The Bluestocking, where Maud reigns supreme...

[ifIwerenotanandroid]

... & Magpie regularly drains the hot chocolate bowser.

If you understand that, or you're just cool with it, come on in & bagsie a chair by the fire.

Previous thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5410054-the-bluestocking-the-one-where-the-nights-start-to-draw-in?page=1

Bon voyage!

It wasn't creating a new thread. I was going to post the address to this thread in the last post on the last thread. I was filling it up. But unfortunately it was filled before I could post the address.

As no-one had posted in half an hour, and it had been very quiet for a couple of days, I thought I would be able to make the final post of the thread.

The lovely MarieDeGournay got in first 💙

Yeah, I meant you can finish this one off. Just wait 38 pages & it's all yours.

😁😁😁

<works out how to write 950ish posts in the next hour...>

😂

@MyrtleLion It's amazing how healing feeling clean can be.

I'm so sorry. AI's incompetence, intransigence & mansplaining killed my passion - even for you in that costume.

But... I mean... I haven't got anything on tonight IYKWIM 😜

I have a few clothes, but I intend to mostly swim in the Med and lounge about at the cafe on the harbour front with a book, so my needs are few.

@ifIwerenotanandroid it's a daft thing but I just can't get on with a Kindle or other e-reader. They take all the fun out of reading. So I buy fluffy novels I'm happy to discard as I go, and fill the space on the return journey with olive oil and other lovely Italian things.

I've got a few Tracy Chevalier, the new Jacqueline Wilson, Lissa Evans (which probably will come back with me) and a couple of thrillers DH and I will share. Also three audio books from BorrowBox.

O-oh, is THAT why you posted each sentence in a separate post (slow on the uptake after real coffee & an M&S custard choux bun with chocolate fudge drizzle, which is the food of the gods &, I hope, within my sugar limit)?

We once drove past a sign in America advertisng a 'triple chocolate fudge waffle bucket' which has become a legend in our house & a descriptor for anything OTT.

Sounds perfect, Norma.

Have you not ever wondered why the last few posts of a thread tend to be one liners?

Paperbacks are all you need on a holiday. Have a fabulous time.

( I'm a bit envious as it is over 12 years since I've had a holiday)

Deleted as it was one if those unexpected duplication. Bah!

I've never even NOTICED that the last few posts of a thread tend to be one liners.

Honestly, Boily, this is a perfect demonstration of the old saying, if you want something done properly do it beetleself.

Sounds wonderful. I read a lot on kindle but I find the books don't stick in my memory as well. It's possible that's down to age.

Try some of the local rocket fuel. It'll probably taste of aniseed.

Have a fantastic holiday.

God @PastaAllaNorma I am green with envy. I hope you have an even better time than you're planning for.

There's a really nice liqueur from Ischia that's made from actual rocket (arugula) that I like to drink when we're in Italy. Rucolino, I think it's called. Lovely stuff.

The aniseed stuff every country tries to force on you is bloody awful, whether they call pastis, grappa, sambuca, ouzo, raki or arak.

Now, I love all forms of the aniseed stuff and think arugula is cruel and unusual food and cannot imagine it becoming something drinkable.

I intend to be green with pesto, as we're going to Liguria ;)

We're doing a focaccia making workshop one day. I do know how to make focaccia, but I thought it would be fun doing it with the local ingredients in the place it's from. Also a boat trip around Portofino and the area, and lots of fresh seafood dinners in the harbour area. The weather is forecast to be 19 - 22 degrees and sunny all week.

The room has a large balconey overlooking the sea. I shall toast you all tomorrow evening once I am settled it.

Hope the arm settles down soon & isn't too painful.

Well, if you will go round acting like an old person, boasting about being the first to get their annual flu jab. They're so competitive about it round here - I hear them in the shops every year.

@PastaAllaNorma Yeah, rub it in, why doncha?😂

Hello everyone - I fell asleep on a couch in a dark corner of the old thread, and when I woke up, I was here! I assume the gerbils just covered me with a dust sheet and put me on the removal van - they really are Full Service Gerbils!

I do feel quite smug about having it on the very first day the oldies were getting it free! I could hear people coming in to book theirs while I sat in the little annexe waiting to get stabbed. I'm always afraid that if I don't get in early I'll get distracted and won't remember until the winter surge is upon us and it's too late.

Yes

I have shower, best friend and the Gerbil Trade Union Saga news to post (believe me it is a saga. There are minutes and everything.) And I thought I didn't mind if the best friend news was lost in the thread end, and I would finish with the new address.

Forgive me for wanting attention for the other things, but I'm sure everyone loves the dopamine hits of heart reactions to posts (yes that is a massive hint to keep them coming).

Anyway, it is done, and I notice we haven't yet said:

Welcome, @PastaAllaNorma to the Bluestocking!

I haven't seen your name before (unless you've forgotten to name change to your usual Bluestocking handle- believe me, we've all done that and created massive confusion). Your holiday sounds marvellous. I mostly read real books on holiday and audiobooks the rest of the time, so your packing is wonderful and very sensible.

If you haven't been before, that's fine, you'll soon get the hang of things. All women, except Colin the Dachshund and a seagull called Kevin who hasn't been seen in 2025, I believe. Gerbils are happy to serve you with what you wish, wherever you wish it. Peak Woo, the dock where @Swashbuckled's galleon is moored up, the library, our very own Pedants' Corner, the luxury spa, the gardens and @ifIwerenotanandroid 's laboratory, though do wear full PPE. It can sometimes be a little toxic. We're not entirely sure what she does there, but it keeps her happy.

We talk nonsense often. And more serious stuff too. And if you need a cuddle, there's always Rosie the Red Panda.

Agree.
Even bloody Gaviscon tastes of aniseed! 😁