Clothing Planning Jamming Laughing

Happy St Swithen’s Day

From Facebook Archives

15 July 2009 at 10:02

Looking for as huge a t-shirt as possible for Thunderthighs to use as a nightshirt.   

A long generous XXL would do at a pinch. 

Do they do XXXL?

MrMull  Well cotton traders (http://www.cottontraders.com) do up to 5XL in some ranges. They used to sell a microfleece nightshirt 

(I have 2) but don't seems to anymore. But do have a look.

Bentonbag  Thanks Mr Mull, they have an outlet at Royal Quays so I shall go and have a look there.

Mr Mull‎  Glad I could help.  Being of more generous proportions myself I know how difficult it is to find stuff.  Over 25 years ago (in Newcastle) when I was looking for clothes an 'assistant' took Anna to one side and suggested I should look at their 'short and portly range' in another store.  Plus ca change...

(We have been regular Cotton Traders catalogue and online shoppers since)

15 July 2019 at 21:12

Have spent most of this evening trying to find a holiday cottage in/near Llandeilo for October half term - may have got one in Llandovery and awaiting reply from Llandeilo one.

15 July 2020 at 14.55

We've made the first jam of the year.

5.75lb blackcurrant & windfall apple (jelly) 

FifiD  Yum x

Henlady  My class used to enjoy your jams so much at break.

Dulcima  Lots of apples ripening on my tree, but not ripe yet.  Must check the blackcurrants, though!

Bentonbag  We've had a helluva June drop what with the high winds and it seemed a pity to waste them. So Fester cut them up and we boiled them in about a gallon of water then put the hand held liquidiser through and put the resulting mush inside a pillowcase. 

We boiled the blackcurrants in the juice that came out and then added sugar to make jam the usual way. I think we may have overboiled it a bit because the result is very sticky - and quite tart.

Dulcima  Have just collected 2 punnets of blackcurrants today, but apples nowhere near ready, the windfalls are tiny. But I will be making blackcurrant jam soon!

 

15 July 2024 at 21.57

Just been to see the first night of Waiting For God at the People's Theatre with 

Mrs Bursar and Mrs Lasagne and had a really good laugh; both at the play and with them.

Mrs Lasagne  It’s always lovely to go out together xxx loved seeing you

Cousin Daisy  Great to hear you had a good night together. Nothing beats a good laugh. Xxx

 

Just Turn It Off

Sensory Borrow Bags are lovely thought but ... 

Piped music is something I feel very strongly about due to Ferretfingers’ problems with sensory overload and music in particular. 

I am not alone, there is an organisation called Pipedown which campaigns against piped music.

By law organisations are meant to give ‘reasonable adjustments’ for people with disabilities.  

One would think a request to turn the music off would be met with understanding, especially with a young person standing before them, visibly agitated, and saying loudly “the lady will turn the music off, please.”

However I’ve lost count of the times we’ve been met with “Oh we can’t do that” and/or “we can turn it down a bit” or “we can put you in a corner where there isn’t a speaker”. 

The last is a speciality of restaurants and, guess what, there is never a corner that the music doesn’t reach.  More than once I’ve been told “Oh we have to have it for the ambiance”; silly me I thought people went to restaurants to eat and concerts for the music.

And you'd be amazed at the number of waiting staff who have relatives with autism who aren't bothered by music at all, so what's his/our problem. 

We have walked out of, or not walked into, numerous eating places because of this.

And left a large tip in those places, usually independents, kind enough to understand and turn it off.

In Curry’s Silverlink last year I was countered with “he’s got his ear-defenders” and “we have a quiet hour”. 

From Facebook Archives

14 July 2023 at 14.08

They could save themselves the cost of ear defenders by simply turning the piped music off. 

That would also help the elderly and hard of hearing. 

It would also save the cost of the Performing Rights Society licence to play recorded music (they organise the royalties). 

Aldi, Lidl and other shops still manage to provide a decent service and make a profit without subjecting customers to some manager’s choice of muzak.

Mrs Melodeon  Well said Ben.

Drummerman  Muzak very annoying, although Tesco in Berwick has a quiet hour every morning when they turn it off, have less strident announcements and “turn down the beeps on the tills”.

Bentonbag  Wonderful.  So people with, or caring for and accompanied by those with, sensory issues have an hour a day in which to do their shopping.  I wonder how people would react if they decided to put wheelchair ramps in for an hour a day.

Drummerman   Don’t know how long it will last for, either. The Evesham branch used to have a “slow” till where the cashier was encouraged to chat and put things through at a comfortable pace: apparently this was a trial- seems to have been replaced by do-it-yourself checkouts.

