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

Yes, Vice-Chancellor pay and expenses are a newsworthy counterpoint to staff pay rises (or otherwise)...

Sorry Ollie is injured The jacket sounds good - less obstructive than a cone - so hopefully she will soon be better

Funny but not funny how bills bunch up into one month - after my inner tube valve problems and freezer malfunction, my car failed its MOT yesterday Luckily it was a quick fix - replacement parts were needed but they were able to be delivered within a few hours, so the car passed the test on the second attempt

I had a good evening last night - I went to a talk about flower photography Similarities and differences from bird photography (not least that the flowers don't move as much, so a photographer can experiment with different angles, and sunlight at different times of the day )

I suppose one 'advantage' of the recent work-caused stress is that in the couple of weeks I've drawn lots of -themed doodles, so I'm now up to 20 on the next work-themed . Which in a way is annoying as I'd drawn 76 pages of the 100-page next in the main story, so had I spent that time doodling that plot instead I'd be almost finished now, instead of 76% of the Tutti-Fruiti inspired story and 40% of a 50-page work collection. (Although the work story does provide me with the luxury of being able to exclude pages should I wish. Editing isn't my strong suit as I tend to include everything....)

Sorry to hear about the bad luck with bills and breakages, but at least the car has passed and presumably working well again now? Great to hear you've had a good evening and learn about flower photography, which hopefully had a variety of transferrable techniques and approaches you can bring forward.

Ollie is very sad and desperate to go outside - she spends her time looking through the locked catflap at the outside world. She also seems unable to lie down to sleep, so tends to snooze standing up or we've put pillows around for her to lean against. It really is heartbreaking, but hopefully within two weeks she'll be sufficiently healed to be back to normal.

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Difficult not being able to finish one because of outside incidents that are inspiring another , but both books will get there eventually

That is very sad about not even being able to lie down because of the injuries Glad leaning against pillows provides some respite, and the jacket will help with prompter healing so she should soon be feeling better indeed

Yes, the car is running smoothly now - a spring broke (probably because of a pothole somewhere) and the other one was in bad condition so two new replacement springs really made a difference to the shock absorption when I was driving back from the MOT Centre

Yes indeed photography hints and tips are all helpful - definitely gave me ideas for thinking about angles even if I can't be choosy about where the sun is at the time when a bird appears Night photography is a different challenge - I tried looking for the comet Tsuchinchan ATLAS last night, but I fear it was too low on the horizon for me to be able to see it amongst houses. I will try again tonight, just in case. Good seeing photos of it online, though

The as drawn so far has no strike artwork and no depictions of the SC character. SC probably won't appear, except possibly in the background in crowd scenes, as I've already overdone that and with my new role I'm hopefully unlikely to encounter his real-life counterpart any more. So that's hopefully a chapter of my life I can move on from. There's a fair chance that if strikes take place, then if I'm on strike and inspired to draw about it, then I imagine I will. It is just frustrating how slow the ballot process is when we have to coincide with the national ballots in November. I was inspired by 'Santa Claus: The Movie' to draw a printer, which I thought was very funny. And a very truthful depiction of the bike shed situation.

Our still is very depressed about being in the jacket and particularly not being allowed outside. Fortunately she has a vet appointment tomorrow so hopefully she will be healing nicely and allowed more freedom. She really has been very sad this week.

Good luck looking for the comet and good to hear you're able to enjoy a smooth ride again in time for the weekend and the upcoming pothole season.

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That is a silver lining that the restructure has moved you away from SC. Yes, lots of comic potential in a printer. Good that the bike shed situation will be covered.

I hope all went well for

I didn't see the comet after all - too much light pollution and clouds. No problem, though - it was worth a try.

