h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It is far too hot here, in Cambridge, for doing post-meet laundry, tidying, etc...

Reckon I just about had heat exaustion when I got home, yesterday evening; Manchester to Ely train... err, nearly four hour leg of the journey, back, had non working air con; and no windows. that was a wee bit warm.

I just closed my eyes... listened to the loudest music on my MP3 player, and tried to bliss out the uncomfortableness of the heat
which kinda worked....

Soon as I got home drank five pints of water, one after the other...

Unpacked yesterday, and today have been tidying wardrobes, and cupboards in bedroom, and bits and pieces in the studeo/computer room, and putting stuff way tproperly, and of course, doing laundry

The meet was great.... arrived Thursday, and left of course, yesterday (Monday), and.. was deliciously pampered and looked after by DQ for which so many thanks (from both William and I)

Not sure I got to talk to everyone as much as I'd have liked, on all the 'meets' within the meet (Thursday pre-pre meet, Friday pre-meet, Saturday walk, and Saturday meet proper, plus Sunday post-meet meet....)

The walk and the post-meet meet on Saturday afternoon, and Sunday were particularly notable.... not least as its nice to not be, well, either so bladdered I can't recall a thing afterwards, or so hung over I can't do anything* the next day

By Saturday night, it didn't even feel 'odd' being in a pub and drinking only soft drinks
and... this has the added bonus, my wallet is slightly more replete than it normally would in a post-meet time frame
oops... which, now I think about it, means, I probably didn't buy anyone else a drink, all the time I was there oops, that's seriously mean of me... just because I happened to be not drinking, no reason for me to not let others have a drink on me... Guess I just wasn't thinking properly, all the time

I was... err... a err... 'little bit' sort of ''blissed out', for most of my time in Manchester... so sorry to anyone there, if I seemed a bit... err... kinda vacant if you talked to me, and I was... well... kinda about only 'half there', as it were

I'm so gona have to find a local supplier of fredo's... ((chocolate frogs) : I was sorting out laundry earlier... and found about another half dozen Fredo wrappers in my jeans pocket

Did terrible at the quizz... which clearly means, using 'being drunk' as an exuese for not doing well, in previous meet quizzes, was probably just a lie

Thanks to Pastey et al for organising it (and seemingly doing an aweful lot of research, on the venues beforehand ) and for everyone who came, even if I didn't get to have a proper conversation with you... or at least a conversation during which I didn't look totally glazed over and off elsewhere in my head

Still can't get over having a four poster bed in the hotel room Hmmm.... and still very confused by the sheep on the hotel room balcony
which is... on consideration... about as much as I'll mention about the hotel... OO... apart from that* bath... wow... so* deep... that was... cool... decadent... Mind, the calling room service up for food, at err... about 10, Sunday night, and scoffing all that food on the bed was pretty decident too as, indeed were the melon slices... err. and grapes... and...

Looking forward to the next one, already....

Blimey, things must have changed since I went through a period of abstinence and drank only or lemonade in pubs. They used to charge almost the same for a pint of soft drink as they did for a pint of beer, which meant they were making money hand over fist out of people like me*.

Which is one of the reasons I went back to drinking beer

*Just as restaurants still do today on soft drinks and iced tea. Trust me, they make a mint on those things.

actually... I barely bought a drink for myself either... someone insisted they bought me all my food and drinks whilst there... and... it really wasn't in my power to refuse I think I bought one or two though... and I can't recall them being wildly expensive... ; though down South, ere, it is exactly as you describe; your better off wise, getting a beer, rahter than a pint of coke, in many pubs Most of the pubs in Mancehster we were in, did really decent cups of tea and coffee too... which is damn good (maybe there getting more trade who only wants tea, coffee, and other soft/non-alcoholic drinks, theseday?)

We used to offer tea at the pub where I worked in London. Essentially it was just a kettle on the back bar that we filled and switched on whenever someone ordered a pot of tea... and then completely forgot about as we poured more pints while waiting for it to boil, until they came back to the bar and said 'I ordered some tea about 15 minutes ago'.

The tea came hot, and strong.... Just like I like my men... and women... which was good