The Bluestocking Inn, cocktails and cocoa and all

[DeanElderberry]

Opening soon in a salubrious location.

And thanks to the miraculous qualities, although we will indeed have

One-steps and two-steps and the divil knows what new steps
We know that we never would be dull again, bedad
We'll have wine, porter and lemonade.
We'll have cocktails and cocoa and all
We'll have champagnes tonight
But NO real pains next morning
Tonight when we dance at the Bluestocking Ball

slight apologies to Frank Harte

I’ll take my turn at filling up the thread with some poetry.

Two and a quarter pounds of jam
Weigh about a kilogram.

A litre of water’s
A pint and three quarters

A metre measures three foot three
It’s longer than a yard, you see.

5 miles = 8 kilometres
I don’t have a rhyme for that one.

I want to somehow remember those @AsWithGlad I have a feeling they will be useful one day.

Scarily, when I typed “5 miles = “

Autocomplete added “8.0467 kilometres”

I could show you all my crochet squares to help fill up the thread but I know they won't post again. I'll never be able to post another pic at this rate 😢

I think they were part of the government publicity when “we were going metric”
and I’ve taught them to my classes ever since.

I expect I was the only teacher in the school who did.

The commonly accepted approximation for 1kg now seems to be 2.2 pounds rather than 2 ¼ or 2.25, but I prefer the verse.

Is there a limit to the number of pictures we can post each day, @ChristmasStars? I did not know that.

I would like to see yours. I’m still looking at the organza bag from Wool Warehouse and my books of blanket squares. Instead of knitting today my focus was on resting before I went out to a concert in which I played a vital but the least significant role.

I also met some people there who I hadn’t seen for a while, which was good, although one of them was looking significantly more frail than a year ago. It’s someone I first met 45 years ago and he’s over 90 now.

Myrtle posted mine on the blanket thread. I did a cat, tropical fish, heart and flower. I seem to have a problem - I haven't been able to post any pics at all for a few days. I've flagged it with MN and there's a post on site stuff but no change 😢

Wow sounds like a good time out!

This is @ChristmasStars' squares.
They're gorgeous 😍

I missed all the fun of ditching £SD and metrification as I wasn't born until 1986 but I am aware of a few hangovers from ye olden days. I can remember watching six nations Rugby with my Dad and asking why there was a 22metre line. He explained that it used to be a 25 yard line but it had to be metricated so Rugby pitches could be exported around the world.

I think almost exclusively in SI units but I am 5'0" tall and I weigh 7 Stone 3.

The metric half pound of butter used to weigh 250g. It now weighs 200g. Would they have dared to reduce it to 6.25 Oz?

I don't understand US "cups" and the ones we have are huge. Though I do appreciate it might be about ratios of ingredients.

I always remember that a decent sponge is the weight of 2 eggs in flour, sugar and butter and you can mix it as the all in one method.

Shame I don't make cakes any more. Because I eat them if I do.

Also if you use cocoa powder for a chocolate cake, you must replace the amount of flour with the same amount of cocoa powder. For example if you use 6oz flour in a recipe, 2/3oz of cocoa powder means reducing the flour by 2/3oz, hence 4/3oz flour for 2/3oz cocoa powder.

The only conversions that I can remember are: 5cm = 2 inches; 1kg = 2.2 lbs.

I still remember that a mile is 1,760 yds and 5,280 feet.

And I know I've said ounces here, but I actually bake in metric.

I make a lovely six-spice cake (nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, ginger and allspice) and it's not necessary to remove flour. You can just add the spices. I would give the amounts but I don't have the recipe to hand ans I don't trust ChatGPT to tell me the correct amounts.

I had a South African boyfriend once who grew up speaking English but learned all his engineering at university in Afrikaans, so whenever he counted it was in Afrikaans.

i ran away when the conversation went on about numbers and language, and i still have no idea what the fuck that was about.

Saying goodnight to the gerbils.

I'll stay and lock up.

Always sad to lock up for the next thread.

Everyone gone to the new thread here?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5501404-the-bluestocking-best-pub-on-the-internet

OK that's it we're closed.

💙