I experienced the challenges of internet shopping at the weekend. Before my holiday I had ordered a pair of shoes, and they arrived last week. In the pictures they had looked to have good solid soles, excellent for all terrain from outside mud to indoor floors. However, when the shoes arrived, the soles were like milk bottle texture - no grip at all... Disappointing, as they were very comfortable otherwise. Luckily easy to return to a parcel point, so the refund should come through soon Very lucky that I found the shoes in Lancaster - much better when I could try them on straight away

Yesterday was a better day than expected. With the weather forecast, I decided a museum would be good (Burton Mere is struggling at the moment with flooding, so that wasn't an option). Unfortunately, the new exhibition doesn't open at the Lady Lever until next week, but I decided to go anyway and it turned out there was an orchestral concert taking place, so that was excellent for a windy afternoon

Not sure if you've already found these links yourself, but I'll put them here anyway! http://johnfinnemore.blogspot.com/http://johnfinnemore.substack.com/

Sounds quite a weekend! We had a nice and quiet weekend where we didn't do much but stay indoors - unsurprising consider the stormy weather. My daughter had some friends pop round, so that was nice.

Thanks for the links - I hadn't subscribed to those but one of the things mentioned about Cabin Pressure (the working title) needs to be worked into the entry on it. When I've time I'll have to look through those.

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Glad you had a good weekend with proverbial hatches battened down.

I'd heard of Substack before, but not used it. It was very educational reading John Finnemore's posts as he learned how to use the different features

It was team meeting day in the office today. On the negative side, the accessible toilet was out of order (not sure whether because of plumbing problems or vandalism). Luckily the one in the next building was fine and it was a pleasant day for a walk - cool but not cold as the sun was shining. On the positive side I got and a good cup of and it was productive sorting out random queries with colleagues

Substack was new to me, but good to know if I ever need somewhere to put some spare submarines, there's a website dedicated to putting them on top of each other.

I've been in the office much of this week, which generally means less spare time.

My news is that my son has three weeks off college for half term, which seems excessive, especially as he only is in 2 1/2 days a week. Our Ollie is still very upset about being trapped indoors, but hopefully will soon be able to return to normal if her vet appointment goes well.

I'm still looking forward to my concert next week - and have this week bought tickets for a concert in October 2025. Larkin Poe will be on tour again to promote their next album - although between then and now, they're performing on Ringo Starr's next album. Ringo Starr should not be confused with David Starkey, aka Dingo Starr...

I didn't realise that they had so strong a connection, though I knew that they did a charity thing before lockdown in which they were both among many musicians doing a performance around the world - Ringo being far more prominent than Larkin Poe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ

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" if I ever need somewhere to put some spare submarines, there's a website dedicated to putting them on top of each other." -

Wow, that is a long half term. I hope the timetable has stabilised now, but 2 1/2 days a week does seem less than expected...

Wow, that is an impressive connection between Ringo and Larkin Poe

Lovely to see the pictures of thank you A clever jacket for Ollie, but the photos do show it is not easy for her to move in it - good luck with the appointment The kittens are very cute, and surprisingly similar to some of my sister's cats They look to be settling in very well

Yes, it is indeed a long half term - though apparently one week is dedicated to help those who didn't pass GCSE English and another is dedicated to GCSE Maths, and of course my son passed both of those with flying colours so doesn't need to go in. But they still are dividing the week into two groups, which means each group only does woodwork for either the start or end of the week.

Our appointment is tomorrow - with the kittens also being given their injections.

It has been an uneventful week and weekend on the whole, which is positive. Sometimes no news is indeed good news.

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Yes, uneventful weeks can be positive indeed.

My mum has more activity than expected - two years ago when she couldn't breathe, the doctors just assumed it was because she smokes, so she was referred to Respiratory. Eventually it was realised the problem was on the outside, not the inside, of the lungs, so she was referred to Cardiology. Last week she was referred to Dermatology, and this week the referral is to Oncology I will be sitting in on the consultation to help with information gathering

Ah, that makes sense that your son has extra free time because of already having the qualifications. Not good to only give the students half a week each of the actual subject because of being divided into two groups, though...

I hope all went well for

I had a good weekend - went to Lady Lever and saw the new exhibition, which was good - all about sequins, so it was very interesting from a crafting perspective I went owl hunting as well, but the weather was a bit damp for them to be out and about. I saw plenty of Great White Egrets, though - always good to see

Mum's consultation was positive, so that is a weight off her mind Fun and games getting there, though - she received a leaflet saying 'What to expect at Hospital W' so we went off to Hospital W, 30 miles away. When we got there, just on time for the appointment, we went to reception and asked where the consultation room was, and the receptionist discovered we were in the wrong hospital Luckily the receptionist was able to telephone the consultant, who was very understanding and was able to rejig the appointments for the day - it took about 20 minutes to get over to Hospital H, and she fitted us in pretty much straight away We weren't the only ones who had the same problem - they admitted it happens quite a lot because the departments have only recently been split into the two hospitals

