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

Hi Peter, it's Al aka OOV.

In case you thought we'd emigrated, we - well, in a way, we had. Since the end of April, the elder members of Moira's family & mine have been dying at an alarming rate. Now we are the senior members of both our families and we had to spend a lot of time in Ireland, sorting things out.

It's been hard on both of us, but especially on my beloved 'M'. She's had to give up work at the Uni, but she's got a lot of consultancies going, which is helping her a lot. We'd never starve - but we both like to be active.

That said, we're lucky. We can work wherever there's a phone - mind you, some of the places we've been since April didn't even have that!

So, we're ... adjusting, as they say.

Good news is that the hounds have bred and we now have four - two large, two small and our friend Shun (the Unavoidable) did come back from Iraq. The house has been empty for too long and there's lots to do to turn it back into a home, but expect to see us back in action soon.

I've told Chels.

Regards,

OOV & M

Nice to hear from you Al. Sorry to hear that you've being having a sad time of it lately. These things always seem to come in waves, don't they? I lost two uncles and a step-grandfather last year, but 2003 seems to have been ok so far family-wise, so I hope that's all for a while....

You have probably noticed the lack of some of the usual "faces" around here now you're back. In a sense the carnival has moved on...

Loads of us had so much trouble with the BBC boards that, when someone discovered a site where one could set up their own board, we all jumped at it.

Consequently, I now have my own little messageboard site called "akira's home from home" at http://lovegrove.proboards22.com

Please drop in and see what all the fuss is about!

Sorry if this is a bit rushed and badly written, but I'm just on my way out the door and wanted to get this down quickly before I go shopping!

Expect a more considered (and proof-read!) communication soon!