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

Today's rescheduled sports day was cancelled

Ah – I had thought about asking if we can meet in the evening – I'll certainly try to get to the station by then, but I'm afraid I can't guarantee it. I got the time of the flights the wrong way round, and in fact the flight back to the UK is 9am from Poland, arriving in Stansted about 10am, with the journey back expected to be roughly 3 hours. Thinking about it, I don't think it is likely I'll be able to be there in time.

I'm sure the shoes and insoles would be cheaper in the long run than gym membership – not that I've ever considered gym membership. It doesn't appeal to me, I don't want to be cooped up in a room, I want to get out and about! I'm cooped up enough all day at work,

You'll be pleased to know, though, that I've now bought shiny new aluminium pedals for my bike, which hopefully won't have a rusty spindle and snap like the old ones. I've taken back control of my bike and have a nice, broken pedal-shaped paperweight on my desk too which might become a talking point in the future.

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Ah, sorry the sports day was cancelled again Will they try again? I guess the end of term is coming up soon, though, so there might not be time...

On the better side, my tickets are open return, so I can change the seat reservation and meet you in the evening of the Monday somewhere near the Charlotte Yonge statue

That is a fascinating paperweight to have Good to hear it was easy for you to take back control of the bike with shiny pedals. How did you manage after the pedal fell off? Somehow I thought the spindle would still be usable, but not if it snapped off with the pedal... Did you have to walk the bike home?

That's great news about the open tickets – yep, I'll definitely be happy to meet you Monday evening or afternoon, especially if it gives you a chance to see the statue of Charlotte Yonge. Have you already met?

No, that was it for sports day this year She was very disappointed for a couple of days following that.

Fortunately the pedal fell off on the way to work not too far from here. A reasonable amount was downhill, so I was able to cruise a bit of the way. But I think the pedal is now regretting the decision and beginning to see through the false rhetorical promises like 'we're the bike's driving force - if we gain independence we won't have to drag the rest of the bike behind us anymore and be able to go much faster on our own'.
The bike shop is in Shirley, which isn't too far to walk.

The uni's been making headlines from how it is the Uni which has the highest percentage of research funding from the EU:
http://thetab.com/uk/soton/2016/06/25/66533-66533
Fortunately the Uni's a teaching university, where most of its income comes from teaching rather than research, but it has been trying to move more into that area.

Have you heard any more about your job changes?

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Excellent I look forward to meeting you and Charlotte, as I haven't met her before, no. Afternoon would be good, as I note there is a museum not far from the station

Ah, sorry about the sports day I hope the end of term is fun for her anyway, if not sporty.

Your way with words about the pedal is superb Cheered me up after a hard day's work, that did! This week I've been trying to get the dreadnoughtus safely housed before the storm at the end of the year happens. I'm tempted to join it in the safety of the filing cabinet, as everything is still very uncertain out there, but some of my colleagues are confident that things will work out to be positive, so we'll see how it goes in the next few weeks...

I couldn't find out where my uni is on that EU list, but I know that the EU funding it receives is concentrated into two specific areas of work, so we're waiting to see what happens to those...

Have a good weekend - I hope the weather is as pleasant as possible, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it anyway

If you get to have time in Southampton, you may get a chance to enjoy the Zany Zebra trail that's been put out, officially opening tomorrow (although apparently, and terribly, some of the zebras have already been vandalised). You can see: http://zanyzebras.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Marwells-Zany-Zebras-Southampton-Trail-Map-LR.pdf
I'm looking forward to getting a chance to do some zebra-spotting with the family, just have to find a free weekend for once!

This weekend will be happysad. I'm camping on the Island with friends, and we'll be walking to the gate that was put up in memory of Ian/Peregrin. I can't believe it was 4 years ago now he died.

The filing cabinet sounds a solid plan – just remember to put up a sign saying 'Beware of the Leopard'. (I once borrowed a label-making machine and actually labelled a few cabinets with that, and the plastic thing my power supply plugs into is labelled 'GN/DN Conduit' as a Star Trek reference).
At the moment the Uni here is in a more positive mood than the last couple of weeks, in that the THE's points table listed us as 112th in one table, but if you take into account Benchmark figures (ie, how well students might be expected to do considering their educational background), we're 71st. The Uni's also announced plans to aggressively take-over, sorry, co-operatively merge with, Southampton's City College. This will not only mean lots of nearby teaching space, but also a waterfront site which can be used if they sell off Warsash. That site was the old Supermarine office where the Spitfire was designed. My Dad once was taught boatbuilding there, but since then they demolished the Supermarine building, which seems a real shame.

