You had plenty money 1922

The underwear industry is really bloody weird. My back size is 30 (rib cage measurement). I'm UK clothing size 10/12 on top. However, most clothing shops go down to 8, the shops that cater for teen/fashionable normally go down to a 6. There is no way the girls wearing a 6/8 have a bigger back size than me since my build is stocky and they're normally like twigs next to me. However, getting anything below a 32 back size bra is near impossible unless you go to specialist shops. We're not going to even go into cup size here, aside from the fact that the smaller your back, the bigger your cup size is likely to be as it's a ratio thing.

Below is the Bravissimo 'quickie guide to see if you're wearing the wrong size'.

1. Step One – Check to ensure that you are wearing the correct back size.
* > The strap should be firm around your body
* > The strap should be horizontal at the back
* > You can run two fingers under the band
2. Step Two – Check to ensure the wires sit flat between your boobs and aren't being pushed away from your body.
* > Flat wires at the front
3. Step Three – Check to ensure you are wearing the right cup size.
* > Your boobs should be enclosed in the cup with no wrinkling of fabric
* > Your boobs don't bulge over top or side of the cups
> (even in a balconette or plunge bra)

Step One? Violated so much. If it's curved up rather than horizontal, you're wearing too big a back size.

I want a decent survey of what measurement women actually are. A bra that fits normally hoiks your boobs up, causes less back pain and makes you look like you've lost several pounds. Simple as that. Though I suspect we'll only get the 'normal' clothing shops to change their sizes if we make all women get a proper fit and a significant proportion suddenly have to flock to the specialists...

In work news, meeting today. Where bossboss asked for stuff to be repeated constantly that meeting runner had just said. Plus a 'first example I've heard of'. And we came up with a relatively simple solution to a human error problem, and J came up with solution to resolution/layout issues. Then when I asked how long it would take to implement (since it's not like any system changes would be required), you do not want to know how many dodges he came up with. Do not hide behind 'file size' and 'peer reviewer'. Seriously.

...I need to stop reading the latest crop of articles on international breastfeeding journal before I stab something. (currently in pdf while we generate the xml versions) Media representations, formula websites' advertising copy as manipulation, the fact that the west sexualises breats so much that people see the act of breastfeeding in public as lewd - never mind that apparently human milk is *lower* in fat and protein than cow milk so baby needs to be within constant reach, which really defeats the argument (and displays the basic ignorance) that enemies of public breastfeeding often use - 'what's the problem? feed the baby before you go out, you don't need to feed it in the restaurant.' Then the issues of Katrina that had malnourished, dehydrated babies because the mothers didn't have access to clean water for formula. Plenty of reporters saying that this was a scandal. Not one saying 'why the hell are they on formula in the first place? This is completely avoidable.'

Stupid background stuff that will never actually make it into fic : my brain is currently consumed with what accent (Welsh or Scots) would be more identifiable as 'clearly different' to English to an outsider. Even though this would have no impact whatsoever, since hello, written not audio and I could have the Archenlanders speaking with whatever accent I damn well want because the only time you see Archenlanders in the flesh in the Narnian books is The Horse and his Boy, and they're not going to be filming *that* anytime soon.

Simply put : The Telmarines are familiar with the Archenlanders. Archenland = smaller country bordering the big one, related by blood, hills separating them from the main country, etc. So in my mind, Archenland = Wales/Scotland. Narnians speak with a variety of English accents - RP to Cockney to Yorkshire. By the time of Prince Caspian, there are no humans left that speak with a Narnian accent, and 99.999% of Telmarines have never come into contact with a Narnian - talking beasts *don't exist* anymore. They're fairytales. Wiped out. And it was probably a metaphor *anyway*, right? So, they hear a Pevensie talking and the accent's clearly not Telmarine (Spanish, I think it's southern, but don't quote me on that...). The thing is, if I presume that the Archenlanders speak with a Welsh or Scots accent, is that accent different *enough* from to the ear to distinguish said Pevensie from an Archenlander? And if one of them is, which one is it? Should I be picking Geordie instead? (Cornish just isn't different *enough* if I'm extending this to the more distinct areas of mainland Britain. Yeah. The Lone Islanders are probably Hebridean or Channel Islanders in my head. Aslan alone knows what happened to the Irish...)

I turn the question over to all of you non-island-dwellers who speak English. Help my inconsequential detail-obsessed brain.

[Poll #1240027]

In other news, people think my Peter is frightening. Clearly they need to read bedlambard's Peter. Mine is nothing compared to hers. Also, they all want to see Edmund. I have *no idea* what to do with Edmund because I can't quite see him going into the army by choice unless he was going for military intelligence. :thoughtful: mind you, if he had been drafted by '48, there's a chance he might get spotted and sidelined into a more ... interesting line of military work. (and Peter so joined the SAS once it got re-formed in 1950. More his style. And the other officers wanted to get him away from them.)

Military club/pub (either in England or some odd corner of the world)
'I'm looking for Pevensie. Anyone seen him?'
'Well, there's that vicious and frankly scary bastard Pevensie, and then there's his brother who doesn't seem to have any guiding compass beyond 'it needed doing'. Which one did you want to talk to again?'