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

Amusing to see took a positive approach to the keyboard!

"an e-mail from the bank saying they don't have my mobile number, and a text from them saying they don't have my e-mail address " - wow, that is a catch-22... I hope they managed to get their systems to talk to each other without you having to do too much more chasing...

Ah, that is interesting about the differences between CGI and animation for 'The Lion King'... Animals don't gather to form vast pyramids in nature indeed! How were the fight scenes? Were they realistic but just with not too much blood, or were they done differently to make sure the film was still suitable for children?

Good to see you around in h2g2 even while you're on your holidays, but sorry you've had to encounter more of my inane ramblings... Must do better... At least this thread has 'ane'

I hope you all enjoyed the elephants at the zoo I had a good weekend as I went to a cycle path through an RSPB farm and saw a Linnet, which is a bird I previously only knew of through the Music Hall song about 'can't find your way home'! The cycle path is very good - nice smooth tarmac - but the only hazard is that the like to use it as a toilet while crossing from one side to the other

I hope you've been having good weather for your training walks, parkrun etc - I hope it wasn't too warm for you on exposed paths... I hope your children have been enjoying their holiday and been able to get out and about without being too hot as well

Do you often follow a van while dilly-dallying on the way?

Alas, there are no elephants in Hampshire, but we did get a very wet day seeing lots of animals that they had. We then went to a new crazy golf with a dinosaur theme but a decidedly not-dinosaur name.

We also went to another animal attraction, the New Forest Wildlife Park, which used to be the Owl & Otter Park. That was somewhere nearby where Blue Peter Badge winners can get in free and we'd never been, so we enjoyed a day trip there in very warm weather.

The long walk was, well, it involved walking . It wasn't too hot, there were partridges everywhere and we walked 35 miles - at the end of which I was severely tired. I got the distinct impression, which was virtually all-but said, that they want to drop me from the team for slowing them down. The trouble being that they need a team of four to start and if they can't replace me then they seem to be hinting that I should start, walk to the first checkpoint six miles away and then drop out so I don't slow them down. I think they're trying to strongly hint at that but want me to come to that conclusion as my own decision.

Fortunately my team mates weren't at parkrun so I don't have to see them for a fortnight. parkrun itself was a tad uncomfortable, but I made it round.

We had been worried whether we'd get the new car in the end - it took a week (not the 24 hours the adverts promised!) but the loan came through in the end. It was funny as every time we tried to phone up to try to get the money they kept trying to persuade us to take out another £5,000. We just wanted the money we'd asked for a week earlier, not more!
But we got the money and the car in the end, just in time to drive it here today. (The diagnosis of the previous one had not looked good for a long journey, so we didn't want to travel in the old one but the ery was booked).

With 'The Lion King' The fight scenes were child-friendly, a lot of cuts away and implication as far as I remember. Nothing that made me think that it was unsuitable for young children.

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"Do you often follow a van while dilly-dallying on the way?"

It would have helped if I did! Fortunately someone in the 200BirdYear group was able to help with ID, as I looked in the RSPB handbook, but noticed the bird's throat was white so I thought it must be a Whitethroat

Glad you had a good time at the wet and dry animal attractions - The Wildlife Park sounds good, and that is a bonus that it is free to Blue Peter Badge Holders

Ah, cut-aways are a good tactic for child-friendly fight scenes

Well done for walking 35 miles amongst the partridges - glad the weather was good but not surprising it was still tiring for you. Ah, that is tricky - I did think that as it was a team event, then the whole team would have to get all the way round as a team and help each other, but if four have to start but only fewer than four have to finish, then that would have an effect on the team spirit... Good luck with it all

That is a weird tactic of the company, not adhering to the promised 24 hours, but offering more money than they promised Better to do what they said they would do and then try to tempt you with more after that. Glad you managed to sort it out in a week, anyway, after that Catch-22 with the contact details, etc!

That is good news that you have a new car for a long drive - yes, don't want to chance it indeed. Some years ago one of my Motability Cars had a problem with the exhaust just before its lease expired, and the RAC said it would be fine to drive for 50 miles with the warning light flashing on the dashboard, but I was 100 miles from home at that point so alternative transport was arranged, just to be sure I hope your wife got used to the different dashboard etc quickly and you all found it comfortable to sit in Is this 's first holiday in a ery?