Good to hear that your mum has enjoyed a positive consultation, and hopefully this will lead to improved breathing. Unhelpful that you were sent the wrong hospital information leading to confusion - bad enough that colleges have merged, yet alone hospital chaos and confusion. Hopefully doesn't happen when it is a matter of life and death!
It was easier on the Island where there's only one hospital now to choose from (provided you're not exported to the Mainland) so the only thing similar I have experienced was when I ended up operated in Basingstoke a couple of days after being expected to be chopped up in Winchester, only to be turned away when I was on the train there.

This week, on Monday my spoon at work disappeared, which I was upset by. There aren't many spoons in the office so I think someone had assumed it was a generic workplace spoon, not realising it was mine. Fortunately it returned on Tuesday afternoon, which as I was only going to be in Monday and Tuesday this week was a relief.
Everyone I spoke to said they thought that the VC was the likeliest candidate for the theft

Yesterday I attended a lecture on the Duke of Wellington's influence on the World Wars, which was quite interesting. On the whole it turned out there wasn't much. Although the Royal Navy did have three warships at the same time named after him - the HMS Wellington, the HMS Duke of Wellington and the HMS Iron Duke and the RAF had two bomber aircraft named after him, the Vickers Wellesley (a death trap), but the army don't hero-worship Wellington in the way that the Navy admires Nelson.

I'm also very much looking forward to seeing Bob Dylan live on Friday. Tonight I hope to go on the spooky run in the nearby country park.

I hope you enjoyed the sequins!

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Did I say that we were expecting the people to look at and fix our roof, but nothing happened? We've had an e-mail today:

"Good Morning,
You called the office to chase up a start date for the estimated works, but unfortunately qe are currently working on two jobs that have scaffolding on them which we need to complete to enable the scaffolding to be removed.
We were supposed to have started them both two weeks ago but have been delayed by the weather and other unforeseen circumstances, so we are trying our best to catch up with other works.
We understand that you are concerned about the roof leak on your property foremost and it's understandable that you want to get the leak fixed as soon as possible.
We are hoping to book the works in for all the properties for week commencing 4th November but cannot guarantee it will be Monday 4th November until we know where we are with the other two jobs we have in progress.
We will therefore confirm the actual start date on Friday the 1st of November to provide a more accurate date."

Who could have foreseen rain in October?

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Yes, the hospital stay in February improved mum's breathing to how it was 5 years ago, so that was good treatment. The consultation was because mum had had a lesion that was cancerous, but the consultant confirmed the removal operation was successful. Still needs follow-up, but definitely a weight off mum's mind.

Yes, definitely tricky with college mergers, hospital restructures etc, etc.

Sorry things are proving tricky with your roof situation, too - imagine rain in October indeed... "We will therefore confirm the actual start date on Friday the 1st of November to provide a more accurate date." - fascinatingly vague... Our gutter works haven't started yet either, as all the flats have to vote on which quote they like best. The cheapest quote is from March, so I fear the price will have gone up in the last 7 months

Wow, that was lucky that your spoon reappeared on Tuesday - I'm glad, as I do know what it's like to have a good spoon rather than a generic spoon Highly possible that it was the VC wot dunnit

Glad you're enjoying some good events, too! I hope you enjoyed the spooky run tonight - it has been foggy here this evening, so that would make a run extra spooky (although possibly also extra muddy).

Unfortunately the spooky run didn't go very well - we got as far as the country park's spooky trail, but my friend slipped on mud and twisted their ankle and so we had to phone for a lift back. I hope they heal soon (no pun intended).

It is Hallowe'en, a day of spooks and things that go Bump in the night and lions and tigers and bears and/or lions and witches and wardrobes. Hope you manage to avoid unwelcome trick or treaters.

Tomorrow I'll be attending a phone-free Bob Dylan concert - he's the only Nobel Prize-winning songwriter.
To clarify, by which I mean the only Nobel Prize winner to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for their songwriting*. There's no reason why some of the many other Nobel Prize winners couldn't be songwriters in their spare time. Would Marie Curie enjoy karaoke? Who knows!

