The Bluestocking Women's Pub, in which we wait excitedly for the next instalment of Gosie's adventures. Gosie, Glass and the Gerbils' Dilemma.

[AsWithGlad]

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5559589-the-bluestocking-womens-pub-in-which-gosie-returns-to-the-trail?page=1

Welcome to The Bluestocking, the best (perhaps only) online women's pub. Nothing in the food or drink can harm you, everything is served by a very enthusiastic crew of gerbils, and any curious menfolk are welcome at the Staunch Ally down the road.

Excuse the black and white, Co Pilot is having a moment.

ETA it appears mnhq is having one as well. Drums fingers.

Is Gubbins going to take the veil?

Yay! Cats for everyone! ❤

FINAL REMINDER: this evening's eclipse! If it's going to be sunny and not cloudy where you live, you'll get between 90% and 95% eclipse, starting around:

Edinburgh/Glasgow 6.08pm, eclipse maximum 7.05pm, ends 8pm

Galway/Dublin 6.12pm, eclipse maximum 7.10pm, ends 8.05-8.06pm

Manchester/Liverpool 6.13pm, eclipse maximum 7.10pm, ends 8.03-8.04pm

Norwich 6.15pm, eclipse maximum 7.11pm, ends 8.04pm

London/Bristol/Cardiff 6.17pm, eclipse maximum 7.12pm, ends 8.06pm

Thank you for that very kind welcome, Marie, yes I am new. I was peeking in at the window but couldn't resist the cat in crocs! I haven't had a chance to try any of the tempting food or drink yet because BevJoy has climbed up the curtains and is sitting on the pelmet meowing at me. I must admit, I did have a moment of sorrow at discovering the competition for the cat but the Android Bluestocking solution was very happy. It seems that the Bluestocking is like that!

Ah yes, AnonyMum, I have a 10 year old granddaughter staying, and of course I didn't plan ahead and buy eclipse glasses, so we spent the morning making cereal packet pinhole cameras. We will find out later how well they work!

I'm very glad you were lured across the threshold.
A bemused-looking cat wearing four small yellow Crocs being held aloft by a beetle in jeans and t-shirt in front of a box of Tunnocks was all it took, eh?😁

Yes the Bluestocking is like that- the whole 'food and drink that is as innocuous as it is delicious, and can be served in swimming-pool sized portions, with
marshmallows is frquired' thing extends out to cover everything, le.g. you want the cat? she too wants the cat? No problemo!

If you've been looking in the window for a while you'll know that we are capable of industrial-strength, and very clever, silliness, but sometimes real life takes over and we drop the silliness and rally round to support a fellow-Stockinger going through a bad time.

And then back to the clever silliness ASAP&appropriate

Will BevJoy meet up with .... the other BevCats [I've forgotten the names of the other Beverley Sisters.. one was 'Babs' I recall - who got BevBabs?]
in the Bluey catnip patch for play-dates?

Awww thank you Myrtle that's lovely!
We could have great fun following in the footsteps of Gosie around cathedrals, looking at stained glass windows and quoting Betjeman

If you'd bought the glasses she might remember the eclipse in years to come, but now she will forever remember the summer she was 10 and made pinhole cameras with her grandmother to watch the eclipse.

Plymouth 18.16- 20.06. Max eclipse 19.15.

I have a monstrous headache. I can't do heat.

You have resistant elms @ErrolTheDragon ? We get young ones here, but they don't really live to mature.

I’ve just heard that the Anglo-Saxon word for bat translated as ‘agitated mouse’.

Much swearing and frustration here only to discover I had put the pinhole in the screen end so obviously couldn’t see anything; then a patch up and re-hole-ification at the other end before taking ages to twig that the sun was now at a different angle so my camera wouldn’t work if held horizontally…

And I used to be a bloody scout and brownie leader? I’d be fired, I tellya. Totally fired after this afternoon’s shambolic efforts. 18yo DS may have peed himself laughing at his fooooool of a mother, though.

❤️

Lovely image conjured by that phrase

Oops! Put the "after" photo in first.
Here's the "action" version

Our garden faces south-south-west, so the sun disappears behind the houses around 6pm. So we will sit in the garden and enjoy the darkening as the sun won't be around.

@MarieDeGournay I'lll be round asap!

I have a meeting in two minutes, so Gosie will be a bit late, maybe after the eclipse. If I wasn't writing her, I would be writing the gerbils getting excited, but maybe it's a good idea they seem unaware, particularly as they are so dejected.

The links to the contents pages are here for new readers:
Gosie and the Hidden Symbol https://myrtlelion.substack.com/p/the-gosie-chronicles-book-1
Gosie and the Stained Glass Windows https://myrtlelion.substack.com/p/gosie-and-the-stained-glass-windows

Yes, it’s this variety. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulmus_%27Dodoens%27

Whether they survive to maturity remains to be seen, but they’re very shapely at the moment.
The big avenue along the tramway is limes, another is the humble sycamore but very welcome shade.

The parks are, to some extent, a legacy of the American Civil War - they were built as a work creation scheme for unemployed mill workers during the Lancashire Cotton Famine.

https://x.com/i/status/2087275184935817373

I managed to get the pinhole thing to work - I didn't take the 'pin' part literally enough, the smallest hole is how projecting a perfect image.

The part of the house that faces east is getting very dark.

I have the telly on, it's live from Co Dublin, it's much closer to 'total' than I was expecting, there's just a little crescent of sun left.

There are also beautiful high cirrus clouds in a very blue sky.

It's all very lovely. I hope you can enjoy it in your own ways too - Boily is right about beeakoala's remembering it always as 'the eclipse with Gran'.

I'm very sorry that you can't enjoy it because of a headache Fuzzy, here's a quokka-hug instead

It darkened quite considerably and became cooler.

Can we have it again tomorrow around 4pm?

Now brightening up.

I couldn't resist this!

I’ve just been for a walk round the block with my colander, which didn’t work at all as a projector!

I looked at its reflection in a smoky glass window though, which is hopefully safe. Loads of people filming it on their phones.

Too late to edit my post but of course I meant
Boily is right about beeakoala's GRANDDAUGHTER remembering it always as 'the eclipse with Gran'

Jaffa Cakes are having their moment!