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

Shhh... your secret's safe with me. I've only seen the first one.

JTG

Am very glad there are other freaks out there - if only semi

Strangely, the most memorable thing about watching the original Star Wars, apart from the amazing (as they were then) special effects (and the fact that the female lead had danish pastries stuck to the sides of her head), was the sky when we came out of the cinema. It must have been an early evening screening, because it was still quite light... and hot! The whole sky - well the western sky, at least - was pink and criss-crossed with a web of heat lightning. I don't think I've seen anything quite like it, before or since.

JTG

WOW
Though when I went to see 'Mrs Doubtfire' it was snowing when I came out
Which was quite random even though it was February

This evening's news was dominated by weather stories from around the world, including the terrible flooding in the UK, more flooding in the Philipines, and an astonishing hail storm in Sydney! It was rather nice here today... that was largely overlooked

JTG

It's been pretty nice here too - just freezing cold
But all the trains are screwed up - so I am going to have fun getting to London.

Sam mentioned that there have been problems with the trains. Have the last of the people who really know how things work retired, or is it simply a question of the tracks being under water?

JTG

The tracks are underwater
and I think we're onto the second generation of rail execs. who don't have a clue

but apparently my trains will run - they will just be delayed (by 2-4 hours)

That's about par for the course here, especially in winter. I used to commute to school on the train, and long delays were all a part of the joy of rail travel. On one cold winter evening, when the train was already long overdue, the train limped into the station leaking steam from underneath one of the carriages, and the platform was instantly engulfed in a dense fog. Canadians aren't naturally very good a queuing anyway, and the resulting confusion of people bumping around lost, while the conductors shouted directions, was hysterical.

JTG

Oh the hours I have spent waiting on cold stations for late trains
*grows nostalgic*
I think the longest was an hour and a half
And the weirdest reason were cows on the line, and geese on the line.

90 minutes hardly counts as a delay here.

Ah, nostalgia... We lived in a small village for a while, when I was a nipper, and I used to take the train into Nottingham on the weekends to visit my grandparents. It was a marvelous adventure that I always looked forward to, and the memories associated with it still emerge in the strangest ways: The idea once came to mind, uncharacteristically, to buy my wife perfume for christmas. Predictably, I soon discovered that I was way out of my depth; and, when the poor sales girl asked what fragrances *I* like, all I could think of were bacon and the diesel exhaust smell of Nottingham Midland Station.

JTG

That is ummmm
interesting

Though i don't think fresh cut grass and the beach goes well bottled either

Uncanny... those are my next two most favourite smells.

JTG

That's why I like being at St Andrews so much - lots of beach
We have fireworks down there tonight

Ooo... I hope the weather's nice for it.

Sean Connery is an alumnus of St Andrew's, isn't he?

I don't think so, but he was reputedly in town for the Dunhill Cup last months.
Although very few of us could be bothered to walk out to the golf course to see who was here. It is only the non-uni people that get excited about the golf stars, celeb and Prince Wills' prospective arrivals

You're right... it was an honorary degree. Does golf have stars? I suppose it does... but I would sooner pull my head off than have to shuffle around paying homage to a golfers ego.

A golf course is too artificial an environment to arouse celebrity spotting excitement in a sensible person. It's exactly the sort of place where one would expect to see celebs and royals (golfers too, of course). Celebrities, especially of the movie ilk, are only worth noting when you come across them in a more mundane setting... in my opinion.

JTG

Well apparently someone chucked a pint of beer over Chris Evans, which I have to say I thought was quite classic

I don't know who chris Evans is, but I hope he's famous enough to be worth spending a pint on.

JTG

He's a ginger prat who's on British TV and radio. He used to dj the breakfast show for radio 1 and then virgin. He has this TV show called TFI Friday - music and mayhem
But everyone hates him