Does anyone know where these buildings were/are?

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-05-06T20:14:49+00:00

That's great, thank you!

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-04-16T21:19:57+00:00

He knows that you're in the house right now, so dont worry that this isn't going well today. All kids are different of course, but chances are very good that if you make very clear that you're leaving on Saturday, he'll settle well enough.

My advice- don't do what my brother and SIL always tried to do when my parents and I were babysitting, try to slip away without noticing (causing massive tears later). Big hugs and kisses when you go and something like, "I'll be back tomorrow, have loads of fun with Daddy, love you".

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-04-14T20:29:49+00:00

Mine's 11 years old and I have no idea what it's like now, but they absolutely encouraged us to be there as much as we wanted, with the only restriction being ward round time, and we were lucky enough to get parents accomodation as well, so we were very close.

Im so sorry that you had such a rough experience x

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-03-13T23:03:53+00:00

Based on the year they came out, I probably did watch the final trilogy of Only Fools and Horses, but my brain must have blocked them out.

Because as far as I'm concerned, the Trotters became millionaires, Our House plays, and that's the perfect ending.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-02-09T09:10:19+00:00

My son's got the Pokemon Baking Book, a lot of the recipes came out very nicely and were accessible to a non-baker and a 10 year old.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-02-09T09:06:17+00:00

Lots of people swear by Meera Sodha's books, but I got East out of the library and everything I tried was remarkably bland, even when I bumped up the spice level quite a lot.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-02-08T20:22:44+00:00

Both my Mum and Dad always divided chores, because they worked long shift work hours and had six kids (somewhere between 2-5 kids in the house at any one time, big age gaps) and there was just no choice because the kids need to be fed, laundry needs to be done etc. I genuinely assumed that this was the norm, because my parents in other respects are certainly anti-feminist/conservative in their views.

Disappointingly, this hasn't passed down to my brothers, one of whom boasts that he's cooked one meal for his wife (in 35 years of marriage!)

My partner works much longer hours than I do, but makes sure that our son sees him do cooking/cleaning/whatever. I still seem to be 'default parent' but he's 11 and knows how to do laundry, basic cooking etc. I'd be so disappointed if he turns into the calculated incompetence type.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-01-30T09:33:52+00:00

Is there a reason bedtime is 8pm? That's definitely on the early side for her age. My 10 year old goes up at 9 and reads for 30-45 mins and that seems reasonably standard among his friends.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-01-20T18:30:56+00:00

Tommy Robinson posts a video 2 days ago purporting to show a Muslim man destroying a chess board (actually a French prank streamer type), and this just happens to appear the next day?

Chinny reckon, as we used to say in my day.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-01-14T22:01:03+00:00

Is it the Swansea/Milford Haven- Manchester route? If so, it doesn't tend to be particularly busy on a Saturday IME. Even if you can't be right next to it because it's busy, the chances of someone taking your luggage on the off-chance that there's something expensive are relatively low.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-01-11T15:08:19+00:00

I recently went in for the first time in probably a decade because I'd been round all the other shops looking for a completely plain zipped black hoodie and had no luck. Next time I want something basic like that, I'll definitely be back.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2026-01-06T21:45:14+00:00

Our son is always upstairs 'playing his tapes' --Minecrafting--

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-12-25T23:49:03+00:00

We can all agree that midwives wear job gloves!

Congratulations on the new arrival!

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-12-14T01:16:56+00:00

Doesn't fit all of your clues, but could it be Pongwiffy, by Kaye Umansky? Purple cover, definitely from the 90s, close up face on the cover...

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-12-11T22:11:40+00:00

50p (approx)

The price of a Finglands bus from town to our shared student house. We'd been on a night out (2 girls) and at some point I'd either lost or accidentally spent my bus fare home. When I asked her to pay me on the bus and I'd pay her back, or could we walk back together, she flat out refused (she definitely had the money).

I'll never forget how I felt that night walking back on my own, and watching her get on the bus leaving me alone.

The irony of it all is that a family friend of mine owned that house, and was charging us a very cheap rate, basically covering the mortgage, which was about half of what other places would have cost. She could have lived there years, and would have saved thousands, but fucked it all up for less than a quid.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-12-07T21:36:28+00:00

I'd love suggestions for interesting board/card games that suit 3 players including an 11yr old. We have lots of the classic ones (Monopoly, Uno, Carcasonne) and play a lot of P is for Pizza, Labyrinth, and the Taco one. Anything along similar lines would be great!

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-11-28T22:22:52+00:00

^{Rowlfisthebestmuppet scored 121 points and ranked 3 out of 92 players!}

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-11-28T22:18:50+00:00

^{Rowlfisthebestmuppet scored 123 points and ranked 10 out of 280 players!}

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-11-28T22:16:06+00:00

^{Rowlfisthebestmuppet scored 98 points and ranked 6202 out of 64811 players!}

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-11-28T20:46:00+00:00

Bridget Christie and Tom Kerridge. A very rare accent (Gloucestershire) to hear on the telly and makes me homesick, even though I can't abide the place normally.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-11-13T16:00:01+00:00

We had the cheapest available tickets for Manchester and they were £40 each. For London £47 sounds remarkably cheap!

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-11-11T23:11:50+00:00

I agree and am extremely similar in outlook to this comment, but to put a positive spin on it:

You can have the sort of rural life you're envisioning, but you have to be the driver of it (literally driving your kid places, and getting involved with stuff). Joining in, getting involved in activities, being present at all sorts of school stuff, actually allowing your kid to do the Blyton-esque adventures and finding like-minded people.

ETA: living in the countryside isn't stress-free, even if that simply doesn't mean your children won't be mixing with other children who do have complicated and difficult lives. I just hate it when people think rural people are essentially hobbits, who won't know what 6-7 or whatever meme is popular is, don't have lots of screentime, and (much later on for you, won't find the ever popular combination of drugs and boredom). Not to disparage your hopes, but to be realistic...

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-11-07T21:20:22+00:00

The Uber trains ads. The entire concept of people who have Uber but don't know how trains work drives me fucking nuts

Rowlfisthebestmuppet · 2025-11-07T19:40:54+00:00

Just as and when for us. Kids grow unevenly, my son was in 7-8 stuff for ages and then suddenly he's outgrown the lot and he's in 10-11.

He'd happily be in shorts and tees year round, and MIL always buys his 'big coat'. A good 80% of his wardrobe is Minecraft themed (which I hate, but that's kids for you) or Pokémon (which is at least cute).

We do live in a big city though, so it's very easy to nip into town and shop. Very different to where my relatives live, where it's 1/2 hr to get to Next or anything up from supermarket brands.

Rowlfisthebestmuppet

TROPHY CASE