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

I'm off to the airport - going to the London meet-up! See you all after the weekend!

(odd, I thought I had already posted a journal about it)

OK Jen,,
have a good time, sorry I cant be there as well, but funds are tight at the mo what with a wedding pending,lol,, love to all

sue xx

I'll see you there then T. Make me buy you a drink.

I forgot my mobile phone at home so if anyone needs to get in contact with me (change of plans or similar) I am staying at Hilton Hyde Park

You just reminded me not to forget mine.

See you tomorrow Kristina!

Have lots of fun

I hope for next summer.

- love to be there. Have a good time, though!

JINXED WEEKEND

Well, it was/is... Yes... so everything turned out OK in the end, but I just wish it would have worked out a little bit smoother, with a little less worries

First thing: During the flight from Stockholm to London we had the wind with us instead of against us, meaning we arrived 25 minutes early - but just as we were descending, seeing the runway rush past beneath us, the plane suddenly rised at an sharp angle. Everyone looked around at each other...

(sorry, had to run off to get some more - I'm still at Heathrow)

Next thing was this sound 'kaplunk' meaning they had pulled in the landing wheels - oh, oh, they're trying to save fuel...

Turned out that the plane that had landed just before us got hydraulic problems and couldn't get off the runway - so we had to circle around above Heathrow for 15 minutes before being allowed to land - still, at least we were 10 minutes ahead of the timetable - so far so good!

On the way in to London, the tube train suddenly slowed down, and the lamps went out, and the engine went quite - after a long silence we were finally told that the train ahead of us had run somebody over! - so they cut the power.

Unfortunately our train had already past the point where we could have been switched over to a different track - meaning we were stuck, while we watched other trains pass us on the next track.

Minutes became quarters, which became an hour - with no ventilation and no air rushing through the wagons, it soon got suffocatingly hot inside...

First they asked any staff that would be happening to be on the train to make themselves known - they were looking for a driver, probably to replace whoever had been driving the train that run the person over - must be a nasty shock. I just wish that those wishing to commit suicide could show at least some consideration, and kill themselves without involving others.

Then we were told to start walking towards the first wagon in the train - coming from Heathrow, most people had huge suitcases that they dragged along - and I got dirt on my coat, probably from the outside of some wagon.

Then we were told to stop advancing and go back and sit down instead, because they would be driving a train up next to us and transfer us to it, but we were told to leave our luggage behind. We looked at each other, and I think the others were just as bent on refusing as I was - how the were we to find our bags afterwards?!

As the train drove up, I think we were all wandering how on they'd get us out/down and then in/up...

Then this staff guy came along with water bottles he handed out to us passengers - what a pity there weren't enough many bottles to reach all the way to where I was sitting!

Then we were told they had managed to get the other train out of the way, and that they'd drive up to the station, where we would walk over to the other train.

As we left the station and arrived to the next one, all those not familiar with the tube lines looked at the maps, trying to find out the location - but we had switched over from the Picadilly line to the District line, so the station wasn't on the Picadilly map, of course.

I finally arrived at my hotel, and got a very nice room overlooking Kensington Gardens. Exhausted after the warm and lengthy journey I tried to find a room service menu, but failed (I told them about it as I checked out) so instead I got out and got myself a - and then off to the pre-meet!

I definitely recommend a pre-meet (on the day before the official meet-up for those that arrive early) to anyone going to a meet-up for the first time - it's so much easier to catch the names and connect them with the right face when the pub isn't crowded with researchers!

And I found the pub at my first attempt this year! (Last year I forgot the address and the name of the pub, and when somebody finally managed to reach me on the mobile I discovered that there are no less than three pubs called 'Moon under water' in the area!

JINXED SATURDAY

I spent the morning going to Portobello Market, just one tube station away from my hotel - and got some for the picnic in Hyde Park that afternoon.

I also visited the Egyptological department in the British Museum - there were some interesting stuff there, but not nearly as much or impressive as in the Egyptological Museum in Cairo, Egypt - which isn't more than fair, really.

I also visited Hamley's on Regent Street to look for a sloth, but failed to find one (Ripley, Ripley, where art thou?)

I got myself a take-away curry from Modhubon on Pembridge Road (just one tube station away from my hotel) - I found it in one of the collaborative entries on curry places in the Guide!

Going to the picnic I got off at Marble Arch, because by then I was pretty tired of running around in the tube, up and down stairs, along corridors - and discovered that Hyde Park is absolutely enormous!

By the time I got to the bandstand (having discovered on the way that there was to be a Bon Jovi concert that day, meaning the park was swarming that day) it was well past the time we had decided to meet, and the others where nowhere to be seen. It would have been *really* useful with a mobile just then but, as I posted earlier, I had accidentally left it at home...

OK, so how difficult can it be to find a pretty big and mixed bunch of people regarding sex and age? I wandered around in the vicinity of the bandstand, but no familiar faces.

I sat down in the shade (it was a very warm and sunny day, lovely) and ate my curry - it was delicious, and the staff really nice, so I recommend it too!

I continued to wander aimlessly around, cursing the idea of bringing , because my backpack was beginning to feel *very* heavy...

Ah! Finally! Oh joy! Familiar faces! Shazz and TM were arriving even later than I was, and there they were, sitting on a bench near the bandstand - *and* they had mobiles!

It turned out the others were quite some distance away from the bandstand - no wonder I hadn't seen them! Once there, I was happily surprised to see Ottox and Sunny - I had no idea they were coming (and they hardly knew themselves until shortly before the meet-up I was told!)

Fortunately most of my bananas were eaten before it was time to break up - I had dreaded having to drag them back to my hotel - besides, I could never have eaten them all myself! (I had about 30 of them)

(to be continued at a later time)

Amazing how much trouble can be poured over a single person.

