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

it's the fuzz! Marv were you speeding? Oh, wait, it's just ben.


Home was built. Oh, who am I kidding, it's just the place I'm staying in at the moment. It's a flat in a nice old granite tenementy thingy, refurbished recently. And that's about all I know. (How boring!) But it's not home.

Still dead jealous of the Saab. Are you a Saab fan? There was an article in local paper about a 30 year old 96 for sale. Needs a good home with a garage apparently. Probably sold by now. Beautiful little car.

Are you in Furryboots City, Mikerhike?

*chokes back homesick sobs

Furryboots that?

Well, I don't have it yet and my insurance company is being a pain. So there may be a big monkey wrench in the works.
\

You could always just tell them you'll change companies.

I found some good deals online and then went back to my company who begrudgingly agreed to play.

Our old house in Italy was nearly 1000 years old in places. It had once been a monastery. Funnily enough, it was the newer bits that leaked and needed renovating.

I am very very tired. I've been back at work this week and could just lie down and cry from weariness. No, job has been boring-to-average, no extra stress or anything. But this coldy lurgy has just boil-washed me to limp pants-left-in-wash greyish collapse. It gets a little sob-inducing when the third colleague that day comes up to tell you you're not looking well or ask you if anything's the matter as you seem unusually quiet today.

*trundles off for a little lie-down*

Early night then Ag. And cup of magic tea to make it better.

[Mol]

[GDZ]

for Ag, and a

*waves to Mol* Have you started the new job yet?

I think this house is 1950s. It's all sound, except for the boiler which likes to have applications in triplicate before it will produce any hot water. Oh, and there's a socket hanging off the wall a bit, but that's a newer addition.

Speaking of new buildings not lasting, the Scottish parliament's falling down. Well, a bit of it is: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4779846.stm

It always amuses me when people say "marvelous the old builders - their stuff lasted centuries - not like this modern stuff" - I point them gently in the direction of Malmesbury Abbey, the tower of which just fell down, one fine day.

http://www.malmesburyabbey.com/history.htm

And to be fair there's a lot of money spent shoring up old buildings. It seems odd to me to see York Minster without scaffolding.

Nuns vs. Librarians! I'd buy a ticket to this:

http://www.comcast.net/news/strange/index.jsp?cat=STRANGE&fn=/2006/03/09/341500.html

I rather like that - Cathedrals should be living places.

The most moving time I was in a Cathedral was about 30 years ago in Gloucester, when it was being prepared for the Three Choirs Festival.

They had taken out all the awful wooden chairs (with built-in hymnbook holders on the back for the person in the row behind), and there was just this vast expanse of paving with the pillars going right down to the floor, and the scaffolding in front of the rood screen for the stand for the three choirs, and the sound of hammering and banging, (and maybe the occasional blasphemy). It had a life and a dynamism which is rare in Cathedrals these days.

As Amy and Hyp will tell you, I get very heated by Cathedrals as tourist destinations. I dislike being charged for the priviledge of talking to my god. In fact the most recent time I was in Gloucester, some poor woman came up to me offering to sell me a brochure, and said something like "have you come in to see around?" - I growled at her "I've come in to PRAY" and went and snarled at the deity in a most uncharitable manner.

I appreciate that it is a difficult balance to strike, but Cathedrals are first and last, in the rising of the sun and the setting of the moon, spiritual places. That does not necesarily mean they should be artificially hushed and silenced, but it does mean that one should be allowed to approach the deity without being charged for the priveledge.

See - I said we needed a smiley!

Ben

Ben, I agree. All places of worship should be first and foremost placs of worship.

Of course the income from visitors might be the only thing that keeps them open.

But visitors should observe rules, perhaps I should say "behave appropriately".

Canterbury charges visitors, but coming to services/pray especially if you're local (as in the diocese) is free,

on white wine with pizza

> Wow, which bright spark came up with that one?

Dreadful, when you live in a swamp, you have to make some changes to normal building procedures! The earth in Florida is so wet that normal buildings sink into the ground. Any skyscraper has to be built on steel pylons that are driven into the ground until they meet the bedrock. Otherwise the skyscraper will also sink. And swimming pools must be filled immediately with water, as they'll pop out of the ground otherwise.

I think we need a smiley.

Rosemary, what if you are a visiting services attendee?

how do we get new smileys?

I want a

A going the other direction?