The Bluestocking, where the short days shorten and the oaks are brown

[MarieDeGournay]

Welcome all, regulars and newcomers, to the Bluestocking Women's Pub, a place of refuge and inspiration and camaraderie and silliness, where all alcoholic drinks are non-intoxicating, cakes contain no gluten, sugar or calories, but still taste yummy, and the attentive staff are small but very professional rodents wearing snazzy little outfits.

Other roles - such as acting as foot stools, looking decorative in the garden, or just being impossibly cute when you need something impossibly cute to go awwww at - are filled by a team of miniature pigs, quokkas, wombats, etc etc.

If real life is difficult, you can bring your troubles to the Bluestocking and a comfy chair will be found for you at a roaring fire, a miniature pig will settle down happily to support your tired feet, and a gerbil will serve you promptly with a comforting drink - very large G&Ts or massive mugs of hot chocolate with extra cream and marshmallows are popular choices [don't forget: no calories in the Bluestocking].

Oh my Lord are you all in drugs? I have no idea what’s going on here but I love it!!!

If you’ve no idea what’s going on you’ll fit in fine - welcome!

Jeez, Sionnach, the Dictionary of Irish Biography is practically your family album!😁
Catherine Drew sounds great - The lutanistes of St Jacobi's is such a great title for a novel!! and a lecture called 'Dress, economic and technic' sounds interesting too.

You're right about the voting, Deano - I wouldn't miss it for the world, I recall driving various elders in varying stages of serious ill-health to the polling station because it was for them it was unthinkable not to vote, when family members had fought and died for independence.
Not exactly an inspiring choice of candidates 😒

But I also have 'don't go to any trouble, sure it's only us!' visitors over the weekend, and of course I'm going to lots of trouble

Bluestocking motto

and

Bluestocking other motto.

You ain't seen nothing yet, netflixfan😁
You're very welcome. As you may have noticed the Bluestocking is staffed by bar gerbils who will bring you any food or drink you wish for, and in the Bluestocking you can eat or drink anything you fancy because they don't contain troublesome stuff like calories or sugar or gluten or alcohol that kind of thing, but magically regain their deliciousness.
So it's not unheard-of for somebody to order a bath-tub size G&T after a
particularly trying day🙂

As far as I know, the gerbils originated from someone describing people writing PhDs on, for instance,' Transphobia on Mumsnet' [really!] as ' Foucault-addled grievance gerbils', and it appealed to our sense of the absurd, and soon there were gerbils all over the shop! Nice gerbils, though, not Foucault-addled grievance ones.

And then of course there are the images and IDs based on our usernames, that adds to the menagerie ... I foolishly picked an historical human instead of an animal username😒

netflixfan isn't very zoological either, but anything is possible in the Bluestocking😄

Sorry Deano, I see you had already posted the 'Confused' image - that's what I get for taking so long to compose a post!
edited to say I hadn't seen the other one, I must have missed it - but I love it, could be my motto😏

A mission statement that important is worth making twice.

I think I've located the genesis of the ur-gerbil
Aston University + gerbil merch thread | Mumsnet
Brings back memories, eh?

We don't need drugs here
We're naturally addled.
Welcome!

I have never felt a particular urge to try drugs. Maybe this is a generational thing that comes from growing up with weird ass films like Time Bandits, Flash Gordon and the maddest of them all, Dougal and the Blue Cat.

Whereas I am actually on all the drugs.

One of my antibiotics makes all my bodily fluids pink. I'm sure in three months I will be quite startled when my pee looks normal again.

I don't know if I will cry tears of blood, but I was warned that contact lenses can get stained.

Feeling bizarre and odd and weird. Maybe because I can relax now I am home from hospital. Maybe from weird antibiotics.

But I SLEPT 8 AND A HALF HOURS last night!

I've turned down dinner by the river as I feel so rubbish, but I am going to Stratford-upon-Avon tomorrow to see the RSC do Measure for Measure! And we will stay in a fancy hotel.

I'd pay real money to have a decal of that 'Confused? You will be' image to go in front of my desk.

@netflixfan should be aware of the existence of the gravy and custard bowsers, so she doesn't miss out come dinnertime.

Autocarrot changed 'bowsers' to 'bowlers', which is a bit surreal even for the Bluey.

Have a lovely weekend, well, everyone but especially @MyrtleLion

For newcomers, there are a large selection of support animals including, but not limited to Rosy the Red Panda, Quokkas, a giant wombat (who is sometimes incorporeal), micro pigs (who will act as footstools), capybara (who specialise in repairs, building and maintenance) and dwarf flying squirrels (who work in the library, distribute reading material but take the winter off to hibernate).

@netflixfan

'Are you all on drugs?' is the nicest thing anyone's ever said on arriving here! Although Mr Android pointed out that the more traditional MN question is 'Is it glue? Is it glue that you're on?' (was that the Bridezilla classic thread?).

I wanted the TV to be the other way round so you were watching it, but will this do? Feel free to say how you'd like to be portrayed - though the AI is unpredictable. The gerbils didn't know what you'd like, so they've brought an assortment of goodies.

Edith: I'd pay real money to have a decal of that 'Confused? You will be' image to go in front of my desk.

Would Redbubble do that for you? Who made the original file? It wasn't me.

I tried to get an image of a custard bowler, but the AI just can't. 😂

A custard bowler - Curtly Ambrosia?😁

If people broadcast potatoes I see no reason why they wouldn't bowl custard.

Personally I love a bowl of custard.

Bing has done its best but I wonder did it really understand?

I will now explain the concept of custard to my cousin Sionnach Artach

I hate custard especially cold in pies.

all the more for the rest of us

🍮

Gemini's attempt at bowling custard...

At school we used to have a pudding, which was a crime against humanity, it consisted of a grey pastry case, layer of red jam, and then congealed cold custard. All topped off with 100’s n 1,000’s.

the other one was tapioca

Have just booked a therapy session about this.

Cuteness dialled up to 11 on your AI, I see, Foxy!