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

Well we have to move out anyway 'cos VR might as well mirror RL for a change: we've got the painters in chez Moira & Spiny and we've had to *sniff* dismantle the big hi-fi in the sitting room. I hate my big Tannoys sitting idle...

So we can either sit in the gazebo with a portable radio in the meantime and watch the ol' place get transformed, or we could take a VR taxi to somebody else's home town and have a night out like we did in Edinburgh. Any volunteers?

And why are you being so cryptic Greebz?

~Greebo's thoughts once more magically arrive....~

Help me... me being held prisoner here...
http://www.h2g2.com/forumframe.cgi?forum=7903&thread=37612

Please Hurry... me so frightened...

*a note appears in dragonly writing*

have gone to rescue Greebo
back soon
hope everyone leaves a trail of breadcrumbs if you go somewhere else
}:=8

*comes wandering in, curious look on his face*

Well! looks liike blu&Greebs aren't back from the far&dangerous grotto yet...
That was all over real quick though. By the time IU had gone to asist in saving the curious cat from 50% certain death, the experiment had been aborted! I do wonder what'll happen to the by now very sticky Garibaldi.
Anyway, I'll just pull up a chair and wait for them to arrive. Maybe even improvise to entertain myself *takes out the sax again, dandles a bit of Eric Satie like*

Hey, Prez.

Whaddya think of the new colour scheme? and doesn't the old place look fresh? Course, it was pretty grimy what with having the heating on full blast over New Year and ... well ... dragon's breath. Not to mention kitty scratching posts. But the painters have done a fine job. Now I'll just leave the country before the bill comes in.

Hmm, Gymnasium No. 1, is it?

*Joins in on bass but realises it's far too loud for Satie. Turns amp down to '1' and bass pickup control to nearly off. Still too loud*

I know, I'll put the kettle on.

I didn't know you had a gazebo, Spiny. It's a good thing these painters have done to the place indeed.
The entire house, really. I like it when the painters come. They'd never come where I live because of
my landlord who has to deal with the bill and just won't, so if I want any painting done I have to do it myself.

But what I mean is when the painters come, it's a sigh that winter is on its way out.
I hated this winter. I really did. Here in Holland it was grimy, sludgy, never frozen but never sunny either.
I love cycling through Amsterdam on a frozen cold day and just watch the city, the steaming canals,
the crisp clarity of it all in the cold. Now, though I still won't see that this winter, I'll see spring and good weather return.
That's what the painters mean to me.

DId you know I have a roof terrace? It's ever so small, but when the weather is good, I take friends up there (quite a climb)
and we sit right in the centre of Amsterdam without even noticing it's there, so secluded between the roofs as that terrace is.
Sorry to rant, but I'm looking forward to that again.

Will you really have to leave your house to give the painters some room?

you'll have to whisper - remember we're playing Satie.

Well, no we haven't had to move out of the house, just into the small back room while they tackle the living room and dining room that haven't been painted in 25 years. Only 5 years of that are down to us: when we bought the place it was furnished but when they took all their stuff away and we moved in, we saw what a state it was in. Now, you expect to see a mark where a picture was, but you don't expect to be able to see the mark of the string it was hanging on as well...

So we're living with the number two hi-fi as the back room's too small for the giant-killing Tannoys, and anyway if you put them too close to the TV the picture goes weird and everybody gets purple faces. But the painters have finished and the rooms look fab, but we can't get the carpet for another three weeks. Sigh.

It was a virtual gazebo, BTW. There's room in our RL garden for one, but that's about 369 on the to-do list. Although I was going to construct some sort of sheltered seat with timber from a cherry tree that died on us. Yeah, right, says Moira. We have a terrific sun-trap of a patio, but that's about as much use as a chocolate teapot here in Edinburgh. You can only use it about a dozen days a year, unless you light the barbecue and huddle round it for warmth. Spring doesn't start here till about July. Bet your daffodils are out, aren't they? Ours aren't.

I like the sound of your roof garden, though, Prez. Maybe we could all assemble there one day for a virtual tour of Amsterdam with you as the host and guide?

~Cough... cough~

Er...

~yack!!!~

Opppsss...

Ker.........splattttttttttt!!!!

