rarh3.bsky.social
@rarh3.bsky.social
I make science exhibits. I wrangle two small children. I sing.
My (then) 3 year old refused to eat something I cooked: "I don't like it". Ate it happily the following week. His *sister*, meanwhile, then 1, took her lead from him, refused it that evening *and every time I have cooked it since*. (They had both eaten it with enthusiasm on previous occasions).
February 12, 2026 at 10:21 AM
My (then) 3 year old refused to eat something I cooked: "I don't like it". Ate it happily the following week. His *sister*, meanwhile, then 1, took her lead from him, refused it that evening *and every time I have cooked it since*. (They had both eaten it with enthusiasm on previous occasions).
Yeah. "Ah, here we are, this is the shape I am now. Fair enough." "Oh, no, what is this?" Repeat, apparently ad infinitum.
Being an older mum I fear I have achieved a new shape only briefly, I assume in a minute menopause will bring new and exciting changes of form.
Being an older mum I fear I have achieved a new shape only briefly, I assume in a minute menopause will bring new and exciting changes of form.
February 7, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Yeah. "Ah, here we are, this is the shape I am now. Fair enough." "Oh, no, what is this?" Repeat, apparently ad infinitum.
Being an older mum I fear I have achieved a new shape only briefly, I assume in a minute menopause will bring new and exciting changes of form.
Being an older mum I fear I have achieved a new shape only briefly, I assume in a minute menopause will bring new and exciting changes of form.
I definitely lost a chunk of weight after I actually stopped breastfeeding. This despite the fact that by then Nurseling was 4-and-a-bit and had been down to a couple of minutes at bedtime for months.
February 7, 2026 at 11:53 AM
I definitely lost a chunk of weight after I actually stopped breastfeeding. This despite the fact that by then Nurseling was 4-and-a-bit and had been down to a couple of minutes at bedtime for months.
I *think* it's more that they can't know they haven't let oxygen into the pipework, so they have to make sure it's flushed from indoors before they turn it back on. Which needs access to the indoor fittings not just a tap in the street. Whereas tap in the street suffices for turning off in a hurry.
February 5, 2026 at 8:25 PM
I *think* it's more that they can't know they haven't let oxygen into the pipework, so they have to make sure it's flushed from indoors before they turn it back on. Which needs access to the indoor fittings not just a tap in the street. Whereas tap in the street suffices for turning off in a hurry.
If I were a half eaten jar of garlic pickle I might try to set up home in the cupboard with either the spices or the honey. Somewhere jars get put when trying to find the counter...
January 14, 2026 at 7:16 PM
If I were a half eaten jar of garlic pickle I might try to set up home in the cupboard with either the spices or the honey. Somewhere jars get put when trying to find the counter...
* and they needn't even be off sick, they might just have fallen out with their best mate in the playground for a couple of hours and be fretting about it.. maths is so cumulative..
December 30, 2025 at 5:29 PM
* and they needn't even be off sick, they might just have fallen out with their best mate in the playground for a couple of hours and be fretting about it.. maths is so cumulative..
And also, if a child is off sick* for two days and misses That One Lesson (which is, obviously, a different lesson for each child, argh..) they're screwed for that, and everything that builds on it, forever (or until someone helps them find and patch the bifurcating gaps..).
December 30, 2025 at 5:27 PM
And also, if a child is off sick* for two days and misses That One Lesson (which is, obviously, a different lesson for each child, argh..) they're screwed for that, and everything that builds on it, forever (or until someone helps them find and patch the bifurcating gaps..).
When I was born (early 80s, Basildon) I'm told the registrars came round the wards every day* with the forms. Mid-80s Edinburgh and late-80s Ipswich apparently lacked this service. My folks weren't sure if that was time or venue..
*Don't know about weekends.. I was born on a Monday..
*Don't know about weekends.. I was born on a Monday..
December 29, 2025 at 12:23 PM
When I was born (early 80s, Basildon) I'm told the registrars came round the wards every day* with the forms. Mid-80s Edinburgh and late-80s Ipswich apparently lacked this service. My folks weren't sure if that was time or venue..
*Don't know about weekends.. I was born on a Monday..
*Don't know about weekends.. I was born on a Monday..
That's really splendid.
Eat!
Eat!
December 20, 2025 at 9:57 PM
That's really splendid.
Eat!
Eat!
Or, if you ask @sciansell.bsky.social any point North of Exeter.
Meanwhile, I grew up in Suffolk and thus am firmly of the opinion that Cambridge is, y' know, somewhere to the West.
Meanwhile, I grew up in Suffolk and thus am firmly of the opinion that Cambridge is, y' know, somewhere to the West.
December 19, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Or, if you ask @sciansell.bsky.social any point North of Exeter.
Meanwhile, I grew up in Suffolk and thus am firmly of the opinion that Cambridge is, y' know, somewhere to the West.
Meanwhile, I grew up in Suffolk and thus am firmly of the opinion that Cambridge is, y' know, somewhere to the West.
Do FedEx not do postcodes?
December 15, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Do FedEx not do postcodes?
