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

Aha - I shall look out for the logos I like the title - clever puns

I hope had a good birthday of relaxing after the stress

Strangely tricky to get travel money these days indeed - last year my mum got some from Marks and Spencer, of all places. One of my local supermarkets has a person in a booth offering travel money, too. Good luck with finding something

I had an interesting evening spending 4.5 hours in London via my computer, watching http://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/freddie-mercurys-opening-night-makes-history?locale=en Fascinating and frightening at the same time... Raised a lot of money for Freddie's beneficiary and for charity (and also for the auction house). I did a Queen pilgrimage in 2003 or so, and saw the door but didn't add any graffiti to it.

Glad you like the title - hopefully you can see why I usually call it 'Book 5' to err on the side of caution

Yes, we think had a good birthday. When my wife went to the Pets at Home resource centre setting to purchase for her to play with, apparently the person behind the counter asked, 'How old is your kitten?' and when my wife said she's six, the staff member sounded surprised and said, 'oh, and still playful?'
Definitely playful and inquisitive, and I had to stop her getting into the tumbledryer at lunchtime. Not that we need to use it in this heat...

I ended up going to the Post Office to get the currency yesterday - only to have to queue for 45 minutes as there was only one person behind the counter. It is crazy that the number of post offices have closed yet I've never seen an empty one - and in many towns all the local banks have closed and have signs up saying, 'For a counter service, go to the Post Office'. So where before there were half a dozen banks with two or three cashiers, there's now only one post office and one member of staff. Crazy... Apparently the supermarket in the next town does travel money, but I don't think I'd be able to get there and back in a lunch hour cycling and there's only one train each way per hour and the superresourcecentre isn't even anywhere near the station for that to be a realistic option either.

SO you watched the auction - looks interesting indeed! The mentions it being the first night, so presumably there's even more to look forward to?

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Yes indeed 'Book 5' is safer I found out this week that your character Claire Wheeler is quite the polymath - not only skilled at acting, but also shares the knowledge as a lecturer

Good that is playful and curious, but yes have to be careful that curiosity doesn't go too far... Much better to play with toys than tumble dryers or solar panels so that's good that received something new

It is sad about Post Offices being so undervalued when they are so necessary in this day and age - they are more like banks than banks are these days... My local Post Office closed a few years ago, so now we have a mobile Post Office that visits for 2 hours twice a week - there are always queues for that, too, as there is only one member of staff in the van and a whole week's worth of business has to be fitted into 4 hours. Handy that they do as well as banking and some actual postage work

The sale is epic indeed - last night the whole event (with views of auctioneer and bidders) was livestreamed on youtube, then today and tomorrow the auctioneer(s) can be viewed live via an app - I checked in a few times during today's 8-hour session to see how things were going, and there were more surprises. One of Freddie's Mercury costumes didn't sell at first, because the bids were below the £20k reserve price, but then another Mercury costume sold for more than £50k It is like some sort of theatre show

Quite humid today, but pleasant enough this evening for sitting outside - my horticultural friend invited me round to her garden for nibbles and homemade elderflower cordial so that was very refreshing.

The weekend went well - although as it was much later in the year than usual, it got dark much earlier and so I was glad I put my tent up at about 6pm, as by 8pm it was pitch black and our campsite had no external light.

On Saturday we walked from Chale to Ventnor via the Pepper Pot, which was a very coastal route and finished with us hearing Derek Sandy, and today it rained all day but we had a shorter walk from Ryde to the Gate, via a 2-mile long car show which apparently had over 1,000 cars on display.

Glad that you managed to enjoy a pleasant outdoor evening at the end of the week. I'll be disappearing for the rest of the week as part of my grandfather's cousin's funeral - tell you all about it later.

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It is fascinating the difference between sunsets in early August versus early September - I have noticed that the nights are drawing in much earlier. Glad you were OK pitching your tent.

