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.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker is in Ireland! It had died out here in the 17th or 18th century, but seems to have reintroduced itself (by migration across the Irish sea) and its population has been growing fast over the last 20 years. It’s now been seen in every Irish county, but is more established in the east of the country.

That's just a fiction spread by big ornithology and pigeons that have undergone greater spotted woodpecker affirming care. Although the peckers, being only facsimiles, don't work like the real thing and often fall off. #beakkind.

Sorry, I'm on Paintbox dk yarn at the moment. Lots of colours are out of stock, which adds to the thrill of the yarn hunt (& makes a good excuse, as in "I have to buy it now or I may never find it again"). 😂

Mise Pádraig, peacach ró-thuatach, an té is lú de na fíréin go léir agus an té is lú a bhfuil meas ag a lán air.

I can no longer do the Latin from memory, but later Latin (remembering the letters of Peter Abelard) could get pretty funky, and Patrick was close enough to Roman Empire style Latin to still be easily comprehensible.

And I suppose Patrick's native language would have been some precursor of Welsh. This might set me off into a Glinneresque whimsy where I imagine Patrick introducing the primitive Irish peasantry to Christianity, rugby, and Super Furry Animals.

😂😂😂

Realtime image... The bar gerbils have been preparing that for quite a while.

Another hectic day, Maggers?

I thought my migraine was over.

I'm now seeing cracked lines in my vision.

The migraine is NOT over.

Retires back to dimly lit room.

I was woken by a woodpecker outside my window earlier in the summer. I'm living in hope one will move into the garden. It's very exciting being in a country being re-colonised.

Yep. And again tomorrow. Then into normal teaching next week, which will be easier.

Then wallow, dear magpie, & renew your strength.

Not sure why AI has made a rubber duck out of a croissant, but there you go.

Are you a welcome new visitor to the Bluestocking, Scentofgeranium?
I don't recognise your name, so I'll assume you're new and do my usual Tigger-like bounding up to you to say: You're new here, aren't you? Welcome to the Bluestocking! a gerbil will be along any moment to take your order!

Thank you for confirming that there are woodpeckers in Ireland. I thought as much but couldn't be sure, I know that friends have seen them in their gardens - but I couldn't remember if they were English friends or Irish friends, so not very useful...

Chin up, Magpie - oh sorry, beak up - hope the hot choc does the trick😀

I'm well impressed, Sionnach! St Patrick laid it on a bit thick about being the worst of all sinners - no you weren't, Patrick, don't be so attention-seeking!
St Augustine is the same, 'wallowing in a pit of sin' or something like that, but he never comes up with anything really spicy, just being a bit of a lad until he found Christianity.

I'm glad they never met - it would have been a World's Worst Sinner Face-Off😃

To be fair, it's a very cute rubber croissant duck!

I feel much revived, thanks Android, and Marie.

A croissant duck to dip into the hot chocolate may possibly be the first praiseworthy innovation created by AI.

I agree Errol!
I did a quick Google (other search engines are available) to see if anyone was selling croissant rubber ducks and it appears not. However, I did find possibly the wrongest spelling of croissant ever. I've made it a sensitive image to avoid sending the inhabitants of Pedants' Corner into conniptions.

I found an old magazine, 'The Field', from 1958, and there was this little piece about cats I thought might find favour in the Bluestocking😺
It's by Valentine Ackland. I read a book about her relationship with Sylvia Townsend Warner - one of the grimmest saddest most depressing stories I've ever read, I immediately gave the book away and will never read it again😟

On a lighter note - I hope the article is legible. You can read it to your cats to get their opinion, I expect it will cause a lot of heated debate😁

Is 'quason' an attempt to combine 'quack' and 'croissant' in this instance?

You may have a point, if you're feeling generous. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Speaking of Columbanus, if anyone is within reach of Dublin before the end of October do go to the Words on the Wave exhibition in the National Museum. Books written by Irish scribes on Irish cattle hides that have been in Swiss monastic libraries for well over 1,000 years, back on loan, displayed with loads of relevant stuff from the permanent collection to give context. Free admission.

I did the trip and had my first day in central Dublin for about 20 years. I won't leave it as long again.

But he stole those

🍐🍐🍐🍐🍐

you can't get much worse than that

Yes it's a wonderful exhibition - illuminated manuscripts that were written in the 600s and 700s, and there they are, open in front of you, looking fresh and bright as the day they were written - it's magical!

The MS that has the poem about the cat, Pangur Bán, is there😺

@MarieDeGournay I think that article is pure fantasy. 😼

I like STW's short stories (apart from the fairyland ones which I can't stomach enough to read) - what was wrong with her & VA?

Oh god where do I start - lots of infidelity and guilt and break ups and make ups and and VA who ended up completely emotionally torn between STW, her long-term partner, and another woman she felt she loved equally, and tried to maintain a balance between the two of them, and then throw serious alcohol dependence into the mix.. ...
Stereotypical tragic star-crossed ill-fated doomed lesbian story, the kind that would make me cross if I read it in a work of fiction.

Is that the big book with all the marginalia? I didn't see any reference to it on the labels and was looking out for it, because obviously it's the most important thing any early medieval scribe ever wrote and I live in hope that even if Pangur Bán was Welsh, one of his grandkittens got brought back to Irish scriptorium central in one of those big leather satchels, and became the ancestor of cats for many miles around, including Rosy and Oscar.

I'm planning to go again before it ends, now that I've cracked how to use my free travel. There are several things I need to read the exhibition book/catalogue for (including what the bears were doing with the bishop in that late ivory plaque).

Sorry, Deano, I got over-excited about the wonderfulness of the exhibition😶- there is a reference to it on one of the explanatory panels - towards the end, on the right - but I realise now that the actually Pangur Bán MS is from Reichenau [probably] not St Gallen.

I asked before and I take it the answer is no: do any Stockingers have a white cat, like Pangur? They are unusual, aren't they?