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

The woman and vanity idea was not mine. I have a vague idea it came from the bible. On the other hand, as a pensioner I sometimes go into an opshop to look for a jumper or somesuch. In every one I have been to there have been many racks of clothing for women and one or two for men. That must indicate something.

Don't be too hard on your cricketers. A lot of luck favoured the Oz team. In hindsight, they should not have declared. At least they were braver in this than was Ponting in the first test.

Australia is one of the driest continents on earth which is why most of us live in the coastal regions. We do have monsoonal weather in the deep north but up 'til now the politicians have seen no vote benefit in piping it inland. There is also a suggestion that a channel be dug from
Port Augusta in S.A. to an area inland that is below sea level, so that a permanent inland sea be created. This would be a much more worthwhile way to spend a billion or two. Surely the land developers would see this as a great opportunity to fatten their wallets. Of course there would suddenly be a lot of sacred sites to be compensated for. Anyway it would be much too sensible an idea for our parliamentary munchkins.

Good luck with the sugar thing. I reckon it is a cruel joke that as we get to retire and enjoy life, most of the things we would like to do are either beyond our physical reach or are unhealthy.

You will find that most blokes never throw their own clothes out. They would wear them for ever and a day saying that there is loads more wear in a shirt that they bought in the 60s.

Women have to hide clothes and then give them away then hopefully when your man finally says where is that thingummy jig which I love so much and which suits me wonderfully. You then mummble something about it being in the wash and thats it really so of course you will never find so many mens clothes on sale they refuse to let em go.

Lets face it if the governments of countries worked for the benefit of its people then the world would be a better place. They are so concerned about getting the better of other countries and having a nice war so that its people will remember them.

Sorry I have no patience with the English cricketers they let their heads drop, they went into the match with the idea of a drawer and not a win they didn't do that in year 2005 they thought they were going to win.

Have another medical tomorrow re my arthritis, lor I think maybe me and the old man should be taken out and shot, but then I would never allow that because I might miss something absolutely brilliant and that would never do.

Ahh, the old 'what if' problem. The 'to be, or not to be' dilemma. As a confirmed miserable old coot I have considered the self assisted blast off to eternity, but always come up with the thought, 'but what if something really good happens tomorrow?' If you get the time, try googling serpo.com. Interesting even if not true. If true, amazing.

Concerning the reluctance of men to recycle their rags, "I" think that just demonstrates the sensibility of men. We are not influenced by magazine articles on what we 'should' be wearing, or what her next door might say, we just want to be comfortable.

Our old bones can be a misery. When the urologist looked at my bone scan he said I had a touch of arthritis in my left shoulder, yet I feel no discomfort there. Mind you, I don't know how they can tell anything from those x-rays and such. We have to take so much on faith.They tell you that you can always get a second opinion, but you know what Dirty Harry said about opinions.

Not serpo.com but 'serpo.org'. It really is interesting.

Had a look at serpo, you really are interested in the old ET's I am sitting on the fence on this. I cannot believe that man should be arrogant enough to think we are the only inteligent beings and I use the ter inteligent losely considering we are destroying our planet.

We had a small tornado in London today, loads and loads of damage and people really scared and confused. It would appear that the el nino is behaving according to plan.

The rain is raining here in Manchester, raining its very best and our small garden is turning into a swamp and my white dog is turning into swamp creature. Everything I own has got dog footprints on it in a delightful shade of muddyness.

Over the week end we are due to catch up with some friends who are visiting the North of England they are staying in a hotel and we shall visit them and use the hotel pool and jacuzzi. I really wish I could afford a house with a pool and jacuzzi.

We have a very good friend who lives in St Lucia with a pool his life seems ideal but he hates it and wants to come back to England. We are such strange creatures the grass is always greener on the other side.

As for your comments on men hanging on to their clothes because they are not fashion slaves I have to agree, that is a trait in men that I like they are far more happy in their skin or old coat than women are.

Not happy! They forecast 37c today. Last year Kanga suffered heat stroke and it cost me $600+. So, last minute as usual, I raced down and bought a mobile air conditioner. Figured it would not hurt to have a little comfort. Found out later that it was cooling only. All right for now but no use for winter. After much shifting of things (I have a small house) I got it installed and running. I'm not sure it will be adequate. Somehow everything I buy lately becomes a white elephant.
The next trick is to keep Kanga in the house. Normally she has her breakfast, goes out and checks her domain, then comes in and goes back to bed. Today she is driving me mad, wanting to go out again. Cats are incredibly good at doing just what you don't want them to do.

