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

I totally forgot to write a journal yesterday. I was so busy playing with the New Who's Online and the My Conversations and looking at all the Entries we've added to the Guide this last year.

I did a bit of fresh food shopping and restrained myself to eating just the *one* chocolate. It's a good job that clothes over here (on t'moors) are very thick and baggy. Cunning disguise for extra flabby bits.

Each morning I have a coffee with Dad, and often he reminisces about the war years, particularly the couple of years he was stationed in India and Burma.

His story today was about New Year in Burma in 45/46 when the troops had some small bottles of beer imported from the US. He says he thinks it was 'Lion' beer, and it was in small dumpy bottles. Due to the clever inventiveness of people without much in the way of ordinary glasses, these dumpy bottles were turned into drinking glasses by some feat where you partly dipped the empty bottle into very hot oil for a split second or two, until the glass fractured around the circumference where the oil came up to. So they were able to celebrate with beer in a glass.

Another story involving beer, in Burma, was not to do with the New Year or Christmas, but when he had to escort some Indian soldiers into the Burmese hills, and they got hold of some beer and were very drunk. The next morning they all looked very sorry for themselves on parade and dad had to swear at them all thoroughly in English, not having the Urdu for swearing.

He had lots of adventures in Burma, and says this was the only place where he saw wild elephants grazing by a river while he was journeying through the jungle with an officer.

Reminds me of this bottle:
http://www.inewidea.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/20091231701.jpg

My uncle volunteered and became a soldier in The King's Own Buffs. He travelled all over both during and after WWII: Egypt, Palestine, India and so on. Wonder if he ever met your father, wouldn't that be something?

One thing I know for sure is he fought at Anzio/Italy. As did my late father-in-law - albeit on the German/Italian side of the front...

It is strange to think that they could have shot each other...

if I've already told you this before, I keep forgetting whom I have told the story

My grandpa was also in Italy where most of his comrades died. He never got over that for all his life. And then he was a prisoner in Egypt, but he always talked well of the English.

Lanza, "the New Who's Online" (on left side in brunel) does this now show WHO is actually on-line and not "shadows" as such ?

I never use Brunel. I mean the new one available at the bottom right hand side of pliny. That shows logged in users.

Thank you love

I don't budge from brunel

http://24timezones.com/

soon be midnight

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

lil x

"Happy Ewe Near," said the shepherd to his flock.

I remember in my scout troop, we learned to "cut" bottles too. Use a length of twine, and wrap it where you want the bottle cut. Dip the twine in kerosene (or pour some, gently, on it). Set fire to the kerosene twine, and let it burn a little. Dip the bottle in cold water - puts out the fire, and makes the glass brittle where the temperature change is biggest. Knock gently at the burned points and the glass should break in two pieces. You now have one glass, and the "bottle shape" can be used to shield a candle from wind.

When I was a boy scout we were not allowed to drink

I was never a boy scout, so I never felt that inhibition. The only thing that deterred me form drinking was the taste of the drink itself . Fortunately, is a godsend when added liberally to soups. [What,you expected me to be normal? ]

Never in a million years

Which is why we love you

Well, you set a high benchmark, Pierce. I have to be on my toes.

if wine was free, I'd still never sup it - yuck!
whisky/vodkaon drip - that's the way

Since I only use wine for cooking, I used to buy cooking wine until I was told to cut back on sodium. Cooking wine is loaded with salt. I then started buying wine from liquor stores.

Sensible

s will tell you to always cook with the wine you serve

The clerk at the liquor store once told me not to cook with any wine I wouldn't drink.

Coincidence? I think not!