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

Oh yes, forgot to say, there's this pair of swans on the canal near us who had ten cygnets in the spring. Mrs. Swan got tangled in fish hooks and had to be put down, she was so badly inured. Everyone was upset.

So Mr. Swan has has to raise the ten kids on his own. His beak got hurt a couple of months ago, trying to protect the family, not sure how it happened, but I saw them yesterday, and they seem to be doing fine, except I only counted nine, all swimming along in a line.

The kids are quite big now though, I think they need to leave home, give Dad a break. He's done a fine job, they're very handsome and healthy.

To know what we've been doing, read next week's issue of .

Read this week's to find out about Robbie's Channel swim...

heheh. What??? I just checked the interview with your intrepid friend Robbie, concerning the channel swim. Interesting. I like the ending. Do it! Erm, no thanks. . Good read though. Nothing like a vicarious channel swim, that's what I reckon.

They're all arguing about swimming now - I told them Americans wouldn't swim in the kind of water you Brits find refreshing.

But Robbie did an amazing thing.

Hello, cc. I'm back from France, with masses of fruit- peaches, plums and pears. I'm going to be busy looking up jam recipes and how to cook a clafouti(and whether it's a clafouti at all if it's got plums in it rather than cherries.) They're nice though.

As for conrete poetry I'm not sure. I've met people who argue that poetry has to rhyme, and people who argue that it's got to scan. But I might insist that the words have to mean something. But does that rule out some of Lewis Carroll? What do I mean when I say the words have to mean something? That's the sort of argument that can keep you going round in circles for thousands of years!

He certainly did. Robbie. An admirable feat indeed, in the waters that are not warm. Like, cool. Like, cold.



Morning mvp! Welcome home! Mmmmm all that fruit sounds delicious indeed. A clafouti?

(checks) Ah, a French dessert, traditionally made with black cherries, covered with a thick, flan like batter, dusted with powdered sugar, can be served with cream.

Now I am completely hungry. heheh.

I think you could invent the plum clafouti and make it your very own recipe. Then write a recipe book, with poetry on one page and recipes on the other! That would be so great. I've just decided your future.



Ah yes, the age old debate about meaning vs not-meaning. Is not-meaning different to nonsense? I can understand the graphic design of words, which is a different kind of picture on the page. Hmm, meaning vs not-meaning. Depends also what the reader/observer is looking for. You got me started now. heheh.



Talking of writing, a young relative and I are off to Charleston Farmhouse at the end of Sept for a lovely day at the Small Wonder Festival.

(Charleston Farmhouse, home of Vanessa Bell (sister of Virginia Woolf) and Duncant Grant (artist), meeting place of the Bloomsbury Group.)

Did you see the BBC three part series, Life in Squares? I forgot that Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant painted the murals in Berwick Church. Must re-visit.

Anyway, my niece is a budding writer so she's attending some of the talks, and I'm lurking in the drinks tent, scribbling word paintings on the back of napkins and being quite pretentious.

Actually, I'm doing the outsider events, like haiku in the garden, and possibly a South Downs walk, although might not, because of the drinks tent.

If you want to attend any of the talks, you need to prebook online.

http://www.charleston.org.uk/whats-on/festivals/small-wonder/



And then there's Ralph. There is? Yes. I want to ask you some questions about creating a character.

But have to go eat some imaginary clafouti for lunch, , so laters.

Hey the new issue of is up with

Hey, CC. You're the expert on this kind of music.

Does Mr Duchovny here not make you feel you've just stepped out of a time machine back into the early 70s?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W2izQyHiTc

I mean, it put me in mind of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KaWSOlASWc

I do like his lyrics.

Hullo Mister D!

Amazing!! I'm in a totally inspired buzzy lyric space now.

I didn't know that David Duchovny (the actor?) was a singer/songwriter also. I love the lyrics!

'Rainbow sunshower of holy red wine' (quote David D)

That's incredible.

Yes, it does put me in mind of Lou. Ah, Lou. What is it about that sound? It makes me remember everything, even things I didn't even know. Yet. . heheh. As if I'm remembering some other life in a parallel universe. Or something.

That song made me think of you.

Really??

Well, I'm so flattered I might faint, I'll have to go have a lie down. heheh.

I'm doing a bit of blatant self-publicising. My entry for September's Create is 'I've Published my Novel', at A87859732 on the AWW.

I've sold an amazing 6 copies!

Splendid mvp! And I have one of those copies. I'm very proud of it. I've been reading it over the last few days, in fact I've reached the end, and am now re-reading it in a different order. Like I do. I was going to come in here and rave about it, and jot down all my thoughts.

I'm going to show it to my niece when I see her, she's bound to steal it and read it. She'll be interested also in the publishing process.

And it looks so great. I love the shiny cover and photo on the front! Where is the house, there depicted?

Could you tell me more about the photo?



Will jot down more things in the next few days.

If you've read the book, CC, could you do us a favour at ?

You see, we like to publish book reviews of books written by our h2g2ers. Then we shamelessly add links, so that other h2g2ers can buy the book...

So...would you email us a book review at the Post?

Oh matey, Mister D, dear friend of mine.

Let me send you some wine and kisses, to compensate for the fact that I have no idea how to write a book review, such artforms are a bit out of my reach.

Funnily enough I was thinking about sending a photo to of me reading mvp's book , but I went temporarily shy, and anyway that's not really the same thing at all.

Actually, a photo of the book - with or without CC in concealing hat and sunglasses - would be a great start.

And you don't have to write THAT kind of review....you know, the kind with elaborate analysis...

You write YOUR kind of review. Which could be a list of quick impressions from the book. Or a poem in response. Or a few comments on how you met the characters in your backyard last night, and...

You know what I mean. We don't have rules about these things.

But somebody will need to give us a link and tell how to explain how to buy the book.

The photo on the book cover is of the side wall of our house in France. My husband, who's a lot better at image manipulation than I am, turned it round, cropped it, sharpened it. And everyone seems to like the cover!

This is the link to the book on Amazon.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dreaming-Stone-Sylvia-Hansford/dp/1514608502/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1441956778&sr=1-1&keywords=Dreaming+in+Stone

So all we need is the review.

Morning luvs!

Aww, thanks Ed to say I could write my kind of review, heheh, you brave Editor you.

However, I know from my heart that, In this case, and in most cases in fact , I am out of my depth when it comes to turning my random and freefalling conversations into magazine contributions.

I truly don't have the authority to represent mvp's work, even informally.



So, in this case, I'm letting it go, even though I love to try to support The Post.

I guess that's why this journal facility on h2g2 has been really good for someone like me. I can confront my limitations and my chocolate teapot brain.




I'd love to be able to support this site by writing regular contributions for the EG and The Post .

However, it involves a change of level to do justice to another's context, and I get all stressed and have strange dreams about being lost in weird echoey tunnels in imaginary cities.

With giant moths fluttering around in the orange light.

Actually I just invented that bit, about the giant moths.

No problem. I sneaked the link into MVP's Create contribution.

Look for it on 21 September - that's going to be a fun issue, too.