I remember when flares came back in the 90s, the nostalgic hit I got from feeling the jeans flapping around my ankles was intense. It was just like the early 70s, when I was young and hot. Sigh.

Ok I’m coming round to your place for dinner. That sounds AMAZING.

Huh, I did not know that. Thanks! I was in a discussion over lunch the other day about chemistry - one woman revealed she was a chemistry teacher, which prompted an anti-science member of the group to scoff, “What relevance does chemistry have in daily life?” I gave cooking as a prime example of chemistry - cakes rise, sauces reduce, roasts brown. And now I can emulsifying to the list!

No. Combine the sauce with pasta, put it in an oven proof dish and grate extra cheese on top. Put in the oven until the topping is browned and bubbling. Then serve. (Also, add a bit of mustard to the cheese sauce, it perks up the flavour.)

Hah! In Scotland we dip pizza in batter and deep fry it. With a deep-fried Mars bar for afters.

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/five-glaswegian-chip-shop-delicacies-11462402

“I was layin’ out there for two damn hours before anyone came to check on me! Heat stroke, it turns out. Just as well it wasn’t a stroke stroke, I’d be dead.”

I just listened to a podcast on this whole saga - what a wild ride.

Struwwelpeter. We had an English copy handed down by my grandfather. It’s insane.

Example: “Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug (“The Very Sad Tale with the Matches”): A girl plays with matches, accidentally ignites herself and burns to death. Only her cats mourn her.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struwwelpeter

– pay for a large residence and security on the outskirts, then stay inside. Use disguises/body doubles when going out.

So … you can everything you want, except sponteneity? Or privacy, with all those staff hanging around. And there’d still be some douche tracking your private jet.

Last year my email address - [email protected] - was added to the group list for a bunch of old ladies in England. First I was advised of my spot on the flower roster for the church, then I got someone’s holiday photos, a reminder that Gerald’s birthday was on the 9th, a lovely eCard congratulating me on my wedding anniversary… on and on.

I tried deleting them but they kept coming, and I worried about all the cool stuff initialslastname was missing out on. I sent an email to the whole group saying stop it & got a heartfelt apology and promises to correct it, but the emails have kept on coming - they all have me in their address books now. If I wasn’t so lazy it would be a good incentive to move fully to my proton address.

Ha ha, read this wonderful piece through thinking, sounds great but what would I ever make? And then omg, yarn winder. I’m a knitter, and my yarn winder is a plastic monstrosity. I mean I’m never going to do it myself, but there definitely is a market for beautifully machined yarn winders.

Thanks! Will do some more research…

Oh dear. I was planning to visit Japan in the autumn. Guess I will give it a swerve. Maybe Korea then? I haven’t flown anywhere since the Before Times and have a hankering for foreign travel.

Catch-22.

It was partly because my parents forced me into a scholarship that was tied to teaching afterwards - I was entirely unsuited to being a teacher, but neither of them even attended high school, and to them being a teacher was the pinnacle of achievement. I was pretty good academically but university overwhelmed me, so between that and no incentive to succeed, I failed miserably, only passing a few courses. I ended up getting a professional qualification (not a degree) in my 30s and had a decent career.

Living in a squat for a few years showed me I would have made a fantastic electrian or plumber, but you had to have a penis for that for some reason.

That sounds like a protection racket.

But but but it saves users from doing “gymnastics with their eyes”!! Jaysus, what a load of bs.

I hate algorithms, they narrow everything down, desperate to squeeze you into a little box. FB knows how old I am, so while I’m stalking my nieces it shows me ads for incontinence pants, tea towels and comfy shoes. It became a complete turn off with Netflix, it’s part of the reason I cancelled. Don’t miss it.

Oh yes, I’d forgotten about Winnie. I have a lot more respect for science and literature prizes than the peace prize though. Harder work, I reckon.

I remember my poor niece saying, “I can’t believe they let us leave the hospital with her! She’s so tiny and fragile! We don’t know what we’re doing!”

Cheese and marmalade, the sharper both are the better. Mmm.