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Dear all

I agree Sandbox must be right, and Bandbox wrong, unless it is somewhere a band play, but I only know Bandstand.

Malone

There have been quite a few pie clues recently so a 3 letter word in a food clue, especially when I have pencilled in P (from sandpit) looks like pie to me. Just as I am now seeing sa or It for appeal clues when I only saw O previously. It probably is worrying but not sure what I can do about it....

Grunger,

I can't remember the details, but the Chambers definition of Bandbox gave no reasonable link to the clue!

I think you might have to try DIT for your Pie obsession. This is Deep Immersion Therapy, and it involves you being subjected to a veritable onslaught of pies. Pies on plates, pies in photographs, the word 'pie' being inserted, as often as possible, into messages, letters, posts. This will, in theory, make you recoil at some point- and voila, your obsession will be gone. Let me know how it goes.

Malone

Thanks for your concern. I tried to book a course of DIT but it was only available online whereas I need personal attention.

However I did find a place in town offering a Pie Immunity Therapy Scheme. I rang to make enquiries and it seemed promising. They offered lunch and I was delighted at the choice of baked items, but of course it was not what I needed. I went along to look at the place, but it was well... the pits... so I did not enrol.

Thanks, Grunger. That was wonderful stuff - your post, not the place that was the pits! There's another scheme, I don't know if it'll be available near you, but worth investigating. It's the Pastry Immersion Exercise. There are no press-up involved and despite its initials, it's definitely not a confused mess.

Grunger & Malone

I thought PITS would turn out to be just pie in the sky.

Tyke

Thats very clever

Jigjag, Tyke51

I agree - very funny. Grunger may be a little despondent after that failure - and she looked a little pasty the last time I saw her - so I think we should all work hard to track down a suitable course, activity for her.

Tyke

Very clever of you to spot that.

Malone

I like the pasty pun. I also like a pasty occassionally. Despite your post I am afraid nobody has found a suitable course for me, so I decided to give "The Pits" another chance. They are offering a "lifestyle" course, You get a manual and attend some lessons. I sent a cheque for the stuff which includes P and P. That must be Pie and Pampering so I am looking forward to it.

Grunger,

I've always felt that anything involving 'Lifestyle' is best avoided. It often leads to a lot of goody-goody stuff, involving happy thoughts and exercise plans and … oh, all sorts of unwanted bits and pieces. I'm sure the P and P would not have resulted in any pies, or pampering - it's more likely to be Punishment and Purgatory.

Back to PU...
While reading a book the other day, I came across the word 'seamstress'. This reminded me of our happy discussions, debates. I did wonder, though, what the male equivalent of that word would be. I know tailor/tailoress, ogre/ogress, author/authoress and so on. My good old friend, Chambers, helped me out - seamstress' is the female version of a 'seamster', a person who sews. Well, I've never encountered one of those, that word, before!

Grunger

You need to be careful. P and P also stands for something else - rather unpleasant and quite unsuitable for you.

Malone

I always thought that seamstress was the female of seamer - a bowler who uses the seam of the ball. Seameress would be ungainly, hence seamstress. I wouldnt know about sewing.