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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

The Bluestocking: To the moon and back gerbil style.

1000 replies

Boiledbeetle · 02/04/2026 17:29

Previous thread of chat and general madness below

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5506124-the-bluestocking-womens-pub-spring-is-sprunging-and-mns-name-generator-can-do-one

Women: from an orderly queue at the bar or take a seat and grab a passing gerbil.

Men: turn left at the end of the road, keep walking until you find the Staunch Ally.

Bar gerbil a full fat coke please and a packet of Scampi Fries please.

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

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 you...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5506124-the-bluestocking-womens-pub-spring-is-sprunging-and-mns-name-generator-can-do-one

OP posts:
Thread gallery
130
ErrolTheDragon · 05/04/2026 16:05

Boiledbeetle · 05/04/2026 16:02

Gah! My scrolling thumb is not working now it's got a plaster on it!

Yep. They need to invent plasters which work with touchscreens (whoever ‘they’ may be)

DeanElderberry · 05/04/2026 16:07

I am a firm believer in the superior safety of sharp knives over blunt. But. One time (about 40 years ago) when I brought my sharpening steel back to the house all of us diggers were sharing, and then used it before dinner time came around, I should probably have told my colleagues what I'd done.

Though Luke was being needlessly melodramatic when (after not bothering to check) he chose to demonstrate their bluntness by drawing the blade of one of them down the palm of his hand.

ooooops

Boiledbeetle · 05/04/2026 16:10

ErrolTheDragon · 05/04/2026 16:04

Commiserations. I’ve done that too recently - I had a cheap but effective serrated knife which was perfect for various tasks including slicing our homemade flatbreads, which is a somewhat delicate task. It broke, so I bought a new one… the first time I used it I cut deeply into the pad of my left thumb, it took about a week of being firmly plastered to close up. Unfortunately it was the only one of my fingers which worked to open my old iPhone so I had to put in my code every time which was a pain.

And then I cut it again…

Im now carefully holding the bread with a tea towel and I’ve told DH not to use this knife as he’s on blood thinners.😬

🐫

The plaster is currently on the pad of my left thumb 😃

If it doesn't stop bleeding I'm going to attack it with a bottle of superglue! (Only half joking)

OP posts:
Boiledbeetle · 05/04/2026 16:11

DeanElderberry · 05/04/2026 16:07

I am a firm believer in the superior safety of sharp knives over blunt. But. One time (about 40 years ago) when I brought my sharpening steel back to the house all of us diggers were sharing, and then used it before dinner time came around, I should probably have told my colleagues what I'd done.

Though Luke was being needlessly melodramatic when (after not bothering to check) he chose to demonstrate their bluntness by drawing the blade of one of them down the palm of his hand.

ooooops

😱

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 05/04/2026 16:14

DeanElderberry · 05/04/2026 16:07

I am a firm believer in the superior safety of sharp knives over blunt. But. One time (about 40 years ago) when I brought my sharpening steel back to the house all of us diggers were sharing, and then used it before dinner time came around, I should probably have told my colleagues what I'd done.

Though Luke was being needlessly melodramatic when (after not bothering to check) he chose to demonstrate their bluntness by drawing the blade of one of them down the palm of his hand.

ooooops

Luke sounds like he’s in training for a Darwin Award.

ErrolTheDragon · 05/04/2026 16:16

Boiledbeetle · 05/04/2026 16:10

🐫

The plaster is currently on the pad of my left thumb 😃

If it doesn't stop bleeding I'm going to attack it with a bottle of superglue! (Only half joking)

the thought did cross my mind but (perhaps fortunately) we didn’t have any superglue in the house.

DeanElderberry · 05/04/2026 16:17

Boiledbeetle · 05/04/2026 16:10

🐫

The plaster is currently on the pad of my left thumb 😃

If it doesn't stop bleeding I'm going to attack it with a bottle of superglue! (Only half joking)

superglue really does work! Probably better if you can get someone uninjured and with two hands to do it, but one-handed is possible.

