The Bluestocking - your local women's pub, warm, friendly, and not at all unusual in any way.

[MarieDeGournay]

Welcome to The Bluestocking, the welcome is warm, the conversation is wide-ranging, the food and drink are delicious but magically free from anything they need to be free from, and the bar staff are highly-trained, professional, efficient and very friendly gerbils.

Is your house old @Boiledbeetle ? That wallpaper looks Victorian - unless of course it is a modern replica 😀

And could your panelled wall be blocking off an old fireplace or range? I've known people to do that to avoid having to take out flues etc, because of the asbestos.

@AsWithGlad I planted some winter aconites last week, under a couple of small trees. They won't do much this year, but I hope they'll come back properly next year. I'm now looking for some wood anemones.

The blood test wait was another hour. So I left the house at 0905 and returned at 1623. A long day.

Sympathy, Myrtle. That must have been very tiring. Early night?

I wonder how people who are just well enough to work, but struggling, manage.

The ‘taking blood’ section in my local hospital can have waits of at least 2 hours, as can the drive-in equivalent in a car park on the opposite side of town which started during Covid. If you make an appointment in advance, though, you get to jump the queue. My GP practice will take blood for you, but there are some tests the hospital requests which they can’t take the blood for, probably because of special conditions the blood has to be kept in before it’s tested.

The last time I was there I asked very nicely at the clinic my first appointment was at, and they kindly took it for me. The request for the blood was in the system, and it spared me a limp to the phlebotomist section at the other end of the hospital.

I planted some winter aconites last week, under a couple of small trees. They won't do much this year, but I hope they'll come back properly next year. I'm now looking for some wood anemones.

P'raps you could plant some ferns instead, Damson, because with fronds like that, who needs anemones?😁

I have the original deeds upstairs somewhere. I know I looked at them at some point as I discovered I wasn't allowed to run a house of ill repute from the property.

I should unearth them and have a look. I don't remember seeing original plans, and honestly they seemed to have made it up as they went along. I do know the extension that was built bears no resemblance to the extension plans they were granted permission for!

I have uncovered two bricked up doorways so far, but at least they made sense. Well one did! There's a third blocked up doorway that they turned into a window that made no sense as it's inside the house!

I'm surprised it's still standing to be honest!

That's a long time. I think I'd have taken a sledgehammer to it the week after I moved in - after shifting all the packings boxes in the way.

I'm probably autistic with ADHD. My therapist mentioned it in March but I didn't follow up because, well, ADHD and I've got a lot going on medically. But I think I'll try and talk to my GP next week. I could have been off the waiting list by now if I'd asked in March. I can be really focused and then I forget what I'm doing. Even mid-row when I'm knitting I can forget what the next stitch is. And I find it hard to throw things out because of "in case", or it being perfectly useful even if I don't/can't/wouldn't use it.

I love that you have your cleaner to help. That's why the Walrus invented the Kitten Cloud (from some threads ago) where he takes such things where they can frolic in the clouds with the kittens.

Sending lots of support and congratulations on your amazing achievement of sorting things out in 2025 and continuing in 2026. 💙💐💙

Brilliant!😁

The original plasterer signed and dated the plaster in the living room. Unfortunately the photo of that is lost in the house somwhere, but I think it was end of the 1800s. Or very start of 1900s.

God, when I can't sleep tonight I'm going to be routing out the deeds at 3am aren't I.

Panelling isn't hiding a fireplace. I do know what should be behind the panelling from being in other houses on the road, It's more what else may have been shoved in the space before it was blocked off.

There I was, teeth brushed, in pyjamas, nearly in bed, and I remembered I hadn't put the bin out. So pulled on PJs, put on a coat and gardening clogs, stomped out crossly.

And saw the MOST magnificent Aurora borealis, reds and greens, get out there and look north and up.

If I'd known it was such a long wait I'd have asked for the form to be sent to the local minor injuries unit which is much closer to home.. I would have had it done tomorrow and I've never had to wait more than 10 minutes there. But it was probably just one of those things. The phlebotomist I saw said she'd never seen it so busy.

