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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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

1000 replies

AsWithGlad · 10/08/2026 14:37

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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
123
AngleofRepose · 18/08/2026 15:27

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 15:20

@AngleofRepose there is no such thing as shoes you don't need. They are merely shoes waiting for their moment.
Do you have a link to them? Asking for a friend...

They're nothing special, just replacement black shoes for my funeral outfit (why did no one tell me that feet continue to grow as you age? I have so many pairs of nice shoes that no longer fit. Not that I have anywhere to wear them anymore...)

I wear only comfy shoes now, and ECCO are the only brand I buy online, because I know they will fit, and they are instantly comfortable:

https://gb.ecco.com/product/ecco-sculpted-lx-35/222503/01001

NB: of course I paid full price and they are now half price. But they also don't exist.

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 15:36

AngleofRepose · 18/08/2026 15:27

They're nothing special, just replacement black shoes for my funeral outfit (why did no one tell me that feet continue to grow as you age? I have so many pairs of nice shoes that no longer fit. Not that I have anywhere to wear them anymore...)

I wear only comfy shoes now, and ECCO are the only brand I buy online, because I know they will fit, and they are instantly comfortable:

https://gb.ecco.com/product/ecco-sculpted-lx-35/222503/01001

NB: of course I paid full price and they are now half price. But they also don't exist.

I like those, smart and comfy as you say. Sounds like a courier somewhere between you and London has a nice new pair of shoes, how irritating.

AngleofRepose · 18/08/2026 15:47

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 15:36

I like those, smart and comfy as you say. Sounds like a courier somewhere between you and London has a nice new pair of shoes, how irritating.

Quite possibly but my feet are very small and narrow, so they're unlikely to fit very many people. It's why I need the Mary Jane style, with the strap to hold them on my feet!

Sorry they're not more exciting. I don't go in for exciting shoes mainly because they have to be comfortable, but also because I don't do the whole pedicure thing, so I need closed toe and heel.

When I was working, I used to spend a small fortune every year on designer clothes and really nice shoes (I used to go to a lot of events). I've sold most of it now, besides, I was a size 6 then, and I wouldn't be able to get one leg into some of those skirts now! Oh, to be 35 again and to be able to eat anything and wear anything!

MyrtleLion · 18/08/2026 15:50

Apparently feet grow half a size when pregnant for each pregnancy and never go back.

FuzzyPuffling · 18/08/2026 16:03

MyrtleLion · 18/08/2026 15:50

Apparently feet grow half a size when pregnant for each pregnancy and never go back.

Edited

Good grief...I'm glad mine didn't! Kayaks wouldn't fit!.

I've been a size 8 since I stopped growing and have had 4 pregnancies since then.

ErrolTheDragon · 18/08/2026 16:10

Magpie’s fondness for shiny things definitely extends to footwear, I think.Grin

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 16:15

FuzzyPuffling · 18/08/2026 16:03

Good grief...I'm glad mine didn't! Kayaks wouldn't fit!.

I've been a size 8 since I stopped growing and have had 4 pregnancies since then.

I do have a pair of size 10 walking shoes which fit nicely, but similar here. I'm mostly an 8.

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 16:16

ErrolTheDragon · 18/08/2026 16:10

Magpie’s fondness for shiny things definitely extends to footwear, I think.Grin

Damn, I've been rumbled. 😆

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 16:24

https://www.joebrowns.co.uk/grace-embroidered-lace-up-ankle-boots-ka430?colour=193
I'm currently trying to find reasons not to buy these. I'm fine with walking in heels like that, but couldn't drive in them...

Grace Embroidered Lace Up Ankle Boots

https://www.joebrowns.co.uk/grace-embroidered-lace-up-ankle-boots-ka430?colour=193

AnonyMumAuDHD · 18/08/2026 16:42

Gutted. Despite 47% chance of rain over a 3 hour period predicted… with go a few mins of spitting and that was all. So light that each drop evaporated before the next!

FB community pages are alive with rumours of overnight rain. They’ve not been this active since the new M&S Foodhall opened and caused the entire town to be in gridlock for two days.

AnonyMumAuDHD · 18/08/2026 16:43

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 16:24

https://www.joebrowns.co.uk/grace-embroidered-lace-up-ankle-boots-ka430?colour=193
I'm currently trying to find reasons not to buy these. I'm fine with walking in heels like that, but couldn't drive in them...

If you don’t buy them, I will! Wonder if they do something similar in other colours….

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 17:01

AnonyMumAuDHD · 18/08/2026 16:43

If you don’t buy them, I will! Wonder if they do something similar in other colours….

Ah, a kindred spirit! Joe Browns heels are surprisingly well balanced, I have another pair of shoes from them.

AnonyMumAuDHD · 18/08/2026 17:08

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 17:01

Ah, a kindred spirit! Joe Browns heels are surprisingly well balanced, I have another pair of shoes from them.

Just remembered I have a lovely embroidered pinky/purpley pair of lace-up ankle boots from JBs, with that cute heel. A few years old now as was looking for a boho kinda skirt to wear with them.

Hmmm… retail therapy! Gimme!