I hope the following part will be more positive (although less funny for the onlookers)

*wipes sweat off forehead, finally having reached home roughly at 11.30 pm* You've no idea, Marijn!

I decided to go back to my hotel for a quick shower and a change of clothes (had to wear my h2g2 shirt, of course!). Finding the Penderel's Oak was no problem, only problem was not seeing any researchers inside - until I discovered the pub had a basement (I missed that piece of info somehow)

Yay! Now I got to meet a whole bunch of people I've come across in several conversations - I only missed to introduce myself/get inroduced to something like a handful, I think...

...and the team I was in won the pub quiz - so now I have another h2g2 T-shirt!

I was getting a bit hungry during the evening, and tried to order nachos - and got the reply that I could only order food upstairs... Sounded odd, but I climbed up the stairs nevertheless to place an order. The bartender receiving it asked where I was sitting, and when I replied 'downstairs' he said I should order downstairs... OK, so now it's getting confusing.

I told him I had been told to go upstairs, so he got hold of someone more or less in charge, who told me they had stopped serving food downstairs, but I could have food served if I ate upstairs - does this make any sense? The kitchen was obviously still open (at 9.30 pm) but I was not allowed to eat downstairs?

I got so miffed that I told them to forget about me ordering any food, turned around and went back downstairs again, trying to drown my hunger with a couple of more .

When it was time to close, the staff used a bit brutal method of getting us out (brutal to me at least, never having experienced that specific method before): Turn on music on as loud a volume as possible! I had to cover my ears - I still have perfect hearing on one ear, and I'd like to keep it that way, thank you very much!

Ottox rolled his eyes during the weekend, but he didn't have the SOREC with him, so I got to keep one of them! (is that cryptic enough for you?)

I got myself a on my way back to the hotel, and slept like a baby.

JINXED SUNDAY

Sunday morning: big English breakfast buffee... I got up pretty late, and made a brunch of it: cornflakes and milk, toast, cheese, scrambled eggs, bacon, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms...

Checked out, left hotel, took the Central Line from Queensway to Notting Hill Gate, and swithced to the District Line to go to Earl's Court - and this is where it started getting troublesome again...

Obviously there were people running around in the tunnels, with the police chasing them (whether it was because of them being in the tunnels or being wanted by the police for some other thing, I don't know). The tube train came to a stand-still right between two stations, in the darkness, and no mobile access to the frustration of those lucky enough having their mobiles with them - eh... or something...

When, after quite some time, we finally got to the next station (Kensington something - High Street?) the train was taken out off traffic, and the station was closed! We were told to leave the station and take a instead!

Oh Titania! What a series of disasters. I'm a Londoner by birth and a frequent visitor and I really never, ever take the tube unless there is no option. I'd certainly never take it just for one station since they are often so close together you can see them. I hate the tube! Dirty, hot, crowded and no nice scenery.

I walk where I can and when it's too far. The travelcard is valid for both tube and bus so it costs no more than you already paid. I did ask Abi to put the link up for the online bus map and route information. It's the best way to see London, which is actually much smaller than you would think.

Lovely to meet you at last.

Panic because my knowledge of the London geography is extremely limited - at least I got on the right bus, but got off too early - if I don't get a suntan after all the time I've spent walking around in the sun, then I'll...

Fond Earl's Court tube station, found the Picadilly line platform for trains bound for Heathrow - once at the airport, I practically ran to the right terminal, the right check-in desk... and discovered I had just missed the plane! If everything would have worked like it should have, I would have been there 1½ hours before departure! Why, oh why couldn't the departure have been delayed?

My vivid imagination pictured how I would be a) end up having to buy (and pay for) a new ticket or b) not getting a seat on any flight, having to spend another night in London, having to call my boss on Monday telling him I was still in London.

I went to the SAS ticket desk and unloaded my to the man behind the desk - and he fixed me a seat on the next flight, no charge!

Oh, simulpost - hi coely! It was an honour to finally meet one of the lurkers!

JINXED SUNDAY (continued)

OK, so now is all is well, you might think? Hah! The flight from Stockholm to London was a bit late, meaning the flight back was also a bit late, meaning we might have to wait for a while to find a gap in the very busy take-off schedule - but that wasn't all...

...after spending some time waiting and waiting, they suddenly started unloading the baggage from our plane...

Turned out that two passengers had checked in baggage, but had failed to turn up at the gate - and for security reasons, their baggage had to be taken off the plane... I couldn't believe this was happening - would I ever get home?

Well, finally they found the suitcases, put them aside, and started loading the plane again...

I don't know which distant gate they assigned to us at Arlanda airport in Stockholm, but it was a very very long way from - from - most things - we got to see a lot of the new 'Arlanda North' section currently under construction... hrrrmmmmphh!

But then - at last - my troubles were over! Standing in line for the ticket machine for the train to Stockholm City the young man in front of me turned around and asked me 'Are you travelling alone?'

'Eh... yes' I replied, mystified. Turned out there was a special offer for 2 persons, much cheaper than two 1-person tickets - and he asked me if I wanted to share a 2-person ticket with him - well, of course!

A very nice young man, listening with sympathy to my trouble earlier that day, and wishing me good luck with the rest of the journey - and I did manage to catch a commuter train with just a few minutes margin (the trains only run every 30 minutes) and the commuter train was right on time, so I managed to get a home - phew! I couldn't relax until I was *really* at home - and now that I am, I discover I still have difficulties relaxing, so I thought I'd better get the whole story off my chest before going to bed!

Oh, and when I attended the January 2002 meet-up, I used the tube and had no trouble at all, so I had no idea it could be this bad...