Assuming the results are good I will be discharged from infectious diseases this week. Then I just have orthopaedics, lymphoedema, gynaecology (for the menopause), ENT, renal (for my missing kidney and regular checks) and autism/ADHD.

I love the concept of The Kitten Cloud, Myrtle! What a lovely use of humour by Mr Walrus

You already have a lot to deal with so I suppose you have to do a 'cost/benefit' thingy about getting any more diagnoses at the moment, but I'm sure it would be good to look into the autism/ADHD possibility sometime, it would probably give you many interesting insights.

I hope you are having a nice restful evening after your tiring day!

When I originally moved in I had just enough money to make it liveable and I had to do it before I moved in. The intention was to then do it up properly slowly.

The red brick 1980s, fire surround and concrete elevated areas got the sledgehammer treatment first. Although I did live with that for way too long.

But the blocked off part of the house never got done as it was going to be a bloody nightmare to make right after so I kept putting it off. And putting it off. And here we are 25 years later!

Bugger.

I've not had a shower yet.

Best go to that.

Gosh, they have been keeping you busy, haven't they @MyrtleLion
Still, you have done the really difficult bit, so hopefully, the rest will be mainly monitoring to pre-empt any further problems.

The bargerbil is coming over to take your order.

Thank you so much Deano - What a fortunate bin-forgetting that was!
I rushed out and looked north, and although there are clouds, the clouds themselves are lit up in pink and it 's wonderful!

Some people passed by walking their dogs and hadn't noticed it, so I was able to tell them to look, look, it's the Aurora Borealis! and we were all excited together😄

Nothing here but a bit of fog and the rescue helicopter going back to its base. What a shame.

A Bluestocking G&T (large), followed by a Lesbian Negroni as per Julie Bindel's EXACT instructions (but large) in honour of Servalan. And then just keep them coming.

Looking back I can clearly see I have a female type. I adored Servalan. Annie Lennox has a similar look and I loved her in The Tourists. When she reappeared in Eurythmics, I was delighted.

Sadly a very strict Catholic upbringing meant I never explored it, so though I'm very happy with the Walrus, I do think I'm probably bi.

Nothing here in the north sky, either.

I’ve never seen the aurora but I did manage to take a photo with my not-new iPhone last time. It can see more than I can.

Where have I moved the house deeds to?

I went to the place I thought they were and they aren't there. And now I have no bloody clue where to look for them. I'll have to narrow it down tomorrow to all the places I haven't been in recently. Which technically shouldn't be that many options given my last year of sorting and throwing things away.

I hope they are somewhere because if not they are on a landfill somewhere! And my copy are the originals!!! 😱

Too rainy here for any lights in the sky, but i do have Aurora Envy. Enjoy, those that have them.

If the wallpaper is Victorian fgs don't lick it!

Third GnT bar gerbils. Been listening to the chat.

when i had a five week old baby and an 18 month old we bought a wreck of a semi cottage style house (built 1905) with a nice big jungle at the back.

It was the maddest thing we ever did.

our lounge was unusable we used a back extension.

One night whilst baby was asleep i wrenched of the boarding over the chimney
breast and went back arse over tit.

what was underneath was a lovely fire place that needed scrubbing up.

took seven years to get house and garden up to scratch.

Arsenic poisoning would not be pleasant!

If you bought your house only 25 years ago, Boily, I think it must be registered land. You can get a scanned copy of the title deeds for not too much.

I appreciate it’s not the same as the original but better than nothing?

This is quite interesting, too.

Both links are to sites ending with .gov.uk so should be safe far as I know.

Your housedeeds= your Damson's Hairbrush, Boily😄

So, what should be behind the panelling if it’s the same as the other houses (I’m invested; I’ve always wanted to discover a secret room in my house).

And thanks; you’ve reminded me to go for a shower! 🙂