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

Quite taken with the idea of 'spacing' myself until the end of next week ... keep takin' the tablets, dere

With little provocation, I could quite easily slip into a carbohydrate lifestyle, particularly as I love toast. But I do tend to forget to eat so I have converted to eating breakfast (at any time of day, or night) these days.

Although I've not actually tried it, I suspect trying to balance chopped apricots, sultanas and flaked almonds on my toast would not do much for my good humour ... it might look ok, if a bit dry, but I reckon there's many a slip and a high probability, given the ingredients

What occasions a chippy event in your life?

I think we just arbitrarily designated one day of the week 'chippy day'.

Every week ... yum, gulps, swallows ... I'm restricting myself to you-greedy-wotsit,-once-a-month-y'hear-me? I shall not admit to being a delicate shade of envy green right now

Nice man, who remembers me each time and seeing what you saw, said 'Owwwcch, but you are still the beautiful lady who comes to see us, that doesn't change'



And it's raining.

Hope chippy was nice.

No mash today, resume next week.

Got almost soaked coming home, with my bread and milk, in a driving but warm drizzle. Only with bread and milk, you'll notice, as the chippy was closed for summer holidays, pah.

So I bought a bag of crisps and a Frys Peppermint cream (a balanced meal, don't ya know) to compensate. These were finished and the wrappers in my pocket before the weather changed.

Also met the hobby farmer neighbour coming the other way, and we both had a good laugh at my hapless expense. This was ok as a) I have honey and b) he got soaked too

That is annoying. Happens to us with Chinese New Year. Is the hobby farmer the one with the ex orchard?

The ex orchard (a recently mown meadow) is on a working farm - almost, if not all, apples afaik. It'll have been fallow for a couple of years, come next new year. May have forgotten to mention that there is evidence of lots of new planting elsewhere on the farm - my route to the local PO is passing or through this farm (depending on whether I'm on my way to or from the PO). No images until JtB sorts out why I can't upload from my better camera, although the only variation of 'always like that, at (whatever) time of year' is that one of the oasts has been scaffolded all summer.

Hobby farmer is my next door neighbour although all that's alongside, on that side, is a pear orchard. That's the way I go to the doctors, the chemist and the chippy; and it's footpath or bridlepath all the way. When I turn off the footpath and onto his land, it's at the far end of his kitchen garden. They really have quite a Good Life there, with hens, bee hive, vegetable patch etc. What was apple orchard was grubbed out before he got the tenancy but he's thinking of putting cherry trees there; a commercial grower would have removed all the ancient trees in the other half by now, but a hobby farmer can afford to be kind to aged pear trees.

He said that he understood now why he hadn't seen me around but, if and when summer returns, he wants me to get into the orchard and sit in the sun - which is a huge compliment, as trespassers are not at all welcomed by his large and aggressive dog. In fact, the way it went for me yesterday, I'm not sure I /dare/ take him up on his offer ... either that, or a charm offensive including dog treats may have to be initiated.

There was something else he mentioned a couple of months back, kerpling.

That bread I carted home yesterday, it's going mouldy. I went and found the little yellow strip from the bin, and it says 'Best Before 11Aug'.

I know I bought it from a shop whose clientele might not buy wholemeal bread unless there was no white left, but ...

Yearrrgh, now the rest of the loaf, which I put in the fridge, is mouldy all over ... hope your chippy night turns out better than my wasted foray.

Sulking, I withdraw to watch The Normans ...

G'nite!

Oh dear...

Nightcap:



G'night!

Ne'mind, it was lo'cal in both senses: bought near home, and unexpectedly low calorie (because it couldn't be eaten) ... oh, and having spent the money in buying it, it can't be replaced (well, it could be but I won't, and not from that shop anyway).

Ancient Mammy used to use it as her local shop, that and one other. Her purse was half full of obsolete European coin, back in 2001/02. I'm sure dippy little old lady happily took the change given to her and stuffed it in her purse (macular degeneration, unsighted in one eye and possibly the other as well, towards the end). This still makes me cross btw, although not as cross as it used to.

Me? I use the PO store, in which everything is priced, the lighting is good and you are usually offered a receipt. It's a little further but the walk is nicer and most of it is more level than the nearer shops. Plus there's a photocopier; and, ahem, parking .

Sorry to hear about that continental accident.

T'was a difficult time ... once she had carers popping in three times a day, she didn't really do much shopping herself. Initially, they'd get stuff for her but that soon petered out as she'd either got no money or couldn't find her purse (I was, I confess, a bit horrified when she told me that they, low paid workers, could better afford to pay for her bits and bobs than could they); can't imagine that any of them got near her purse though, so all I can say is ... t'wasn't me, I didn't go into her handbag until after she died and I was applying for probate (and she wasn't at home for the last three years of her life).



Simon Blackburn is a much easier read than Stephen Law, isn't he?

I found both easy to read so I'm surprised you say that. Which books?

G'night!

Sorry, my capacity for napping has hit a new level of competence

I meant the two starter books you recommended yonks ago, to Drop and elsethread (and here too, recently). Maybe the perspective was different: you were evaluating how well the subject was being introduced, and I was struggling to access the subject (so maybe the first book I read would always have been a greater challenge)?

Right now, I'm reading the Blackburn, and found the closing part of the chapter on Free Will almost inspirational. In fact, I had to get a tissue to make sure I really hadn't succumbed to grititude.

The bad news is that it's going in one ear and out the other, but I'm hoping that the residue of repeating mental rinsing might stick

Yes that might be the reason. I suppose a quick reread of the Law after the Blackburn might settle that. I agree, the free will chapter in the latter is good.

Yikes ... I read slower (and far less) than you, and there's other books I'm itching to get off the Never Opened pile and the Read Some but got Distracted heap. That said, you may be right but I think there's something about the style I might prefer - and unfair criticism if I don't read at least a few pages of each back to back.

In fact, proof of my prevarication is that I was very sure I had bought the Blackburn, but you know how unreliable decrepit memory can be. The copy I'm reading is one I bought this year, the copy I've since located was bought at the same time as the Law. Gawd knows what I've been doing, apart from sleeping and displacing, for the past three years ... a statement which probably applies equally well to the previous 50, too

No, I doubt you read more slowly than me; I'm the slowest reader I know.

clink

Now look, I know how competitive you are ... but you really can't be 'best' at this

May I suggest a compromise?

" ... I'm the slowest reader I know. Probably. "