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

Hello Polly dear I am getting very concerned for your welfare as none of us has heard a whisper from you in a while.

I do hope all is well with you and yours,I know life can be so mean to all of us from time to time, if you are just lying low for a while and do no feel like responding then I want you to know you will be missed and until you feel like saying hello once again I shall wait and until then I send you my sincerest wish that all is well soon.

All my love as always.Rick.

My dearest kind Rick ,

Hello. How very sweet of you to leave such a dear message for me. I've missed you too.

I've been rather poorly at times. I am seeing my specialist this Friday at the hospital. I rather overdid some things a few weeks ago and as a consequence I was in such discomfort for ages. I just could not be bothered to switch the computer on for almost 2 weeks. It seemed like a lot of effort.

I was also very 'down' recently. You know what I am like! I am very sensitive and often very sad. I've cried so much recently! I adore this time of year~~the lights and Christmas things and dark evenings. I used to love the open fires and shopping trips with my mother, and family Christmases with my father, mother and brother. And the winter-evenings romance shared with my chap. But those times have gone. I know that they will go, one way or another, for everyone. But I never get over the grief that I feel for my little family. I feel like a 'lost soul' so very often. I cried on Saturday in a tea room in Cranborne! I suddenly longed for my mother to be there with me. And I cried in M&S when I was looking at the Christmas things! My mother loved the silly presents , and gift shops etc. My father loved Christmas too but only because we would all be together for a while. I can remember him saying on many occasions "The doors are locked, there is plenty of fuel for the fire, and plenty to eat, and we shall be together for several days in the house". Those were the days when folk didn't stray outside their front doors much during Christmas.We were all so happy even though we were quite poor.

My lovely Rick, I apologize if I am rambling on and on. My heart is so full of longings and grief and love. Sometimes I feel that I am consumed by sadnesses of one kind or another. It will be 10 years this Thursday since my darling father passed away. Thursday will be a hard day for me...

I've been watching some of my old videos recently. And as you can guess I sit and cry and cry! Even the BBC adaptation of 'The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe'(which was free in the Mail) made me cry throughout. It brought back such happy memories of my daughter watching it with me, and the happy times we had at that time.

Johnny Mathos's song 'When A Child Is Born' reminds me of when my brother and I went Christmas shopping and he bought that record. He and I were very very close to one another. Each Christmas I would meet him in London for a wonderful day together. We would do Harrods and Oxford Street. He lived in Civil Service digs in South Kensington so he would take me to the lovely shops in the little mews nearby. We would always go to the theatre in the evening and then travel home togther in his car late at night. It was such a happy time.


Oh Rick~~~I know that you too will have lots of memories of the past. And you have job worries. And a family to look after. Please do forgive all that I have written but your kind message has made me want to say so much to you (too much I'm afraid!).

Thank you for all your kind words and kind wishes. They mean so very much to me. So very very much.

I do hope that you are keeping as well as can be, and that your family are happy and well. I do realise that you have had lots to contend with job-wise. And that your health has been poorly for so long. I often picture you as a burly man with such a soft heart and poetical mind.


Many blessings to you my dear friend.

Hugs and lots of love.

Polly
XXXX

I am going to shortly watch the second half of 'Babe' on DVD. I love the animals (yes~~~~the film makes me cry!). I watched the first half last night but was just too weary to watch the whole film.

xxx

Hello again Polly.

(re: the hip poet thread)That was a sad and moving piece from you,I hope things start looking up for both of us again soon.
Me? at the moment as I am unemployed I just seem to be in the way at home at the moment,I have a feeling that as I will be 59 soon(yes a Sagi)that although this is the first time I've ever had to visit a jobcentre,the future chances at my age are looking grim.

Added to the massive decline in the construction industry at this present time,as only a skilled manual worker,my prospects are looking rather bleak.

Still it's only money,my old firm closed without paying my wages and Carol(MOH)hasn't worked for 30 yrs,so I was a bit annoyed when after paying my NI stamps and tax for fourty three years I am only entitled to sixty quid a week ish.

Ahh well all's well that never started(sorry shake'y)I am determined to try and have a positive outlook on all this woe

As for you Polly,as always head up and knock'em dead gal

If we say our prayers today
We may see tomorrow
Yet no matter how hard we pray
It may not ease our sorrow

Love you rent my heart apart
Yet still I need you so
Without you day wont start
My heart would beat too slow

Hello dearest Rick.

I am at my daughter's cottage and using her computer. My computer is dreadful.

This is just a very quick message to let you know that you are in my thoughts. The job business is very sad for you. I'm really so very sorry. Poor darling Rick.


I shall be going home very soon. Back to my cold little home. I'm having a Waitrose mousakka tonight for supper so no real cooking is involved! And then maybe a DVD afterwards (something old and romantic). I watched 'Babe' the other evening. Lovely!

