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

I haven't written a journal for a while. Sometimes it's the only place I write anything down. So here's a short update of what is happening around here for anyone who's interested.



My youngest (20) left yesterday for Thailand. He's visiting a classmate from his schooldays who's working there. He's going with another classmate. Several from their school year have gone before.

The flight was Monday morning at 11 - they needed to leave very early, as the airline recommended checking in 3 hours before the departure time.

He arrived home on Friday night looking like death warmed up. He'd been in bed all week at his Halls of Residence and we had had no idea. Chaotic as he was, he'd only had his injections a few days before. Apparently none are proscribed for Thailand but we told him to ask the doctor to give him anything he could, just to be sure. Possibly the fluey illness was a reaction to the injections - or he just caught the flu/a cold. Either way, he was in a sorry state, still a bit feverish, sore throat and all.

Now, Sho and I have often complained about how everything is always shut in Germany, but we did manage to get to a doctor at A & E. She diagnosed Tonsillitis and prescribed antibiotics, (finding a chemist was a bit more of a hassle) So he bucked up fairly quickly and was, hopefully, no longer in too much pain by the time he actually got on the plane.

I don't expect we'll hear any more from him till he gets back on the 20th. Either the hotter climate will make his cold better or he'll spend the whole time there in bed.





Son No 2 reports that he recently got relatively good marks in a conducting exam, but didn't do quite so well in history of music, although he'd been revising like mad for it. In English, he got the best possible marks in a Syntax test. And now he's doing practical teaching at a school somewhere.




And just before Easter, I am expecting a visit from my cousin from Vancouver. She said it was cheaper to fly to Frankfurt than to Heathrow, so she decided to ask if she could spend a couple of days with me before going on to her mother and sister in Sussex. We are trying to coordinate a family get-together, in which case I would fly on to England with her, and we would all meet up on Maundy Thursday - My Canadian cousin and her sister, with their mother, our mother (their aunt), my sister and I and two other cousins - also both girls.




Next Sunday one of the choirs in our village is giving a concert - we shall also be singing a few songs as part of the programme.




Our village is celebrating 700 years this year - we have founded a choir just for the purpose of accompanying the ecumenical service that will be held in May. They are trying to rope in loads of local residents for a pageant which they are staging. I think my husband has now got involved in that.




None of that is as exotic as the Gambia, of course. But we all have our little stories to tell - and I enjoy reading about everyone else's activities.

Plenty of activity going on there!

Looks like a very busy time for you. Enjoy!

Lots of activities, and with the exception of your sons illness it all sounds nice - hope you enjoy it.

(sometimes I am glad to live in a big city, at least there are always a couple of pharmacies open at night or weekends, so only one near me as they are spread throughout the city and only one in each area is open for emergencies)

Some weekends we have to travel to a village about 15 km away. I don't know how little old ladies with no transport are supposed to manage.

This old lady in this village heard today that there are going to be buses on Sundays in the very near future. This has never happened before. Hang in there ladies

Hope your son's ok TC. It is nice to hear about other people's lives. Mine is so boring, except for the badgers of course

We complain about our s and chemists but they are brilliant and close by. 15km! That is a bit of a jaunt even if you are not ill. Ours will pick up prescriptions from the doctor, dispense and deliver if needed

Websailor

15 km? And if I ever would bet, then it would be that there is no public transport at the weekends, or something like 4 x a day, but not after 6 pm....

4x a day? Actually I've no idea how to get to that village by public transport - it's not on the railway route. I'd probably cycle if I didn't have a car.

I've just checked on Google Maps to see if I was exaggerating - actually, that village is 13.6 km away, not 15!

Anyway - update from Thailand - my baby boy (aaah) sent a text from Thailand to say all is OK. I could forgive him all his sins - drugs, drinking, smoking, skiving school and uni, to mention but a few - for that little bit of maturity.

And my cousin from Canada phone "for a chat" - but I'd already left for the concert in the village - my husband took it, as he left later, being only a spectator.