The Bluestocking Women’s Pub: Where Clever Women Sit and Think, While Gerbils Run the Bar.

[MyrtleLion]

Come in. Yes, you’re in the right place. No, you don’t need to explain yourself.

Coats will be drycleaned before you depart. Bags won't be stolen because Gubbins will play her triangle. And you really don't want to hear it.

The gerbils run the bar.
They are small, brisk, and unionised.
One is polishing a glass with unnecessary seriousness.
Another is keeping the tab and will remember what you ordered last time.
There is a triangle involved. No one knows why. It keeps Gubbins happy.

Sit. Think. Drink. Join in.

The gerbils have it from here.

Previous thread...
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5481554-the-bluestocking-womens-pub-definitely-full-of-ludicrous-halfwits-who-refuse-to-get-a-grip-with-unionised-gerbils

These are great ideas. And we now have some money in the budget for the extra work. Do you think the landscaper could also whack him over the head with a spade? I might not have the strength on my own...

Just had a text conversation with a younger woman who i am very close to. She is the daughter of my male friend.

i ended up supporting her some time ago when it transpired she was raped and coercively controlled by her now ex partner and father of her child.

i used to take calls from her every day once she had disclosed what had happened to her and saw her through severe trauma, she came to stay with me on a number of occasions.

she is to her credit very feisty and opinionated.

anyway the issue of trans rights came up and she got quite shirty with me, after asking a few questions.

i said that i had come to my opinions after reading widely and cited a few books she might want to read, and a few podcasts that might help.

her response was that she would do no such thing and i should not preach at her and she was a kind person.

It all ended well because i changed the subject, she said goodnight, i still love you.

knowing her well she will be beavering away tomorrow she will not be able to help herself.

I am hoping she will pick up a book or two rather than bloody google and AI.

hopefully a seed will be planted.

for me that was well tough to go there with her.

Hedgehog - sounds like you handled a difficult situation well.

My previous comment was out of sequence with your posts, @AsWithGlad, hopefully obvious it was re online shopping etc.

The idea of relearning to knit by making elbow patches had crossed my mind - maybe vaguely hexagonal to practice inc and dec on each side. 😂

Thank you @ErrolTheDragon its like fucking “coming out”

Yes. In my case, it was my late husband who raised the topic (of my views - thanks, darling) when we were out for dinner with his daughter and granddaughter. I later found out that the daughter agreed with me (on that topic alone) but that the granddaughter had done a minor in Gender Studies at her uni...

The daughter proudly told us "She had to write an essay on the significance of lipstick..."

Yes, dear. As did nearly everyone who touched upon media studies/gender studies/modern literary theory...

The GD's best friend at uni was a trans identified female who had an elective double mastectomy at the age of 20. Apparently, when DH's daughter mildly commented that she thought that rather a drastic decision at such a young age, she was told "Muuuum! You're sooooooooo transphobic!"

Footnote

When I originally told DH about what was happening, he was initially incredulous. I think that the Hubbard debacle opened his eyes - DH was once Scottish Universities Weightlifting Champion in his weight division.

However, his take on it was "Why are women allowing it?"

Grrrrrrrrrrrr! Yes, I told him.

I fear for the younger generation @WearyAuldWumman they feel they are so enlightened compared to us old crocks.

Yes - apparently, we know nothing.

...and are not kind.

My DS2 was aghast when I and DS1 briefly discussed it when we all saw each other at Thanksgiving. He thinks it’s a right wing thing. We didn’t discuss it for long but I pointed out to him that he had never known me to be right wing on any other topic and that perhaps there was a left-wing approach that wasn’t just “be kind”.

It's a real 'proceed with caution' topic.
I have a lefty friend somewhat younger than me and the topic came up. I was massively relieved to find 100% agreement. Another friend skirted cautiously around the topic so we got into it, agreement there too. She'd been terribly worried that she'd put her foot in it.

It's the next generation down who I really worry about.

And Myrtle, your landscaper might have a mini-digger.

Could be useful, after the spade.

Doesn’t every ‘younger generation’ do that?

It's my wont to try to follow what's going on closely and to react to everyone's experiences, good or bad - especially the bad, being supportive is such a key Bluey thing.

I'm out of sync at the moment as I have a lot of appointments for x-rays etc to try to sort out the old ankle injury that has come back and affected my mobility badly. I may have to have surgery to sort it out😐

It's taking up a lot of my time and a lot of my headspace, so sorry if I don't respond to posts - It's not that I don't care, and I send lots of 💙to everybody going through difficult stuff, whether practical or emotional.

I may be communicating mostly through funny photos of rodents for a bit!

Hedgey, I loved loved loved the cross nun joke, thank you😂

Here's Smiley Gerbil who smiles on my behalf when I'm not around to do so

Hugs, @MarieDeGournay, and Kitty sends you a blink.

I’ve got a question, purely out of interest….

If I said to you ‘I’ve got a theory’ what, if anything, would immediately come to mind?

Something feline, or feminist (or both) related.

btw - I like your curtains!

Aw Big hugs @MarieDeGournay I don't always have time to follow or respond to the chat but I do appreciate your thoughtful input on here and other threads. I hope your ankle improves. Many of us underestimate the importance of mobility until it lets us down.

Thank you!

They were my one big splash when I bought the flat - made by the lovely
local independent draper. I had a cheap pair from B&M that went up instead whenever I was fostering young kittens.

I’ll hold off on answering the theory question for now & see if anyone else thinks what I’m thinking.

I've had the window man here this morning. I replaced all the front windows plus the bathroom one when I moved in and I'm now turning my attention to the back. I have a big, wide window in my bedroom which has one large, push-open section, but no trickle vents. So it's difficult to provide ventilation at this time of year without freezing, whereas in summer when the window needs to be opened wider, it can't be locked in that position and the blinds flap about at the slightest breeze. So I have opted for a traditional casement with two opening sections, which can be locked on various settings and should allow a proper through-flow of air. It also has trickle vents for ventilation when it is too cold or windy to open the windows fully.

I'm also planning to renovate my back garden this year and replace the flagged section. Which brought me to wondering if there is anyone I might like to bury under it.........

I'm also planning to renovate my back garden this year and replace the flagged section. Which brought me to wondering if there is anyone I might like to bury under it.........

I could make several suggestions but don’t want to get banned.

I'm also planning to renovate my back garden this year and replace the flagged section. Which brought me to wondering if there is anyone I might like to bury under it.........

😂I can suggest a couple....

I also love the curtains.

No idea about the theory.

What comes to mind for me is the “I’ve got a theory” song from the musical Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode.

YES! Exactly!

I’ve been humming it under my breath all morning.

As a person who never got into Buffy, “I have a theory” brings to my mind Ann Elk and her theory about dinosaurs from Monty Python.