I'm sure you'll enjoy the rest of your week Things are quite quiet here, apart from the drilling noises, so I'm doing preparation for all the work that will need doing next week

Added pressure has been added to the event as there are staggered start times but there is still a final cut-off time, which means that those with later start times have less time to complete the walk in. We've just been told we've been allocated the last start time.

Theoretically it should be a team event, especially as the support crew need to know where everyone is at the same time and cannot support in two different places at once. But if the team decide they don't want to walk at the pace of the slowest walker, it all goes out the window...

The dashboard hasn't been a problem but yesterday was interesting as we went to the cinema and had to drive back in the dark and try and work out how to switch on both the front and rear headlights. I'm glad you were able to enjoy a potentially worrying experience with your motability car! Did it end up left somewhere?

Yesterday we played indoor crazy golf to avoid the rain and looked for dinosaurs, and today we nipped over to York this afternoon and I took my son to the dungeon while my wife and daughter enjoyed time in a cake shop. Tomorrow I hope we'll be able to go out in time to visit an abbey and castle.

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Oh no, that isn't good organisation... I was wondering if the Gurkhas you did training with last year might be able to help you with team tactics, but it sounds like the organisers are not well tuned in to what's going on Yeah, theoretically that makes sense that the support crew has to support the whole team so you need to stay together, but that is cunning that your 'teammates' found the loophole that they could dump you at a checkpoint... That is a difficult situation indeed, and I don't envy you that decision... Even if you threatened to pull out before the start if they didn't accommodate you, there would be nothing to stop them agreeing to walk with you, then running off and leaving you once the event gets started Good luck with it all

Ah, the first night drive in a new car is interesting! That was a test to turn on the headlights - I hope it didn't take too long to work out what was what!

While I was driven home that time, my Motability Car was loaded on to a car transporter lorry and slowly made its way back to the dealership up north where it promptly failed its end-of-lease MOT. Luckily I was able to lease a new car within a couple of weeks, so that was OK (I had to get the same make and model because it was the only car suitable for my needs at the time, but that one was much more reliable, thankfully!).

Well done for avoiding the rain - indoor crazy golf is fun! Glad you all enjoyed York, too I hope you all have a great day today

I'm looking forward to going to a Wader Festival this weekend - I'm hopeful of adding more birds to my list

Well, based on the training walks we've done and previous walks such as last year's 'Walk the Wight', yes, I very much believe that they would walk off and leave me behind. And that would force me to pull out. So I don't really see the point in starting something if I know I'm not going to be able to depend on my teammates, who don't want me to be there. Yet I've been sponsored and I don't want to let people down (although as I've done over 250 miles in preparation, hopefully the sponsors feel as if they've already got their money's worth).

Today we went to Rievaulx Abbey and Rievaulx Terrace in the North Yorkshire Moors. The two are adjacent, with the abbey owned by English Heritage at the bottom of the hill (Rievaulx meaning 'Rye valley') and the top of the hill - Rievaulx Terrace - owned by the National Trust where there are two Palladian temple follies and fantastic views of the abbey. The abbey itself is a very large, Cistercian ruin that is very picturesque.

Enjoy the wader festival - do you also need to bring wellies

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"as I've done over 250 miles in preparation, hopefully the sponsors feel as if they've already got their money's worth"

Wow - well done indeed I would say that is satisfactory Did your sponsorship carry over from last year, or did the money raised last year get donated last year even though the event wasn't able to take place?

Rievaulx Abbey and Terrace sound good - not somewhere I went when I visited the North Yorkshire Moors, but I can imagine it was very picturesque to see the Abbey and the Palladian Temples amidst the moors - that's the sort of scenery I like

Fortunately wellies weren't needed at the wader festival - there was rain in the morning, but it had dried up by the afternoon. It was a good day - I met a few people I know there, which was good, and saw two Common Lizards, plenty of butterflies and dragonflies, and at least two new bird species for my list

Is it Back to School week for your children this week? Glad they've had a lovely summer holiday and I hope all goes well for them in the new academic year

I'm not sure what happened to the money, I'm afraid. Either way it'll still go to where it'll do some good sooner or later. (I've not got it, honest!)

