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

Families, friends and colleagues of Australians and New Zealanders killed in the US terrorist attacks gathered in New York on Friday to pray, grieve and comfort each other.

Episcopal, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Jewish faiths. They sang and spoke of peace and justice, of grief and comfort, of a quest for meaning in the inferno that engulfed the US on September 11. Clerics stood together and jointly bowed to the altar before filing out as the congregation sang the Ode to joy from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

The worshippers stood to jointly sing their national anthems. Australians led in singing, "Our land abounds in nature's gifts of beauty rich and rare. . ." The New Zealanders followed, guiding the congregation through 'God Defend New Zealand ... from the shafts of strife and war...'

Most people then had to refer to their programmes to follow the less familiar lyrics of America's Star-Spangled Banner. Their voices seemed to hesitate slightly as they came to the "rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air ..."

He-he....yeah, I can see where they might take that at a lurch!

But history not known is history misunderstood.

The tune for our anthem is actually an old English drinking song(a subject of much discussion among our citizens for many years!). At one time I actually had the lyrics to it.....old English is hard to read!.

A feller by the name of Francis Scott Key penned the current lyrics while watching the attempted distruction of our Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.

Mr. Key was using the light from the explosions of the rockets and bombs to see if the US flag still flew over the fort, to let him know if we had been defeated or not. When dawn came, the flag still flew. Our men had held fast and firm against the odds.

You see, those bombs and rockets weren't ours...they were British.

NM

LOL! Good spurring! No epitephs thrown, no acrimony. My buckets is still full at my feet.

History NM, good old history. What hast thou taught thine servants oh history. "Nay, they learn not, whither thine teaching be good. They learn not!"

O'God I said are both my arms gone. I stopt I could say no more, A thousand thoughts

- written by a non-British soldier in 1812

Thank you, ever so, Ahmed.

But I dare not be too well pleased with myself. LOOny is quite the wordsmith. I expect his return soon, at which time I feel I shall be shredded to ribbons for mearly becoming involved in the conversation!

NM

oopps!....looks as though I was a bit slow there!

NM

Am I that obvious?

Well....yes and no!

NM

>>Something really creepy - In capitals type Q33 NY (flight number of one hijacked plane)<<

I think you'll find Q33 is a bus

..and the QE2 is a boat

Q33ny is not the flight number of any of the planes that were hijacked
It is just a rumer

A rumour only given any credence in CloudCuckooland (the country formerly known as the US)

The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, page 34
There is much difference to my eyes between the leaded bourgeois type of a Times article and the slovenly print of an evening halfpenny paper ... The detection of types is one of the most elementary branches of knowledge to the special expert in crime, though I confess that once when I was very young I confused the Leeds Mercury with the Morning News.

No rumour: the Star Spangle'd Banner's tune was indeed an English drinking song, the anthem of the 'Anacreon Society'. I heared it on Radio 4 a few weeks ago and, believe me, the American words are a lot better.

So I hear. And that means we are all awake p'ple.

As I enjoy my grøve brød....... What would Shirlock Holmes have done I wonder under these circumstances? I mean ground zero and all.

So I hear (about the Q33 thingy!). And that means we are all awake p'ple. !!

As I enjoy my grøve brød....... What would Shirlock Holmes have done I wonder under these circumstances? I mean ground zero and all.

I expect he would have applied his doctrine of eliminating all impossible explanations. Then, what remained, however implausible, would have been the only likely explanation. Whether the Taleban would swallow that is another matter...

This flippin' mouse. Now see what you've done. Posting without my express and written instructions. Could someone buy out Compaq? Oh for some pen on papir (that would be paper), ink bloating ink, neat entwinned with neat.
(Pauses for his favourite apple juice, looking around to make sure no adders pop from down under)

I wonder what the impossible explanations would be Monk with felonies. And would OBL be one of them? Mmmmm and what was that butler of his called again. He seemed all the more sane than this fellow Holmes. Must have a been a boxer in his spare time. Holmes I mean

So what's your explanation, Ahmed? I have no idea what Holmes would have come up with because, you see, despite the fact that I was once a chemist too, I have nowhere near the number of Little Grey Cells as he did. Or was that someone else?

OBL must be pleased that he's now a TLA. RIP OBL, with any luck...