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

Very interested in your views of Birmingham. They also have a magnificent Symphony Orchestra.

Websailor lives near Birmingham and every year they have a big celebrati9on on Tolkien with people dressing up in the clothes of his characters. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State of South Africa. My son K. loved the lord of the rings when yong.
Loved your experiment with chocolate.
Did you know that all the big chocolate companies are owned and run by Quakers? They were not allowed to become industrialists so chose to produce wonderful chocolate!

Murs
AR1

Thanks for reading my travelogue.

I liked Birmingham. There are several things there I will have to go back to see someday. I forgot to mention the Lego store there. An entire store selling nothing but Legos. Amazing. I would have loved that when I was a kid.

I didn't realize that the chocolatiers were Quakers. How interesting. The chocolate experiment was great fun. I had some very happy customers at the library that day. I was glad to know it wasn't just me - that the others couldn't tell the difference between the chocolate either. It reminds me of the old children's story - The Emperor has no Clothes. Someone said that the American Cadbury bars were different. So someone else picked up on it and all of a sudden it became gospel.

The same thing happened years ago with beer. They took men who said one brand was much better than another and did a blind taste test. Over half of them chose the beer they claimed not to like as the better one. It looks like we can convince our tastes buds that we like or dislike something.

I have heard of the Tolkien Festival. That would be fun to attend.

Hi Hypatia,

Thank you for replying!. I also found it fascinating about the Quakers. They in fact made lots of dosh - although I do not think that was their main intention and are highly respected and very "good" people When I turned 70 my children rented a beautiful Quaker home and twenty of us spent a marvellous weekend there and then had a 100 guests on the sunday!!. Marvellous memories.

I am disturbed that I have found nothing nothing about our local London meet - at least that I can find. I have found details of it in the strangest places!! And at last I have got the date and venue of your marvellous meet which I have been reading about avidly on you-know-who's thread for the last few weeks. I do hope that you have a great time. That is one meet I would really like to attend!!.

I realised that I probably was telling you something which you already knew when I mentioned Tolkien!!. Apologies!!

Now we have a glorious week in beautiful Devon and are really looking forward to the break.

So Happy July 4th and my greetings to all the super new friends I have met in the last few months.

Go well Madame President!!
Christiane AR1

Christiane, did you find the page for the Summer Meet in London? If not, go here: A10103662

There is a general meet in London each summer and winter. July and January. It is a good way to meet people you chat with online on h2g2. I'm sure they would like to have you attend.

Hyp

Dear Hyp,

Thank you so much for the thread. Sadly it is the weekend that we are in Devon!.

But most of the activities would have been difficult for me except the London Museum!

You are going to have a house full my dear!. How on earth are you going to cope. Wish? I am pleased that you are going to set them to work!!. I could send over lots of clotted cream for you. Honice of WA to send you the receipes!! Have fund this s/e

and again thank you

Sincerely,

Christiane

Perhaps you will be able to attend the one in January. Unless something unexpected happens, I am planning to fly over for it. It would be nice for all the UK campfire denizens to get together for a proper natter. I'm going to suggest to the US campers when they're here that some of them go with me. We'll see what develops.

Yes, it is turning into a house party as much as a meet. I am on the verge of a nervous breakdown trying to figure out how much food to buy and if the house passes muster. The thing is, I'm not the best housekeeper in the world. And living alone, I tend to toss things behind a closed door. Out of sight, out of mind. Well, I need the spare rooms so there aren't any doors left to hide things behind.

I didn't realise you were a lego fan Hyp - if I'd have know that I'd have let J take you to legoland in Windsor. He's been itching for an excuse to go for *years*!

I keep buying Legos for the children's library and they keep walking of in little hands and pockets. I think Legos has to be one of the best toys ever invented. So, I have decided they aren't toys at all. Rather they are manipulatives and belong in my early childhood development section and have to ne checked out.

How many Legos Stores are there? I thought the only one was in Birmingham. How

Legoland is a lego theme park!

http://www.legoland.co.uk/park/ridesattractions/funforall.htm

Wow! Ok. Tell J that the next time I'm in Blighty, we will have to go to Legoland. This I have to see.

Hey, that's a good reason for him to be happy about the baby....a built in excuse to visit Legoland.

Oh, is there a kid we could rent to take with us?

Legoland is quite good.

The crucial question, as far as the chocolate issue goes, is which do ou prefer, Cadbury's or Hershey's? I found Hershey's rather tasteless compared to what I'm used to.

You didn't happen to try any Belgian, Dutch, French or Swiss chocolate, did you? They all make gorgeous rich stuff!

Regular Hershey bars aren't very good. I never buy them. I have always eaten the Cadbury bars - ever since I was a kid. About the only thing I ever buy that has the Hershey label are the Reese's peanut butter cups. And I buy the giant Hershey bars to make fudge at Christmas.

No, the only Swiss chocolate I bought was the Toblerone. It's creamy, but too sweet to suit me. My favorite domestic chocolate is the Dove dark chocolate. I enjoy it a lot.