Off to golf soon. God knows what will happen there.

I can't believe I have done it again. I am waiting for a message from you and I haven't even answered you. What a poor old demented lady I am occasionally.

We had a lovely day out yesterday, friends came from London and we met up with them in their hotel. We swam, went in the steam room and jacuzzi then had a really nice roast beef dinner.

This morning our friends are phoning because altough they put deisel in the car it smells like petrol and now they are having a problem starting the car.

I hope your air con does its duty and that Kanga is ok in the heat. You are right it is almost as if animals have a second sight and know when you don't want them to do something and then mischief sets in and they want to do it anyway.


Our dog still continues to become the swamp monster as the back garden is just mud and everytime he comes in he looks a little muddier just a little more khaki.

Everything I own has dog paw design including bed sheets and favourite te shirts. Oh and the furniture we won't mention the furniture.

Memories. Old timer's disease. Lot of it around.

Did I ever tell you of the old white feral tom cat that comes around for a meal? Over several years he has graduated from running whenever I appeared to sitting a few feet away, but almost always I get a hiss or two. And he wont eat until I have gone back inside. Anyway, he turned up one day with a patch of fur missing on his back and an eye that seemed to be all blood. His coat was filthy and I think he must have been hit by a car. Since there is no way I can touch him I just had to let him deal with his misery. Over several days his eye improved but his mouth was giving him trouble and he could not eat. Now that seems to be healing enough so that he can get some food into his emaciated body and I think he may have one life left. He still hisses at me but I think it is sort of a reflex thing. I am a hopeless cat carer as I hate the battle of trying to give medicine to the ungrateful little beasts.
But you have to admire their stoicism.

I am still ambivalent about the Zeolite. There are times when I think it is doing good things, and then I think perhaps it is the warmer weather that has lifted me up some. The big thing will be when I have another PSA test. Also it is probably too soon yet to expect too much.
I am an Aries and they reckon we are an impatient lot.

My friends car was a right off. The petrol had really damaged the car and it had to be taken back to London on a low loader. Cost him an arm and a leg.

My husband has been buying and sellig small stuff on ebay it is great fun and tomorrow he is picking up a couple of things that he has bought a printer and a food processor.

Cats you got to love them indeed you have. We used to watch a programme about meercats and one got savaged by a snake. It survived but the other meercats did not help it, they just stayed with it not feeding it or giving it water but somehow they just supported it until it was able to fend for itself.

I am going to clean my house tomorrow it has become a bit of a dump with all the mud around. I just have to pray to the god of sunshine so that we have no rain tomorrow.

I would not mind having a bit of mud to worry about just now. Arid is 'orrid!

I am always going to clean my house and I reckon one day I just might. I go along with that 'Gone with the Wind" woman. There is always tomorrow.

I am a bit funny about Ebay. Buying things you can't touch/examine from someone you can't see/sum up, seems kind of risky.

Victoria is in the grip of bushfires ( they always say 'in the grip of') and the air is full of smoke, even though we are in the south of the state. It is a terrible thing and the suffering of wild life and farm animals is very sad. It is only the first two weeks of summer. It will be a sad xmas for many people, and possibly the worst summer for many years.

I have often in the past held my hands under the tap and marvelled at the beauty and mystery of water. The life blood of the planet, and all who live on Her.

Really sad to hear about the fires. That must be awful, it makes you realise that nature rules.

Many years ago I was on a very small island in the Caribbean when the volcano erupted. I have never been so scared in my life before or since you know that there is not a switch to turn it off and no man will get fed up eventually and stop. It is nature and it is awesome.

Well so far the food processor has been picked up and appears to be ok. He is on his way to Wales now to pick up the printer. We sold some DVD's and cigarettes and he is delivering them also. I know what you mean about not being able to see stuff before you buy but most of the things seem to be new and you are covered by your credit card and also the ebay paying system Paypal. There would appear to be several safety nets.

People seem to sell everything on ebay there was tv programme on and people are actually digging out junk remember one mans junk is another mans treasure (so they say)

I feel a bit bad complaining of the rain when you need some so bad to save the wild life but again it is nature, I imagine that in the great plan there is a reason.

