Not all that long ago, we had a referendum and Bristol voted for a more collaborative, representative and democratic system of local government Now Westminster says we can't have it My rumbling disappointment in this labour government continues www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

@mrmmarsh.bsky.social @aliceemmalouise.bsky.social Hello hello! So here I am, breaking my lengthy social media silence so I can be probably the ten thousandth person to recommend prefixing the www. bit of recipe pages with cooked.wiki/ to strip out all the junk and reduce to ingredients and method

Stressed out to fuck, short-tempered, and about to have this year's teary Christmas-breakdown in the middle of a Christmas market Compliments of the season to you too

Grumpy Button doesn't give a fuck what you think

@drnickmorris.bsky.social Hi Thanks for the follow! Welcome to Bluesky, and to boating!

Currently auditioning a new candidate for the role of part time boyfriend Sunday night was the staying up all night talking and cuddling night which was very sweet, but god this week is a struggle now

Okay, after a long break from social media in the post-twitter world, and failing to get here or mastodon to stick, I'm giving this another go, so... Hello Bluesky

God, this app is so fucking tedious

I've done a lot of running this weekend, and finally listened to The Velvet Rage It's great, busy I'm not sure taking through it in one weekend does it justice I think I want a nice little queer book group to work through it reflecting on one chapter at a time

Big day everyone! youtu.be/WJBrAIVrK-4?...

What? Who, me?! No. YOU'RE listening to Come From Away and crying into YOUR dinner

Well well... Look who I've found, @thecidershedpod.bsky.social!

Grindr, but for someone to give you a cuddle and stroke your hair and make comforting sshhhing noises until you fall asleep after an upsetting film

Theatre for MacBeth yesterday In the cinema now, bracing myself for All of us Strangers Quite the artsy weekend

Struggling a bit today Woke up thinking I might be ill, and briefly considered a sick day But on review, I can't identify a single specific symptom or ailment, just a general not-quite-rightness

Unlike you, I get my news from a reliable source...

Pit thread

Should go for a run Can't be arsed going for a run Somehow changing in to running gear feels like harder work than the run itself

3 times today people said shit that made me uneasy and I said nothing At first I was a bit pissed off with everyone else, but I've spent the evening turning it inward and getting cross with myself for staying quiet So that's just super

Anyone romanticising the beautiful idyl of #narrowboat life should be forced to change a gas canister, outdoors, in the dark, at 6:15am, in -4° conditions before they can have their first cup of tea of the day Thawing out now

Big news. Before Christmas my mooring status changed to 'liveaboard', giving me security & legitimacy, and I can vote here New address has been approved and, this week, exists in the royal mail database! Postbox installed today I'm off to send myself a postcard to see if the postman can find me

Went to have a look at this boat tonight Head is spinning now Lots to think about

Drinking culture in the UK is just SO pervasive! If you want to buy a small gift for a colleague you don't know well booze could be good, but if you don't know them well do think a bit first I mean, I'm sure nobody would send an alcoholic home from the office with two bottles of wine *on purpose*

Didn't quite have the new year I would have planned - traditionally my ex has the kids over new year but not this time They didn't hamper celebrations like you'd expect. Really I'd have liked my quiet traditions of cleaning the fridge, and sitting down to reflect on 2023 and set some goals for 2024

He's been! HE'S BEEN!! Santa business complete And it's just struck me that tomorrow morning is the beginning of what everything has been building up to For me I'm tucked up in bed feeling like that's it all finally done and I can rest

We've been out for our traditional Christmas Eve walk, and I'm now in the unusual position of making a full Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve

I'm not a gym person, but I do recognise this as Very Good Advice

Giving some serious thought to buying a new boat in 2024 Possibility of a widebeam has come up, and much as I love this place, the kids were 9 and 5 when I moved on and we're really starting to outgrow it now I kind of have to consider it, but lots of logistics & financial considerations to weigh

I've just discovered that there's a new series of The Submarine Murders Now that's some tele to look forward to

IT'S TIME!!!

As enthusiastic devotees of both museums and bums, I'm sure my boyfriend and his partner will be delighted to have this little bit of internet-in-corporeal-form, by @museumbums.bsky.social, adorn their coffee table in 2024 Just one parcel left to collect and that's all the gifts in & ready to wrap

Just to add to the Christmas chaos I decided to chuck in the challenge of making myself a pair of pyjamas before Christmas in small sittings at the sewing machine when the kids are in bed in the evenings this week Amazingly I'm only one elasticated waistband, and two hemmed legs away from complete!

Up at 6, iced the cakes, and what better for company that @riverscott.bsky.social's Christmas #ProbablyTrue? And I did it without crying this year!

To think it was a week ago I was having my Big Christmas Meltdown Got all the Belfast stuff posted on Wednesday which is a big milestone And behold! The Santa business for the kids is all in, wrapped and ready to be returned to hiding The relief is palpable

Good advice in general, really

A promising start to the day Wordle 904 2/6* ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Gosh, the weeks of building stress and looming dread are bad, but Christmas does get a lot easier after you've had that little breakdown, cried for a morning, and then just decided that you don't care how much anything costs any more and just pile everything on to a credit card to think about later

Big goal of 2023, to change job, was achieved But after a bit of reflection I'm beginning to think goal for 2024 might be to change job again Focus then was on what was wrong, and a move AWAY This time I think I need to figure out what I do want from work and make a move TOWARD something

And another thing... I've just noticed that this is the one place I can't just refer to grindr as 'The Bad App' and people not immediately know which one I mean That's another thing musk has fucked

I am, on the whole, very much in favour of self ID, but I do find that principle challenged by a lot of the grindr 'twinks'

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

This must be the biggest purchase I've ever made on the back of a podcast, but Melanie Gutteridge & @gralefrit.bsky.social did make a very compelling argument I can't recommend this specific conversation, or the Comfort Blanket podcast in general, highly enough! shows.acast.com/comfort-blan...

Did an amazing bit of parking earlier, and got the car in to a very impressively small space Entirely fucked now in the getting back out again department though

Well, my slow cooker, which has served me well for many years, has tripped all my fuses twice last night and this morning Farewell old friend So it's decision time - new slow cooker, or is it time for an air fryer? Can't have both in this tiny kitchen #narrowboatlife

Long shot, but does anyone I know here play computer games? I might be interested in trying a modern game but the last game I played was Metal Gear Solid, on the original PlayStation, in literally the last century I have some old man questions

This weekend's culinary adventure... Malloredus alla Campidanese So far I've spent a bit of time sweating my onions, and now I'm browning my sausage, and none of this as a euphemism

So anyone here who had come from the other place will remember the many stories of My Fucking Awful Neighbours™ Well... THEY'VE MOVED! So instead of darkness and the wall of another boat, more when I look out the window I see water, and light, and the occasional visitor and it's wonderful!

Back wheel puncture yesterday followed by a front wheel puncture today Not impressed Not impressed at all

Exciting development this weekend! Made carbonara for the first time and it was a hit with BOTH kids There is no buzz quite like finding a new recipe that both of them like I've got permission to make it again, and even print and add the recipe to *the folder*