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

Thanks, Christiane

Right, can I sign up to German with Yarreau too?

Oh and, B'El - I realise that boys are probably worse than girls for generating washing. What is it with kids and washing?

Merci mille fois Yarreau,

I seem to remember reading that you come from the north of France. !!I appreciate your translating that for me, but I perhaps could have hazarded a guess at what the heading meant. !!

Enfin. !

with appreciation for explaining that to me.

AlsoRan80 Mercredi le 8 Avril, 2010 BST

Well, I dunno re boys and girls and washing.

Nod (female, 13) will happily slob out in the same pair of pyjamas for the entire school holidays.

Sic (female, 11) keeps her clothes on the floor rather than in the wardrobe (and in so doing commits the cardinal sin of Mixing Clean Clothes With Dirty Ones) and changes her outfit at least three times every day, more usually five. When she appears with some washing, it usually amounts to four loads and consists of everything she owns.

Osh (male, 7) will change into a costume (eg to be Indiana Jones or Doctor Who or a pirate) but isn't particularly hard on his clothes and if he's in a costume mood he will wear it for several days. At the moment he only has 2 school trousers and 2 school sweatshirts and that's enough to see him through the week, although I always feel like a Bad Mother on Fridays. (This is from reading social services files at work: dirty clothes are a sign of Parental Neglect.)

Mol

Daughter (16) wears school uniform during the week, and washes it herself at weekends. Her other clothes she USUALLY manages to wash herself, but will occasionally request my help. And I came home today to find her laundry basket left beside the washing machine in a blatant hint - (she's away to a residential course for the next few days)

North of France? Not quite - I'm from Germany, which I consider very boring indeed...

...At least it was until you moved in, right?

Well, it was boring when I left Germany around 1970, when did you move in, msY?

Well, I moved out in 1991 and came back in 1999... because I missed everything and everybody, boring as they may be...

I first came in 1973 and then, for good, in 1976. I don't find it more or less boring than the UK. It's what you make it.

Yarreau - why don't you come to the Mannheim meet?

I first came in 1967 and again in 1975 and again in 1978 pretty much for good then.

It's much better now I can watch BBC and get English books

"My" towns - Schleswig and Flensburg - have changed so much for the better since 1970. It's amazing and I really enjoy going back every once in a while. Doubt that I will move back for good though. If I move when I retire it might as well be somewhere warm, like Spain or Greece or Polynesia