The funny thing about Rievaulx Abbey is that it isn't where the phrase arrivederci (foreign for 'I've arrived but feel dirty') comes from . Definitely worth a visit, though there is limited, but some, wheelchair access to Rievaulx Abbey. You can go around the outskirts of the grounds and access the most picturesque part of the ruins, but there is limited access to the jumble of remains. With Rievaulx Terrace the terraced grounds itself would be perfectly accessible as the landscape was artificially flattened to make a landscaped lawn overlooking the abbey, but the temples are accessed via steps. Although only one was open when I was there. So it would very much depend on whether you'd like to pay to have a view of the abbey from above.

It is back to school for both of them on Thursday this week – Wednesday is an inset day and my wife's first day at work, so I've got the day off and hope to take them all the way to Southampton to the cinema. My son's starting his new school, so we'll see how he gets on. It is back to work for me today – I've had lots of e-mails to catch up with… I couldn't login to my PC this morning as my password had expired in my absence.

Sounds like you had quite a good weekend wading! Were they wading birds you spotted? Which reminds me, one of the Island's White Tailed Eagles has enjoyed a bit of a journey this week:
http://www.roydennis.org/2019/09/01/amazing-flight-essex/?fbclid=IwAR1Oeif4X79o7qA3a2vI8l34rN7fBHNXAC31nv17-NVBF5SU3fQgRr_vtes

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I managed to check and see the money you raised last year has been carried forward to this year, so that's OK Yes, it will get to where it is needed in due course

Your description reminds me a bit of Birkenhead Priory and Birkenhead Park - I managed to get to the most picturesque parts of both, but the temple was up steps so someone went up there for me and took a photo of the mosaic inside

Ah, that is about the password expiring - same here that we get 14 days' notice so it can be a problem during the vacation periods... Good luck with all the e-mails etc...

Yes, it was a good weekend I only saw one new wader (a Little Ringed Plover), and the other new species was a meadow bird (a Grey Wagtail) - the other waders were ones I've seen already this year (Black Tailed Godwits and Redshanks). I may be surprised and find other species when I check my photos later, though, we shall see

Oh wow, that is superb that the White Tailed Eagles are able to be followed in such detail That was a bit of a journey indeed! (I wouldn't have believed what I was seeing if he had been flying over Blashford Lakes when I was there recently ) Will be interesting to see if Culver heads back to the Island today, or continues exploring

The inside of the temple that was accessible had a stunning ceiling painting, but they only opened it up for short periods during the day. I was lucky enough to arrive at the right time and managed to go right in, however the children were exhausted and just wanted to sit in the car! I'll put my August photos on by the end of the week I expect, but might put the -themed ones on today. If you look at them, see if you can spot the one I've sent to .

Will there be more bird entries to Peer Review soon?
Last night's update on Culver, the White Tailed Eagle, was that it headed west along the Sussex coast, so heading in the right direction to return to the Island, but we'll wait and see if it does. Who could have predicted that releasing white tailed eagles on the Island would result in one flying over Big Ben within a month. I'm not sure if you knew that Culver is the name of the cliff at the north end of Sandown Bay and is the one that appears in episodes of 'What the Dinosaur'.

While Rievaulx abbey and terrace were both fairly flat, the same cannot be said for the road between the two. There are some very vertical parts of the North Yorkshire Moors, and the bottom of the valley to the top is very much one of them. So I'm not sure where the boundary between the English Heritage land and National Trust land is – it is even possible someone else entirely owns the cliff face – but there was no direct access between the two.

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That was lucky that you got to go into the temple at the time when you arrived, so it made the most of the journey up the hills I wondered how your children would get on with it all, so I'm not surprised they were tired out!

"Will there be more bird entries to Peer Review soon?"

Quite possibly I checked my photos last night and decided I'm not sure I did see a Grey Wagtail after all - could have been a young Pied Wagtail, as it seems they have yellow-ish bottoms even though the adults are black and white... I've made enquiries, anyway, so we shall see I did find I had taken a photo of a Sandpiper of some description in amongst the Plovers, but there are several different types of those, too, so I've asked for help with that as well.