He's 10-year-old-size now, give or take. (Obviously he's not, he's 7, so by definition the size he is is 7 year old size.. but also, a tall 7 year old from a family with large crania). (Not sure if that's the correct plural of cranium, but it's pleasing so I'm going with it..)
December 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
He's 10-year-old-size now, give or take. (Obviously he's not, he's 7, so by definition the size he is is 7 year old size.. but also, a tall 7 year old from a family with large crania). (Not sure if that's the correct plural of cranium, but it's pleasing so I'm going with it..)
It really was. Genuine concern, not just tutt-ery. In a year or two the baby (now 7) will be big enough to actually wear the hat..
December 11, 2025 at 10:58 AM
It really was. Genuine concern, not just tutt-ery. In a year or two the baby (now 7) will be big enough to actually wear the hat..
I still have the hat, somewhere.
December 11, 2025 at 9:44 AM
I still have the hat, somewhere.
On a late bus home with my then 4 month old (in summer.. in a sling on my front.. under a fleece) I was given a woolly hat (adult size) by a man in his 30s whose English was not up to my explanations that, truly, the baby was fine, and whose concern for his little uncovered head was enormous.
December 11, 2025 at 9:44 AM
On a late bus home with my then 4 month old (in summer.. in a sling on my front.. under a fleece) I was given a woolly hat (adult size) by a man in his 30s whose English was not up to my explanations that, truly, the baby was fine, and whose concern for his little uncovered head was enormous.
I didn't notice this with my son, because I had no problem buying him clothes in the colours I was buying for myself (navy blue, mostly). Then I had a daughter and people started giving me hand-me-down girls clothes. The contrast between those and the ones I had in the loft from my son was dazzling!
December 11, 2025 at 8:28 AM
I didn't notice this with my son, because I had no problem buying him clothes in the colours I was buying for myself (navy blue, mostly). Then I had a daughter and people started giving me hand-me-down girls clothes. The contrast between those and the ones I had in the loft from my son was dazzling!
Nah. I have read what you write about your life with your daughters, and it's pretty obvious at a distance that you're providing them with the rock-solid background of being loved and thought of that's at the least an *incredibly* good start on being a happy, healthy human.
December 9, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Nah. I have read what you write about your life with your daughters, and it's pretty obvious at a distance that you're providing them with the rock-solid background of being loved and thought of that's at the least an *incredibly* good start on being a happy, healthy human.
When I was a little kid (late 80s, UK..) my parents had a ford escort which had a kind of honeycomb of heating wires in the front window. Because I was.. hmm, maybe 6-9.. at the time I have no clear recollection of what if any effect it had on visibility the rest of the year, but it was awesome.
December 5, 2025 at 11:07 AM
When I was a little kid (late 80s, UK..) my parents had a ford escort which had a kind of honeycomb of heating wires in the front window. Because I was.. hmm, maybe 6-9.. at the time I have no clear recollection of what if any effect it had on visibility the rest of the year, but it was awesome.
On a Rubbish Day, all the more happiness induced in your friends at the thought of you enjoying excellent biology as a small gift from evolution and your friend with the bottle and the good idea.
November 27, 2025 at 9:09 PM
On a Rubbish Day, all the more happiness induced in your friends at the thought of you enjoying excellent biology as a small gift from evolution and your friend with the bottle and the good idea.
Somewhere I have my grandmother's recipe cuttings book, including a 2940s/50s (rationing-era) page from an English newspaper about how cabbage is good, really, despite what everyone who's ever been to school thinks.. it's just that 10 minutes is plenty of time to cook it for..
November 24, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Somewhere I have my grandmother's recipe cuttings book, including a 2940s/50s (rationing-era) page from an English newspaper about how cabbage is good, really, despite what everyone who's ever been to school thinks.. it's just that 10 minutes is plenty of time to cook it for..
No.. we had hymn books. But I did show Mr 7 and Ms 5 the (Janet and?) Allan Ahlberg version of When A Knight Won His Spurs (I think it's called The Headteacher's Hymn) a few weeks back. Which I slightly regretted when I had to (1) explain the joke and (2) sing both versions repeatedly..
October 30, 2025 at 9:21 PM
No.. we had hymn books. But I did show Mr 7 and Ms 5 the (Janet and?) Allan Ahlberg version of When A Knight Won His Spurs (I think it's called The Headteacher's Hymn) a few weeks back. Which I slightly regretted when I had to (1) explain the joke and (2) sing both versions repeatedly..
Mmm. Where I am (Cambridge..), if it doesn't fit in the letter box (or sometimes even if it does) it quite often gets left on the doorstep... Royal mail are pretty reliable, but all the other delivery services, not so much. (And it's not even always *our* doorstep) Even when we're at home.
October 20, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Mmm. Where I am (Cambridge..), if it doesn't fit in the letter box (or sometimes even if it does) it quite often gets left on the doorstep... Royal mail are pretty reliable, but all the other delivery services, not so much. (And it's not even always *our* doorstep) Even when we're at home.
You know, I was wondering exactly this. I think it may have been superseded by the whole irradiation bit..
October 14, 2025 at 7:10 PM
You know, I was wondering exactly this. I think it may have been superseded by the whole irradiation bit..