Anyway, my lovely daughter is waiting for me~~to take me home.

Lots of love to you. And a huge hug to keep you warm (I'm dreading the freezing cold weekend in my freezing home. The kitchen is like an igloo[although an igloo is probably very warm inside ]).

Polly



XXXXX

Hello, Rick.

22.45 and I'm off to my nest very soon. I can't stay awake for much longer.

I pray that you are well, warm, and happy.

Have a peaceful weekend.

Blessings,

Polly

Hi Polly.
I hope you'll soon be kissing
The sweet love you're missing
But if you cant cope
Then I'll always hope
That you will keep on wishing

Good morning Polly,the sun has come out here now though it was horrid first thing.

I went to the doctors again last week with my painful heel,I had a coretsone injection in it a few months ago but it didn't work.
So I went there expecting another jab and he said no,now I have been refered to our local othapeadic and they informed me that there is a waiting list of three months.
So,I've written to my Dr to see if there is another hospital or whatever I can go with a shorter waiting list.

As you know I've lost my job and tomorrow I have to report to the jobcentre.
It is so bad in there they do even have a public loo because the junkies would be shooting up in there.
The whole way the system operates is very degrading,everyone is left feeling with absolute certainty that they are second class citizens.
Even though I have paid my stamps and never claimed anything in my life,I will be lucky to get 60 quid a week add that to the fact that I have had no money for four weeks(I used to be paid weekly)I will have to start cutting back on everything soon.

We haven't had our heating on at home yet this year and it is starting to get bitter cold now and as I know you know there is only a certain amount of clothing one can wear and still feel comfy.
I have been wearing old wooly jumpers I haven'tseen for years

Anyway enough whinging from me how are you

In dreams I walk through clouds
Floating calmly in shrouds
Of the softest cotton wool
So snug I cant feel the pull
Of daylight as it tries to intrude
Into my peaceful interlude
Where angels walk in space
Where time has no place
Where wings beat to a tune
Just me and a lovers moon
to ponder e'en for Gods sake
Do I ever need to wake
From such a haven as this
Where dreams are ever bliss

As you are missing again to day
I send the sweetest rose your way
Here's hoping that its sweet scent
Is nothing short of magnificent
Place rose on your gentle lips
Imagine it is my finger tips
For it would feel most divine
Were your honeyed lips on mine

Hello my lovely Rick.

I'm so terribly sad that you had lost your job. Since I have known you, you had worked so jolly hard~~late nights, early mornings, days away from home etc. It was all such a tiring lifestyle yet you worked non-stop and never gave up. And now you are left with the horrid job-centre. It doesn't seem fair, does it. Life often seems unfair. I could cry away my days(and often do). Rick, I DO pray for you. After all your hard work I pray that you might be blessed once again with peace and a more certain future. Words seem weak so very often in life~~~but my words are full of compassion and sensitivity.

And if I could wrap you in a warm duvet~~all of you, then I would do that right now. Feeling cold is not nice at all. I have been freezing here. The bathroom window is now covered in clingfilm! And there is a strip of carpet covering the catflap door! I have once again put insulation foam around the stable door. But as the wood expands during the winter, I will have to tear it all off again later in the winter(just as I had to last winter). If I don't then I can't lock the door from outside. The kitchen becomes unbearably cold. Oh my dear Rick, I pray that you will all be able to keep warm. Shall I tell you what I am wearing tonight! Socks, undies, thermal vest (the best invention!), brushed cotton shirt, cord trousers, thick wool jumper(really thick), and a wool scarf. Actually, it seems milder tonight so only my knees are feeling cold at the moment! And last year, when I couldn't bear the cold air in here, I wore a lovely old beret!!! Only Wookie sees me~~~and he loves me so much that he obviously doesn't care what I look like!

I am in Wimborne again tomorrow for some peace and warmth. Rick, please try to have a happy weekend with your family. I love you all and hate to think of you all feeling cold and miserable. Bless you my dear friend. You are very special.

Rick, I love the bit in one of your poems about bubble-wrap around the outside water tap. I have done that to mine. Is that really enough to keep it from freezing? I hope so.

With love and prayers, and warmest thoughts.

Polly

XX

Hi Polly,brrrrrrrrr it's freezing again here this morning.
I wrote a letter to my doctor asking him if I could change hospitals for my foot as I was put on a twelve week waiting list.
And!dummy here forgot to put his name on it as I wrote two letter to keep a copyI sent the copy.
I only found out when boy wonder phoned to ask if I had sent him a letter,anywayhe gave me two more hospitals to try and I now have an appointment on 15Dec I cant wait as it is giving me gyp.

Anyway any news your end?

Someone ought to tell you
What a superstar you are
Even when you are not bright
Your glow is felt from afar
Your my inspiration
Time will never dull
The thrill I do feel
From your magnetic pull
So if the night is cloudy
I know that you are there
Even without your twinkle
Please know I that care

Hello my dearest Rick.