DeanElderberry · 05/04/2026 16:20

WearyAuldWumman · 05/04/2026 14:14

Well, the wind has died down in Fife and it's lovely and sunny now.

Lots of primroses and miniature daffs in bloom in the front border.

I can see the white celandines opening in the side return. Annoyingly, I lost the note of the variety shortly after planting.

I planted celandine Brazen Hussy round the back at the same time and they're doing very well indeed. I believe that they can be a bit thuggish, but I've not had that problem with them. Not sure when I planted them - any time between '86 and '94. (After moving in and before getting married.)

The muscari in planters have survived. Again, muscari are supposed to be thugs, but those in the front border seem to have disappeared. shakes fist at grey squirrels

I did have some Rip Van Winkle miniature daffs, but they've all gone. Only February Gold and Tête à Tète seem to have survived the wet, clay soil.

I did try digging down and adding gravel etc when I first moved in, but eventually gave up: once I was past the brown clay, I hit blue clay. I should buy a kiln.

I have Rip van Winkels and regular celandines but no white ones or brazen hussies. My optimistic habit of scattering snakeshead fritillary seeds around has had some success.

WearyAuldWumman · 05/04/2026 16:32

Oh, that's lovely. I think I see one snakehead fritillary, but they don't seem to do well here. (I planted them round the side return a while back.)

WearyAuldWumman · 05/04/2026 16:34

DeanElderberry · 05/04/2026 16:17

superglue really does work! Probably better if you can get someone uninjured and with two hands to do it, but one-handed is possible.

Yes, it does.

DH used to insist on using insulation tape for everything...

DeanElderberry · 05/04/2026 16:56

Masking tape has many many applications.

EdithStourton · 05/04/2026 17:08

DeanElderberry · 05/04/2026 16:17

superglue really does work! Probably better if you can get someone uninjured and with two hands to do it, but one-handed is possible.

It's recommended (not by vets) for glueing dogs back together. I've never yet dared to try it. I should give it a go on a smaller injury before they manage another big one. We do a lot of home patching of the dogs. Ears and paws our specialities.

MyrtleLion · 05/04/2026 18:09

Easter Sunday has not slowed Gosie down. It’s just… shifted the tone. She is somewhere between departure and return now. Not rushing it. Of course not.

Current location:

A small hill town en route north. Not famous. Not trying to be.

  • church bells doing their thing in the background
  • long lunch tables set up outside
  • people who definitely know each other pretending they don’t

Gosie parked up early, before anyone else properly arrived, claimed a table without asking and ordered something that wasn’t on the menu but clearly exists. She is wearing yesterday’s clothes, but better somehow; sunglasses on, not for the sun, reading something she may or may not finish

Easter lunch (inevitable, extended):

  • lamb, obviously
  • potatoes that have seen things
  • something green to justify it
  • dessert that no one needed but everyone accepted

Wine:

  • not rosé
  • not quite Margaux
  • something transitional
  • she approves

Mood:
She’s done what she came to do.
She’s not thinking about the Bluestocking yet—but she’s closer to it than she was.

The heist?

  • no news
  • no panic
  • no one quite certain what’s missing

Exactly as intended.

Current state:
“Almost ready to return.”

Not because she has to.
Because she’s decided.

And when Gosie decides, things tend to… move.

The Bluestocking: To the moon and back gerbil style.
Magpiecomplex · 05/04/2026 18:21

I'm getting distinct Day of the Jackal vibes about Gosie's adventures in France.

MyrtleLion · 05/04/2026 18:34

Magpiecomplex · 05/04/2026 18:21

I'm getting distinct Day of the Jackal vibes about Gosie's adventures in France.

You're not wrong...

lcakethereforeIam · 05/04/2026 18:50

The capybara organised an Easter egg hunt in the meadow for the gerbils. Much fun was had by all. Gubbins enlisted the help of the pigmy hogs. With their snuffling she assembled quite the heist of chocolate eggs and, surprisingly, a few truffles. Steve reappeared from whichever thread he'd been hiding in and nicked a few of her eggs but she had plenty to share. Say what you want about Gubbins but she's always happy to share; music, eggs (chocolate or head louse). They're currently rolling eggs on the lower slopes of Peak Woo.

