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

As it happens, I did happen to find myself sitting next to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies at dinner on Friday, and I also DID buy a copy of his CD Mavis in Las Vegas from the RNLI charity shop for 25p a couple of days before.

When writing my journal entry yesterday, i thought about telling a lie -well, I'm not tied to the truth: I thought about pretending that I'd gone over to speak with the composer, and that I'd shaken hands with him and told him about my purchase, making up some kind of pithy reply...

... but I didn't. I just told the plain boring truth.

A handful of people saw the Sex Pistols play their 1976 concert at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall, but thousands claim to have been there. A lie, long-held and adhered to, can easily become the truth. The person telling the lie comes to accept it as the truth, and can build up elaborate memories of the event. I dare say that quite a few cut and dried/no doubt at all convicted murderers eventually persuade themselves of their own innocence.

That's the mentality that creates religions too.

Anyhow, my hotel in Lerwick had a bath, so now I've got a gummed-up ear. Ugh.

Miah spent most of the night out. Her passenger of yesterday morning is still on the loose.

Hummus for tea.

I have decided that socialism is simply religion carried out by other means.


Douglas

Many connections between Socialism and communitarian christianity - not to mention revolutionary socialism and the millenarian sects*.

But the converse is also true: divine right of kings? Enlightened despotism? Not to mention that Rationalism was not atheism as we know it.

(*vide Norman Cohn. Sure I've said this before. But hey I've washed all today's washing before, many times!¬)

The stink! the stink!

Theory #18 - it is coming from the wallpaper: woodchip and emulsion, painted in October/November with 'goes on pink, dries to white' paint.

Susan and I have been sniffing the walls. Miah may be due an apology.

There may be sunlight issues - the curtains stayed closed most of the winter, but now they get left open and there's more sunlight in the northern sky...

This is only Theory #18, but be warned if you are thinking about using 'goes on pink/dries as white' roller emulsion.


Douglas

Lerwick??

Yes, yes Kirkwall. I got on the bus to Stromness but asked for a ticket to Scrabster: my next choice was Stornaway and had the bus driver not taken pity on me my next guess would have been Shedocksly. I had no problem, however, ordering Orkney Dark Island, which is a dark rich Mackeson's (as opposed to Guiness)like beer more than a porter than a stout with a gorgeous smokey flavour. Immediately after the very first mouthful the thought popped into my head that the barmaid had managed to get some fag ash into the glass, but then I realised no no that's not fag ash thats hickery smoked almond...


Douglas

Ps Skullsplitter is also very nice.

Sue