Touchdown at the Newest Bluestocking Inn. Pudding, cups of tea, the vegetable garden coming into its own, and gerbils beautiful gerbils all furry.

[DeanElderberry]

All females welcome for intelligent discourse and non-harmful comestibles.

Exactly.

And this is the plane that picked me up from home yesterday morning.

Oh no! now I've caused an existential crisis in the Bluey! 😱

Of course they are all actual photos of real winged gerbils and newspaper-reading mooses [I'm insisting on using that plural for moose because it's fun😀] and so on.
I am horrified that anything I said previously could possibly be construed as even suggesting that they are not real. I cannot apologise enough. This is not who I am.... and so on, celeb-apology-style...😄

Just realised the image didn’t load. This is the Spitfire that landed in the road outside my flat & took me to Parliament Square.

I was going to say ‘dropped me in Parliament Square’ but that sounded a bit wrong.

Too right. No AI on these threads!

None!

I have just failed in my attempt to be able to start an AIBU parking thread. I must try harder.

Unknown gentleman parked his car right outside my house. I went out and informed him he couldn't park there. Do you know what the bastard did?? He only went and moved his car.

Hmphhh.

That's shocking @Boiledbeetle ! LTB.

It wasn't wrong at all.

Kitty absolutely had a parachute. Probably over-engineered by the gerbils, with at least two backup cords, a small embroidered badge, and instructions nobody read.

From Glenda’s perspective, this was a success:

• Aircraft flown ✔️
• Statement made ✔️
• Kitty delivered ✔️

From the gerbils’ perspective, it’s a diplomatic incident.
Back at HQ, they’re now reconciling two truths:

1. The route made no operational sense
2. The outcome was, annoyingly, quite good

Salcombe still feels snubbed. Plymouth is calling it “avoidable.” Cornwall has gone quiet, which is worse.

Colin, meanwhile, has grasped the essence of it: sometimes the mission changes, and no one tells the planners.

Glenda will not be issuing an apology.

What a bastard!

Isn't it! How very dare he do as he was told. And he even had the audacity to thank me for letting him know so he had now avoided getting fined by the traffic warden.

It's just not on!

What is the world coming to? Carry on like this and there will be nothing on MN outside of the BS!

We are visiting the Suffolk grandchildren this weekend - and ds1 and our wonderful dil too, of course! We brought them a big box of Duplo, which has entranced everyone - the 14 month old twins, the nearly 4 year old, and their nearly 33 year old dad!

They are all currently enjoying breakfast in the hotel with dh, but I was too shattered to wake up in time so I’m resting in the room with a cup of coffee and the Bluestockings.

I will add I did let two cars full of obnoxious loud twats park outside yesterday without advising them to move.

Much swearing was heard two hours later when they returned to parking tickets on both vehicles.

I shall have to let the anguished cries from those entitled men carry me through this difficult time.

Ahhh Karma - or should that be Carma, @Boiledbeetle! 😂

😏

Oh I love that!

Does anybody else find themselves triggered when they see Glenda in her Spitifre - triggered to start humming 'Dah dah dah dah da-da dah daaah' - the Dambusters theme?
I am, every time!

Boily, I love the thought of anguished men bemoaning their parking tickets being such a comfort and sustenance to you

Your weekend sounds lovely, Woley, enjoy - when suitably fortified with caffeine and the Bluestocking.

You can tell I'm not a parent, as I had to google what Duplo is - junior Lego, is that right? Sounds like it was the perfect gift for old and young and will make the weekend even more enjoyable by keeping everybody entertained

Marie I find the main difference between Duplo and Lego is that only Lego is likely to do serious damage if you step on a piece barefoot. This is the voice of experience.

What I love about this tale is that there will be signs nearby saying Don't Park Here Or You Will Be Fined. And they didn't read them. Or assumed. Or something. And that is so typical of obnoxious loud twats.

What is it the young people say? FAFO.

I occasionally use a teaching technique for my degree students which I unofficially refer to as FOFO. It could politely be defined as Find Out For Oneself, but I'm a teacher so I use the vulgar alternative. Same as FAFO but the second word is Off. Self-directed Learning is the proper pedagogical term.

During our sojourn around Wales we stopped off at Criccieth. They have a Cadwalader's and we fancied an ice cream. I had a knickerbocker glory! The back, were we sat, had a big window overlooking a little of the beach, the sea and looking up to the castle. I mentioned to fella we might see seals or dolphins and all of a sudden neither of us wanted to leave. We were tempted to spend the day there, seeing what (if anything) passed by with frequent replenishing of tea, cake and/or ice cream. We didn't but in that moment it seemed idyllic. Anyway, here's my point. I'd completely forgotten about that but @Hedgehogforshort 's garden took me right back there. I think occasionally the Bluestocking leaks out into the rest of the world.

We went to that same cafe a few years ago!

The sign was in the exact same location. A passenger in the back of the second car actually hit the pole with the sign on when he opened the back door to get out.

There's just no helping some people!

Cadwalader's originally started in Criccieth. I remember the store there in the 1970s.

I will admit that when I'm in a bad mood I do derive a small amount of pleasure watching the two traffic wardens (one covers the people who park without paying on the pay at the meter side of the road and the other covers the people parking on the residents only side of the road) issue their full daily quota of parking tickets in five minutes!

I especially enjoy the ones who pull up on my side of the road music blasting, then take a 10 minute phone call on hands free, engine still running, then get out buy a parking ticket and then come back two hours later to a yellow square in their windscreen.

The look of confusion and annoyance is amusing, and then they see that there are different parking rules on each side!! Well mate, and it's always men by the way, if you hadn't been such a knob when you originally arrived I'd have stuck my head out and told you you parked in the wrong place!

The parking places on my complex are blue badge only & there are very clear signs up explaining that.

Quite a few people seem to view the occasional parking ticket as what they pay for using the place. I’ve watched the warden go round before when I’m WFH & the reactions mainly seem to be philosophical shrugs.

This is exquisite!