Journal Entries
Sad about the cats
Posted Oct 6, 2002
Over the last few weeks the mother has disappeared. Gone and not come back. And Mars.
So now we are left with two kittens, Jupiter and Pluto. And Jupiter is getting perilously near kitten-bearing age.
Over the last few years, 6 cats have disappeared in this way. I wish I knew exactly what it was. Are they being kidnapped by aliens? 
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Oct 6, 2002
More about the kittens
Posted Aug 19, 2002
Well, they're pretty big now. 
And Venus has disappeared. She escaped a week ago now and went off with her mum. I'm sure I heard the neighbour yelling at them when I was in the bathroom the next morning, and I definitely heard a grown-up cat and a kitten miaowing. But only the mother came back, and I have very strong suspicions that the neighbour got hold of the kitten and broke its neck or whatever. Because she never came back.
On asking all the neighbours the man in question said he hadn't seen it and even joked about "you can't tie them down, can you?". He may have been telling the truth, and although I don't like him, I can't imagine he'd lie, but then again, I might be wrong. Because I am absolutely sure he'd seen the kitten. It's sad when you can't trust people. The man's wife has always been so kind to us and they have 7 children and loads of grandchildren and they are always there, so I have always thought they must be nice people. She certainly is, and helps all the other neighbours more than anyone else, despite having such a large family of her own.
But they are country people and wouldn't get sentimental about a kitten, especially as they keep chickens. The man, certainly, wouldn't stop to notice what a beautiful animal it was.
So now we have three kittens, but the mother is at least still here. Had her spayed last week. She had to wear a collar to stop her licking the stitches open, but we took that off in the end - it seemed so cruel. Especially as they have all got diarrhoea again and they want to clean themselves up, and she was going mad not being able to catlick herself. She can't really even get at the stitches anyway because her mammaries are so swollen most of the time and they hide it.
The little ones continued to feed from herr, but they are taking less and less now, so soon her milk should dry up.
Anyway, I must go and clean out the cats' litter now as it pongs awful with this diarrhoea. I am giving them the drops that were prescribed for the mother before, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Hope it clears up soon - we've spent enough money at the vet's for one year!
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Aug 19, 2002
Did I tell you about the pervert on the train?
Posted Aug 8, 2002
Well, for those few of you that haven't heard the story I'll tell it again.
Why do we do this? I mena, why do I feel I have to tell it?
In my case it's probably because I'm amazed that at nearly 50 anyone should even contemplate me as a female, but also because the story is quite amusing in hindsight.
Also it's a woman's networking thing. I bet the bloke in the story doesn't go round telling everyone he meets about it. He's probably (I hope) ashamed about it. He probably molests women in this pathetic fashion every day. He probably doesn't have anyone to talk to.
Which still doesn't justify it, which is what Zarquon's Singing Fish seemed to think. I should have taken her up on that. Again, a typical woman's thing - this guy makes unwanted advances and gets unpleasantly familiar and, albeit harmlessly, molests me on a train, and another woman says "perhaps he was mentally ill". Women - aaah! We always look for the good in everyone. ZSF - that could even have been my reaction, don't get me wrong, especially out of the context of the conversation prior to my telling my tale.
But, anyway, women have to get this sort of thing off their chest straight away. Well, I did. I bored everyone with it.
So now, dear Reader, it's your turn.
I flew to London for the summer meet. Honestly. I came all the way from Europe. On landing at Stansted, I took the train for Liverpool Street; it was about 11:30 am. Broad daylight. Families and tourists in the carriage. I sat on one of the empty seats without a table, next to the window.
Before the train moved out, this bloke (undefinable age - most likely over 50) sat down beside me. (OK in future I'll sit in the aisle seat and dump my bag on the window seat)
Not feeling too happy about this situation, I sort of looked out of the corner of my eye and assessed him. He was quite small - sort of Italian looking - and was wearing a clean, ironed, cotton short-sleeved shirt and had clean - not sweaty! - hands. He held a small backpack and an ordinary light jacket on his lap and I decided that I was safe.
While I continued reading my book, he sort of moved over my way. And those seats are very narrow, so it didn't take much. I assumed he was asleep and didn't think much about it, except his arm seemed abnormally far over my side and was, by now, pressing against my breast. I moved my arm in the way and twisted round a bit more towares the window.
He started moving his leg to touch mine. I stretched my legs out so he couldn't do that any more. By now I was getting more suspicious, and tensing up. Eventually I was cowering in the corner over my book, and even leant forward. He promptly put his arm behind me.
Why didn't I say something? Dammit there was a German family opposite, I could have spoken to them in German and perhaps shaken him out of his state of mind.
Well I did say "Do you MIND" and got him to take his arm back without actually touching him.
This went on for the best part of an hour. I didn't dare climb out of the seat - I would have had to climb over him. He couldn't have done anything, in public like that, but the thought revolted me.
After my first protest, he did put a small distance between us, but laid his hand on the seat and that started creeping over. God knows what his other hand was doing under his bag on his lap.
His hand crept over further and further and in the end I picked it up between first finger and thumb like a dead mouse and placed it firmly on his lap, saying "Do you mind" again.
When we got to Liverpool Street, I let him get well out and way ahead before leaving the train myself. He looked back, but didn't see me.
......
The other journeys on my trip to Hyde Park were quite nice. My sister drove me from Reading to our parents and then back to Stansted airport so we got plenty of time to natter and on the flight home I chatted the whole way with a trainee lawyer who was doing a year in Frankfurt. He had heard of H2G2 and had even registered when it first opened.
So Hi - if you're here again and have come back to look at my Entry on German Bread!
Discuss this Journal entry [6]
Latest reply: Aug 8, 2002
Kittens again
Posted Jul 1, 2002
The four remaining kittens are now walking and sometimes follow their mum nearly tot the top of the stairs at the other end of the landing. It's amazing how the little ones seem to be more daring.
You could spend hours watching them rough and tumble and exploring the mess that is the corner they are in. I have taken the day off tomorrow to tidy up here, as we get visitors in to admire the kittens, too.
You have to mind where you're treading, too. And there is a computer and a router very near them. The side is cut out of the router, and they get inside that. It doesn't seem to have made any difference yet. I wonder if one day one of them will just upload itself and end up on H2G2 playing with Greebo.
We have no one who will take one yet. Will have to start advertising soon.
Discuss this Journal entry [6]
Latest reply: Jul 1, 2002
More about the kittens
Posted Jun 15, 2002
They are so cute, and now make more noise. They squeak - especially "Mars" and when they purr it's like a butterfly's wings flapping. They've made a mess of their corner of the carpet but it's not exactly a corner anyone will ever look at.
We still have a blood stain somewhere on our beige lounge suite where a cat (not ours) came in and gave birth. This was May 1987 - we had just moved in and the lounge suite was sort of stacked and there was a little tunnel she hid in to have them.
Unfortunately the mother vanished after that and the kittens finally had to be drowned, as she never came back for them.
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Jun 15, 2002
You can call me TC
Researcher U154942
Write an Entry
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."