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

That's a bit over the top isn't it!
Personally I continue to read what I enjoy and write for pleasure, never mind the ratings.


Now, off to bed for me!

Zzzzzzz Zzzzzz

Me too, el D.

Goodnight.

Approaching the witching hour again! and I'm snug and warm in my motorhome in a Lincolnshire field, well orchard actually. Connected courtesy of "3" wireless broadband!

Sounds interesting, el D. Did you lose your way?

Not really, I'm on one of my periodic peregrinations around the country visiting family and various other diversions.

Sounds fun. Is it a random field/orchard or an extended family plot?

It's a camping field/orchard on a farm near to where my son lives, just outside Lincoln. We used to live in these parts ourselves and then we had a small-holding - with an orchard!

Off to bed now...

Zzzzzz Zzzzzz

Sounds nice. I rather like Lincoln.

Goodnight.

How's trix, el D? Recovered from your tour yet?

I was looking into compost toilets the other day. Not literally, of course. It occurred to me that they might be of great benefit in certain parts of the world where people struggle with poor soil and sanitation. There's an initiative at the moment to provide Africans with cardboard ovens, and I can't help wondering if it would be just as good an idea to provide them with, or show them how to make, compost toilets. But maybe they know, anyway.

If I'd been more awake the other night I would have responded to your Eden Project (which we visited on Sunday) with Trelawne Manor (in the grounds of which we stayed over the weekend). Must be getting old.

Hi W4T!

Well we're back in dear old Dorset; as to whether we've recovered from the tour or not is an open question, but I guess we're ok, just a bit tired and having a few things to cope with. We'll get there.

The only experience I've had with composting loos was not altgether impressive but maybe the design and technology has moved on since then. Certainly anything that reduces reliance on water use is a plus but it does have to be relatively easy to use and give a real benefit.

Applying technology to developing country situations is not always a straightforward matter. I'm very much in favour of encouraging *appropriate* technology bearing in mind the context in which it will be applied. A lot of harm has been done by the well-meaning introduction of inappropriate development, let alone the 'vested interest' approach of western producers wanting to sell their goods whether they are right or not.

I hope you enjoyed the Eden Project. It's been a while since I went there and I think it's grown since then. I'd like to go again before too long.

The Eden Project is certainly quite extensive now. We did enjoy it, but didn't allow enough time to get round it all and possibly missed the most interesting bits. We'll have to try and get back while our passes are still valid.

I didn't look into compost toilets too closely. I got the impression that the main technology required is simple knowhow - how to make them and how to use them - in which case they might be appropriate. If they're not being promoted, perhaps it's because there is no vested interest. But if they're cheap and easy to make, I'd have thought that aid charities would be encouraging their use, especially in view of their apparent sanitational benefit.

Hi, el D. Not seen you around for a while. Better things to do, eh? So have I really, but I never seem to do them.

Bit hectic on the WA thread tonight. I've not seen so many sim posts in a long while.

I still haven't written that poem, although I have posted one or two songs on PH recently.

Have a good weekend.

Hi W4T
Yes, sorry I've been conspicuous by my absence for a while. Truth is I've been a bit pre-occupied. Also been away from home for some of that time with less time to go online.

Struggling a bit with 'the muse' too. Hoping for an upturn soon.

Good weekend to you too.

Hi, el D. I guess the real world is more important than this one. Don't struggle too much with the muse.



Pooh and Piglet walked slowly after him. And as they walked Piglet said nothing, because he couldn't think of anything, and Pooh said nothing, because he was thinking of a poem. And when he had thought of it he began:

What shall we do about poor little Tigger?
If he never eats nothing he'll never get bigger.
He doesn't like honey and haycorns and thistles
Because of the taste and because of the bristles.
And all the good things which an animal likes
Have the wrong sort of swallow or too many spikes.

"He's quite big enough anyhow," said Piglet.
"He isn't really very big."
"Well he seems so."
Pooh was thoughtful when he heard this, and then he murmured to himself:

But whatever his weight in pounds, shillings and ounces,
He always seems bigger because of his bounces.

"And that's the whole poem," he said. "Do you like it, Piglet?"
"All except the shillings," said Piglet. "I don't think they ought to be there."
"They wanted to come in after the pounds," explained Pooh, "so I let them. It is the best way to write poetry, letting things come."
"Oh, I didn't know," said Piglet.


A A Milne ~ The House at Pooh Corner

"...letting things come."

Yes, I guess that's it.

I think I may be surfacing, I sure hope so.

That's good news, el D. I hope you haven't been down deep enough to be at risk of the bends.

Contrariwise, I fear I may be on the verge of going under.

I haven't got anywhere with that poem. However, I have written a few 'songs' recently. That's usually a bad sign. One of them seems quite good to me. I'm even considering entering it in the 'lyrics only' section of the UK Songwriting Contest - a sure sign of desperation. I only hope there is some truth in the pivotal lines of the song:-

Remember there's a light at the end of every night
And every day's another song to sing.

Good luck.

Oh, deep enough to need to surface slowly!
What a complex lot we are...

I hope you can keep your head above water. It's not so good down there, visibility's poor and it gets hard to breathe! I hope the songs turn out well and can be a positive sign.

Chin up and all the best.

el D

I hear you've been gadding about again, el D. Hope you had an enjoyable and/or constructive time.

Done a few miles more than usual myself this month, on account of university visits with Grace II. Went to Bristol today. Normally get lost when I go there, but used the park and ride this time and it worked very well. It was a good trip all round, really: no hassle on the journey, an interesting tour and then a pleasant walk across 'The Downs' to Clifton Bridge. Passed an interesting Friend's meeting house (though we didn't have time to explore it) and saw a kestrel close-up. Still, I don't think Bristol will be top of GII's list, and they're not too keen in that case, so I doubt if she'll end up there.

Time I hit the sack.

All the Best,

Hi W4T, good to read you.

Yes, just returned from Eire in the motorhome. Beautiful Connemara and Mayo! Just wandered and stopped wherever. Slept on tiny harbour walls, in little secluded bays etc. - magic.

Sounds like you had a good day in Bristol. I don't really know it though I have a friend who used to live there and did visit her there once.

What's G11's first choice for uni?

el D

Sounds idyllic, el D - apart from sleeping on harbour walls, that is: I'd have thought that would be rather uncomfortable.

Yes, we had a good day in Bristol, even got to see inside the Wills building, which is quite impressive.

I don't think G II has decided yet. She's a bright girl, classed as 'gifted and talented', but has a few problems at the moment and lacks self-confidence. I'm trying to persuade her that she ought to apply to Cambridge (or maybe Oxford) and she was rather taken with it when we went to look round a few weeks ago. Cambridge is a very pleasant place and very compact and I think she would benefit from the tutorial system. It's also one of the few uni's where you can live in for the duration of the course, which might suit her as well. And she likes the sound of the course there, which is why it's on her short list in the first place. Not so easy to get into, of course, but it might be worth a shot. We'll see.