The Bluestocking, a unique location for daughters and sisters of earth, frost, feathers, fur, scales and spines

[AsWithGlad]

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, who enjoy doing this, and any curious menfolk are welcome at the Staunch Ally down the road.

Previous thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/feminism/5568996-the-bluestocking-pub-where-we-continue-to-read-about-gerbils-nobly-and-bravely-working-undercover-in-the-fen?page=1

Sounds like nicely polished toenails is similar to having decent knickers on in case you’re run over by a bus.

Oh wow!
That's amazing.

Today was a crappy day to top off a not great week. My TV broke so I ordered a new one and asked a friend to come over to help me get the old one off the wall and the new one on, as I had tried but couldn't work it out. He didn't turn up so after a lot of wrangling and swearing I managed to remove the old one. I then decided I wanted the TV on a stand, ordered one which arrived today. The screws are too short (even though it says it's compatible). Ok, I can mount it on the wall. I eventually found my screwdriver, undid everything from the old TV, went to fit it on the new TV, the screws are too narrow. By this point I was hot, angry, and feeling like Goldilocks. I had a brainwave that there's an old shit TV on the wall in the back bedroom. Went up, tried to get it off the wall, the strings that release the mechanism snapped off, and the whole time I had one of my cats making his howling noise at me (yes, it was Lex for those who know my cats). I eventually got the bastard TV off the wall, back downstairs, the walking pad fell on my leg grazing the back of it and causing more swearing words to be uttered. Those screws didn't fit either.

I have now ordered a multi box of TV bracket screws which should arrive tomorrow but was subject to another night watching TV on my laptop while various cats tried to walk/sit/lie in the bloody thing.

AND I don't have any rum. Bed with a book I think is the answer now.

Books are still one of the more reliable technologies though I still haven’t managed to do any reading this holiday. That’s a user error obviously.

I guessed Lex. And Toad & Frank wanted to watch it with you?

I haven’t had a TV for some years now but they sound bloody complicated nowadays.

We watched The Prestige last night. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Bizarrely, neither of us had ever seen it, and it was brilliant. Two magicians. Feud. Magnificent twist.

Starring, in no particular order, Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Emilia Clarke (pre Game of Thrones), Michael Caine, David Bowie, Scarlett Johannsson and Andy Serkis.

I woke up thinking about it, so I’ve downloaded the novel by Christopher Priest.

My TV is almost an antique (well, twenty years old at least) and relatively small compared to the monsters some people have these days. My great-niece exclaimed 'how do you even see it, Auntie Damson?" when she visited me recently And it is true that I can't read some of the subtitles very well, but that has more to do with my developing cataracts than the size of the TV. It is often switched on, but with the sound turned down and unattended, as I read or use my PC or do puzzles and I'm not sure I would bother to replace it if it broke.

Morning all. Waiting to hear from Minor Injuries - they didn't call overnight (didn't really think they would!) so I was a good girl and called them. No doctors available when I called, so they will call back. It's feeling better this morning, bit swollen overnight but hardly any bruising and less painful to put weight on it. Toes still wiggle and I have as much range of motion as you'd expect from the amount of swelling. I'm hopeful 🤞🏻

Good morning to all, especially the sprained, the stung, the sore, the sorely tried
I hope you feel better as the day goes on.
Our own Dr Bessie Badger is on call, and Red Panda reckons she'll be very busy a lot of you are in need of hugs today

I have a feeling Fuzzy hasn't popped in for a while - I may be embarrassingly wrong and she may be standing in full view down the other end of the bar from me, and is now rolling her eyes and saying 'Like, hellooo?' but I thought I'd risk being wrong to send a 👋All OK Chez Puffling I trust?
And ditto Cake - 👋I haven't gone back very far in the posts to see if you've been around but I don't think so, so 👋 to you too.

It was nice to see RandomH again, and Inky and Cher have popped in too, but I may be missing someone else who hasn't been in for a while, so I'm sending a generalised👋to all, including lurkers

It was Ghostie, Lex, Raven, AND Toad trying to join in. Fred was the only one being well behaved.