I can definitely picture Winston Churchill, who won the 1953 Nobel Prize for Literature, writing a song like,
If you'll fight them on the beaches clap your hands....
If you'll fight them on the landing grounds stamp your feet...
If you'll fight them in the streets nod your head...
If you shall never surrender shout "huzzah!"

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*Although apparently the 1913 Nobel prize for literature was awarded to Rabindranath Tagore, who was both poet and songwriter, but apparently many of his song lyrics were only known outside India as poems...?

Ah, sorry my mud prediction was accurate... Hopefully your friend is back up and running soon indeed

I hope you avoided unwelcome trick or treaters, too. There were an unusually large number of trick or treaters out and about this evening. When I went out for a walk, someone wearing a Darth Vader costume was standing on the dropped kerb while watching their children visit the nearby houses. The helmet meant they couldn't see or hear me approaching from the side, so I left them to it. I went a different way instead, and enjoyed exploring a quieter area - my neighbours had put boxes of treats outside their houses so the trick or treaters didn't need to knock on the door

"Would Marie Curie enjoy karaoke? Who knows!" - That is interesting about song lyrics being known only as poems. Not all poems would make good lyrics, and not all lyrics would make good poems, so a Nobel Prize is a noble achievement indeed

I hope your journey to and from the concert venue goes smoothly and I'm sure you'll have an excellent time

Yes, we successfully avoided Trick or Treaters, but we've had fireworks audible - not on our road, but still close enough nearby to be noisy.

After a bit of juggling who is where in order to get everyone where they were headed - my wife to the puppet festival, my daughter to her friend's house while I travelled to Bournemouth on a foggy day, meaning that some ferries were cancelled so meeting up with my friend proved difficult.

But I made it to Bournemouth in time and found the BIC Bournemouth International Centre where Dylan was performing. For his performance, all phones and electronic devices were banned. But our seats were along the balcony and quite close to the stage, so we had a truly fantastic view of him performing. As it was the 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' tour, most of the songs were from that album, but not his longest song from it.
They say you see Dylan for the experience, but if you want to hear the music, get the album - and yes, that's true. He also didn't perform any of the songs the way that he recorded them, which meant it often took a few minutes to work out what song he was performing, even when I've heard the songs frequently and recently. He slurred his words together quickly at the start of each line, rather than spreading the lyrics across the accompanying music, so you'd hear him sing 'AllthroughthesummersintoJanuaryI'vebeenvisitingmorguesandmonasteries' so if you know the lyrics ahead of him singing, you can recognise, anticipate and unpack, so it was a challenge in some ways as at one speed I was trying to recognise the lyrics he was saying while also trying to recognise the song which was played at a different tempo and speed before getting the moment and realising what is being sung. It was indeed excellent, but I dread to think what anyone who doesn't know Dylan's songs would have thought of it.
I didn't get a tour t-shirt, though. I'd intended to, but when we got to the BIC and convinced them that we weren't carrying mobile phones, the tops were £100! That was a tad more than I'd intended to pay.
There's a 45-minute 'Bob Dyland: Shadow Kingdom' programme on iPlayer at the moment if you get a chance to see it.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

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Sorry the fireworks near you were noisy. There were a few fireworks here last night, but not as noisy as in previous years, so that was good. There may yet be a big display at the nearby pub on Tuesday, though, so we shall see... I hope things aren't too bad for you and s over the next couple of nights

Wow, that was a logistical exercise for you all. Glad things worked out not too bad, and glad you had a great view in the BIC Definitely sounds like a show for fans rather than casual listeners, but I can imagine it was an experience indeed to see Bob Dylan and have moments Shocking about the price of the T-shirt, though That is a shame, as tour t-shirts are good adverts, so one would think that more sales are better...

I have had a good weekend. Shopping was very busy because of half term, but I got what I was looking for Today I did a bit of a twitch, as I went to Burton Mere and discovered a Green Winged Teal had appeared - that's one for the overall list as well as the year list Quite the ID challenge, because it looks like a Eurasian Teal but has a vertical white patch on its side instead of a horizontal white patch - the only way to find it was to scan all the 30+ Teal and hope it was sitting sideways on Patience paid off