The Bluestocking: All You Need to Know About Risk Assessments, Jazz Hands, Battenberg and Sourdough (But Were Afraid to Ask) - and gerbils. Lots and lots of gerbils.

[MyrtleLion]

Welcome to The Bluestocking, the perfectly overblown, gloriously chaotic all-women’s pub where you can have a bit of a lie down if you need it.

Expect serious debates on musicals, cake and knitting, and whimsical musings on women’s rights and why the world’s on fire (again), all under the calm supervision of our support staff: gerbils, capybaras, and the occasional quokka on secondment.

The alcohol won’t get you drunk, the pastries won’t make you fat, but the conversation will digress, and that’s the point.

Remember to namechange before posting if you’re sometimes someone else.

I'm expecting NC to turn up tomorrow and present a third request for recusal!!

Will it be for the J herself this time? I suppose it’s her turn.

Boily! What a bid!

🎙️ Maud’s Acceptance Speech – Delivered from atop a crocheted footstool, streamers still drifting mid-air

"Thank you. Thank you all. I stand before you tonight not just as the proud winning bidder of 'The Maud', but as a gerbil who has stared into the pixelated abyss of late-night bidding wars and refused to blink.

This week has tested every fibre of my resolve. I’ve sat tail curled, eyes wide watching the computer like a hawk disguised as a gerbil.

I’ve refreshed pages, tracked rival bidders, and kept vigil through the quiet hours when most gerbils slumber. But I did not slumber. I was ready. I was willing. I was caffeinated.

There came a moment, 7.00 - 9.00 pm Monday 15th November, when a surge of last-minute bidders tried to wrest 'The Maud' from my paws. But I held firm. I whispered to myself, 'This is for Knotty & Pistey. This is for every knotty skein and every pistey stitch.' And I clicked. I clicked with purpose.

Tonight, I accept The Maud for my beloved Knotty and Pistey. And also for the community that believed in me. For the crocheters, the knitters, the streamers, the banner-hangers. For every gerbil who’s ever dared to dream.

Thank you. And may your bids be bold, your internet stable, and your hearts forever tangled in joy."

I think the auction site has fallen over a bit. Or did I just dream the last two bids?

Edit - no, it was real.
After seeing those last two bids once I kept refreshing and they were not there.

I've let the gerbils out of the basement, but don't expect service to improve they are all doing the conga in the ball room with Maud!

Gubbins...."TING"!!

Yay!

Well done, Maud! That's lovely thought, & a fantastic contribution to Knotty & Pistey's Battenburg fund charity.

Dr Bessie Badger seems to be moonlighting on soprano sax there.
Well done all!

Is that also a visiting rabbit band?

I notice Maud is that addled she got the date wrong in her speech.

Bless. We won't tell her.

@ifIwerenotanandroid I'm just thinking you could sell your stuff for a fortune using "The Maud" as an example of what people pay for your work!

Then offer them half price and they'll think they've got a bargain!

Thank you for creating Maud. She's, she's, she's , well she's MAUD

I’d like to second Boily’s last post. Thank you to @ifIwerenotanandroid and also to @Boiledbeetle and to Maud.

What a marvellous place this is, as is Woolly Hugs.

Also - an email tells me I won one of the two auctions I’d tried to bid on in the last few minutes, but my iPad ‘stuck’. I had placed earlier bids on both of them a few days ago, and been outbid. Hurray! All going to a couple of good causes.

Maud is currently trying to work out how to pay as the email says PayPal but then links to an email address. Does she just use the donate button on the Woolly Hugs site and mention the auction number in the note bit? As the other way is into the bank account details and Maud's online bank is currently down for maintenance. At least she's assuming that's why it kicked her out repeatedly over the last hour.

Great news.Congratulations to both Maud, and the manufacturer of her likeness.

Maud's parents are both very proud of her, I'm sure. I think PP is email to email, isn't it? You could just send the funds, or K&P could ask for them first.

I did think I should make more of them & make my fortune, but alas, there's probably a very limited market for them.

Will we see the Maud on the Bluestocking Christmas Tree?

Maud decided to use the donate button.

She's paid for 'The Maud'.

Clever Maud.

In digital form no doubt. But Knotty & Pistey gets to put the real one on her Christmas tree.

That's such a generous amount of money going to the wonderful Woolly Hugs💙

There was a piccie on another thread, but someone banned us from putting up decorations until December.

Well, quite right too.

Let's make an exception for tonight.

Yes, when you make a PayPal payment the email address is what you give as the destination for the money.

I’ve just paid by (asking DH to make a) bank transfer. The reason for that was that if you tell PayPal the payment is for ‘Goods and Services’ they make a charge, and I wanted WH to get all the money. It’s a fixed amount plus a percentage of the amount sent.

If it were Maud I’d try the bank transfer method again in the morning. If WH gives their PayPal details they must be happy to receive payment that way, though.

Edit: I’m a slow typist. I see you’ve Maud has used the Donate button.