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

Hi team,another cloudy start here although it is about 65f,I've been eating a lot of home made stir fries lately as I suppose it's a good way to eat our five a day and one thinly sliced chicken breast cooks in a bout four minutes in the wok and easily feeds two,I've be eating my home grown french beans(stir fried after par boiling)with them a some spinnach and a few items from our local Netto the wok's been smoking well.

tickle,I caught a chunk of Gardener's world yesterday on the beeb and if you watched their show you would have seen a little of the awful weather that we have been experiecing around here as even their tom's were affected like mine from Blight(bah humbug)soz I'd swear but it's not allowed

How's everyone else doing out there?

Seems like blight is a widespread problem, Rikii - see http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio4/F2766775?thread=6334751&skip=480&show=20#p84330477

Good afternoon W4at, Rick, Folly-in-Spain.....


I've just got back from beautiful Dorset. I spent 2 hours yesterday in The Priest's House Museum in Wimborne. I sat under a medlar tree with my coffee and cake and it was so tranquil. I walked beside the river on Wednesday and Thursday evening - with an ice cream on both occasions. Saw lots of trout and grayling, and a pike. And an American mink.

Wednesday afternoon was spent at Badbury Rings, chasing butterflies.

Going back to the subject of uni ~~~~my daughter absolutely loved her 5 years at Southampton uni (unlike her brief stay at the first uni). All turned out well and perfect in the end.

My tomatoes seem suddenly to be coming to an end. They looked ok on Wednesday just before I left. I have had quite a lot of fruit from them and I must get out later and collect the latest batch. Maybe I have been fortunate with them this summer because I grew them against a wall that has been in full sun for most of the day during mid-summer.

A very humid day here. And drizzle all morning in Dorset. I wonder what weather Folly is enjoying!

Hi team,64f and fair here this morning,I think my poor back is slowly on the mend but after ten days off I have got three jobs booked in for next week and as my funds keep on dwindling I think I'd best get off my harris.

I met an old neighbour yesterday and she was telling me about her mom who'll be 98 soon,as our council are going to close the care home that she's in she had to move her into another carehome with a load of strangers,care in the community?

Anything else happening anyone?

Hi tickle,I see the footy is not going to well,we've got Liverpool away on Monday and I'm still getting(in my ear)that old chestnut;what's the difference between the Villa and a triangle?
A triangle's got three points

You've only played one game, Rikii! Forest have played four and still don't have three points. I foresee another relegation struggle. Perhaps I should switch my allegiance to the other side of the Trent.

My local team, Reading, aren't doing too well, either. I have a feeling that they might go down this season, since they no longer have a decent manager.

I think I'll concentrate on the cricket for now.

Just seen tonight's football result. I trust you're feeling a bit happier now, Rikii.

Hi tickle,yippee I sure am I have a really hectic few days this week I am jst getting ready to go to work in broadstairs Kent I 've got to be at work before 8am Maidstone tomoz but we have to load the van back in Brum at 4am in the morning,tarra

Hello Team,

Hope you are all well.
Haven't been on the boards much lately as work very busy (although I'm not complaining).
We went to a lovely wedding a couple of weeks ago, village church, marquee on the village green, bouncy castle for the kids, cricket match in progress - bliss. The whole clan went and now we are looking forward to No. 1 son's wedding next year; he was an usher at this one and looked fab.
Tomorrow 2 granddaughters, mummy, granny & nanny (me) are going to the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton to see the 11am performance of Lazy Town (programme on children’s TV) . Last year we went to Brighton to see the English Ballet Company do "Angelina Ballerina" (an animated programme on children's TV – very sweet) I think I enjoyed that more than anyone - it was only the second time I'd been to the ballet. The first time my BF took me to Chichester Festival Theatre one Christmas to see Sleeping Beauty.
Well had better get on and do a bit more work. I’m hoping to get into the garden and at least have a bit of a tidy-up and maybe plan what I’m going to do with the front garden. It is quite small, and mostly paved over as it is where I park my car. I’ve two small strips of earth one bordering the pavement and one bordering next doors garden. At the moment it is a bit barren as there are only four rose bushes (two of which are struggling and two which are very healthy, plus one peony, also very healthy. I need to fill in the spaces between the roses with something a bit evergreen – possibly lavender, and plant something along the wall to make a small hedge. The last time I planted lavender it went a bit mad as I didn’t prune it but when I did prune it I went too far and killed it.
Must get on with some work. Hope you all have a good weekend.
Toots.x.