Ah, I didn't realise Culver is the cliff that features in What the Dinosaur Very pleasing! Yes, it is amazing that a White Tailed Eagle has flown over Big Ben this month after all the years of them being extinct on the Island! Very interesting to see Culver went to Hastings - the right direction to head for 'home' indeed, so it is intriguing to see what will happen next

No, it was only me at Rievaulx Terrace, dashing round while the children sat in the car and ate an ice-cream. (That's an ice-cream each, by the way, they didn't alternate licks). I didn't mind and had great fun taking a photo of myself on the temple. My daughter had great fun running round the abbey, desperately wanting to climb on everything whether we wanted her to or not, while my son just wanted to sit down and the novelty of being outside quickly wore off for him, unfortunately.

I'm not sure, but I thought that the reintroduction of previously extinct species to their former areas, such as white tailed eagle, was a requirement under EU law where possible (so reintroducing wolves to the UK is not considered particularly possible due to the lack of forests large enough to establish enough packs to ensure genetic diversity and prevent inbreeding, whereas smaller animals can) so I'm not sure what will happen with breeding programmes among many other things in the future, alas… At least species that have been reintroduced should be covered by existing wildlife protection laws, but whether more species will return in the near future is as up in the air as everything else, I suppose…

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It was great to see your Viking Dinosaur photos on I hope you all have a great day today

"whether more species will return in the near future is as up in the air as everything else, I suppose…"

Yes indeed... I haven't heard much about reintroduction programmes, so that is interesting - makes sense about judging what is and isn't possible...

I see Culver the Eagle is still heading West, while still exploring the area

Yesterday went well – we travelled to Southampton as the Showcase Cinema there is one of the few cinemas in the country showing 'Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion'. 'Asterix' films only get a very limited release outside the French-speaking world but I managed to catch this. I expect to write an entry on it next year after it is out on DVD. (Assuming it is released in English on DVD, 'Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia' (2012) hasn't been yet.)

The other reintroduction idea I keep hearing about is whether the lynx should be introduced to keep deer populations down, though I assume a lynx would eat fawns and only young deer? Would they eat birds instead?

Today is a special day for everyone but me. My wife starts her new job properly today, undertaking her new role and not just having an inset training day. My son starts his new school. My daughter starts breakfast club and her new class. Even my has something happening today – it is her 2nd birthday. It is a typical day today for me, though – nothing new at all.

Are you doing anything new today?

Culver headed even closer to the Island yesterday so we'll see if he returns home or heads back up to London.

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Ah, that is a shame that Asterix doesn't get more of a cinema release, or even a DVD release (that is ironic about the Britannia one not being available in Britain! )

Ah, yes a wild cat may well turn to birds and other creatures than the deer they are supposed to be controlling - pest control turned pest is a potential problem for many things...

I had a look at Culver's latest flight path - impressive indeed, and he's not far from 'home' now

Happy birthday to and I hope everyone enjoyed their day. I hope your typical day went well. My day has been goodish so far - I went to a lunchtime lecture, which was very good, but now I have discovered that my car has some sort of slow puncture, which is not good, so I'm just waiting for assistance

All sorted with the car - not too bad at all

There are now 10 animated Asterix films and 4 live action ones, with one animated Asterix film, 'Asterix Conquers America', not available on DVD though it was widely around on VHS (and Asterix doesn't really conquer per se, more pop by for a short visit) and yes, the one live action film not available on DVD is the one set in Britain. I wonder if that's because they went overboard on the stereotyping…?

Yesterday went well for everyone, they survived the first day back at school and everyone is returning for today. Being at work was a typical day but my route to work is a bit of a muddle at the moment due to murders and roadworks, with the bridge that was dug up for months last year being dug up again, with no provision for cyclists having been made whatsoever. And Riverside Park has been roped off since a body was found there. Once I arrived at work they've blocked off large areas of the corridor and have their anti-asbestos bubble wrap hanging floor to ceiling once more.
It's obviously the week for dramatic journeys to and from work – glad you managed to get your slow puncture sorted!

