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

It doesn't pay to get people's backs up, ( a concept I think which will be particularly difficult to translate into Chinese).
I haven't seen a puf puff since I got here, but I hear them in the night and early morning, really sounds like that "lonesome whistle blows"

He's talking about Chinese steam engines...there still are quite a few, mostly the QJ class which are wonderful great giants.

'In my day' they were still making them up at Datong on the edge of the Gobi Desert - a place with wonderful stone buddhas like the ones destroyed in Afghanistan.

If you want to see what they look like Gnashers, you'll have to get my book about China by Rail out of the library (hint, hint!)

Beanfoto...how is everyday life going? Are you doing more cooking? What are you eating - and going back to your old point, it really is very hard to be a veggie in China...

Where are you shopping? Is there a Friendship Store? Is it any good (they were a saving grace back in 1980 but now I suspect they're pretty tatty...)

That best not be a 'buy me new book' Maggy!

You are all being very bad today: I was just about to log off to do some jobs, and you're all popping up!

Tell us more bean

"That best not be a 'buy me new book' Maggy!"

Could you try that in English??

Sorry: reverted into Leicestershirian... 'that had better not be a 'please purchase my new publication?'

Is that better?

Blimey, I wish it were (oh, such perfect grammar!) I haven't had a new book out in years! However, having said that, moves are afoot...

What was your last book?

The Book of Deborah...a novel about a female cousin of Jesus of Nazareth ... who happened to marry Judas...

Haha!! I found it on amazon!! Is it good?

Good? No, it's dreadful. You'd hate it. A real girlie book. Totally holy-moly (I love that phrase!)and self-righteous.

Mind you, the reviewer from The Times thought it was well-written and absorbing. Remind me to go on a self-esteem course.

If you want to read it, get it from the library..that way I get about 2p! If you buy it, you'll not really dent the amount I owe Little, Brown on the advance!!

It sounds quite good

Do you get some money everytime someone checks out your book? I never knew that!!

FwT

It may only be tuppence, ( I don't pee), but it's better than nowt as we say up North, ( Manchuria actually).
HAve you translated it into Chinese yet?

You get something called Public Lending Rights which mean just that - you get paid for each times someone takes your book out of the library. In my case it's abot £30 a year - which is better than a slap round the face with a wet kipper!

No, Deborah isn't in Chinese! But my first book was called China by Rail and you might just manage to find a copy somewhere!! It's out of print now and was pre-Tiananmen Square so it's pretty ancient in book terms.

Beanfoto...do you fancy setting up a page about China? Smiley Ben is doing a journey round the world...and I'd love it if you started an article about living and working in China. What do you say??

BTW I was meaning that Beanfoto could get a copy of China by Rail in China - not that Gnashers should go and buy one!

or a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!

I see what you mean about the Chinese women bean: I had one in particular at my till: I was grinning from ear to ear

Imagine when more than half the women you see look like that...