Sandy   Co-ops are the worst and the Morrisons in leek.  They play the music so loud I think I should be wearing a John Travolta spangly suit.

Bentonbag  Now that I would like to see...

Bess Cavalier  As you say, other supermarkets manage without the muzzak - they are pretty noisy places anyway and really only the cashier needs to hear the beep on a till as an item goes through.

Bentonbag  In Canada, back in the 1980s, we were in a supermarket where instead of a beeb there was a computerised voice saying the item and the cost. Much more useful to all concerned that a beep, and (probably) not that hard to achieve with barcodes and IT.

Bess Cavalier I think that would be particularly useful for someone with visual impairment.

Mrs Westie  It's not even 'music ' ,it’s just someone wailing and boom boom.x

 

Thunderthighs' Birthday Teas

My baby boy is thirty today, but birthday teas remain much the same (no guests though)

He was born on the same day as my cousin’s grand-daughter; she arrived first by a few hours.

From Facebook Archives

12 July 2009 at14.33

We are getting ready for Thunderthigh's 13th birthday party (still jelly frogs and chocolate cakes and squash) and the birthday boy is hoovering. I am a lucky mummy

12 July 2010 at 16.16

The birthday boy is home - trifle, jelly frogs and crispy cakes all done - most of the house hoovered (thanks Fester for the stairs) - now just to set the table and await his guests (4 or 6 still don't know)

Ollie Beaverbrook  Pass on our regards, Ben.  Hope the party goes swimmingly well.  Knee deep in trifle and drinks for the whole evening.  Then you'll have a real excuse to clean the carpet

Bentonbag  We replaced the downstairs carpet with laminate flooring a few years ago as there were new lifeforms developing in all the stuff that had sunk in.  Trifle was orange jelly with tinned oranges in, chocolate blancmange, vanilla whip, alpine strawberries from the garden and little coloured sprinkly things I call vermicelli.  Mummy & Daddy have pudding for the week.

Later

Ollie Beaverbrook  Assuming the birthday boy is now totally nackered and will be impossible to get out of the house on time for school tomorrow

Bentonbag  He's in the bath recovering from talking to his auntie on the 'phone.  He was up at 6, but to be fair he's really good at keeping regular hours.  Always was, as a babe in arms he fell asleep at 10.20am, 1.20pm and 10.30 bedtime - you could set your watch by him.  His brother on the other hand ....

12 July 2013 at 16.07

Now for Thunderthighs's birthday tea

FifiD  Chips?? X

Bentonbag  No that's tomorrow.  Pizzas, ham'n'cheese slice sandwiches, jam doughnuts, crisps, trifle (homemade by me with sponge slices, mandarin oranges, lime jelly, vanilla blancmange, chocolate whip and hundredsandthousands),
apple'n'blackcurrant squash and coffee.  

Setting the table and looking for something to serve the trifle Thunderthighs picked up a large spoon. 

"I think I'd better give it a wash first" says I. 

"Why?" 

"Well that's the spoon we used to scatter Uncle Stephen's ashes. It'll be perfectly clean, just needs a wash that's all".

Strangely he put it firmly back in the cutlery canteen.

FifiD  A Birthday Banquet !! His cousin-twin's new boyfriend is taking her to a Chinese restaurant.   

We've got M&S cup cakes one balloon and some bubbly wine. Cheers xxx

12 July 2020

Mrs Leftfoot, thank you and the girls for Thunderthighs's surprise gift and card.   

Please tell the girls my hair doesn't always look that mad.   

I clipped it up when I got out of bed to do the blancmange bit of the birthday trifle and hadn't got around to doing it. "No point" I thought "No one will see". 

Which is why you should always wear clean undies.

Drummerman  On your head???

Bentonbag  Many years ago my job involved researching media that clients might consider for advertising.  This led me to a copy of Vogue where models were pictured with panties on their heads.  As Guardian tv critic Nancy Banks-Smith once wrote "There is a section of Vogue called 'More Dash Than Cash' I always think the rest should be called 'More Money Than Sense'".

Dicky Brown  Years ago when I used to live in Morpeth, I regularly used to see a lady from either St. Georges or Northgate Hospital in the supermarket wearing a pair of knickers on her head. No one ever commented on what her hair looked like!

See Also 

https://bentonbag.blogspot.com/2021/08/thunderthighs-sings.html

https://bentonbag.blogspot.com/2021/08/thunderthighs-speaks.html