Glad you had a good gathering for the Peregrin Trail and the geocaching was successful, too

That's amazing about the car show - I was impressed by your photos, but can hardly imagine 1,000 cars in a 2-mile long display

The newspaper article about your grandfather's cousin and team was excellent - all the best for the event

Book 5 arrived today, and I am enjoying it - some very relatable scenes in there. A fair cop indeed when the legal right to a lunchbreak is not exercised. Changing the logo using toddler art in the hope that it will turn into a mystical rune

Hello, sorry I've not been about much - been a very bizarre and emotional week all told. Not sure yet how to put it all into perspective and I've about 1,500 photographs to go through and sort, so that will take some time.
It has been a very positive experience and I really am glad I went.
The headline highlights were:
The area of the Netherlands we were in is outstandingly beautiful, and really has the balance between traffic and spaces for people perfect.
I met distant family members I never knew I had - and one lady had said that she had felt that she was the last member of her family, only to discover that actually there are more of us then she ever knew.
The Dutch care an incredible amount for the war graves and keep them immaculate. Visiting them is also a part of their annual culture, as they represent those who lost their lives restoring their freedom after being invaded and oppressed.
I also met Guy Martin, the TV presenter who comes across just as he does on the telly, a very humble, down-to-Earth guy. My son was delighted as he called him 'Boss', and he interviewed my dad for an hour.
The Dutch school children reduced me to tears, they really did.
I've also met 3 members of the Dutch government including the Minister for the Interior and Kingdom, the Minister for Defence, the Head of the Dutch Armed Forces, the Head of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, TV presenters (but I'm not sure if they were national or local), various military and cultural attaches and the British and Canadian ambassadors - and none of them had Ferrero Roche.
Language in the Netherlands is extremely confusing.
It really, really is flat there. So unbelievably flat. Completely unlike Ventnor.
No-where I went could I get a decent cup of .

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Certainly has been a poignant and emotional week for you I'm so glad the Netherlands trip was such a positive experience, and I'm impressed by how well organised it all looked even just from your first batch of photos. Lovely that the event brought families together.

Impressive that the event was so high profile as to be attended by government members etc. Also impressive that Guy Martin was there - I was watching the 2010 Isle of Man TT live on TV, and saw his crash and the later interview with him in hospital and he came across well even then - glad he was the same when you met him and glad your dad got to contribute so much.

Disappointing about the tea situation, though - I bet you thoroughly enjoyed your first proper cuppa once you were at home again

I must admit that I've not seen the Isle of Man TT, but I do know that he started off in motorbike racing and stunts and, as a natural in front of the camera, progressed on to hosting documentaries particularly with a Second World War theme. He interviewed my dad for about an hour though sadly his production crew said that any photographs taken with him should be for personal use only and not put on social media.
The only tricky part of the interview was one moment when Dad was handed a piece of paper and told it was related to Charles' will - unfortunately he didn't have his reading glasses so had no idea what it said so joked about wills in general. It turns out Charles' fiance wrote a letter asking why she had not inherited Charles' possessions as he had promised to leave them to her. Presumably everything ended up going to his father as the next-of-kin, but we're not that branch of the family. Sadly the RAF did make it easy for aircrews to write wills dictating who they wanted to inherit, but presumably Charles never did.
That bit wouldn't look good on camera, though. My Dad looking flustered after being asked why the fiance didn't inherit and presumably the Sprack family did and not really answering - but only because he had no idea and couldn't see to read.

Anyway, just because he was interviewed doesn't mean he'll appear in the finished documentary. They interviewed three people I believe, and it may well end up being the person who cried the most at the right time who ends up being in the documentary for ten seconds. Shame we don't have an aerial and can't get Channel Four. If you see it is on, can you let me know and are you able to record it? I think the documentary is supposed to be on Pathfinders in general, not specifically this particular plane.

You're right though that these experiences do make you appreciate proper

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Ah - I knew Guy Martin did documentaries, but didn't know he did ones with a Second World War theme as well as the racing ones I'd seen Glad you got photos, but yes makes sense that they wouldn't be for social media.