I hope you have a great weekend too.

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Those Zebras are awesome! I'm sure I'll see at least one Reminds me of the SuperLambananas http://www.superlambanana.eu/history.html that I'm a fan of (a leg fell off my keyring one yesterday, but it is still recognisable )

Gosh, I didn't realise it was only 4 years ago that Peregrin died Happysad weekend indeed

Yes, I certainly will make sure there is a Beware of the Leopard sign

That is a shame to get rid of so much heritage and then buy some new buildings instead to reclaim the waterfront site Seems to be the way of the world at the moment...

My amended trip is sorted, so I'll be in Eastleigh on the afternoon of the Monday and look forward to meeting you when you're ready I will meet Charlotte and go to the Museum and then have dinner

It isn't even exactly 4 years yet, as he died in August This was the closest weekend that people could make. It was a very moving time, and it had grew from being something that was just initially going to be my friend Will and I, after we invited Ian's fiancé Corrine, she invited lots of friends he knew that I didn't, as well as a couple of people I already knew from being friends of my sister, but didn’t know had known him too.

Ironically, apparently his parents, moved that so many people have gone out of their way to remember him by visiting his gate on the Isle of Wight (which is awkward for them to get to), have set in motion plans for him to have a commemorative bench and stone in Devon, where they live. It was very moving.

At least City College's original Victorian workhouse building still exists. After the Second World War the local council were trying to decide what to do with the workhouse site and decided on a technology college, both further and higher education. This later split in two, with half becoming the City College and the other half, the Southampton College of Technology in 1964 moved to my building, with the Southampton College of Art (founded in 1856) moving next door in 1973 (my old building) with which it merged to form the Southampton College of Higher Education in 1978, becoming Southampton Institute when it incorporated the School of Navigation at Warsash in 1984 and then turned into Southampton Solent University in 2005.

I'll keep you updated on my progress – do you still have my mobile number, and if so can you send me yours?

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wow, not long ago at all... Good to take the opportunity to get together with friends and connect Another nice idea of a bench and a stone. My D had a prize named after her, but the organisation didn't tell me who won it this year, so I will have to ask them soon. Have you been to Devon often before?

That is a bit better that the college kept its heritage building. All very complicated with all these changes over the years... I'm now in the situation you were in a while ago, so I'm keeping an eye on the job market, but in the meantime I'll just try to fit in as best as I can...

Have a good weekend, and I look forward to meeting! I've sent you a text

It was good to meet up with you again – thank you very much for the time and effort to do so, sorry I was so sleepy and falling asleep!

I've only been to Devon twice; once to celebrate my other house mate's birthday (I also managed to visit Totnes Castle that day) and the second time was for Ian's funeral.

I'll write more when I've woken up a bit more – hope the journey back's going well! And a big thank you for everything again.

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Yes it was excellent to meet you again and great to catch up - thank you for your time and effort too, as you had had a long day indeed.

I'm impressed by Eastleigh, as it was easy for me to to get to where I wanted to go and I look forward to exploring it more somewhen

The journey back was very good - managed to make an earlier connection so I was home an hour sooner than expected, which was good as I didn't sleep well last night Sadly the hotel room had just had new flooring added so it reeked of glue, but opening the window for air meant I enjoyed the railway station at full volume until 2am when the screechy goods trains stopped. I got some fabulous photos of the sunrise when the trains started again, though - I'm not usually awake at 6am, so that was interesting. I took a photo of the Zebra in Southampton Central as well

Thank you again too

I'm glad you enjoyed Eastleigh and got to meet Charlotte Yonge's statue, even though I fear I wasn't properly dressed to provide a formal introduction. Eastleigh's quite a nice town, it has most of the things you need in a town (second hand shops) even if it doesn't have a DVD shop or bookshop. I also really like the shelters along most of the shopping roads which mean you don't get wet when it rains. Of course, Eastleigh being a railway town means that no trip is complete without experiencing the railway station and goods trains at full volume until 2am

Sorry they had a gluey smell in the hotel – I hope you managed to get breakfast in the end! And I'm pleased you saw a zebra too.