That was a daft thing to do re: posting a copy of a letter!! Write out 100 hundred times 'I shall be more observant in the future'. I'll give you a hug every ten lines.

Anyway I am so pleased that you have got an appointment coming up soon at a hospital. How are you today? I hope you are not in too much discomfort. Whilst sleeping on a hard mattress over the weekend I have had much less back pain.

Wasn't it cold at the weekend! I have got a cold and the icy air seemed to cut right through me. It took me 5 hours to get home yesterday and I felt so unwell by the time I opened the door. I've had an easy day today. I might yet watch 'Holiday Inn' that I bought on DVD last week. I shall make a pot of my favourite tea, cover myself in rugs, and have a slice of cake whilst I cry throughout the film!

Rick, I really hope that you are all keeping warm. I dread the gas bill but I can't go without heat at night here. My kitchen is polar-temperature! The best place of-course is under the duvet. You could be like the Bucket family in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'~~all of you in one bed under the bed-clothes to keep warm. My daughter loved the original film. Maybe I should start to knit a huge blanket for you all! I started to knit a patchwork cover for my ex's bed , but as I didn't finish it before the sad break-up it became Pixie's night-time blanket! It sits at the bottom of my duvet and Pixie either sleeps in the bed with me or on his own little patchwork blanket.

The poems are absolutely lovely Rick.


Take care sweet friend and write as soon as possible.

Love and prayers,

Polly

xx

I hope your guardian angel
Can watch over you each night
Tuck you in and keep you warm
Fill your dreams with delight

Let it be so gentle
If ever there's a tear
To shroud you in the comfort
And know you'll feel no fear

Every morning when you wake
Let stress not curse your brow
May your eyes always see the light
The way that they do now

Just before you fall to sleep
If a breeze touches your lips
Remember it's not the angel dear
Tis my e'er gentle fingertips

***Dementia***

Knock!knock!let me in
I bring you Christmas cheer
Who are you what you got
Dont want your type round here

Maam I come here every day
You always say the same
We'll have no cheek here
And I know your game

But maam I have to call
I've your order once again
Hang on then let me see
If I can undo the chain

A pint a stera 'n'yer eggs
I've got for you today
I said I dont know you
Now please go away.

Hi Polly,I had the gas bill today £171.82p and we haven't even had the central heating or the gas fire in the lounge on.
I had to put our gas fire on low now as we have had snow and the ice has not left the pavements here all day.
I am so glad you have accquired a fan heater or whatever I hope it can bring you a little comfort.
I had a letter off the jobcentre I am to receive £60.50p a week for 26 weeks Christmas?bah humbug! only joking still anything is better than nothing at the moment

























heater

Hello darling Rick.

Please keep as warm as possible. I just had to put some warmth into the kitchen because it is horrid in there. I'm so worried that the pipes might freeze. And when I prepared my casserole this morning the walls and books etc were so wet from the condensation due to the coldness of the room. The door and windows don't fit, and there is freezing air coming in from behind the cupboards! And from the flimsy catflap! I just could not stand the coldness any more. I try so hard not to over-use the gas or electricity but these are desperate times (dut to the cold weather I mean).

What happens after 26 weeks?? Do you get reaccessed? Why is your last gas bill so high? Or is it me who hasn't been using much gas? My last one was almost £90 I seem to remember. I suppose that as there is only me here I therefore use less gas than you and your family.

Even though I am using the gas central heating every evening at present, I am still feeling very cold! My legs often ache with the cold draughts. And my bedroom which is next to the sitting room (well, not quite. There is a teeny weeny hall) is very cold every night. My heating goes out through the roof, and through the flimsy loft hatches. I have 2 loft hatches.

Dear Rick, please keep warm. That goes for all of your family. And as you have been so poorly many times you really must take care. I'm sick of feeling the cold and so the old fan heater came out of the cupboard today!

I expect that your weather is rather bad. Take care on the roads and footpaths. Are you wearing your thermal vest?? I wouldn't be without mine. And if I could find some thermal leggings then I might just get them! Funnily, when I am out I feel very little cold. I have a wonderful three quarter length jacket that is thick and woollen and mohairy. I wear that with thick trousers, 2 warm wool jumpers, thermal vest...gloves, scarf, hat. And I roast under it all!! I only feel the cold once I get back home.

I hope your bed is warm. I expect it is, but if it isn't then do what my parents used to do: lots of old coats on top of the bedclothes. It worked an absolute treat! Having Pixie helps too. I usually lie aginst him, or sometimes with my head resting against his huge body. He is my living hot water bottle.

Hugs, and love,

from me

Hi Polly,I've just seen a posting from frankandsense on the WH child benefit thread