EmpressaurusKitty · 05/04/2026 18:51

MyrtleLion · 05/04/2026 18:34

You're not wrong...

Gosie sounds very exciting.

ErrolTheDragon · 05/04/2026 19:32

WearyAuldWumman · 05/04/2026 16:34

Yes, it does.

DH used to insist on using insulation tape for everything...

electrical tape is just the job if you’ve got bits that need holding together (eg a damaged toenail when it’s at that awkward nearly grown out partly detached stage) during prolonged exposure to water.

Things you learn when taking a teenager on a watersports holiday….

AuntieMsDamsonCrumble · 05/04/2026 20:11

DeanElderberry · 05/04/2026 16:17

superglue really does work! Probably better if you can get someone uninjured and with two hands to do it, but one-handed is possible.

I had my head superglued when the garage door dropped on it a few years ago. To be fair, it was surgical superglue, not yer average Gorilla Glue and it wasn't actually me that dropped the door, but my decorator. He was in a worse state than me, probably thinking about his public liability insurance.

I've still got the dent. When I think about it, that incident explains a lot.

Boiledbeetle · 05/04/2026 20:11

My neighbour had just told me my house smells nice.

That world be eau de boiling thumb and chicken bones!

OP posts:
AsWithGlad · 05/04/2026 20:13

lcakethereforeIam · 05/04/2026 18:50

The capybara organised an Easter egg hunt in the meadow for the gerbils. Much fun was had by all. Gubbins enlisted the help of the pigmy hogs. With their snuffling she assembled quite the heist of chocolate eggs and, surprisingly, a few truffles. Steve reappeared from whichever thread he'd been hiding in and nicked a few of her eggs but she had plenty to share. Say what you want about Gubbins but she's always happy to share; music, eggs (chocolate or head louse). They're currently rolling eggs on the lower slopes of Peak Woo.

I’m so glad to read that. Our gerbils deserve their treats and it’s good to read of capybara kindness.

AsWithGlad · 05/04/2026 20:15

Sympathetic thoughts for all damaged Bluestockingers, those completely recovered and those still recovering.

FranticFrankie · 05/04/2026 20:18

ErrolTheDragon · 05/04/2026 16:04

Commiserations. I’ve done that too recently - I had a cheap but effective serrated knife which was perfect for various tasks including slicing our homemade flatbreads, which is a somewhat delicate task. It broke, so I bought a new one… the first time I used it I cut deeply into the pad of my left thumb, it took about a week of being firmly plastered to close up. Unfortunately it was the only one of my fingers which worked to open my old iPhone so I had to put in my code every time which was a pain.

And then I cut it again…

Im now carefully holding the bread with a tea towel and I’ve told DH not to use this knife as he’s on blood thinners.😬

Evening all
Popped in for a Large Something (busy couple of days here) but- distracted by a tea towel...
Is that William Morris @ErrolTheDragon ?
Where can I get one? TIA

And I've had a few nasty incidents with sharp implements. Ever sliced your thumb with a mandolin?
No DS; I didn't know I should have used the guard thingy
Commiserations Boily

ErrolTheDragon · 05/04/2026 20:27

FranticFrankie · 05/04/2026 20:18

Evening all
Popped in for a Large Something (busy couple of days here) but- distracted by a tea towel...
Is that William Morris @ErrolTheDragon ?
Where can I get one? TIA

And I've had a few nasty incidents with sharp implements. Ever sliced your thumb with a mandolin?
No DS; I didn't know I should have used the guard thingy
Commiserations Boily

It’s a tablecloth not a tea towel - yes William Morris ‘Golden Lily’. I got mine from Scott’s of Stow - I’m not sure if they have it now but a quick Google suggests Dunelm and elsewhere may do some.

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