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

LOL 😂

That sounds like it should be a secret passphrase for spies, or maybe for entry to a secret club.

What would the password reply be I wonder? “But the use of a goffering iron helps”? No chance anybody would stumble on that one accidentally.

I just had a lovely WhatsApp audio call with my very oldest friend (since we were nine) in the UK. I sent her a copy of my book and she was so delighted with it and what she’d read that I felt thoroughly appreciated. She was an English teacher during her working life so I can’t write all of it off as bias!

I loved my triffid parsnip. For several weeks it was completely covered with bees. I had to leave it until all the flowers had gone and it started producing pods to actually dig it out.
I have a little video showing the bees humming around the flowers, all different kinds of bees too. It's quite calming to watch.

'goffering iron', eh? That must be related to 'waffle'... off down an etymological rabbit hole😄

Bingo, eventually:

• Middle Dutch wāfel waffle
• French gaufre waffle
• 1700–10

goffering - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

Congratulations on your etymology, Marie.

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius, I hope your dog is okay. Friends of ours had a dog with quite severe epilepsy, and ended up using quantities of cannabis oil, which helped him hugely. It sounds as if your dog's isn't as bad.

I have just taken Brains and Batshit round the once-again-sodden countryside. Thank God I did the gardening yesterday, because it pissed down here for a good four hours and everywhere is a swamp again.

I'm impressed by the 'Inky and the Giant Parsnip' story. I never realised that a bolted parsnip would get so tall.

waffle/gaufre
reminds me of
warranty/guarantee
Same words, arrived in English via different routes at different times, I guess..

I never had a goffering iron...had to do it all with the point of a steam iron.

So Choristers pleated collars are hard to iron was from personal experience, not a random sentence generator😄
I imagine they'd be very tricky indeed - is there a special attachment to put on the ironing board?

It was. Our entire family of 5 were all choristers.
No attachment, just singed finger ends if you're not very careful!

Ironing five choristers' collars is indeed a work of supererogation. That is a word I know but have almost never had the opportunity to use so thank you for that.

You're welcome!

Poor Woley and her pack. That’s a worse night than mine, which consisted of bouts of vomiting and restless sleep. 🤢

Fortunately our plan for today was more of the office redecoration - DH did most of it but I helped a bit with masking the skirting boards and handing implements to him.
I now can’t work out what, if anything, I should eat - I’ve had two toasted halves of a plain bagel during the day, half a banana (sadly rather underripe) and a cup of miso.

Unless you were a schoolchild (or accompanying adult) who’d recently been on an Educational Visit to a National Trust property including its laundry, I suppose?

We had one educational visit when I was at school- to the lace factory. No use at all!

Wishing you a better night tonight, Errol.
Sleep and dream gerbils coming your way.

I think it's a night for early visits from the Dream and Sleep Gerbils - especially those* *who need all the healing sleep they can get.
And especially especially you Cake
So g'night all x🌛

Goodnight, hope everyone sleeps well & feels better tomorrow xx

All this talk of ironing has made me quite light headed. I am in no danger of extreme ironing given that I can't even manage it when we have a utility room with board permanently set up. I've always favoured clothes that don't need ironing.

I agree Stars. A proper shake and hang it outside in the breeze and ironing is not needed. Saving the planet....

I’ve got an iron somewhere but I only use it occasionally for summer dresses.

So not for quite some time.

When I was a chorister (actually, I was Head chorister <<preens>>), our ruffs were gathered rather than pleated, which did make the ironing easier, according to Mum.

I no longer iron - dh does it. I shall put him forward for the Staunch Ally's Olympic team.

Here they are, practising for their event.

(Not sure if an extra leg is allowed in the Olympics) 😁