My mother in law has decided to spend Christmas with us. That is lovely but she is a very difficult lady to feed. She won't eat anything new to her, like garlic and curry. She is the lady who eats English food abroad.

Well the house looks a bit cleaner, but every time the dog goes out he brings in the lovely mud so its a bit of a no win situation.

Just got home from golf in time to see Symonds go 6 6 4 1. I have always liked Symonds as he is one of the keenest cricketers I have seen. Perhaps he is a little over aggressive with the bat and is not inclined to build an innings, but he is always entertaining.

I did not play too badly today. (Symonds just went out. Ah well, there you go.) A stableford score of 35 which is just ordinary, but I did win a ball. Now Gilchrist is gone. Will you please stop cheering? I can't hear myself think.

Bloody Shane Warne. I don't care if he makes a hundred I still wont like him.

Weather has changed here. A couple of dozen drops of rain. Can only hope for more later.

The English dance of happiness must have turned into a rain dance, so glad you have at least seen a couple of spots. I will happily send you a deluge.

We of course are happy that England are doing so well, the selectors will obviously be punished by the press for not playing Monty Panesar before afterall he did get five wickets as he bounced and bounded as the English press said.

This week Shane is not the golden boy as he was last week, today the say that he is a fast food and poker fanatic, who likes to keep all the chips for himself.

Golf must be a relaxation for you and an important part of your day. Its a excellent pass time and gets you out of the house even though you don't always feel like it.

I am the proud owner of a food processor which is really beautiful and I will be processing food with gusto starting with a really boring bean soup.

Weather still gl oomy, dog still muddy,house looking better. Cricket deffinitely more interesting to watch even at 02.30 in the morning.

One of the things I found difficult when living alone was cooking for one. It always seemed that there was just too much for a meal, but not enough to put aside for later. As a consequence I finished up eating too much so that it would not be 'wasted'. So now I buy most food from the frozen food section. I figure the old 'fresh' food argument is not as healthy as they make out. Compare a product that goes straight from the farm to the packaging plant, to produce that goes from the farm to the market, where it may be a day or two before being sold to the shops, where it may or may not be put on the shelves straight away, where it may or may not be bought by the consumer the same day, who then takes it home and may or may not cook it the same day. Remember also all the travelling the product does on roads that are rivers of pollution. The freezing process is so good these days that with a couple of minutes cooking you have a meal that is as tasty and at the least, as healthy as 'fresh food'. Tinned food is a different matter. Blaah! I do, however, prefer potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts to be off the shelf. I'm afraid your mention of a food processor set me off.

A warning notice has come up on my toolbar. I'd better see what it is about.

You are absolutely right about frozen food. I hadn't thought about the amount of toxins they pick up during there trip to the store.

Cooking for one must be a pain in the butt, you either make too much and freeze some or do as you say and buy a meal enough for one, only problem I would have that is they would not be enough for my bloke.

I really enjoy cooking and trying things out, since we have discovered diabetes I am making all sorts of difference things which are being received with relish. We are trying things that we have never tried before and believe it or not my OH actually asked for seconds of the salad tonight.

Sitting up again waiting for the cricket. Wondering if it is possible that we might win this one.

Several murders have taken place in England another Jack the Ripper killing prostitutes. Causing a lot of fear.

I was typing away merrily (more or less) when the knuckle of my left pinky brushed a key and everything vanished. I was reeeeaally annoyed. It has happened before and I should know better.

Does JtheR 'only' kill prostitutes? Should narrow the field a little.

I am watching the news while waiting for the Oz team to bat, (don't mention the cricket) and they have been showing the bush fires. Pretty horrifying. It is bad enough to hear of the fires but to see the flames, the enormous flames, makes you realise the terror people who are caught in them must feel. And money would hardly compensate them for what they lose.

Must have the evening meal before the, umm, cricket starts again.

Yep five prostitutes all in the Felixstowe area, the boyfriend of one of the girls says that it could have been a customer who they had been ripping off and who had got fed up with it. Somehow I can't see a bloke killing five girls for £1,000 but then I don't understand a killers mind.

Thank you for not mentioning the err umm cricket, how kind thoughtful and sensitive you are

Panesar is obviously saying you should have played me and I would have beaten em. The newspapers are talking about the little urn returning to Australia.

