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

Ah, now for my monthly (unless something interesting comes up) journal entry.
It purports to be the first day of summer - to which I can only say "yeah - right..."
Cloudy, they call it - 'overcast' and drizzling. Off to the dentist this morning (oh, joy!) and then home via the bank. These are the "holidays", I know it's early, but that's life in the educational field, segment, industry? (One must avoid cliches...)

Jim has come to the end of his high schooling - and it's off to University next year. He is making the big leap to tertiary education, and he is very focused and somewhat organised. The big Leavers' Dinner was last night, they ate butter chicken, fish and cake with 'creme anglaise'. I am told it was good. On Friday 26th November, he went to an 18th birthday party, and watched many of his friends get rat-faced. That's one of the delights of *not* drinking alcohol.

The Ukraine situation is as yet, short of a disaster, but for how much longer? My friend Richard had a mother who came from there, and we were discussing the issue the other night. He thinks the whole country is going to fragment because of this. He may well be right.

Iraq continues to be an outpost of Hell, especially Fallujah, and there ain't a single thing we the people can do about it.

I have a bulging envelope of newspaper clippings from the last 3 years, and it's getting more and more full. I discovered some very interesting things just the other day, an article about passive smoking (interesting indeed, that one ) and some more about Iraq, the beginning of sabre-rattling at Iran, and various other "things that make you go Mmmm".

Current favourite - Caroline - Fleetwood Mac. (Has anyone ever really listened to the lyrics?
Best book of 2004, up to the end of November - "Iron Grail", by Robert Holdstock.

Hello Adelaide!

So how’s summer doing?
Winter is quite lazy in the middle of Europe, i.e. warm temperatures, no wind, no snow… It’s lovely, actually. Of course, calendar says it’s not winter yet… but for me personally December is THE winter month. That’s probably because of those White Christmas clichés I grew up with.
I can easily do without the cold winds, but some snow would be lovely.

What are you collecting the newspaper articles for? And what are they basically about? When I started my studies at university a few years ago professors told us that we are supposed to cut out newspaper articles of interest and collect them. Well, in my case it ended up in chaos! Gray paper everywhere flittering and fluttering through my apartment. So I finally came to the conclusion that it’s maybe not the right thing for me. Threw them all away, and never missed them…

So, how’s it going in New Zealand! Hope you’re enjoying some nice summer days!

See you soon!

katkodl

Hi, Della,

Weather here in my part of the UK is quite mild at the moment, but I keep expecting it to change. Whatever I do with our heaters is wrong, and being storage rads. they take ages to catch up

Another newspaper cuttings collector I thought I was the only one . I have cut down recently, and destroyed piles that I have save for over 15 years. I decided that I could probably find all I needed on the Net without cluttering up the house with paper. Other half was having a fit about the fire risk!! I now keep them for a few weeks and then they are gone.

Kat

Nice to see you still around. I haven't forgotten our "date" for Christmas Day if things get too I really hope we do not have a mild damp Xmas Day, as it dulls my appetite

I like it cold and crisp at least and although snow would be nice my sons have to travel to us, so perhaps not.

Websailor

Hi, katkodl...
I am collecting the newspaper cuttings for articles about Bush, the Neocons, the Iraq war etc, plus a few other issues that are interesting. I have so many now, that I'll probably weed them out one day when I can be bothered.
We have a nice sunny day today (though it's not very warm... we'd just finished a long and horrible "cold snap".)

Hi, Websailor... How is your garden coping with the beginnings of cold? My friend Tom talks about how he prepares his (he has a fish pond and frogs which move in to his greenhouse and live under plant pots for the duration...
I like to imagine a future great-granddaughter working her way through all my clippings and being so interested! (I used to love looking at really old stuff my parents had - such as a Victorian penny, an actual Crown (money) and my Mum's photo albums. She never labelled abyone, and now we have them (my brother had them when he died) I am left wondering who half the people are!) The oldest photo is one of my grandfather (born 1878) at about 2 years old!

Hello Websailor!

Storage rads - they are really the most useless invention ever! Why are they still in use? I don’t get it.
I’m busy decorating everything with Christmassy stuff. And I’m listening to Bing Crosby all day long. And I do lots of tinkering, I’m going for walks, I’m visiting Christmas Markets, I’m drinking punch… But I’m actually not in a Christmassy mood yet. …Maybe next year.


Hello Adelaide!

That’s a funny idea moving the frogs into a greenhouse over winter! These must be the most blessed frogs ever!
Don't you have a storage heating as well? Guess you don't need it at the moment!

Hi, Katkodl... I think the frogs were originally just opportunists who came along, now Tom regards them as pets... Aw, that's cute...

Re storage heaters - I wish! Because New Zealanders are basically kidding themselves, houses here are never adequately insulated nor do they have decent heating. It's my experience that global warming works the opposite way round here in the Southern hemisphere - it gets colder every year! We're having s in December in the South Island...

Hello Adelaide!

Frogs are lovely, aren’t they? I also like those huge gray toads… they are just marvelous!

Do you live in the South or the North island?

It’s become a little colder around here. But still no .


katkodl

I'm in the North Island, and one of the warmer cities at that, which is good...
In the South island is where they had snow to a low level the other day, which just blew my mind!
Ah, frogs, there are some beautiful ones around.

They get the snow that’s supposed to fall here!!!!!

You’re lucky to live in the North! How warm does it get there in summer?


katkodl

We had a heat wave in 1998, and another in 2001, when it got up to and in '98, past 30C. (I'd love that now, but to be fair, it's 0045, i.e., past midnight, so I hope it'll be sunny tomorrow...