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

Hi You

We decided that come what may, Sheffield's where we stay. That's a big relief.

The Weddell had a busy Feb but little since. We're getting by. We're spending so much less it's frightening, but strangely it doesn't hurt at all. In fact a lot's a whole lot better - food especially.

Scrof, yeah, a talent. Verm is pretty good too, though she hasn't any web footprint yet. She's definitely the family musician. I wish I could play guitar like that.

I'll let you into a little secret about matters entomological. It was the Weddell's only significant ex's hobby, so I kind of have an aversion to it. Petty really, thirty-plus years on. I did let four butterflies that had hatched in the garage out, though. Hatched is probably wrong. Pupated. Whatever.

Swimming? Why???

The writing, yes. Not maybe as prolific as in the early h2g2 period, but I think the quality's there. When I actually get published, you will have a signed first edition. And Scrof's has already declared an intention to cut one to pieces.

Hey .

I'm glad you're staying in Sheffield, roots are important.

Hope more's turned up for the Weddell since your post but I think I know what you mean about the spending. It was actually more fun spending what I could spend after I cut my salary in half. And now finances have moved rather the other way, it feels oddly insecure.

Mind you, it's a luxury in itself to be able to feel that way - either of us.

Butterflies and moths emerge, btw. And thirty years on it's disgraceful - it's a National Moth night this weekend. There'll be a moth trapping event somewhere near you at which you can make amends. Quite a few moth/insect/butterfly geeks have come my way recently - might have met him!

Signed first edition , I'll hold you to that.

Lunch over, got to . Pension forms to complete, control accounts to control, cheques to sign...

Great to hear from you!

Lots has happened. I'm going into sift mode to tell you about the bits that'll interest you.

1. Scrof got a first. She's home now, wondering what to do next. She also has a serious boyfriend for the first time (who's also here right now). He's scared of me. It's great - nobody else has been scared for years.
2. You should see our garden. I've always been quietly proud of the garden, but as an exercise in minimalist chic (remember the gravel ramblings?) Anyway, now it's a jungle. Courgettes, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, spring onions, garlic, all kinds of salad leaves all available on an industrial scale. Aubergines due to be first cropped this weekend, corn not far behind. Growing through it all is an immense floral riot like Alys Fowler on acid. It's just amazing and its vitality is infectious. The Weddell did it, of course. She never does anything by halves.
3. There's a photo of a moth on my phone. We found it in the aforementioned garden, on a really hot late June day on a shaded face of the now-overwhelmed Jap-style pergola-thingy. It was an amazing creature, improbably large and white with wing markings like pattern-forging (sorry about the metallurgical fixation). I was about to contact you to find out what it was, but Verm got there first. It was a Puss Moth, apparently not even all that rare but I've never noticed one before. Seems like a shame we didn't see the even more spectacular caterpillar. Maybe there's something in this moth stuff?

We're still (relatively) poor, but my job security, my one real worry in recent times, is getting better. The Weddell does a bit now and then, but she isn't chasing. Time was she'd have gone into Thunderbirds Mode over Deepwater Horizon, but she didn't rise to that bait even. She'll go where she chooses, as always, and her needs have changed. Verm's A-levels next summer now seem like the one thing rooting her, and so us, in the old. I can see a life beyond this one, and so far we're only living the beginnings of it. It might be better than I dreamed. I only hoped for fulfilment by my mid-50s. I never expected excitement.

1. That's great - on all three counts. Still scared or are you sussed out? Hope the wondering what next is sorted though - it's very unsettling.

2. Wow . You need chickens to complete the picture. They are very relaxing to have scratching around. And v useful weeders, insect clearers and egg producers. (Their social and inter-chicken relationships are pretty fascinating too. We introduced two barnyard scappers to our three rare-breeder sourced lot. The former are a couple of right fishwifes and the latter spend a lot of time looking askance.)

3. What do you mean 'maybe'? And what are you doing seeing a Puss Moth before me ?

Unnumbered. Any change? You sound happy with life, I'm glad. As for the unexpected in the mid 50s - I hope it's better than you dreamed. I have that every day at present.

Had another dream met recently too. An Arthur Dent moment. Not while wearing a dressing gown, sitting on a gate not lying in the mud, the JCB wasn't backed by planning permission but it was nevertheless a genuine dream-come-true Arthur Dent moment.


Mind you the damage done was enough to cry over, but on the other hand again the s are onto it. Hope they throw away the key.

Have you seen F76045?thread=7798077&latest=1 ? They asked me too - I said, from my part, they'd be very welcome but it's up to you too though.

The mill was open for National Heritage day. It was brilliant - walked all over the place, even through the attic of the cross mill.

And I found the answer to whether or not there was a fire there - you thought there was, I thought it was only the Leeds mill. It was the original cross mill which they didn't have iron-framed in order to save money. 14 years later the replacement cross mill was iron-framed, designed by Bage using updated ideas with the result that that part is in better nick than the main mill.

The most unexpected thing was how elegantly slender the iron columns are. They're beautiful. The later cross mill columns have etruscan tops. How about that?

Another unexpected thing, one of those odd links, the Welsh flannel selling Benyons came from A659865. Double how about that?

I'll see if I can add that to the entry with a link.

Hope all's well with you and yours

You still got the same e-mail addy?

'Cos I just sent you one. To the address I meant to send it to this time. Which might still be the wrong one, of course.

Hi Waz

How's stuff?

hey! And why aren't you at work?

Stuff is good, very good.

And you?

Btw Nooork has had a rethink and submits the following amended test plan.
The influence of the Golf-class on the alien society's psyche.
Chosen abduction subject: Homosapiens (subspecies: combovers) D J Trump (65).
Effect on subject society: Market research results gave a 92.678% response in the category 'Like a hole in the head'.
Translation, no-one wants a hole in the 'head', => nil. => Subject acceptable.
Test plan:
Ask subject a set of 42 questions covering early life, numeracy tests, literacy tests.
Roll subject into a ball and wallop from a set point into a hole 100m (on the subject planet's scale) distant with a pre-chosen set of implements.
After each implement, re-run the initial tests, compare results.
Test results with the one-sided, two tailed chi squared test. Null hypotheses: Golf is not a good influence.

Very good Nooork. We'll beam him up right away.

I'm not at work because the Weddell is off chasing rioters and Verm is now hours away from finding out whether she's got her A-levels and thus Uni place. This is a bit ironic since the Weddell could have taken herself and Verm too off to Christchurch NZ on earthquake recovery for the summer, but decided against it because it would cause pre-Uni disruption. But NZ would have been 1. more fun and 2. more lucrative than Flaming Croydon I'm sure.

All is good for us too. Lots to tell, but I'll have to break off now and maybe pick up later, because I have to help with meal preparation. Scrof's BF is at it, but he's nearly as useless as I am.

Scroll down to the Green Award https://sheffdocfest.com/site_items/awards

Sheffield has taste.

Having despoiled the dunes, he's now campaigning against wind turbines he says will spoil his view. And which will do much more for the economy than a golf course.

/Trump

Earthquakes and riots ... I'm embroiled in VAT and prospective EPoS investments . Cloud-based EPoS is well impressive. I hope the A-levels were as wished and the Uni-place secured.

We went to our K's (niece) graduation last month. It was unexpectedly moving - it's a milestone isn't it? She did really well and we had a family lunchtime get-to-gether in Manchester to celebrate. So much time and focus goes on J that it was a very good thing to have K at the centre for the day.

She's been staying with our chickens this week. Sleeps in the house, spends the day in the chicken run.