Alas, 6am is all-too familiar to me, as my son in particular is an early riser and likes to get up and about as soon as he wakes up…

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At least you were wearing a hat and doffed it to Charlotte, but her body language is a bit, "who are these people?"

She was busy being entertained by someone else the next morning, so I didn't get to take any more photos of her and nearly didn't get to see the Zebra because of being rushed through the station again but fortunately I had extra time for the connection so they couldn't argue with me going outside for 15 minutes

Where is the Parkrun held? It's not in the park down the road from the station, is it?

Yes, that was an experience to experience the station at full volume Next time, I hope the smell will have gone so there will at least be double glazing between me and the track which should be more reasonable... (I used to live near a railway at uni, and that was quite quiet through the double glazing apart from the hoots if a train went through a tunnel) I had brought breakfast with me this time, as I knew I wouldn't be partaking of the £5 box of meagreness, but I'll definitely try the place next door somewhen

I've turned more into my D these days (she used to go to bed at 2am) - the night fears that Charlotte was acquainted with mean I don't go to bed until I'm desperate, and then I don't want to get out of bed in the morning I need to try somehow to remedy this at least a bit...

Well, it means you have a good reason to come back to Eastleigh if you don't have enough photos of Charlotte. I suppose she's just trying to read her book in peace and is constantly interrupted by people sitting next to her and putting traffic cones on her head, so I can understand her getting a bit cross with it all…

Eastleigh's parkrun is in Fleming Park, which is about a mile further along the road that leads from the station to the town centre's park.

I'm more of a go to bed around 10-11pm sort of person. Strangely I rarely remember my dreams when I awake (unless I'm ill, when I tend to have vivid and scary ones).

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Yes indeed - my next visit to Eastleigh needs to include more photos of Charlotte, another visit to the Museum, an excursion to the piece of greenspace that I looked at but didn't go into in case I got lost going back from the Museum, and a visit to the Swan Centre - and most importantly, an h2g2 meet of course

Yes, traffic cones would make Charlotte rather cross...

I did better last night, as I was desperate at 11pm, so I didn't fall half asleep in the sofa like usual but actually moved - I haven't quite recovered from Tuesday's 2am session , but I feel a lot better today than yesterday

I'm more likely to dream and remember the dream if I'm not overtired, and I often have pleasant dreams of D so that is a good incentive. The night fears are what happens before I go to sleep, though, when eg my stomach threatens to eat itself, or my head threatens to swell up... A bit of a vicious circle, I think, that if I'm tired I get uncomfortable, and the more uncomfortable I am the more tired I get, so I shall try to get on the path of the virtuous circle instead

I hope you're having a good day today. I'm enjoying a quiet day tying up loose ends before All Change

I enjoy it when I get to see lost friends and family in my dreams – I often dream that I've woken up in my grandparents' house, or the house I shared with Ian, and they're in the lounge or kitchen at the start of a normal day.

I normally go for the 'keep reading while lying in bed until you feel yourself falling asleep' approach before sleeping, so I'm quite lucky about that. I don't really fall asleep on the sofa as it isn't as comfortable a space, but I don't spend that much time watching the telly on it – I might well watch a film or an episode or two of a television programme – but never more than two episodes in a row, and after the film or programme I generally go off to do something else. Often it is on the PC, such as writing or sorting out photos. I'm currently swamped with holiday pictures but I must get the photo of you and Charlotte off the camera and send it to you – for the one with me there.

Everyday this week the kids have been bouncing on the bed before 6am, which is annoying…

Hope you get the right circles over the weekend, and have tied up all the loose ends (..are they of reins?)

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Pleasant dreams indeed

Yes, I'm not one for "binge watching" since I watched 4 episodes of Brideshead Revisited in one go because I was desperate to find out what had happened to Sebastian Flyte and it turned out to be a sad anticlimax I have to admit the sofa isn't that comfortable physically, but it is a comfort mentally, so I get absorbed into it and watch different programmes in between doing other stuff like eating or going on the tablet computer, to distract myself from not being on the laptop Messenger with D...