Hi Toots

Hello, Toots. And all others here.


Toots, I did lots of gardening last week at church. It was fun. There was so much bindweed trailing over the hydrangeas and other shrubs. But I put on my old shorts, got lost within the shrubbery, and pulled out the whole lot. I'm hoping that I might lose a bit of weight. Just a stone would be perfect. But I love my food.

I've been away in Dorset since Wednesday but duty called me back home today. I think tomorrow is our afternoon monthly service at the local rest-home (about 9 of us usually go). Plus my own plants will have been in need of water. I have just been watering all the large containers. And my new jasmine - which I love.

Supper soon. I cheated yesterday and had fish and chips with two friends whilst watching the wonderful Prom. And two glasses of red wine. Bang goes the weight loss.


I do hope that Folly has had a very happy time away. And that you - Toots, Rick, and W4aT, are enjoying the bank holiday.

xx

Hi everyone,

Just got back from Dorset myself. Our family holiday this year consisted of two nights at a campsite near a place called Owermoigne. A lovely spot, and fairly empty on Thursday night, but the masses arrived on Friday.

We didn't get there until Thursday afternoon, and the weather wasn't wonderful, so we drove into Dorchester via Tolpuddle and had a bit of a mooch round there. The weather was better on Friday, although still showery, and we spent most of the day in and around Abbotsbury and Chesil Beach. Today (Saturday) the weather has been lovely, and we had a picnic lunch in West Bay, Bridport, before heading out along the coastal path to Eype and beyond, and calling in at Down House Farm Garden Cafe, which seemed to be excellent - unfortunately, we only had a few pounds with us, which was just enough for a pot of tea for two.

(The coastal path going west from Eype is rather steep, if not rugged, so I wonder if it was on this stretch that my friend, who died in May, had his heart attack - I only know that he died while out walking somewhere in the vicinity.)

Later on we drove round to Charmouth, where we had a picnic dinner and a gentle stroll around. It seemed a lovely, relaxing sort of place and one that we'd like to return to if we get the chance.

As holidays go, that was very short and sweet. Perhaps we'll manage to have a longer break next year.

Enjoy the rest of the Bank Holiday, folks.

Hi everyone,it's a chilly 57f here today I'd like to cut my tiny lawn but the grass is soaking wet.

I was feeling rather tired after an exhausting couple of days work last week having worked 36 hours over two days and travelled about 1,100 miles,but my back and I are feeling a lot better after three days off so I can get myself ready for Upminster Tuesday and Bodmin on Thursday.

Anything else happening folks?

Cloudy here, too, but A little warmer than Brum, I suspect.

I forgot to mention a rather momentous event which occurred while we were away: Grace II beat me at Boggle! Yes sir, the times they are a-changin.

Hello all - I'm back, bronzed and shivering in this weather. Sorry, but we had wall to wall blue skies and 30+ every day. Much refreshed until I saw the pile of emails and post re parish clerk work. Hey ho.

Meanwhile, I see that half the team have been to my beloved Dorset. Polly, you know all about it, but Tickle, what were you doing in MY west Dorset? Bridport is my ancestral home - family originates from Bothenhampton and all - and I mean all - my childhood hols were spent staying with great uncle Perce in West Bay Road. Your walk over the cliff to Eype (pronounced 'Eep' for the uninitiated, but we always jokingly call it Wipe) is a well trod trail for our family. I even fell down the cliff there once when I was about 10 - no bones broken, but I slid on my bare chest for about 20 feet so suffered for a few days.
When MOH was feeding our first littl'un, we had a week staying in a caravan at Down Hose Farm - no cafe etc then, but it was 33 years ago, after all. If you'd carried on walking you would have come to St Gabriels and Golden Cap, where we camped in July for our annual week family get together. The best place on earth. (see the article I got published in the Guardian in June - http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jun/27/family-life )

Glad to hear you're getting some work, Rik. Hope the back continues to improve.

