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

We've not seen much of each other in *ages*.
How are you?

Richard!!!!!!my dear old fruit! Great to see you, i'm feeling a bit crappy at the moment which is why I ain't been here muchI was looking for your Edreess the other day and couldn't find it anywere (i'm using my TV account to keep in touch as it's less agro than logging on) can you E me so that I can drop you a line now and then, thanx for dropping by mate, i've missed you!
paul

Saw the "OI!!" message header and thought could this be the ska thread I've been missing? But it doesn't seem to be. Never mind.
*waves* to ab

Um...OI! as in exclamation designed to draw attention and interest. Guess it works then

PS. What is Ska?

A Jamaican music form popular in the UK in the early 1980's. Performed by mixed race working class groups primarily from the Coventry and Birmingham areas. The songs frequently contained a leftwing political message in their lyrics

Thanx

and just to be clear - what is the relation of "OI!" to aforementioned early 80's Jamacian style, left-wing music?

Hmm..complicated

Technically speaking "Oi" is a style of music favoured by a racist skinhead minority, but its musical roots are firmly founded in Jamaican ska music The distinction is not helped when both the racist "Oi" and the mixed race fans of ska have exactly the same dress code.

Suffice to say if the lyric sounds lefty or if there is a black fan in the crows then you've got ska. If not you may be in the presence of nazi boneheads.

Does this make things clearer? No I thought not.....

So Desky, the plot thickens (long lost brothers) All my Ska two tone and blue beat stuff was on vinyl, so I chucked it all out years ago...DOH! Wotcha Clive!
ab (x Crimson sceptre)

Hi

*ache*

laying concrete...

*twinge*

hurts to type....

*snap*

Urrrrrrgh.....

ab you fool! some of the two tone stuff is worth an absolute fortune these days. I should know, I've been buying back stuff I once had from eBay and others

BTW - You haven't got any Smiths records you don't want by any chance?

It's a bit late Clive but
Sorry Desky, no Smiths and please don't remind me how much some of that stuff is worth now, i'm in denial about it
ab

Paul -

Have you been spending to much time around Happy again?

Thanks, though. still twinges a bit on the rotation but getting better all the time (it kinda popped out when I was lifting a big bag of stones. and "ooh crikey, that doesn't half smart!" I said.

Be honest: I've got a box load of small Beano fun comics in drawer somewhere. Will they be worth anything do you reckon on a few years time?

Hi Richardyou sounded like Mr Chomnly-Warner just then! Don't know about your Beano comics mate...Was that what inspired you to do a degree in philosophy?
ab

No it was not

I can remember the exact moment.

I was sitting in my Sociology A-level class, opposite the door and sort of level with the front desk and the teacher.
It was towards the end of term, exams were looming and we were all busy preparing a our university applications.
Pause for just a moment to explain that at this time I was also taking a Law A-level and thought it really interesting a possibly well worth pursuing at University, so all of my attention towards Uni courses had been so far only been directed at that goal.
Now back to Sociology: Sociology, I confess, I enjoyed. During a lull in the lesson our teacher (Mr Mark James) went around the room asking us all what we were planning to apply for. There were only about 10 of us in the group and there were a couple of English's, a Journalism and a Zoology in there and then he got to me. And I said clear and unabashed: "Law."

At this point Mr James fell out of his chair.

"YOU!??" he said in disbelief "LAW!?!!"

Er...yeah. said I

"You'd hate it." he said unequivoqally - it's so dry and boring looking through volumes of cases books and books of judicial proceedure..."

"Err..." I said

Looking to fill the gap, he carried on. "I thought you'd be doing something like Sociology, no or maybe Physchology or Philosophy."

"Oh?" I said, intrigued, mentally noting Philosophy as something to go away and look up

And with that little piece of high drama the lesson continued apace.
I did indeed go and look up this subject and found it to be about all of the really interesting question that always seemed to be hanging in the air but was never actually gotten round to because all the other stuff had to be done first. I came home and announced my descision to my parents (who have worn a a furrowed look of concern of their brows ever since) and set about writing my applications.

Now as it hapened - I wasn't as prepared for Law as I thought I was or any of my other exams for that matter and my marks were pretty dreadful (let that be a lesson to all who read these wise words study, study!, turn of that television !! and STUDY!!!) but I went to college to re-sit and there in a Library that was about 10X better than the one at school, I found the thing I think I'd been looking for for a long time. The Philosophy Shelf (nestled between the religious practices and mythology)

My new Sociology teacher (Mr Rodger Tordoff ) spotted my interest early on and suggested I read some Jean Paul Sartre (which just goes to prove that the man new me better than I new myself because guess who I am working on now for my (12,000 wrds) dissertaion next year?) worked hard - got "A's" all year round - got "C's" in the exams (Go figure? ) reapplied to university and got in! To the course I felt is kinda my home though I often wonder what other course I might have wound up doing if events had taken a different path....all in all I am very happy.

(Which is lesson 2 to to all students that even the worst-seeming academic disasters are recoverable if you are prepared to put in the effort.)

___
*

Your a marvell mate! I think your sociology tutor was right, I *deffinatly* can't see you as a lawyer take care Richard, i'm of nowcatchya later old bean
ab