For what it’s worth, a flue is an adjustable opening in a wood stove or similar, Kernspalt in German according to Harper Collins. Now you just have to work the conversation around to the efficient use of a wood stove… 😄

"No girl should get to the sixth form without having learned Latin "

Fuck you, Mrs Entwhistle.

You can get tooth powder in jars.

Cumbernauld.

Well there’s always the play Toussaint Louverture, written in 1934. Paul Robeson played the title role in 1936 in London. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toussaint_Louverture:_The_Story_of_the_Only_Successful_Slave_Revolt_in_History

The playwright, CLR James, later wrote a book about the revolt, and revised his play, which went on the stage as The Black Jacobins.

From the Wiki: “In 2018, it was announced that the book was going to be made into a television programme thanks to Bryncoed Productions, with the assistance of Kwame Kwei-Armah.”

Bryncoed was founded by Foz Allan. I did a bit of poking around but found nothing linking either of them or Kwei-Armah with The Black Jacobins. I would love to see a TV series on the revolt, I hope something comes to pass. CLR James was an interesting fellow too, his achievements deserve more recognition.

My dentist is lovely. Last visit I told him how much I appreciated his care and advice, and he blushed and said no-one ever thanked him. He needs a hug!

I don’t hate you.

Well that took me a minute - oh, autumn, you’re talking about autumn! Ha ha, excellent dad joke.

The imbalance in numbers isn’t just in movies. Think about the judiciary, legislators, business leaders… It’s everywhere. In my own career I was the first woman to hold a senior position with one of my employers. Crazy. Achieving even what we have has been uphill all the way. I’m glad you’ve woken up to this - maybe you can keep spreading the word!

How do I feel about it? Really fucking exhausted. It’s not just the movies, it’s my everyday life. Being patronised, talked over, ignored, belittled… Ugh. A lot of men seem to outright despise women. On the bright side, most of this behaviour comes from men of my own generation (I’m old). Young men in general seem much less arrogant, more respectful of women. My sister suggested this is because we remind them of their grannies, lol, but they speak well about women their own age too, and regard them as equals. (Apart from this one young bloke who talked about “women and other minorities”, sigh.)

I’m not really up on the Bible, but wasn’t it Joseph who was allegedly descended from David? Joseph, who definitely wasn’t the father of Jesus?

It’s not antisemitism, it’s anti-Zionism. And accusations of Zionism being fascist aren’t new. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irgun

An extract: ‘Albert Einstein, in a letter to The New York Times in 1948, compared Irgun and its successor Herut party to “Nazi and Fascist parties” and described it as a “terrorist, right wing, chauvinist organization”.’

But what would a genius German Jew who escaped the Holocaust know about fascism, right?

Father Ted.

Game over once the first rambler goes missing.

Ugh, I have a friend whose humour often involves mean-spirited jibes and put-downs. I was in a low mood one day and told him I didn’t like the tone of his “jokes”, that they sometimes stung. He really dialled back after that.

That looks delicious, really nice combo.

The drink on the right is caffeinated, maybe that’s why they added sweetener? The label on the left doesn’t mention caffeine.

It was when I tripped and fell over outside my house. The next day my neighbour said, “I hear you had a Fall.”

Yes, when you’re old you don’t fall over, you “have a Fall”. Everyone hearing about your Fall will make concerned noises. (I was perfectly fine! I’m not OLD old!)

what do you call a bell pepper

Capsicum. Or red/green/yellow pepper.

Do obnoxious stuff for “librul tears”.

Cry like a baby when people do obnoxious stuff back.

Oh yum, now I want a big chunk of brie.