~Sheepish grin~


Sorry... after that near fatal inprisonment... me has got a nervous hair-ball problem... so sorry... er... a good detergent will get the stain out of the carpet... honest!!!

hullo, hullo!
*phew*
that paint smell does get all though the place, doesn't it?
Here, Greebo, I have just the thing for that ah...internal problem:
a large number of doughnuts will help settle your stomach, I suspect. *pulls out a large sack of doughnuts, fresh from the bakery*
I just stopped down the street and saw these. They're just the thing for what ails you. Doughnuts for everyone!
*passes bag around*
Glad to see you are safe and sound, Greebz. Dont know what's come over Garibaldi since he's been gone. A wiley fellow to be sure, but the 'mad scientist streak' seems to have overpowered the tendency to throw a great party. Prob'ly just temporary. I'm sure he will be back to his old self any time now.

Talking about daffodils! The weather over here is a balmy 50 Farenheit and climbing. Unfortunately there are piles of snow about so it slows down the warming. Makes one long for spring though, it does.
An' I wouldn't mind a trip to virtual Amsterdam to see that roof garden...waddaya say, Prez????

}:=8

Oh thankyou Fiery One... as ever you have just the thing for what ails me... ~grin~
~Greebo munches contentedly on a doughnut or ten~

Well as a matter of fact bthe idea had sprung to mind already, really.
Not the rooftop part, but the invitation had started burgeoning since Spiny warned us about things getting awkward and WET because of the painters. Fact of the matter was that Spiny and I couldn't just go, not without you all having returned...
We have number of options to get there of course, but I'd just love to do what Greebo did and take a ride on a real bludragon....*hint* ?

Oh yes, bludragon Airlines were voted "Mythical Airline of the Year", mainly for their in-flight entertainment, I believe. And the catering's pretty good too, provided you like doughnuts.

So if dragons can get runway clearance at Schipol, Prez, me an' Greebz an' blu herself will be over there pronto, I think!

And don't worry about the erm... unpleasant incident, Greebz - the carpet's not due to be fitted for another few weeks, so you've only stained the floorboards...

*blush*
Well of course I would be happy to take everyone. But you will hafta point out the landmarks and show me where to land. Never been to Amsterdam. Although I have heard lots about it.

Whenever everyone's ready, just climb aboard. Oh and what happened to
Fate???? Did we lose her in the move, or does she just not like the smell of paint????

}:=8

~Greebo checks her Garfield backpack...~ Hmmm... toothbrush... doughnuts... toothpaste... doughnuts... flea powder... doughnuts... eye drops... doughnuts... straw... doughnuts.... spending money... doughnuts... ~grin~

Seems that me all ready...

~Greebo bounces aboard the Fiery One~

Off you go then, girls - I'll make my own way there because I'm off to Paris tomorrow (back on Wednesday 1st March), so I wouldn't want to hold anybody up. A pity, because I've never travelled by dragon before. But I'll go up to the airport balcony and wave a white handkerchief as you take off. Say hullo to the city of canals for me. And Prez, I hope you got plenty of doughnuts in...

NOW BOARDING, NOW BOARDING! FLIGHT TO AMSTERDAM NOW BOARDING!!!

*packets of doughnuts are passed to passengers who have already boarded. In-flight movies do not start until we are er...ah...in-flight*

Now where ARE the rest of the passengers? This is a Charter Flight, so I gotta wait for everybody on the list to report.

Passenger/Crew List:
Navigator-Prez
Passenger-Greebo [boarded]
Passenger-Anonymouse
Passenger-Fate
Passenger-Spiny [cancelled-taking later flight]

}:=8
munching doughnuts to stay fueled for flight...

Okay, well I think we can be off then!
Regarding Fate, i haven't been seeing much of her lately here altogether,
but she's been over before so she should find her way easy enough if she decides to come.

Now blu, we'll be approaching Amsterdam from the northwest, that means you want to watch out for
the Shell Tower on the other side of our harbor. Once we've cleared that, we're almost there.
Unless there's one of those updrafts over the Waddenzee, they can be treacherous. Everything should be fine though,
as long as you keep fueling yourself with donuts and keep your cute lil (well not so lil) nose in this direction:
http://www.h2g2.com/forumframe.cgi?forum=13044&thread=40842
we should be there in no time.

Everyone set? Here goes...