The Bluestocking Boxing Day sale: 1 gerbil for the price of 2

[Boiledbeetle]

Previous thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5457910-the-bluestocking-next-stop-christmas

As the patrons, and gerbils, of The Bluestocking Pub sleep off their Christmas Day food and alcohol intake the capybaras will be getting paid double time to move the pub and contents to the new thread overnight.

All welcome, as long as you are a woman. The men have their own pub The Staunch Ally. It's just down the road, then turn left at the bridge.

You don't have to be mad to drink here but it most definitely helps.

Leave the real world behind and join us in the mayhem and surreal life of a pub staffed by gerbils. Where the food is always exactly what you ordered and the drinks don't give you a hangover the next day!

Goretti is or was occasionally used in Ireland as a first name. One of the characters in a comedy series, Killinaskully, was called Goretti, but I know of a couple of others too. Very Catholic name.

Thank you for this, Edith. It sounds like perfect Lenten reading and is now on my Kindle.

I've come across Goretti being used as a first name, and several Marias who had Goretti as their second name.

Maria Goretti is famous for all the wrong reasons, patron saint of abused children and rape victims - hardly a nice role model for a child, which patron saints are supposed to be,

Her saintliness was that she forgave her attacker before she died from her injuries, and he repented deeply [quite a bit later I think] , begged forgiveness from the Gorettis [which they gave] and entered a monastery.

Another example of a saint's surname becoming a first name is Majella, which is from St Gerard Majella.
He is the patron saint of safe childbirths - long story, spoiler alert: he didn't have one A woman had something that belonged to him and had a safe childbirth, or something...

It was a lucky coincidence that his surname sounds like a girl's name!

Thank you for the book recommendation, @Magpiecomplex .

Sleet here this evening...

We disturbed a woodcock on our morning walk: I had a millisecond to ID it silhouetted against the sky. And right at the halfway point of our walk, the sun rose.

As for given names, all I can offer from my neck of the woods is the surprising number of Scottish given names (Lindsay, Stuart, Alistair, Finlay) amongst the farmers - because many of them descend from Scots who moved down here in the decades either side of 1900. And a lot of them look like Scots as well.

We had snow earlier, in darkest Kent. Unexpected!

Another successful day of dieting. I will stop chronicling this fairly soon but it's finding the gumption to stick with it until it becomes a habit that's the difficult thing. Anyone know what the gerbils have in the pantry in the way of cheese? I fancy cheese and crackers and proper butter and grapes and a splodge of caramelised onion chutney please, bar gerbil. No celery though.

Name a cheese, any cheese and there will be as much of as you want. Even Smoked Shropshire Red.

How long do you have? 😂
Epoisses definitely. A nice soft ashed goat cheese. Pitchfork cheddar. Stichelton. Oh, and Havarti, that I haven't been able to find anywhere for decades!
Then for the second course...

My brother always bring some Red Fox cheese over for Christmas, and this year we also had smoked Shropshire blue.

Can your brother swing round by my house on his way to you next Christmas?

The play was amazing and emotionally affecting. Standing ovation.

Really ran the electric car battery down on the way home today. It was like almost running out of petrol. Got it to 8% with 20 miles to go and red warnings when I arrive home. I was annoyed as I'd had to charge it earlier - the cold weather used more power than expected or I'd have charged it yesterday.

It snowed in London this morning. Proper big flakes.

I got into stilton last year. Smells bad but tastes great. The opposite to coffee which smells great but rarely lives up to the aroma.

39 posts before we need to move...

In a bid to be helpful Gouda has prepared you a large tub of fat free, salt free, (taste free) cottage cheese.

With pineapple.

Alas I have no image, it's hard doing things with scratch mittens on.

Thank you Gouda, that's very kind of you, you really shouldn't have...

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I've won £100 on the Premium Bonds. Good start to the year! Shame there aren't a few more zeros on the end though!

Drinks are on you tonight!

I would if I could but I can't so I won't. It's automatically turned into more premium bonds.

<remembers it's the Bluestocking and the drinks are free>

Champagne all round please bar gerbil Stick it on my tab.

Congratulations @Boiledbeetle Hopefully, your new Premium Bonds will generate more wins.

Just been watching the weather forecast and found myself cheering when it said the temperature will be rising to 7 degrees later in the week😬

I've already eaten this evening, but for some reason, I have a sudden craving for cheese and biscuits. I wonder what sparked that........

And now I fancy damson crumble for pudding...

I left a supply in the freezer for everyone to dip into. Just ask Goodygumdrops to microwave it for you.

Will do, thanks Damson! Anyone seen the custard bowser?

Oh, and don't ask Gouda for your cheese and crackers. Ask Gorgonzola instead, she knows what's what.

I had a cinnamon raisin bagel for lunch, with crunchy peanut butter on one half and goat cheese with cranberries on the other half. And half an apple and half a clementine (split with DH) for health purposes.

I suppose I'd better start the new thread, it's probably my turn...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5471555-the-bluestocking-where-the-cheese-is-plentiful-and-the-champagne-is-on-boiledbeetle
New thread. Start rounding up the gerbils and Android's latest experiments please.

And don't forget to name change if necessary before posting on the new one!