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

then they built another one.

Enjoying the series. The photos bring back memories. One wonders why they a/c the London Eye when they don't consider it a necessity anywhere else in the city...

Perhaps it's because you stand in a big glass ball...

Ah, but why do you stand in a big glass ball? And why couldn't it just be ventilated? And why... yeah, whatevah. I just happened to have been in London during a heat wave and the buses were just gross.

At least we know that the concept of air conditioning exists in the UK. Some of the retail stores were air conditioned, if I remember correctly.

Aren't bridges amazing? I love them.

Oh! And the first class train cars.

Are you complaining about the air-con on the Eye or the lack of it elsewhere, Leo? In truth they probably figured that no-one would ride the Eye in mid-summer without air-con. Buses don't have to consider that so much.

Those capsules would be stiffling without air conditioning. I agree that no one would ride it in the summer without it.

It's a good tourist attraction. Voted the best in London, I believe. I would have to disagree, but then I'm into historical things more than carnival rides. But I definitely enjoyed it.

The lack elsewhere... or maybe... I don't know, I think I was just in a grouchy mood. I still remember the cushioned seats stinking like sweat in the morning.

I have to agree, when I got off the Eye I wasn't utterly satisfied with what I got for my money.
Then again, what with the exchange rate that happened quite often. Except after the London Dungeon and Madam T's. One thing Brits are good at is gore.

The exchange rate makes Britain quite expensive for Americans.

Leo, remind me, are your relatives in London or another city nearby?You have quite a far flung family. New York. London. D.C. Israel. Makes for interesting visits.

LA, Toronto, Switzerland, Lakewood (NJ), South Bend Indiana... I haven't visited the Swiss yet. They're not real Swiss, they just moved to where their bank accounts were.

The Londoners are in Golder's Green, which is part of London, I think. but it takes a long time to get from there to where the excitement is.

My relatives aren't as spread out as the used to be. So many of the ones I knew have died and I'm not acquainted with the younger generation. But we weren't as international as your family anyway. But I still have relatives in several states. Oregon, California, Nevada, Kansas, Iowa, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Connecticut, Massachusetts.

I have a former aunt and a cousin someplace in England. We lost track of them years ago. My uncle (divorced) hasn't heard from them in years. The cousin's name is Debbie and she is several years yuounger than I am. I think she would be around 50 now. I last saw her when I was about 14.

F's relatives are more scattered. Portugal, the Azores, Cape Verde, Argentina, New York. Foreign places.

Scattered relatives are only fun if you like them enough to want to visit but not enough that you wish they were closer.

Unfortunately, that's rarely the case.

The pound is especially strong against the dollar at the moment - I got over $1.90 to the pound. This made my holiday cheap, but would no doubt be off-putting coming the other way.

This may well be an urban legend, one of these "Aren't Americans stupid?" stories I will admit to liking, but I heard that when the people who bought London Bridge received it they were very surprised - they thought London Bridge was Tower Bridge!

Oh, and by the way, I read (though it was in The Da Vinci Code, so take with a grain of salt) that the reason that Friday 13th - and presumably the number 13 - is considered unlucky is because that was the date when Pope Clement ordered the arrests of the Knights Templar.

I don't know about the day, but I thought the number came from the Last Supper, attended by Jesus and the 12 apostles (though as we know from Dan Brown, Mary Magdalene was there as well). One superstition says that if 13 people dine together, the first to leave the table will be the first to die.

*mutters*

We only need air con for about two weeks a year. Not worth it!