for school, a reference to the best-turned-out soldier on morning parade being awarded the right to carry a swagger stick, and avoid menial tasks for the day
There was a programme on TV about new recruits in the British Army, and the striking image I've retained is of groups of young men carefully ironing their uniform shirts, on brightly-coloured ironing boards which seem to be part of General Issue

I realise how shallow that makes me seem - you name it, and it comes back to ....outfits!🙄

@MarieDeGournay

https://www.reddit.com/r/LessCredibleDefence/comments/17ewedi/navy_ends_tradition_of_chinese_laundrymen_on/

I know blokes who've been in the Sea Cadets and in the RN. They can all iron.

Anyway, I'm just popping in between returning from forrin parts, having been thoroughly bitten by forrin insects, and going to have a tooth extracted.

A Tote Tante might be too warm after an extraction, so if the Brandy Alexander bowser could be on standby, that would be great. I have this vague idea that a cocktail with calcium in it might be helpful.

A brandy based cocktail after a tooth extraction would be a good thing. The same solid common sense that meant in Ireland you used to get a Guinness after giving blood.

A late uncle of mine was in the Merchant Navy, and I wish he was still around so I could ask him about it. But he was also big mates with L Ron Hubbard, so I suspect there are other questions I'd like to ask him first...

Flippin heck! I was being silly, but in reality it was a whole unpleasant can of worms... [aren't all cans of worms unpleasant, esp for the worms?]

Sorry, I'm forgetting my manners - I should say 'thank you for that interesting piece of info, Android' but I'm shocked.

Cher, I was already sending good wishes about having to deal with 'stuff'/in forrin parts/being bitten by forrin insects - but you had a tooth out as well?😨poor you!

Gerbils, call Dr Bessie - this calls for a Brandy Alexander IV!

That's fascinating, thanks Android!

Emmeline wants you to know that she enjoyed meeting us all without exception, but she really appreciated Sionnach and Woley dressing as Suffragette marchers, and Woley and Aswithglad giving what she described as an 'unforgettable' rendition of 'March of the Women'

What you can't see in the picture is me singing backup vocals. 😂

True, but don't worry, we heard it all right - 'unforgettable'😁

Going back a few messages, I’ve heard this from several sources, including a friend whose son went to Sandhurst and has been in the army ever since:

Amongst the list of things officer cadets attending Sandhurst have to take with them are a steam iron and an ironing board. Said friend said at the time that when she originally took her son there it was quite amusing to see all the other cadets arriving with their own ironing boards too.

It’s 15 years old but this document , if genuine, would seem to confirm that. I’ve just seen a video a soldier made of how to iron your kit. It’s mentioned in passing something like, “Get a good padded ironing board and a steam iron.”

Proves to all men that the most manly men in the UK, the Marines, the Paras, the Navy and the Army, (probably the RAF too), are perfectly capable of learning how to iron and doing the ironing.

Not just doing the ironing, doing it well! Fairly sure there would be sanctions for turning up looking badly ironed.

And sewing, too!

The Walrus does our ironing. He's very good, despite losing his mother (down the back of the sofa? Have you tried looking where you last left her?) when he was 9. I shouldn't jest, it was a rough time for him.

I had to iron some cloth for my last booknook and he was very put out that I hadn't asked him to do it, as it was "his" job. I am very lucky.

He's not even that annoyed that we had to go to A&E yesterday afternoon and we didn't get home till 5.30am. Don't worry. I had some discomfort in my chest caused by my diaphragm pressing on my lungs while lying down for so many weeks. They wanted to rule out a pulmonary embolism and pneumothorax because of my surgery. It just felt like no-one was getting seen and when they ordered an xray it took nearly two hours for me to be taken down.

Anyway, all is fine and I managed to read or close over 130 tabs of Guardian articles open since 22 August.

I've been trawling the thread galleries on old Bluestocking threads, so I can communicate my reaction to your difficult hospital visit, and celebrate the good results of the tests, Myrtle - if there's one thing you want ruled out pronto it's a pulmonary embolism😦- with this:

Very glad to hear you're ok, Myrtle. On a somewhat related note, isn't pneumothorax a great word? And can you imagine the triumph when playing Scrabble and you get to add "pneumo" to the start of a pre-existing "thorax" on the board?