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

You're in the very best company. The epic of Gilgamesh (the earliest written epic in the world -- Sumerian tale over 4000 years old, from that place by the Tigris and Euphrates) has an episode where the eponymous hero (yay! I've always wanted a pretext for writing that phrase) seeks the secret of eternal life. His mentor tells him the first thing he must do is stay awake for a week. Gilgamesh sits down to do this preliminary exercise and promptly falls asleep for a week. He goes home sadly realising that he's hardly going to conquer death if he can't even conquer sleep.

A new translation of Gilgamesh came out four years ago, available in Penguin Classics, the most entertaining read I've had for a long time.

I remember reading Gilgamesh about 20 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It started out like an Irish hero story, with Gilgamesh being super-human and the best at everything, but he ruined it all by being obsessed with the quest for eternal life, and appeared very human by the end of it.

The death of his friend Enkidu was particularly sad.

"My friend Enkidu, whom I lved so dear,
who went with me through every danger:
the doom of mortals overtook him.
Six days I wept for him and seven nights.
I did not surrender his body for burial,
until a maggot dropped from his nostril."

I gather the new version is a lot more complete, though still gappy. I can't help thinking of buried ancient clay tablets, pulverised under the tracks of tanks . . .

Okay so this has gone quiet and a little weird!

Where is everybody? How have you been doing? Are you excited about ending lent? (Although I'm also a little sad )

I've been collecting chocolate in different forms and storing it in a box for tomorrow, I just want today to end so I can go to bed and wake up tomorrow and eat lots and lots of chocolate!!!! It's almost like christmas!!

Queegle

about 15 years ago I gave up chocolate for lent (quite something for a 1-2 bar a day girl)

I bought some lovely high-quality "proper" chocolate and waited until Lent was over. And didn't want to eat it! I gave it away and went for the rest of the year without eating chocolate.

Of course now I'm back to a bar a day. So don't panic if you don't want to eat any tomorrow!
here, have this to add to your collection

I've kept the no alchahol thingy. I think I'm the only one from the university corridor who managed it though (everybody gave up something). Most people only lasted a week. People keep giving me the stuff though, so now I own 2 bottles of archers, a bottle of white wine, several bottles of larger and some alchopops. I don't feel like drinking any of it, and the larger is the only part I like anyway. Ah well, at least there's the

*has just realised his error in not buying a post-Lent curry _before_ Easter Sunday*

I suppose I'll have to wait until Monday, then.

B

It'll be nice to be able to have sugar in green tea again I have to say - I think it needs it. I don't miss it in regular tea by now though. Which is good!

I've just come back from the Easter Vigil service, so Lent is officially over already (in England)

Congratulations everyone on keeping the fast - I'm off now to open that tub of Ben & Jerry's that's been waiting for me for weeks.

games - gimme games - I wanna play for days

Alternatively if Bernadettes B&J is The full vermonty then - hey forget the games I am up for ice cream.

WELL DONE EVERYONE

Hath
x

i did it!

s off to get a kebab, a large kebab, with loads of chilli sauce

Well done folks! Hearty self slaps on the back all round I say!

I had a chocolate headache by 10.30 this morning! Haven't eaten half as much as I thought I'd be able to!

Really fancy something savoury now though.... maybe I'll join Creachy for a kebab....

Queegle

Just had my first sweet since giving it up. t was a Cadbury's Dream Egg with White Chocolate... And how good was that??
I also spoke to a friend who's ben over to Sweden last week, and he bought me about 3 pounds of Swedish picn'mix, which, I have to say, is soo much better than the stuff you get over here...
I'm getting that off him tomorrow.. Yaay! I did it!!!

Well done everyone...

Well done those of you that made it the whole 40 days

Now spare a thought for those of us that have been doing the self denial thing for the past year and have at least another 6 months to go...

k hasn't had a takeaway anything since september. I miss cheese.

Kelly

Hath
x

damn!!! i've missed my chance to deprive myself of something i really enjoy... oh well never mind.

mmm Chocolate!

Actually, when I had my first chocolate on Easter Sunday, I didn't like it very much. So I don't think I'll be going back to binging on choc bars again.

My niece gave up "The Simpsons except on Fridays and Sundays" for Lent! Now that I've given up something like chocolate, I may go on to something bigger such as "Beer except at weekends".

Well done, everyone!

i still haven't had a kebab, do i get brownie points for this

Marmite!!!! Fresh crusty bread still slightly warm, buttered and then covered in marmite.

I still haven't had a curry.

I think the chilli addiction must be waning...

B