The Bluestocking: it's the season of mulled wine, conversations about pineapple and, of course, gerbils. Confused? You will be...

[EdithStourton]

Welcome to the anarchic and marvellous women-only on-line pub, the Bluestocking. The booze won't give you a hangover, the cakes won't make you fat, and the conversations are fascinating, covering knitting, health and safety, the Muppets and anything else that comes to mind.

Climb Peak Woo, have a cuddle with Rosie the Red Panda, and watch out for capybaras busy with any necessary building works.

Welcome in (and name change at the door if you need too).

Coke… hm, to a dragon that means the black crunchy stuff.

Ughhhh. Some singles haven't aged well.

Gary Glitter 7 inch singles anyone?

Nah. Simply determining that Edith has had to deal with far too much shit in the last 12 months to be volunteered to drive SiL to ILs. SiL could drive.

Basically, if I were Edith, and I suspect that Edith is far too well brought up and civilised to be me, I would be like "That's it! I am now completely threaders. I have carted all this junk for the last year and while DH has stepped up, that still left a big me-sized hole to fill. I am now going to sit in the car and get totally ringbolted while somebody else drives me to the ILs. The same or a different somebody will get me out of the car and into a bed when we arrive. That will not be my problem. And if I inadvertently have a technicolour yawn into the footwell of the car on the way, this will definitely NOT BE MY PROBLEM."

I believe Gary Glitter was number one, the week I was born. Not something I boast about.

A bar stool would be my seat of choice in a pub. Only those that are in front of the bar, like in a local. (Not those that are scattered across the floor in pairs next to random tall bistro tables.) I like that I can sit at the bar and chat to anyone who is also sitting there. They’re the rules, innit. Can also chat to those coming up to buy a drink. Not pinned down to a table and the people there. More of a to and fro to the conversations; people dipping in and out.

(Well, I didn’t know I cared so much.)

I always imaging me sitting at a table by the fire in the Blue Stocking. A corner one, next to the chimney breast. Bar to my left. Don’t even know if we have bar stools here. If we do, I ought to reconsider my position.

I would love to sit on a barstool up against the bar but at 4'10" (I used to be 5'0" but that's another story), it's like climbing the north face of the Matterhorn.

in my head I'm always on a barstool in the Bluestocking. Unless I'm eating then I'm at a table.

I'll leave it to you to work the percentages on where I'm likely to spend more time

If I'm not slumped in an armchair, if you believe the pictures I'm usually ON the bar or table!

As this is a pub for women, designed by women - why didn’t I think of this before? - we can have a bar with one end a step up from the other end so that us shortarses can have appropriately scaled barstools. It’s not the concept of stools that’s the problem, it’s that in the insane default-male world outside they’re too big for half of us.

Well, the Bluestockingers have set me off on a voyage of nostalgia this evening, starting with @DeanElderberry and the John McCormack track. This reminded me of a great aunt who, when I was very young, lived off-grid in the Lake District. When we visited her she used to play recordings of John McCormack, Enrico Caruso and Beniamino Gigli on her wind-up gramophone and I credit her with my love of opera. So I went onto You-tube to listen to some of their re-mastered tracks. Lovely!

Then I scrolled forward through some favourite music from my own era - from hippy, to country, to rock (not Gary Glitter @BoiledBeetle), I think my favourite music is from the early 70s, the voice of Sandy Denny from Fairport Convention singing "Who knows where the time goes", still sends shivers down my spine and the lyrics have been relevant throughout my life, whatever age I was at.

So, I've been feeling 17 again all evening - until I got up out of my chair and the numbers suddenly reversed! 😕

You are brilliant!

Thing is @AuntieMsDamsonCrumble I've learned to be very cautious of slipping into those rabbit holes, even though I know I will keep doing so.

I had to go out for drinks last night and, having been caught in the rain on the way, whimsically thought I would have a pina colada. This may not have been a good idea.

Then again, sort through your old records and you never know what you might find. I had completely forgotten owning Live & Sleazy by the Village People, and it holds up surprisingly well.

I was tired so I went to bed.

This was a good decision because I would probably have fallen asleep on the sofa otherwise.

Very tired this morning.

Putting up the tree at 1 o'clock. I'll post a picture. It will look mostly like last year's because we've had the same tree and colours for nine years. But it is very pretty.

Hopefully DSD can do most of it as I'm still feeling grim.

Yesterday I tried to upload this photo of Harriet, sensitive soul that she is, reacting to hearing the Boily has a bad cold - better, Boily? it looks like you're up and about and sorting things again
Harriet is happy you're on the mend, but we told her that Myrtle is feeling grim, and you can see how concerned she is for you, Myrtle .. hope you are feeling better soon.

Hope you have a restful day, Myrtle.

We might put up our tree today or tomorrow. It, and most of the decorations are now 24 years old, we bought them when DD was 3. She would be outraged if we changed it, on both sentimental and ecological grounds!

I’m feeling virtuous because I got myself outside to sort out the sad tubs on the patio, taking out the summer plants at last (some stowed optimistically in the growhouse) and planting them with some of the pansies and violas I bought a couple of years ago. I didn’t manage to do them all before the rain set in.

😍💓💕💖💗💙💚💛💜💝

I WANT ONE!!!

I don't think I have any Village People, but I may surprise myself! Who knows!

I've done my CDs. I've done my vinyl singles. I want to sort the vinyl albums now.

I've taken them all off the shelves, but the cat has decided that on top of the records is where he must clean his arse then snooze, and keeps growing at me if I get close!

I shall have an extended tea break instead.

I'm looking forward to finding my Fame album. I shall have to refrain from jumping off the furniture though when I've got it playing!

I don't know if this is a particularly Irish thing, but I have a memory of watching TOTP as a kid, and the Village People came on, and my sister came out with the immortal line:

"They don't look like anybody who lives in a village"

This post is for SionnachRuadh as it about a red fox mentioned in a traditional Irish song, so you non-red-foxes may not find it so interesting

Sionnach, your name always makes me hear a song we all learnt at school - Seán Ó Duibhir an Ghleanna - John O'Dwyer of the Glen - because of the lines

An sionnach rua ar an gcarraig,
míle halloo ag marcaigh,
Is bean go dubhach sa mbealach ag áireamh a cuid gé.
The red fox on the rock
A thousand 'halloos' from the horsemen
And a woman down the road sadly counting her geese.

That bit is lovely to sing as there is an unexpected ornamentation of 7 [in my version anyway] descending notes just on the word 'dubhach'. [doo-ach]

I've searched high and low for a good version on youtube, and came across this one, recorded in the 1960s, by a sister of the Clancy Brothers, no less.
She never got as famous as they did, but I'd prefer a million times over to listen to her instead of them!

Your moment of fame is about 38 secs in, SionnachRuadh

[you've done better in the 'this reminds of a song..' stakes than NC, eh?😁]

That has to be the official Bluestocking advent calendar, surely?

I love this. Beautiful voice.

Glad you liked it although you are not a red fox
I'd never heard, nor heard of, this singer before - but Ireland is full of traditional singers and musicians, few become famous. Even the ones with very famous brothers!
I think I'd call her style of singing 'artless', in the nicest possible way - she is 'giving' the song, as the saying goes, not showing her voice off. I like that.

Bit o' stiff cardboard, bit o' PVA glue, bit o' sticky tape, bish bosh, you got one, innit?😁