2026 Stash & Grab Virtual Pub

[richardandtracy]

The only way he'd love it is if there was an unlimited supply of milk in a cat bowl and loads of crunchy bits to crunch.

So, I suspect it'd be purrfect.

Regards,

Richard

[Serinde]

Well, that's the the saltire banners up, the team flag hanging above the bar (yes, we have beer, but don't tell the Tartan Army), lots of snacks and a huge pot of Scotland's other national dish on the stove (that would be curry of your choice, of course). The chimps offered to play the pipes, but I suggested it'd be bad for the instrument, given that it's absolutely pelting it down here, so no need for the ear defenders. (I happen to love a good bagpipe tune, but not indoors, if you see what I mean.)

Having no illusions about the excellence of the Morocco team, I just hope that Scotland can somehow hold them to a draw. No illusions of grandeur here: only need a point here and (for safety) a point against Brazil to get out of the group stages for THE FIRST TIME EVER. Surely not too much to ask? Nobody expecting silverware, just to achieve this one thing.

SCOTLAND GU BRÀTH!!

[Mabel Figworthy]

Is this a bad time to admit that I have no interest in football whatsoever, not even when the Netherlands are playing?

[Serinde]

Oh, I'm more rugby, myself, so don't worry about that. And in truth, if DH weren't such a fan, I'd not be particularly interested in that, either. But up here, this is an occasion -- it's been a LONG time. Supporting Scotland is never easy, unlike supporting England, for example, who have a pretty good record at these sorts of events, and who you don't have to watch mostly through your fingers.

Well, a 1-0 defeat to Morocco was a LOT better than it was predicted to be. And without a stupid mistake right at the start, it might have been a 0-0 draw (tho Morocco, a very good team, had a scary number of chances) which was all Scotland needed. Well, they've left it to get points against Brazil. Very typical. Hey, miracles, you know?

By the way, the elephants are looking greyer than usual this morning. You don't think they are the ones that drank all the beer, do you?

[Steam.Jo]

The beer drinkers were the ones who are still wearing their supporter's Traffic cones

Can't see the point of spectator sport. Life is too short to waste it not stitching. My friend's Husband has a box at Murry Field which they regularly have to fly up to to watch what ever is going on... She always takes her crochet so she has something to do during the game. She is also famous for crocheting in the theatre and the occasion when her ball of wool fell over the balcony and the audience "downstairs" were trying to throw the ball back to her and they had to stop the performance until she got it back ).

Jo

[Mabel Figworthy]

Youngest has started work for Leicester County Cricket Club so tickets to various games are forthcoming. So far I have not attended, but I'm happy to spend a summer's afternoon watching cricket, although I will probably take a small pece of crochet just in case Rain Stops Play or things get bit boring

[richardandtracy]

As a brat I played Rugby. Not well, but enthusiastically. Needing to play without glasses, and being able to see 6" in focus without them was a bit of a handicap. I was Captain of the 4th XV, those who enjoyed the game but were generally pretty rubbish. I continue to enjoy watching. I don't care who wins, just so long as the game is skillful and hard played on both sides. The Women's World Cup this year was amazing and I was truly surprised that England won the competition.

Eldest daughter always wanted to play, but unfortunately the town is utterly devoid of Women's Rugby. The local girls grammar school that she went to, being a bastion of feminism and equality, is implacably opposed to the sport on the grounds that 'LADIES don't play contact sports' (must be said in your best 'Lady Bracknell' voice for the full ironic effect). The school seemed more intent on not producing erzatz men than giving girls all the opportunities they could. Enya even got together 14 girls who wanted to play and though more would join if backed by the school. Some prejudice is very hard to break.

Soccer/Football is not a game I have ever enjoyed. Too much exercise and too little grinding the opposition into the mud. The most fun soccer game I ever took part in was when I was aged 10 or so and a defender in the winning side: It was so foggy I could barely see each side from the middle. I could hear the game as it went on, but didn't need to get involved. Perfect.

I fear Cricket is a game I actively dislike. I spent 5 days a week every summer term for 3 years playing at school. In that time I bowled 6 balls and batted three. Mind numbing tedium At the earliest opportunity I went to do athletics instead. At the first day's trial I was told to turn up to the team photo the next day. All-in-all I found athletics to be much more fun and something I could take part in. Still love watching on TV, though these days many joints ache in sympathy when I see how far the athletes push themselves.

Regards ,

Richard.

[Mabel Figworthy]

What a shame that Enya never got to play - I had hoped that by her time that sort of prejudice about what Ladies do or don't do had gone away. (I am still mildly miffed that at primary school in the late 70s I had to do needlework, and was not allowed to join the boys for woodwork and metalwork even though I had found a boy who wanted to swap as he wanted to learn knitting.) On the other hand, I do feel that no sane person of either sex should really be playing rugby at all. Sorry. Why don't you all try speedskating instead ?

"Those who enjoyed the game but were generally pretty rubbish" sounds like the sporting equivalent of the Vintage Sports Car Club's "Light Car & Edwardian section", which was founded particularly for all the feeble pathetic 750cc cars that would never win anything in an actual competition. We love it. They even have an annual race (on a proper race track) where the first prize is an only half-drunk bottle of champagne, and the first three finishers are disqualified for trying too hard.

[richardandtracy]

I love the idea of that vintage sporting club, where the drivers are penalised for tying too hard.

Why don't we speed skate...? Erm, have you ever tried the weather this far south? Days with frost in any year can usually be counted on the fingers of one hand. Days with frozen bodies of water.. Nope. Not every year. Not every decade. The last one was 2010 and we had about 2" of ice on the fish pond.

