No. His father can - unlike most of us - feel genuine sorrow that his son will have to suffer (deserved) punishment. But as a member of the human race - he should not be excusing or minimising his son’s offence

Oddly the Eco wash on my (15 year old) machine is by far the longest cycle it does. I reckon moving clothes around must beat heating up water? Maybe? MrB and I have argued for 15 years about “Eco wash: just how eco can it be....”

It’s not “I bet it rains down in Africa”??! Well, that's my learning of the day done

Witchy fingers

93 stars?! This has made my weekend :-)

In your monogrammed thermos

Oh is that deliberate do you think? I kind of hope they make it clearer. I just thought the actress was a bit rubbish. (Sound was fine on iplayer)

1990 = 25 years later??? Oh lawd (says the 70s child)

That punchline makes it

THANK YOU. You have redeemed my week with this

The gall of the people indulging in eating out while about to lose their house/job. I say this as it started that thought in me but then I caught myself Pinkhamming and had myself taken out and shot

She's gorgeous- hope she perks up soon

Starred for anecdata

I melted

When I was very little we lived in a haunted house (Jacobean, reputed to have been stayed in by Dick Turpin, had a priest hole). My mother says she liked the feeling of company. So there’s that as a benefit too. I don’t remember the ghost (mother probably just didn’t make a big deal of it at the time) but I do…

Good advice but it never seems to be that simple. Belated post on basis he’s been evicted by his landlord (he was renting a room, annoyed them with his cooking and damaged headboard on bed and because he’s lost his job (and made little effort to find another one) was behind in his rent. What can we do? Can’t tell him…

I’m quite taken with the idea of a tattoo of a garlic bulb on my ankle

I was 8. My mother’s family made a big event out of it at my grandmothers. Mini-republican me insisted on sitting out in the garden in protest against the whole hoopla. Still proud of my young self for going against the huge “fairytale” fakery of it all

How about marrying someone whose child is/was constantly in debt - and expects we/Mr Bookish will pay is off? I did, am glad I married him - but stepson (now in mid 20s) is a constant stress (is that a baliff pulling up outside? Should I open that serious looking letter that if I forward to where he now lives he won't…

He sounds adorable!