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.

Oh, go on then, you've twisted my arm!

I might have overdone the brandy, considering there was also a sparkler. As soon as it's been extinguished I'll get a gerbil to make the next one. I'm just not cut out to be a mixologist. I didn't need those eyebrows anyway.

If the gerbil is worried about singeing her fur, she can ask me for help.

I realised exactly how supportive and important this community is when I came round from one of my operations to see a nurse wearing a hamster keyring on her lanyard. I genuinely felt as though the gerbils from the Bluestocking had sent a representative to support me when I was having such a tough time.

You're all lovely. It's been just over a year since I joined MN at a particularly difficult time in my life that hasn't improved much, except that I've found this amazing community. As a result I've learned to knit, which I loved, contributed to Swashy's blanket and learned that sometimes it's completely OK to walk away from a thread because I am never going to persuade the posters that they're mistaken. I also play a significant role in reporting women's rights' cases.

I feel cherished and accepted in a way I've never known beforeand that I'm making a difference. Thank you 💙

awww.

You know what's lovely? Going to bed early on a raw night and lying back nice and cosy in your pyjamas listening to the rain and thinking how much you appreciate your hot water bottle, and reading carefully selected MN threads.

You know what's horrid? Realising you forgot to put the bin out.

If they're anything like I was when I first set foot over the Bluestocking threshold,it will take them some time to acclimatise. Even now, as a relative newcomer, I miss references and inferences, but have a lot of fun trying to work them out. 😊

sshh @NotAtMyAge, you do know that sometimes we make it up as we go along . . .

😂But not always.The trick is to work out which it is. Very good for the ageing brain..

Aw, Myrtle, I'm so pleased you gain so much from the Bluey (even if some terrible posters do sometimes forget who started the thread.... )

I have discovered that I cannot learn to use a cable needle and watch Clarkson's Farm at the same time.😡Simple bit of knitting, frogged THREE times so far.

I am enjoying the tractors. He was lining them up in the farmyard to select a new one and I was telling him not to buy the Fendt, I know someone who knows someone whose shiny new Fendt had an explosive gearbox. Went BANG in the middle of a field, apparently.
Go for the New Holland, they're made in Basildon. Basildon needs all the help it can get, with a name like that.
I'm watching the selection episode either tomorrow or Saturday.

Thrilling life I lead.

Beautiful words @MyrtleLion

DFiL says that the only answer to "What tractor should I buy?" is a New Holland. But he is a cattle farmer who has a little grey Fergie and an equally small Fordson so what would he know?

Isn't it lovely to know, Myrtle, that even though the Bluestocking community is 'only' virtual, and we don't know each other in real life, the support and camaraderie are very real. And sometimes represented by a hamster
And you've become synonymous with tribunal transcribing, Myrtle - did you notice that when your posting suddenly stopped the other day, the reaction was 'Where's Myrtle?' 'What happened?' 'Is she OK?' 'Myrtle, hope you are OK'
so it's not just the Stockingers who care💙

Here's a reminder of our little husky rat, arguably the cutest animal in the Bluestocking.
I tested the waters with the gerbils - I didn't want to stir up any jealousy - my hearing aids just about managed to pick up a high-pitched 'Aaaaawwwww!' so I think they are smitten too

The only advice I can give is never leave your Tunnock's unattended when a beetle is lurking nearby. Both will be gone by the time you return. And whilst you may see the beetle again, alas you will never be reunited with your Tunnock's!

G'night knittedsloth, g'night everybody

I think all the Bluestockkngers are lovely and I enjoy being swept up in the fog of fantasy even if I don’t always* know where I am.

*ever

I was thinking the same thing. What a lovely snug it is

Morning all!
(A croissant and a big cup of hot chocolate, please, gerbils.)

It appears that the husky rat has been made a special little bed on the end of the bar, where she can see everything and the gerbils can all see her.

@JanesLittleGirl, your FIL is working with antique tractors. Those grey fergies are known in these parts as 'little grey mares' and remembered fondly. I don't think anyone still has one, other than in the usual nettle-grown derelict corner with deceased trailers and past-their-sell-by bits of machinery.

I did once spot an ancient tractor at a riding stables and baffled DD by saying loudly, 'Good God, David Brown!'

Are Rosy and the Quokkas (they should really start a band) okay with the husky rat? Remember what happened when Rosy turned up?

Why 'husky' btw? Is she big, or does she like dragging things through snow? Does she have a name?

Bacon butty, brown sauce, regular toasted bread, please bar gerbil. Usual pot of tea. Feck it! I'll have some mushrooms too. Thank you.

Can I have breakfast delivered to my room please. Full English, and a cup of tea please.

Oh and a little something for the cute little husky rat that has joined me for a snuggle. Marie really does need to name her (will it be an H name or an R name? Or a doubled barrelled HR name? Great. Now I want to call her Human Resources)

Hurry up and name her Marie

It appears that the husky rat has been made a special little bed on the end of the bar, where she can see everything and the gerbils can all see her.

What an excellent arrangement, Edith - that also means that any Stockinger coming in with the worries and woes of the world can take one look at that little face and go ...aaaaaawwwwwww sweeeeeeet

The gerbils love her. So will the quokkas, capys, Big Wombat, everybody.
Just one look is all it took..

I believe they are called 'husky' because of their colouring, Cake.
I know as little about huskies as I do about rats, so I can't explain any further

Boily, Human Resources is a great name for her.

Also, every Human Resources office should have one. Can you imagine wandering in for a chat with HR about your dickish boss, and seeing that cute little face? You'd immediately feel 20x better.

And maybe 'husky' because they have surprisingly deep and breathy voices?

We could call her Personnel for short. Or Percy.

(Remember the days of Personnel, before it became HR?)

For an awful moment I feared you were suggesting Marie as a name for Huskyrat (nearly an anagram for Kathysue), which would be terribly confusing, it's already bad enough with all the Gormlaiths.

It was avocado breakfast day, so I tried my marmite experiment, spreading it thinly on a slice of emmental that I then chopped (with scissors) over the avo before adding a poached egg and some butter.

Very very good indeed.