Pest control turned pest is indeed a tale often told. When we were sheltering from the rain at Marwell in the snail house they had displays telling the story of partula snails that lived in areas that had other snails introduced to, only to be out-competed and were faced with extinction and so the invasive snails' natural predator was introduced in the hope it would feed on the invasive snails, only for it to prefer the partula snails and make the problem worse, with 51 species of partula snail now extinct and 11 extinct in the wild.

It looks like I am in fact being kicked out of the walking team, and they've found a replacement for me. I don't really want to give up, but I can't think of a feasible way in which I'd be able to complete what is supposed to be a team event with a team that doesn't want me to be there and have a track record of leaving me behind for miles and hours. I've prepared for this for 18 months and looks like I'm out with only two weeks to go.

Good to see that Culver, the prodigal white-tailed eagle, has returned home – and headed back to the Island via Culver. But where, if anywhere, will he go next? http://www.roydennis.org/category/sea-eagle/culver/


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Ah, I didn't realise 'Britannia' was live action - that might make a difference to the reception of it indeed. "Asterix doesn't really conquer per se, more pop by for a short visit"

Glad the first day of school went well for everyone Yikes, your journey to work is more challenging than it should be indeed One would have thought that they could have learned lessons from the bridge being dug up last time, but let's hope whatever they've dug it up for this time won't last months...

We're copying you - the anti-asbestos bubble wrap has appeared here today as well

It is a bit strange with the slow puncture situation - my last car had the same problem, so I wonder if there is something on the road to work that I keep picking up... Not too bad, anyway, as the roadside assistance van arrived fairly quickly and was able to sort it out (would have been quicker to arrive, but "satnav didn't say" turn right, even though I waved, so he had to go round the block and come back again ).

Wow, that is a shocking tale of the poor partula snails indeed - biological controls are good in theory, but there is a lot of risk in practice...

Aargh... That's one way for your decision to be made, but I can imagine you are feeling indeed On the one hand you would be at severe risk of harm with that 'team' so you're better off out of it, but on the other hand you have put in a huge amount of effort and deserve more consideration than to just be kicked out with two weeks to go... Do the organisers have any advice for that situation, eg about finding a team that needs someone at the last minute, or switching to another event? You have raised a lot of money, too (more than some in the 'team') so that's good based on your training miles, but at this rate you somehow need that to be donated without giving credit to 'them'...

Yay! That is great that Culver went home via Culver A fantastic flight indeed. Definitely worth keeping an eye on the link to see what happens next

I'm guessing that I'll have to divert away from the park on the way home: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-49594850
Sadly it really is hectic again as schools are back, so the traffic is back on the roads. And students are swarming in town, making Asda's queues much longer and having a locust effect on the shelves of CEX.

So, do you have plans for the weekend? If I get up early enough I hope to catch the 6:40am train to Woking and change there to go to Guildford for my final parkrun tourism before my big 200/250th next month. I don't feel like bumping into my walking friends at parkrun this week. I've chosen Guildford as it'll be my 42nd parkrun course, and Ford Prefect is from a small green somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and not from Guildford after all. The park is about half an hour's walk away from the station and the train from Woking is due to arrive about an hour before, so though I don't know the area I should be able to find it as long as I wake up in time

Ah – I didn't know that you need satnav postcodes for even that now. Does this mean that if you're in a building, say a hotel, that catches fire, unless you can tell the fire brigade your location's postcode they won't be able to find you?

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Yikes, that is a nasty situation indeed - I hope the detective work goes well so justice can be done...

I do have quite a busy weekend planned. Sadly I didn't manage to arrange to see if Charlotte gets to be decorated with rainbows on Saturday for Pride but if you see her, do let me know However, I plan to meet my sister and enjoy elephants as well as attend a A87946483 meet so that will be good

Great idea to do Guildford for your 42nd Parkrun That's great that you should be able to get there in a fairly reasonable time I hope you enjoy it (at least it will be more enjoyable given that the 'team' won't be there, indeed). Good luck - I hope you get a good time

Satnav is getting more popular for such things these days, which is worrying - I did see in the news a while back that an ambulance drove something like 400 miles with a patient because they put the wrong postcode into the satnav...