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 17:09

AnonyMumAuDHD · 18/08/2026 17:08

Just remembered I have a lovely embroidered pinky/purpley pair of lace-up ankle boots from JBs, with that cute heel. A few years old now as was looking for a boho kinda skirt to wear with them.

Hmmm… retail therapy! Gimme!

You deserve them for finishing your novel!

AnonyMumAuDHD · 18/08/2026 17:30

@Magpiecomplex I am definitely in the ‘you can never have too many pairs of shoes’ camp. It’s just the kitting out the wardrobe to go with them…

WearyAuldWumman · 18/08/2026 17:55

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 17:01

Ah, a kindred spirit! Joe Browns heels are surprisingly well balanced, I have another pair of shoes from them.

I love them. Don't think my post-op feet would fit into them, alas.

ErrolTheDragon · 18/08/2026 18:00

Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 16:24

https://www.joebrowns.co.uk/grace-embroidered-lace-up-ankle-boots-ka430?colour=193
I'm currently trying to find reasons not to buy these. I'm fine with walking in heels like that, but couldn't drive in them...

Well obviously if you’re wearing boots like that you should have a chauffeur.

I very much want some nice boots so I can wear dresses in winter but between awkward feet which make heels impossible and, um, sturdy calves I’m not sure there’s much that wouldn’t be too clumpy. And before anyone suggests ankle boots, they never seem to work on me in dresses/skirts.

Theres also the slight logistical problem of how to shop for winter boots (which really has to be done in person not online) to wear with a dress at the point where one has no winter footwear which still fits that can be worn with a dress.Confused

AsWithGlad · 18/08/2026 18:03

Those Joe Brown boots are absolutely beautiful. Ten years ago I would have bought them, claiming they’d look good in Victorian-era productions, but not now because (i) I don’t go on stage any more (chronic fatigue) and (ii) I can’t wear heels, either.

I can admire them, though, and do.

OP posts:
AsWithGlad · 18/08/2026 18:29

This is the hard plastic gerbil on sale in eBay.

I don’t think it looks anything like our gerbils, so I’ll resist.

OP posts:
AnonyMumAuDHD · 18/08/2026 18:39

@AsWithGlad oh dear no. Nothing like them.

erm, for some reason I heard that post in my head in the voice of Joan Hickson’s. Marple… oh dear, or deary me, no.

AsWithGlad · 18/08/2026 18:44

Errol’s post has made me think. I bought some well-reduced boots in Gudrun Sjoden’s sale. Their photos here and in the screenshots show them with various styles and length of skirts and trousers. I had planned on wearing them with dresses and matching tights.

May I have thoughts on the appropriate skirt shape and length? My work skirts tend to be mid-calf to ankle length but I have just bought a below-knee length pencil skirt. It’s stretchy so should be comfortable.

OP posts:
AsWithGlad · 18/08/2026 18:45

AnonyMumAuDHD · 18/08/2026 18:39

@AsWithGlad oh dear no. Nothing like them.

erm, for some reason I heard that post in my head in the voice of Joan Hickson’s. Marple… oh dear, or deary me, no.

Edited

Now I can hear it that way, too.

Edit: plus possibly Geraldine McEwan but not Julia McKenzie and definitely not Angela Lansbury or Margaret Rutherford.
Other actresses are available.

OP posts:
ChristmasStars · 18/08/2026 18:46

AngleofRepose · 18/08/2026 15:12

Some drizzle overnight (I wouldn't call it rain, more like slightly-heavier valley fog that stuck around longer than usual). Occasional dark clouds today that the sun just laughs at, and a bit of a breeze. It's definitely cooler when the sun is behind the clouds, but boy is it hot when it comes out!

I, too, haven't watered my garden except my few pots and recent replants since sometime in late June. I read in the news that apparently our groundwater is surprisingly still in good shape despite the drought.

What we are worried about here now is the deluge to come. At this point, with the ground so hard, it would be better for us to have a month of drizzle rather than a month's worth of rain in a couple of days. The water comes down off the hills at a terrifying rate in heavy rain!

Am busy prepping for my trip to the Big Smoke.

No package. I am now in discussions with the shoe company. They say the shoes will appear. I say they never existed. We'll have to meet somewhere in the middle and agree that I can get my money back. It's been 17 days since they were shipped... from London. At this rate, I could've walked to London, bought them, and walked home again... wearing the shoes (with heels).

Serves me right for buying expensive shoes that I don't need.

Love the crochet Maud! Too bad it seems she doesn't actually look like that in "real life."

She has the same outfit in real life!

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 · 18/08/2026 18:52

My boot photos haven’t loaded yet. I’ll try again.

The Bluestocking Women's Pub, in which we wait excitedly for the next instalment of Gosie's adventures. Gosie, Glass and the Gerbils' Dilemma.
The Bluestocking Women's Pub, in which we wait excitedly for the next instalment of Gosie's adventures. Gosie, Glass and the Gerbils' Dilemma.
The Bluestocking Women's Pub, in which we wait excitedly for the next instalment of Gosie's adventures. Gosie, Glass and the Gerbils' Dilemma.
OP posts:
Magpiecomplex · 18/08/2026 19:08

AsWithGlad · 18/08/2026 18:52

My boot photos haven’t loaded yet. I’ll try again.

I tend to wear either knee length or ankle length with boots like that.

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