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

Ahhhhhh, New Zealand. Beauteous, isn't it?
Tips: no Maori words have a 's' on the end of them, because that letter doesn't exist in Maoridom eg: mere instead of meres. Has the same meaning.
Maui was a great guy! But what about Kupe? Apparently he was the first man in New Zealand, from Hawaiiki (no one knows where it is).
But anyway, New Zealand rules! And they say we're really patriotic...

Kia Ora, I'm TechnoJen the ex-pat Kiwi, now living in Brighton. (England, for the geographically impaired)

I agree with everything said about New Zealand. It's truly lovely. I wish I could commute, you know work in London live in Auckland. When someone invents teleports then all the better. The best things about New Zealand are Peaunut Slabs, (you haven't lived until you've had one) Footrot flats and the people.

Jen (in rainy, frosty London)

You forgot L&P... it's one of the best things about New Zealand. And also that our money is nice and colourful and not all drab greeny-grey.

I didn't know Peanut Slabs were a NZ-only thing! I'll have to eat more of them just 'cause I can.

Hello all from the land of the long white cloud....although there are few clouds around at this time of year! This is just to wish all the expats in London and the 4 others that are in other cities around the world a Merry Xmas and I will have a Speights and drink your good health while ruining my own. Have a great one.....!!!!!!!!!! and the cricket team isn't doing too badly either!

Cheers, Noel! I'll think I'll join you with a Speights Old Dark.

Speights Old Dark Icecream?
Yes, there is such a thing in the deeeeppp Dunedin-like south.

Sorry to interrupt the Ode to Speights but has anyone suggested to Eck that he/she/it check the Wise's Road Map...Dannevirke in the South Island ? Central Hawkes Bay more like! PS check out the Guide Entry on Australia. Orinocco has the audacity to quote the Great undeveloped West Island as being Godzone....

Is it just a few prolific posters, or is there really a huge number of New Zealanders in h2g2? Sure, I'd expect this forum to be full of kiwis but they seem to be everywhere else as well.

Guilty as charged of indulging in various postings.....it's just like opening a new box of Roses chockies and zeroing in on all the strawberry and mint centres...can't resist! But you know us Kiwi's ..for large flightless birds we kinda get around !!!

Yum, strawberry Roses are my favourite. And over the last few days my mum and I have eaten a box of Roses and a box of Continental chocolates and I'm halfway through some Irish chocolates I was sent. Isn't Christmas great?

I don't mint all that much though... it tastes of toothpaste. (Why'd they have to make toothpaste minty? It puts me off mint!)

Oh, I think I did an acronym on that subject... oh, here it is:

TOOTHPASTE: This Ointment Often Tastes Horrible - Puts Angela off Spearmint Treats, Even.

I don't care what chocolate I have (well except for coffee fillings, a fouler filling for confection, I cannot fathom), just as long as it's served chilled. Rounds off all the high-end sweetness that I can't stand.

Hear , hear for the chilled...otherwise you don't eat them - you wear them !! Mind you ..snow on the hills on Xmas day was a little radical for sunny Marlborough on xmas day...what is it with the weather ....in England I got slush not snow and here the tan has a blue tinge! Where is summer ? - it's not fair..got my sunnies, the L&P's in the fridge and we are even doing well at the cricket!

Aah, yes, cricket - I vaguely remember that...

It used to be you couldn't switch on the telly without a cricket match on. Now if you want watch it on the telly, you have to be an insomniac!

Agreed ...or worse still a masochist [?sp] we've got such a horrible tendancy to snatch defeat from the very jaws of victory....

Am I the only one who thinks cricket is really boring?

Sometimes....full test matches are , one dayers are OK...Cricket max is a little silly, but at least the whole country doesn't go into a four year mourning period like they do over the National religion ....rugby,and the America's Cup is proving to be a very Auckland thing ...until the Kiwi's race at least.

Cricket has its own unique pace, which kind of makes it kind of unfair to compare it to other sports. Other team sports tend to be more like an open battlefield, where cricket has more of a siege mentality.

The batsmen are like armoured knights of old, defending their very tiny little castles from the slings and arrows. The object is to send the attackers scurrying, by turning their own weapons against them. But if the knights get caught outside the safety of their walls, they're done for.

Sounds like you're interested in medieval role-playing games or something. Actually, I don't think I find any team sports interesting... I like watching a lot of the solo sports in the Olympics and stuff though. That probably says something about my personality.

Actually I am interested in all history up to about AD 1500, so I know a bit about the Middle Ages, the Dark Ages, the Iron Age, and a few other ages as well, but inspite of that, I still think my analogy is valid.

So what's your position on team relays, then?

Interesting question... well, I haven't had much opportunity to watch team relays, but I would imagine they'd be just as interesting as individual sports, since there's only one person doing anything at a time.

I can see you know a lot about some other ages - including the ages which cricket takes to play. (I have nothing against that, for people who like cricket, but I can think of better ways to waste or - use productively - a day or five)