Glad you didn't mind me sending you my picture of you and Charlotte I look forward to seeing the ones of me and her and hope they turned out OK. I've done my holiday photos, which were a record for me - 250 in one weekend, but most of them were blurred action shots of swooping birds, so they were easy to sift through

Bouncing before 6am is a bit much, I can imagine

The loose ends were the tail of the Dreadnoughtus and 3 reins, yes. Still another half a to do, but I'll go with the flow this week and see how it goes I had a good weekend, anyway, and got more sleep so I feel better, but now I need to log off and continue to chase the virtuous circle

Hope you have a good day tomorrow

I think 'Brideshead Revisited' is allowable
I took over 2,000 photos over the weekend in Poland, which is taking a little time to sort through and label. Hopefully I'll be done in time for the next holiday next week. Two trips abroad in one year!

But before that we've got my daughter's birthday on Wednesday – you'll never guess where we're going to celebrate?

Alas, being bounced before 6am is generally a typical start to the day… Even at weekends. This weekend we saw 'Finding Dory' on Saturday (which I'd recommend) and yesterday we went to Southampton where the Tudor House Museum were opening at their original entry price of 6p per person, and we also had a mini zebra-hunt too. Still not seen them all, though.

Glad you had a good weekend!

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No, I don't recommend it, even with (or rather especially with) Brideshead Revisited, as it is better to prolong the anticipation than to rush towards the anticlimax...

Ah, I think I can guess where you'll be celebrating - I hope they help to make your daughter's birthday extra special

That was a good weekend you had - 6p entry is most reasonable these days It is a huge challenge to see all the items in a trail - when the Superlambananas were around, I managed to spot about 20 out of 125...

Ah, I wasn't sure whether your wife was exaggerating when she said you had 2,000 photos! That is impressive and scary at the same time... I presume you have to filter out a few that didn't turn out well, but you must have plenty left for the album... Do you make slideshows out of them?

Thank you for the photo of me with Charlotte - turned out well although it is a shame that I couldn't sit very close on her left because of her skirt so the litter bin came between us... Need to try a different tactic next time to get a better photo, I think...

We did have a good time in Legoland, and Lucy got a free birthday badge so that whenever we saw a member of staff, they asked her if she was enjoying her birthday and her name was added to the boards that displayed queue times and other information around the park, so whenever we passed one we would wait and see her name pop up. As it was the summer holidays the ride queues were silly, so we played in the waterpark, watched the shows and posed with characters instead. She also had a ride on the Driving School cars, which are for children aged 6-13 and she's always wanted to drive but never been old enough to.

Alas yesterday was not quite so enjoyable – six years to the day after we brought her home from A87827241 we rushed her back after a tumble, but fortunately no bones broken. We did get to spend the late afternoon together playing with Lego and Sylvanian Families, as well as see 'Kung Fu Panda 3'. I'm delighted that she's not let the experience upset her and she remains her normal, cheerful self so I'm very pleased about that.

With the photos I'll burn back-ups onto DVD and give copies to my wife's family, especially the bride and groom, of the wedding. I'm also quite happy to share with anyone who was there. What normally happens with photos is that I take the photos (and maybe tweak them with Photoshop), my wife uploads the photos onto Facebook and then people say, 'Lovely photos Sarah' – even people who were there and saw that I took the photos in the first place

You're right – Charlotte's not wearing a very flexible skirt. I wonder if it is her method of stopping strangers from invading her personal space?

Do you have any plans for the weekend? We've got a birthday party tomorrow and a family get together too.

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That is a lovely way for Legoland to welcome people on their birthday! Excellent that your daughter is now eligible for driving too - sounds a fun day indeed!

I was very sorry to hear she had to have a trip to A87827241 but very glad she had a restful afternoon and is cheerful again.

Ah, that is interesting about the photos! That is good to give the family DVDs for them to have as souvenirs of the event

Yes, that is one way to preserve personal space... However, it is good that people can sit next to Charlotte on the bench, and next time I plan to put my arm around her too to show her that I am not as stuck in my rules as she was.

I hope you all enjoy the birthday party and get together. I'm going to a garden club event so I hope the weather will be good for the admiring of flowers etc