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

One journal, updated daily. No particular theme, but to focus myself I might try and stick to a vague alphabetical order, although I reserve the right to miss letters out, do two entries with the same letter or abandon the plan altogether if I feel like it.

Calling cards are welcome, comments or questions would be nice too.

Here we go. A is for... About me. #2

About me.

After lurking on h2g2 in late 1999 I signed up around the New Year but didn't activate my page straight away. Since then I have managed to keep a fairly low profile, and still protect my anonymity. But I'll summarise what I have written about before as a way of introduction to anyone who hasn't spoken to me. Welcome!

I currently live in a small village in the Garden of England, although I haven't always and may not stay much longer. I'm a serial mover. In my time on h2g2 I have lived in 2 counties and at least 5 houses, although the one I'm in now has been the longest in one place ever in my whole life.

I work as a teacher. I've given this up 3 times now, but it's a reliable way to make a living and at my age the pension looks good. For 3 years I worked in a university as a teacher educator, which was a dream job and I loved it but I was made redundant due to cuts in training numbers (thank you Mr Gove )

My health is what the medical profession would call "excellent" - if I ever saw any of them, which I don't. I come from a line of women who don't trouble the medics in any way, apart from childbirth. I had my mitochondrial DNA analysed a few years ago, and at first I was quite disappointed to find out that I had the most common European type. I wanted a rare one! Then I thought about it and realised that perhaps it was common because it was robust, therefore perhaps I have "good genes". Either way, my maternal grandmother lived to 96, my mum is an extremely well 77 and if she doesn't get there first I intend to be the first to see 100.

My beautiful, amazing daughters are 25 and 22. I have always referred to them on here as Sunshine and Moonlight, names which reflect their personality. Both left home at 18 to do degrees and have stayed in their university towns, each are over 200 miles away in different directions. Moonlight is not very happy about my idea of living to 100 and she has a "plan"...

I'm a Londoner by birth and I do feel a need to visit regularly, to explore, go to galleries, museums or the theatre. I have an occasional hobby as a film extra, when I retire I want to do more.

My plan for NaJoPoMo is to expand on some of these themes, or to air my thoughts on different topics. The alphabetical order will focus me, but I'm not going to be too strict about it. If you read, it would be nice if you left a calling card but lurkers are welcome.

[z]

reddit

If you keep the alphabetical sorta-theme the whole 30 days, you'll *have* to repeat letters a few times

Good to get to know you, coelacanth.

Interesting [smiles]

(added to Friends)

agrees how lovely this challenge is in getting to know more people on h2g2.

"Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence."

According to this morning's Daily Fail I am one of 2.4 million people in my age group who they describe as "lonely" or a "loner", just because I have my whole house to myself. What a horrible description! And anyway, even though Sunshine and Moonlight have left, the cat still seems to be here.

I have all the "noise and haste" anyone could ever need in my day job. Hundreds of lively teenagers are never quiet and going placidly through it is quite difficult sometimes. It's a welcome relief to get some peace. Work is a 40 minute drive away and I might fill that with Radio 4, some music or French radio. (It exercises my brain to see if I can interpret enough of what they are saying to be able to work out the topic.) Or I turn off external noise and mentally plan my lessons and assemblies - I'm often heard to claim that I have some of my best ideas when driving. At home I don't find silence oppressive, it's a choice. Sometimes I choose noise, sometimes I don't. And sometimes I rant at the Daily Fail.

Recently Sunshine told me she had taken to downloading audio books to get her through her train journey to work and she thought I'd like it. My first choice was Stephen Fry's "The Fry Chronicles", 12 hours of it. Downloaded to my phone, then plugged into the car stereo. Brilliant! There's nothing quite like having Mr Fry read to you personally twice a day, and a good balance to the kind of inventive language I hear at work. I had already read "Moab" and heard his voice in my head as I did so, this time it was real.

So I'm a convert to the idea of audio books, even though I was resistant at first. I just don't have the time for proper reading any more, and Sunshine was right, I will enjoy being able to keep up. This afternoon I have a 4 hour drive. My new audio book is Hilary Mantell's "Wolf Hall". 24 unabridged hours. I'm really looking forward to starting it.

But for the next few weeks I'm giving up being a "loner". I'm doing today's drive to collect Sunshine, who is training to be a teacher herself on a part-time course. She's moving in with me for 5 weeks while she does a placement in a school in the same town as mine, so I'll have her companionship in the house and on the drive every day. It's going to be fun having her around, but I will miss my peace! And maybe the audio book won't be on in the car, but I will find other chances to listen. Perhaps when I get to W I'll review it.

(Lanza - )

I also live without any other humans (I have a dog) and I also am not lonely. Journalists do like to make sweeping generalisations and shoehorn everyone into tight categories, though, don't they?

Deb

I congratulate you on managing to teach a class of teenagers. It must be a demanding job.

I haven't tried audio books, but I'd be interested in reading Stephen Fry. I have a pile of real books that I mean to read

The Fail article is accompanied by a picture of a "loner" gazing out of the window, presumably life is passing her by in some way and she wishes she could join in! Hilarious. History and literature teaches us how dreadful life in overcrowded houses must have been, and also that in 1929 to have a "Room of One's Own" was for most women an unimaginable luxury. I have a vintage toffee hammer on my wall to remind me that one hundred years ago not only would it have been almost impossible for a woman to live as I do, 150 years ago it would have been illegal. http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/mol-50-82-1208http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Collections-Research/Collections-online/object.aspx?objectID=object-65680&start=44&rows=1

That's not to say that when Mr Right comes to my door to tell me he's realised he can't live without me, that I'll send him away.

Welcome minorvogonpoet. I actually have several hundred teenagers to keep an eye on at the moment, in addition to my normal teaching load with 6th formers. I didn't meant to come back to teaching, but every day is different, that's for sure!

I can recommend the audio books, for me I can see it's going to be a way to reduce the pile. And if I want to own the actual book, I will still buy it. There are some books that I wouldn't want in audio format at all.

[Amy P]

Attractive

Why does a vintage toffee hammer remind you of that? Random curious question.

What do you teach? Another random curious question.

Suffragette links reposted from #13
http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/mol-50-82-1208
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Collections-Research/Collections-online/object.aspx?objectID=object-65680&start=44&rows=1
"... toffee-hammer was used by militant suffragettes taking part in the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) window-smashing campaigns. In November 1911, window-smashing became an official policy. Attacks on both government and commercial buildings over the following months resulted in the arrest of over 200 women, many of whom received sentences of up to two months in Holloway Gaol. Targets were chosen to avoid any loss of life, but the suffragette's actions often outraged public opinion."

These days in school I teach lots of things, but I have other, non teaching responsibilities as well. Teaching teachers was the best job though, the one I was made redundant from last year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toffee_hammer

I just finished listening to "Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman" and now I'm listening to a dramatization of "The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul"

Ah. Toffee hammers. Interesting. I didn't know that.