The Bluestocking women's Pub- spring is sprunging and MN's name generator can do one!

[lcakethereforeIam]

Welcome to the Bluestocking women's pub. Men are directed to the Staunch Ally just down the road. Otherwise all are welcome. Pull up a chair, give your order to the Wait Gerbil or the Gerbil behind the bar.

Don't forget to name change if you wish to.

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Looks like it, Cher! I'd like to see John Deere trying to make one of those!

Gosh!

Hello all!
we had to go back to the Trafford centre because one of the items we got yesterday wasn’t exactly what we thought we’d asked for but no problem exchanging once we were there.
And then we went on to Quarry Bank Mill, mentioned near the end of the last thread. We’ve been in the past with DD but not for quite some time and they’ve developed the garden etc a lot since then. It was such a nice day we stayed outside rather than going into the mill (v noisy when they’re running the machines!) or other buildings - we’ll save that for a rainy day.

@EdithStourton in addition to the frankly gawjus tractor, your post reminded me that the buzzards were out this week, calling to each other. And I heard my first woodpecker of the year too. Spring has sprung!

Lets raise a glass with @RumNotRunto her friend and colleague.

And then another to Dame Jenni Murray. It’s on R4 just now that she has died. One of the first to raise her head above the parapet, or at least try to.

So does mine and actually had an ancient Fergie for a few years when we lived at the old house up the hill with a couple of small fields to take care of. For a city born and bred lad he has a strong attraction to large and noisy machinery...

I have to do two posts, because of two very different emotions:
I'm really sorry about the loss of your colleague RumNotRun, and will of course raise a glass to you, and to your colleague's memory.

I'd like to add my condolences on the loss of your colleague @RumNotRun Even if you were not particular friends, it must come as a shock and a sadness.

Sad also to hear about the death of Jenny Murray. She was a real champion for women. I saw the piece on the BBC News at 6 which I thought was quite lacklustre considering she was an icon of the BBC in her time. Of course they didn't mention the fact that they had practically driven her out of her job for her 'unacceptable' views.

Sorry for your loss Rum and well done to Igne 2.0

I need something alcoholic. I’ve had a lot of week in my week and it isn’t over yet. And speaking as a city girl who isn’t comfortable unless surrounded by tarmac and expensive coffees with a reasonable chance of being mugged, those are mighty fine tractors. Mighty fine. [nods head respectfully]

In an entirely different mood - Myrtle, you made me laugh so much with your end-of-thread stories! Proper laughing-out-loud e.g. Gosie being 'somewhere between Bordeaux and indifference' - that's so St Germain des Prés c.1959.😁
Followed by another very loud laugh at Boily on the treadmill refusing to put out her ciggie - just imagine that happening in real life😂😂😂

Sorry about your electrical troubles, NotAtMyAge - I'll send over a bar-gerbil with a swimming-pool sized helping of your most comforting tipple..

Well done Igneococcus and DD! A great achievement.

Glad you got your man back, Pasta, I hope he appreciates the lengths you had to go to😁
Interesting about BTS - back from military service, aren't they? Elvis never recovered from his, so I fear for their careers.. and has army life taken the bloom off their pretty faces?

Edith - My discovery du jour (though it might have been yesterday...) was that deer eat 10% of their bodyweight each day.
<doing quick calculation - no I think I am not a deer>

Do John Deere consume 10% of their bodyweight in fuel I wonder?
There has to be a reason for 'deer' and 'Deere' appearing so close to each other😀

You really lurve tractors, don't you, Magpie? Bigly letters an' all!

Hi to everybody else too👋

Slurry spreading season has started. At least they use those trickle bar things now instead of spraying out great fountains of the stuff. And I met my first boat of the year, driving back from the other village (I was driving, the boat was being towed).

Thank you! All my own writing.

🤥

God I hate that AI just doesn't understand some things.

I've had two emails lately from a he/him.

He married me off in the first one. I corrected him in my response and said it was Miss, and he's now done it again.

Maybe my next response should be I identify as a man just to see if he ignores that as well or replies to Mr Boiled.

I had a prospective student last year who consistently addressed me over email as Mr Male-version-of-my-name. He was aghast when he turned up for his interview and discovered I'm female! And a Dr.

Bet he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him!

79 showers!

He did actually apologise, which I thought took a certain amount of gumption for a 16 year old.

Changing the subject, do we have a gerbil called Gumption?

We do now

Catching up from the old thread.

re Jammie Dodgers
Also the jam is very sticky and stops the biscuit from separating cleanly.
On top of that, and this maybe a controversial opinion, they're not actually very nice.

In my ancient memory JD's always had jam and fake cream. Removing the cream must have been a cost-cutting thing, and moved them from a 7/10 to a 2/10.

Being gluten-free for decades now, my choice of biscuits is very limited, but I do like ginger cookies. I trust The Bluestocking has a good supply? I had to stop eating the dark chocolate covered ones but as calories don't count here perhaps we could have some of those, too? I do recommend, if you ever have to feed someone who is g-f but not actually coeliac. Avoid the much cheaper digestives, custard creams and so on because they are just hard and flavourless.

Sympathies with the death of your colleague, Rum.

I heard about Jennie Murray on the BBC TV 6 o'clock news, and also thought there was much unsaid about her leaving Woman's Hour.

I feel your pain.

I have been Ms Lion since I was 11, so 46+ years. I didn't change my name on marriage because the patriarchy.

I do mention that I'm married, so sometimes I am addressed as Mrs Lion. This annoys me as Mrs Lion is my mother. Occasionally I am addressed as Mrs Walrus but as I run all the house admin, very few people know I'm married to Mr Walrus. They assume Mr Walrus is actually Mr Lion. 😱

My mother addresses birthday cards to me as Myrtle Lion (Walrus). Which I find hilarious. Who is it for? Our lovely postwoman? The sorting office? Random friends in our house? To reassure them we're actually married and not living in sin?

Mr Walrus? Miss Walrus? (Despite my efforts she insists on being Miss). Neither of them care.

It indicates that people don't pay attention. And that is probably why I get so cross. Because we used to make the effort. And if men identifying as women can get away with trashing a shop saying, "it's MA'AM" then I can insist on being Ms Lion.

If you want wool or sewing needles in John Lewis you go to their Haberdashery department. It never seems to fit in well with the other groupings under "Sports and Leisure" but at least they do still stock some things, although seemingly less every time I visit.

I am a huge fan of German Lebkuchen: chocolate covered cinnamon ginger pretzels.
I think the Bluestocking has a never-ending supply.