Btw, does anyone have problems with 'restless legs'? I've had it for several years but only just tried to do anything about it. Of an evening in armchair or partic on long car journeys if I'm not driving and in planes, I can't keep my legs still. Fidget, fidget, fidget. Mum used to get it, too. I'm on quinnine tablets at present - and the doc says I can also supplement them with regular g & t's! - but on the plane last night it was awful. In the end I had to get up and walk up and down just to give some respite to the poor soul beside me who kept tutting and sighing.

Good to hear from you, too, Toots. The wedding sounds great. Our daughter 1 gets married in - gosh! - 3 1/2 weeks down in Wiltshire. I suppose I'd better start on my speech.......

Have a good bank hol everyone.

Hi Folderol,it's a balmy 64f here at the moment with only partial showers forecast for later apparently,yesterday I never got my cardie off all day,this morning I'm taking it even easier swanning around in my dressing gown with no pj's on(though not commando)because everything in the garden's still soaking wet I guess there'll be nowt to do out there and I'll be up for work tomoz just after 3am

So,I do hope you all have a nice day,all the best.R.

Well, Folly, Dorset is the obvious choice for us for a camping holiday, given that it's only a couple of hours away by car and there are so many lovely walks there. Grace II, Mrs T and myself all love walking, although Grace III is not quite so keen.

Thanks for the gen on how to pronounce Eype. I had supposed that it rhymed with 'sheep', but wasn't quite sure - 'snipe' and 'shape' were other possibilities. Going there was something of a pilgrimage, I suppose, but it seemed a good place. I was hoping that we might also get to St Gabriels, as I would have liked to have a mooch round there, but we didn't have time in the end. Maybe next year.

Restless legs? Well, I don't much care for sitting down - if I had my way, this pooter would be on a higher pedestal so I could work at it standing up, in the manner of Palmerston (not that he had a pc to work on). And Grace III is always telling me off because I won't keep still when there's music in the air. But I guess I can keep my legs under control for an hour or two, if needs be. "Only ideas won by walking are of any value", according to Nietzsche.

I have a hectic three weeks coming up, with 10,000 council newsletters and 6,200 local directories to deliver. But first, tomorrow, I have to deliver about 800 electoral canvass letters. That should cure any problem with restless legs. Anyway, I may not be around much for a while.

Happy days.

I reckon you have 17000 leaflets of one sort or another to deliver in the next 3 weeks - that's more than 1000 per day! How on earth can you do that? It sounds an enormous amount. Unless, of course, one or two of the three Graces assists . When my son delivered the local freeby paper, he often got into trouble as he got fed up after about 100 and threw the rest in the bin! That's 14 yo's for you. Mind you, hardly any resident complained as the paper was and is a bit of a rag that's mainly ads. Luckily he has a bit more social conscience now.
He's currently sitting on a drilling rig in the middle of the Thames where they're surveying for the new main sewer for London.
He has to be there as an environmental geologist in case they find something unusual in the way of rocks, clay, etc that they're not expecting. He then arranges for core samples to be sent for analysis. He's been on the rigs for about 6 weeks and so far has had to do that just once, so he's not exactly busy. Still, it's a govt sponsored contract as if they don't get the Bazelgete sewer of 1850 something replaced soon, there'll be an ecological disaster when it collapses. Can you imagine - evacuation of the whole of London!

You must try St Gabriel's next time. Don't expect anything like St Paul's cathedral though

Hello.

W4aT, I'm so pleased that you thoroughly enjoyed your Dorset trip. The entire coastline is beautiful. I am grateful that I return every fortnight for a few days (or more).

I think it is Stoke St. Gabriel, in Devon, that does a marvellous cream-tea in a tiny cafe.


Today has been so hot. A friend and I went in search of the beautiful blue Marsh Gentian ~ and found it. Such a pretty wild flower.

Yesterday was a very long day near Romsey with church friends ~ lunch and supper. And hours of talking. I didn't get back home until after 1am. Rather late for little me.

I hope you have each had a happy day.

I've just been looking at this re: the Marsh Gentian

www.newforestexplorersguide.co.uk/.../marshgentian/marshgentianpage.html