The Bluestocking Women’s Pub: definitely full of ludicrous halfwits who refuse to get a grip (with unionised gerbils)

[MyrtleLion]

Welcome to The Bluestocking: convivial by design, opinionated in the best way, generously stocked with excellent food and drink that complies with whatever it’s meant to comply with, and any calories, gluten or alcohol are entirely virtual.

Staffed by impeccably trained, unfailingly polite gerbils who run a tight bar with plenty of enthusiasm and good intentions. Quick with the drinks, but terrible spillers spellers and liable to turn an idle thought on existential existence into a full blown musical with Busby Berkeley routines. You have been warned.

All women welcome, just in case that isn't obvious. Men can go to The Staunch Ally round the corner.

Previous thread here: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5477133-the-bluestocking-your-local-womens-pub-warm-friendly-and-not-at-all-unusual-in-any-way

It is only 4.5 years old.

The latest episode of Dogs Behaving Very Badly shows Graeme Hall teaching a dog to stop destroying the furniture.

Love your doggies, Cautious! Looking at those eyes, I bet they can be gut-wrenchingly imploring when asking for something😄

Harriet is just adorable, isn't she Myrtle?

She even took her 'red and white hat' off to say hello to you in the last photo, but it went straight back on - remember the difficult moment we had when we tried to tell her that Christmas was over so she shouldn't wear her Christmas hat any more? She was so upset we had to rename it her 'red and white hat' so she can wear it all year

Also your dogs look gorgeous 😍

I have just sprayed blueberry flavour kefir over the working side of the sofa, the carpet and my clothes. And we've run out of Upholstery and Carpet Vanish, so I just sprayed normal Vanish over it all.

Yes, we do keep kitchen roll and Vanish in the living room cupboard in case of spilling red wine everywhere accidents.

@CautiousLurker2 one of my cats likes to sit on the back of the sofa like that, but she likes to put her front paws on my shoulder and snuggle her cheek up to my cheek. I’m wondering if she was a parrot in a previous incarnation when I may have been a pirate.

At first reading I thought this was a Handy Household Hint -
'Spray blueberry flavour kefir over the working side of the sofa to...'

But it looks like it was one of those additional things that happen when you least feel up to dealing with them

Thanks, Android. I knew it had to have started life as a monastery of some sort, but hadn't expected a min-Versailles. It wouldn't make a holiday home just for the Bluestockingers, but for most of Mumsnet! 😁I'd guessed it was in the south of France by the sunlight in the cloisters. You just don't get light like that in the bit of France I know best which is southern Normandy.

Many congratulations, @Britinme. Seeing yourself in print is a very cool feeling.

@ifiwerenotanandroid do not be misled, European badgers will shiv you. Bitey little buggers.

I've had a fun morning doing DIY. Brains and Batshit admire the sofa-back skills of lurker's duo, but are wanting a walk. Batshit is patrolling the kitchen and hallway with a toy in her mouth, and Brains is glaring at me from the kitchen doorway, furious that I am finally having a bit of a lunch break and dossing about on my phone when we could be OUTSIDE. Brains doesn't believe in wasting energy, she finds standing (or lying down) and glaring/looking appealing/looking sad to be highly effective.

I must say that was my initial reaction too!

I've just had a FB friend request from a bloke who was studying at the same time as me, same place, same subject area, 8-ish years ago. He started just after me and I did my best to be social and helpful, but the fucker cut me dead. He also got on with the Boss, with whom I had a somewhat strained relationship.

Time to decline. If he wants to ask me something, he can message me and I'll think about it.

<launches ungrateful bastard off into the ether>

LOL, that man and his cravats! It’s how DH and I know that we are old at heart as we love that programme, plus the BBC repair shed one. Guaranteed to make us smile/laugh, esp if cuddling the dogs at the same time.

Oooh, those retirement village and cruise ads I keep getting make sense now…

We are fairly sure both our dogs identify as Cats…

I’d heard of cheap jam having fake strawberry pips added, but I’d no idea it was made from rhubarb.

The rules saying the ingredients have to be listed on the jar may have stopped this?

We’ve just finished a jar of Bonne Maman ‘Rhubarb and Strawberry Conserve,’ which was on offer when I last did an online order.

I stopped drinking red wine anywhere but at restaurants years ago after the 3rd or 4th spillage. White wine and G&T seems the safer option given I wave my hands around a lot when I am TedTalking chatting animatedly, especially if I’ve already drunk a few.

Brains and Batshit think they've won.

Really, it's just walkies time.

I've found some today which are more cosy. MN must be listening in at the Bluey, because since talking about adverts, I've had a different French property company AND an ad for chocolate covered fruit - annoyingly, that one appears just after I've clicked to go to another page, so I haven't managed to track down the actual product yet.

£106 million tonight & I've got a ticket. The Bluey could manifest in real life with that sort of money (after the usual house-funding for a deserving rellie & donations to charity, natch).

I can almost see the three of you setting off, in varying degrees of excited galumphing, from zero to umpteen million😁

@EdithStourton do not be misled, European badgers will shiv you. Bitey little buggers.

I'm fine with them, having had a clan visiting every night through several generations. I was only worried once, when I stood between a sow & her cubs, but she was fine because she trusted me. I think if they're injured or cornered they can be bitey, though.

£106 million tonight & I've got a ticket. The Bluey could manifest in real life with that sort of money

Oops, sorry Marie - the Bluey has of course manifested once already, under your guidance. With £106 million it could manifest so that we can walk inside it, is what I meant.

Kicking myself.

Was up at the gym for a couple of classes this morning. Place was packed, so went to a section that I'm not used to.

Nosed in slowly. Heard a scrape from the underside, so reversed - scrape heard again.

I don't see any visible damage to the spoiler, but my OCD is kicking in, given the scraping noise. (I have the kind that makes you worry.) I Googled, and some sites are suggesting dire damage; others are suggesting that it's probably okay so long as you're not doing it all the time.

Aaargh. So annoyed at myself. Sensor was obviously too low to pick up the kerb and I was judging by looking at the cars either side of me - but they were bigger and had reversed in.

On the way home, couldn't hear any rattling but was convinced that the 'echo' of the car on the tarmac was louder than usual. OCD means never being bored.

Can you get it checked out, WAW? A pheasant running into the road & into/under the car knocked a sensor out of alignment, but it was easily fixed.

If the car is running and nothing has fallen off, I wouldn't worry too much, although you could take it into to a friendly garage and have them take a look.

I was in the supermarket a few weeks ago when someone in an expensive low-slung sports car decided it would be a good idea to pull forward out of the space, across a footpath with a kerb, rather than reversing out. Completely grounded the car, with the front and rear wheels neatly lined up on either side of the footpath. Now that would be something to worry about

That's OK, Android, I accept that 'real' is an elastic concept here

I don't think I have the skills - or the remaining lifespan! - to make a model of the Other Real Bluestocking.
Which of course you are going to buy. Because of course you are going to win the Euromillions.😄

I'm wondering about asking Kwikfit to do my wheel alignment for me and asking if they can have a look for damage while they're at it.

I'm supposed to get the Volkswagen garage to do any repairs because I'm still under the extended warranty and getting someone else to do certain things can invalidate it. However, they're in the next town and I don't want to negotiate the roundabouts there on a busy Saturday - someone rear-ended me there once.

We had a cat we nicknamed Dog Mog because he'd eat anything that fell on the floor, came when you called his name (the other cats regarded this with some astonishment) and was totally useless at being a cat.

Handsome, though

Fingers crossed.... 🙏