My computer does stuff like that (making things disappear) and just lately it seems to have a mind of its own and I wonder who is in charge me or the puter.

I suppose fire must be the most scariest thing. The noise, the heat and the speed that once it starts it just takes over.

Years ago my house caught fire and burned to the ground. My husband who was not my husband then was thrown out of a second storey window when the gas central heating system exploded.

He was extremely lucky to survive the fall and was only a little singed around the edges. We lost everything and it is amazing how quickly you can start again it makes you realise that stuff is just that stuff you can replace stuff, but not people.

We did not get insurance as they thought my first husband has caused the fire and as he was named on the mortgage could not gain from a crime.

Hey ho. Take care and enjoy the bluddy cricket

It is Sunday morning. I'm not real good in the mornings. Instead of just grumpy I become glumgrumpy. Trying to get around this computer does not help. I think I might have driven it insane.

You know Cookie, every time you tell me something of the incidents in your past, I am amazed. Are you sure you are not living in a soap opera? I am so easily thrown by small problems I think I would be in a nuthouse if I had suffered half your crises. I reckon you should be playing for England. (Sorry, I did not mean to mention the cricket.)

I feel sorry for the poor working girls who are so vulnerable. There are too many of these wierdo psychopaths getting their kicks with deadly violence. I think there is little hope for mankind while there is a man in the word. Or the world for that matter.
But then, I recently watched a program called The Schools Spectacular, and it was brilliant. About 3000 students took part and it truly was spectacular. While there are people capable of such creations of joy and beauty we should not despair. But it only takes a few evil characters to spoil it for the majority of humanity.

I'd better have a cup of coffee. Later!

Good morning to you and thank you again for not mentioning the cricket, my oh my what a real gent you are.

A lot of bad things happening to you sometimes make you numb, and you have to keep moving on or else you would go crazy. With me I have to keep on doing stuff then I don't have to think about the crazy stuff. I don't even like soap operas because the heros always get so excited and miserable all at the same time. They cry and sob and almost deserve the nasty stuff. I am one really nice old bird and I like to think I am a bit of a survivor.

We didn't even bother to watch the cricket my husband has got the feeling that they only do badly when he watches. When we won the Ashes in 2005 he was out of the country. So he went to bed and didn't watch them, so what happened they played even worse if that is possible.

Don't tell anyone but I have great respect for prostitutes. They supply a service that is obviously needed. Some women when they marry become legal prostitutes only "saying yes" if hubby has been a good boy or bought her something nice.

Don't the week seem to be going fast my oh my another Sunday. Went grocery shopping last night as usual everyone was buying as if their lives depended on it. Bags and Bags of stuff.

What will you do for Christmas? Will you buy a frozen Christmas dinner I noticed if you don't feel like it you don't have to prepare anything the gravy is already made, roast potatoes everything.

There is an advert on TV showing Kentucky Fried Chicken doing a Christmas bargain bucket, I wonder if anyone would really resort to Kentucky Fried for Christmas meal.

Again thanks for not gloating, it would be oh so easy to cos we have played badly. Now I see Ashley Giles is coming home as his wife is seriously ill.

What will I do for xmas? Damned if I know. Most years I have to dodge invitations, but I think they have given up on me now. Good! In the past I used to go to my brother in Darlimurla, a small, small place near Mirboo North. About two hours drive away. Unfortunately he died just before last xmas. My other brother is in Queensland, and in poor condition in a nursing home. Anyway I don't see why it being xmas is a reason to do visiting stuff that I could do any other time of the year. I really don't do visiting. I suppose some people think they should take pity on a poor old bachelor and feed him up at least once a year, but hey, I eat well, and I can knock up a good feast if I want to. As a conversationalist I lack many skills. Not a small talk person. Pretty dull would be my guess. Don't be fooled by any degree of fluency that mught appear in these epistles. In face mail I am a tongue tied twit who constantly loses the word that was supposed to come next.

I was pleased and surprised to read your view on pros, and wives. It is an opinion I have held for a long time. Sex in marriage must be a complicated thing, with mood swings and different physical needs, not to mention varied expectations. I don't know about God, but I think mankind was designed by a committee.

Cricket! (which I was not going to mention) Take heart. All is not lost yet. But it probably will be.