The Bluestocking Pub: Infinite Cocktails, Questionable Logistics

[MyrtleLion]

Welcome to the nth iteration of the Bluestocking women’s pub, where gerbils are staff, the drinks are free, and alcohol has no effect except to get you to the sweet spot just before the drink you really shouldn’t have had.

Men can go to the Staunch Ally next door.

It’s OK if you don’t understand. Just assume everything is normal.

Previous thread is here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5523989-bluestocking-womens-pub-its-maytime

Pasta I am incensed on your behalf. I'd happily sort the little madam out for you. And her shed loads of crap too.

Some people are incredibly unreasonable, and trying to reason with them is a fool's errand. You just have to do what needs to be done. I'm sorry you've had this task thrust upon you. It's exactly the sort of job that you shouldn't have to spend time on.

Well she can incandesce away from my pov. Put it all in a skip.⏭️

Magpie, if you're where I think you, a couple of friends of mine were there today as well. I'll have to ask them if they spotted a magpie hopping busily around, with a gerbil entourage...

And Myrtle, bad luck with the ankle. I really hope that it can be sorted out, and with less drama and pain than your last ankle troubles.

Oh, and this little beauty just popped up on my FB feed. Suffolk Punch filly foal, born at the Colony stud and called... Maude.

Such an excellent choice of name.

Thank you, Puffling, but honestly it's ok.
My priority is Dad.
Fury aimed at Niece and Lazy Twat Partner is not even secondary or tertiary.
My eldest said "their legacy is to be mildly interesting gossip to our friends" and I think he's got it right.

They don't deserve to take up this much mindset

😆😆😆😆😆😆

I misread that as ‘shed loads of crap on her too’. (Possibly because today included a walk to a seabird cliff which was a bit whiffy.)

Seabirds, seastack and shining sea

Beautiful photos, thank you Errol!

A Whiffy Cliffy?

Are you suggesting that we sea birds have less than optimal hygiene standards?
As if...!

Weren't there once entire islands of guano, before they were quarried for fertiliser?

That's cos we is useful, innit?

People who watch James Bond movies but don't read the Ian Fleming novels don't know what they're missing.

The original book of Dr No contains a bizarrely detailed explanation of the guano business.

It's very unexpected and for my money much more fun than Goldfinger containing two whole chapters of Bond and Goldfinger playing golf.

No, but some of you appear to be republicans😁
Bird droppings landed on the back of the King's jacket during a walkabout in Newcastle, [a seaside town in Co Down, NI] with him making light of it, saying: "At least it didn't land on my head."

I’ve just seen some of the most northerly puffins on the British mainland at Dunnet Head. 😊

To say nothing of the detailed description of a bidding and playing strategy in the bridge game in Moonraker.

Fleming put in some fun interludes of Bond in the office doing his civil service job in between missions.

I'm tempted to pitch a story based on that in the present day, where Bond spends his time fielding emails from M reminding him of the sexual harrassment policy, telling him that Cabinet Office guidance expects him to be in the office three days a week, and that under the expenses policy he's only allowed to stay at Travelodge.

Do it @SionnachRuadh! It sounds hilarious.

And can you imagine James Bond's annual appraisal?

He wouldn't turn up, he'd have some spurious excuse about tied up in a fish tank full of piranhas which he's somehow managed to send from his phone by typing with his toes. Ending with, 'Not to worry, I'll be in on Tuesday.'

One of my pet theories, and this doesn't go down well with the blokes in Bond fan groups, is that Moneypenny outranks Bond.

Bond is canonically stated by Fleming to be a Principal Officer (G7 in today's money). If M is a Permanent Secretary, Moneypenny as his Head of Office would be at least a G6, and more likely a Deputy Director considering the sensitivity of the role.

There are an awful lot of modern day fans who say they don't buy into Fleming's 1950s sexism, but can't see the woman in the office as anything more than a secretary/typist.

Has anyone seen Operation Mincemeat? I enjoyed it far more than I expected to & ended up going again.

We did. It was brilliant. I already knew about it and thought it was a great film. Apparently it's a musical that has grown and grown.

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/dec/15/operation-mincemeat-musical-conquered-world-war-west-end-broadway

Today has been horrible. I had a meeting yesterday for a charity where I am a significant volunteer on committees. Long complex online committee meeting yesterday where I had to take a lead and then I went to an event locally for the same charity in the evening. Despite being asked to turn up for 4.30, the staff member didn't return my call or text and arrived at 5.20, ten minutes before everyone else. Got home at 9pm to discover that the CEO had sent me an email thanking me for my contribution - which was very gratifying.

Today I took DSD to print out one of her benefit forms, but forgot it was a busy day AND one of the car parks was closed, so it was mayhem. We returned home without the printing but she's anxious about getting it in by the end of next week. We will try again tomorrow.

In the meantime I was drafting a thoughtful reply to the CEO, who doesn't appear to understand basic charity organisation and then drafted a paper on yesterday's meeting and how we should proceed and how we don't make a mess of it next time.

Then I had another online meeting with a different committee of the same charity that went well, and then the Chair of that committee called me for "just a spare ten minutes" to whinge about the CEO. Then I finished the emails and sent them.

We are going to sit by the river and eat at our favourite restaurant even though it's a Thursday.

Next Gosie episode incoming.