I only tend to have the TV on after I've had my evening meal and it's usually either for true crime on YouTube or a bingeable series. I'd love to not have replaced it but the cats are too frustrating! Ghost also decided yesterday that she likes sharing my vimto squash so between keeping her away from that AND the laptop, I was getting quite annoyed yesterday.

A friend told me that she’s had to stop using her laptop on the sofa because her cat always pushes it onto the floor to make room for herself.

Having a very filling pub lunch in Greenwich.

Good news, it is just a sprain, nothing is broken. Phew!

Sympathies to the injured and ill.

Back from Wiltshire. No tractors, I'm afraid, but I did see a Mines Rescue van.

Oh good news!
Take it gently until it's fully healed.'No steel toecaps for you for a few weeks,

One of my favourite films! We must have seen it 6 times at least. Every bit of it is marvellous. Bowie as the mighty Tesla - always a treat.

We've been to the medieval city of Girona today. There are many, many steps but also lots of steep cobbled narrow streets the Faithful Steed managed very well. What a great boon that wheelchair is!

Lovely bit of sightseeing, delicious lunch, then a sop to the younger generation who stayed behind at the Airbnb - a cheesecake shop that has gone viral. Three 99c slices of cheesecake with assorted toppings at 80c each are in a box in the rear foot well and we're heading back now.

Steep cobbles AND the ability to carry cheesecake? I need one! Please report back on the viral cheesecake (which sounds rather unappetising put like that).

I love Roach. She's the greatest wheelchair I've ever seen and is indeed able to carry a box of cheesecake on cobbled streets with a steep incline.
And fold up, come apart into two sections and go in the boot of a car. As Trusty Steeds go, she's a star.

The kids will be on the cheesecake (the toppings are crushed Oreos, crushed Lotus biscuits and crushed pistachios for the one with good taste).
MrPasta and I will have traditional xuixo (pronounces Shoo-Shoo) pastries which are a local specialty.

Great news Magpie!
But a sprain is a sprain is a sprain and is painful and no joke, so you're still entitled to feeling a bit sorry for yourself, and to any pampering that's on offer

Great news, but "just a sprain" still means giving it time to heal properly. Please take it as easy as you can until it's better.

Personally - I'm not a tractor person, so my opinion is probably worth zilch😄- I think a Mines Rescue van is very impressive.
Unless it was just an ordinary van with MINES RESCUE written on the side? I'm hoping it was a bit more fancy than that.
And of course, what colour was it, and is there a matching shade of nail polish?😁

Pasta, it's great to hear that Roach is such a trusty steed, and that the places you visit seem to have made themselves properly accessible, not just box-ticking. Win-win! Glad you're having a good time!

Most of the older members of the Cowdenbeath St Andrew's Ambulance Corps when I was a lass were ex Mines Rescue. Lovely old chaps.

Personally - I'm not a tractor person, so my opinion is probably worth zilch😄- I think a Mines Rescue van is very impressive.
Unless it was just an ordinary van with MINES RESCUE written on the side? I'm hoping it was a bit more fancy than that.

It was pretty much an ordinary van but according to the UK Mines Rescue site it does have blue lights.

It was the dark blue van. I recall it being a bit darker than shown in the photo.

I used to have a big glass of water by the bed every night, until the sound of slurping woke me up one night, and I found CatBastard drinking my water - heaven knows how many times he’d done it before, without me noticing! I use a water bottle now. This also makes it harder for me to spill my drink everywhere -Dh did once manage to knock over a full pint of Ribena, into our cream carpet - that took some clearing up, in the small hours of the morning. We were stripping the bed because the dog had had an accident on it, so it was already not the best night. Just to put the tin lid on it, the following morning, the other dog got up on the bed, snuggled up on my shoulder, and threw up in my ear.

I spent the rest of the day washing, drying and ironing two full sets of bedding.

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius that made me laugh, sorry! I have now given Ghostie her own black cup but with water in. It appears that it's the black cup which makes her drink as she's happily had the water. I have now gone back to using a bottle for my squash!

My bracket screws have arrived and after much more swearing and effort, the TV is on the wall. I'm not even attempting to set it up now, I'm fed up of the bloody thing already.