I wouldn't be averse to skating. Provided I could get boots that fit the shape my feet actually are as opposed to the shape shoe/boot manufactures think they should be. I have size 12 feet, and buy size 13 ultra wide shoes and feel my feet are cramped by how narrow the shoes are. I have half seriously wondered if I need to try being a cobbler, given how difficult I find getting shoes that fit. My dad always had shoes made to measure because he claimed no off the shelf shoes fitted his foot shape. Maybe I have inherited that from him.
We have a local indoor ice rink and the last time I went I nearly crippled myself from the boots. I stopped when the blood started running down inside my socks.

I used to roller-skate as a brat (not in-line skates, the old fashioned 'one-wheel-at-each-corner' sort), often cycling with skates on my feet so I was always on wheels during the school holidays. I did take them off going up stairs, though (you have no idea how much of a concession to parents that was - I was quite happy with skates on, but they got upset by the idea).

Regards,

Richard

[Serinde]

I loved ice skating when I was a teenager. We had the pleasure of old gravel pits which the County made it into a park, so perfect since the pits had filled with water and then froze all winter. Suspect they were deep... but they were very definitely frozen (apart from once, but we all knew the drill and pulled Mark out -- no harm done). Altho the best was my first neighbourhood, with a flooded space and a real warming house. Luxury! And none of this skating around in circles, either; crack the whip was, however, discouraged due to potential collateral damage.

All this talk of skating -- hope you guys are being careful in this heat. It's even HOT here! The Met Office map for projected temps in 2056 last night on the news was... scary!

[richardandtracy]

Fortunately just round here we're to the east of the Red Area and only have Amber, and our peak temperature is supposed to be 33C on Thursday. Probably moderated a bit by the Thames Estuary to the north of us. The temperature is not nice, and our VERY long haired cats are distinctly disgruntled.

The thunderstorms early this morning were noisy & very wet, but our garage didn't quite flood. At work, the main welding bay was 2" deep in water after a Seagull nest blocked the gully and it overflowed into the factory instead of emptying down the gully. Fortunately none of the welding machines were under the waterfall otherwise the electrics could have become quite exciting.

Regards,

Richard

[Mabel Figworthy]

I knew seagulls were a menace!

We are in one of the red areas, so some activities (such as working on the church banners) have been paused, although we are still going through with Friday evening's Ladies' Social Dutch baking session. Equipment to be brought: mixing bowl, pastry brush, 8cm cutter, fan....

[richardandtracy]

Good luck with everything Mabel. I do hope it's not too horrible for you.

Sometimes old churches remain cool for months through the summer. Are you that fortunate? They are usually the worst to heat in winter, but you benefit in summer.

Regards,

Richard.

[Mabel Figworthy]

Alas, no. Our building is four years old, and wonderful in many ways, but the upstairs especially gets very hot in weather like this - and that is where the banner maintenance is happening.

[richardandtracy]

Mabel, that's a shame. Do take care of yourself.

At work we've had to abandon the Mezzanine floor in the factory today. The roof is a cement board roof from the 1960's/1970's, and is 6mm/0.25" thick. It's not a very good insulator. The temperature up there had reached 38C/100F by lunchtime, and it wasn't fair on those working on the Mezzanine. The ground level isn't much above 30C/86F so is possible to use at the moment. I feel fortunate to be in the offices with air conditioning. The company rest area has the ACU going full blast, and it's positively cold in there - probably needed as a refuge for those who can't take the factory as it is.

In 2022 we had some plastic pallets up on the mezzanine, when Britain's highest ever temperature of 40.3 happened. The mezzanine got up to 49C (we did check, and make sure we didn't stay up there for long). At that temperature the plastic pallets started to distort badly, so much so that we had to change material for future ones.

Regards,

Richard

[Mabel Figworthy]

A friend just showed us his in-car temperature - 55 degrees

Plastic - ah yes. We just had the front fall off our internal doorbell (the bit mounted on the wall that goes ding-dong) because the glue had melted...

Richard, we are being sensible and not doing any banner sewing this week. Also looking to postpone the Dutch baking session.

[richardandtracy]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
55!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's unspeakable.

And the doorbell cover. It's the last thing you'd think would have problems. Good to hear you're not doing baking at the moment, either. I did wonder if I was stupid last night cooking a chilli-con-carne, but it actually seemed to be less fiery with the higher temperature.

Little Toby, well, not so little Toby any more, chased after a mouse yesterday evening and ended up getting himself so hot he ended up panting. Not good for cat. I spent 3/4 an hour in the paddling pool yesterday evening, and eventually got out at 9:30pm when I was shivering.

Regards,

Richard

[Mabel Figworthy]

We are unfortunately deficient in the paddling pool department

I did sleep in the garden part of last night. Much cooler, but I'd forgotten the dew, and the fact that the birds go berserk at about 3.45am....

[Steam.Jo]

My Air Conditioner compressor is claiming the outside temperature is 37 degrees here in Hampshire - I am just north of where the highest temperature was measured today so it is about right. Its working hard at the mo to keep the inside at 20 degrees for me

My solution to baking hot cars is a pair of frozen 2 ltr pop bottles full of water. When I leave the car they are placed on a towel on the driver's seat. They keep the driver seat cool and attempt to keep the cabin temperature down until I return.

Jo

[richardandtracy]

I was wondering, Jo, how your system was coping. The more we get weather like this, the more it seems daft not to have something like your combined heat pump/ACU, particularly if/when the gas boiler goes wrong.

We do need to insulate the house more. Orianna's bedroom is in line for a fair bit of internal insulation in the next 12 months - we can get to the external walls now that there are thousands fewer books in the room! Her room has a cavity wall with some cavity insulation, so we shouldn't get damp walls when we line the inside with polyurethane foam and plasterboard. And her loft needs as much as we can fit in the roof.

Regards,

Richard.