That is sad about the confusion of your relative's fiancee. Also sad that your dad was flustered by that bit, but hopefully at least a bit of his interview will make it into the finished documentary

I can get Channel Four, yes, and I check the listings magazine each week so will hopefully spot when it is on - I guess it will be a few months yet. Can you get Box of Broadcasts? I can, and might be able to make a clip for reference purposes

Not surprising you found the trip overwhelming, with so many new experiences to take in in such a short time Your photographs will be a helpful record, and I look forward to seeing more when you're ready

My week was split between work and watching A88036437 Today I did a bit of a 'twitch' and found the Pectoral Sandpiper that had been reported at Burton Mere It was a warm afternoon, and now this evening it is raining and rather chilly.

I watched his documentary about Lancasters and he said he has always felt drawn to Lancaster bombers being both raised close to the RAF's bomber bases and that he was named Guy after Guy Gibson, the commander of the Dambusters raid.

I should be able to access BoB, yes - I just want to ensure that I'm able to preserve the programme for posterity rather than only be able to see it once. But I doubt it'll be on in the near future. We asked Guy Martin's team if they knew when it might be shown, but it isn't up to them but Channel 4, and they've more than one programme in development and don't know what order things will be broadcast in.

So my plan for this evening is to go through some more photos and maybe be in a position to upload some more today and tomorrow. I took about 1,430 so there's far too many that anyone other than me would want to see! Sadly there's less available time this week, as we've been asked to do on-site support for Enrolment.

Glad you had the perfect weather for birdwatching - is that a whole new bird for the overall list? And I did enjoy the entry you wrote on the auction.

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Multi-talented Guy Martin Yes, I can imagine it takes time to produce programmes, and even then it depends what else is in the pipeline as to which appears when. Difficult in this day and age to preserve a programme for posterity - I have a USB recorder in my TV, but I haven't tried to see if I can watch Galaxy Babe's episode of The Chase, as I recorded that on my previous TV's USB and I'm not sure it is compatible... Glad you can get BoB - I think that is hopeful of being able to generate something useful

Another excellent batch of photos I appreciated looking at yesterday

I checked my overall bird list and see I had seen a Pectoral Sandpiper before, but it's definitely a good one to add to the year list Funny but not funny that I've seen one of those, but I haven't yet seen a Song Thrush this year. Still time, anyway - thrushes might appear looking for berries in Autumn

Glad you enjoyed my Entry - I enjoyed writing it, being a record of a live event

Good luck with enrolment My start of year processes have been going relatively smoothly so far A bit of an annoyance yesterday - at the beginning of the month someone invited me to a meeting but didn't say what it was about. I asked for more information and the person said they would speak to me about it. Yesterday, he called me and asked me what the meeting was about When the meeting started, we found out I had been invited to talk about the dreaded project, but luckily I didn't have to prepare anything, as I just said the same spiel I'd said before...

I'm doing a quiz tonight, which should be fun

with the quiz!

My DVD player can record things onto its harddrive and burn them onto DVD, but sadly we don't really get television reception since we've moved, and it hasn't been a priority. Hopefully we'll be getting answers about the damp next week.

Sorry to hear about your annoying magical mystery meeting - glad you managed to get through it okay.

Today's enrolment didn't go overly well as we didn't have computers set-up and there were computer problems preventing much of what I was trying to do from happening.

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Phew - the site is back online, and everything seems to be present and correct

At least I got to look at your photos on while waiting - it is a privilege for me to be able to see some of what you experienced on such a historic excursion

It's been one of those weeks for meetings - another one yesterday with the same person, and he rattled through the agenda so fast nobody could get a word in edgeways... I raised a key point in text form afterwards for people to vote on using thumbs up/thumbs down emojis and hope I got away with it for the minutes

Sorry you had trouble with computers... I hope things go through OK soon

That's good about your DVD player, but tricky about the TV. Other priorities for you just now indeed, but things might be OK by the time the programme is ready for broadcast

The quiz was really good - I won the first round (judging flowers in order of quality) and then I was the quizmaster for the second round and everybody enjoyed it (a variety of general knowledge questions, anagrams and cryptic clues)

Hurray! Looks like h2g2 is back. Hopefully we're having regular backups now just in case...?

Thanks for looking through all the photographs - I'm trying to write something for , but it is awkward as I'm not sure on the balance between being formal or more about my personal experience. When writing about it, there's so much background to cover first. I might end up doing an entry for the post on my personal experience and then a more formal one for the Edited Guide, but not sure about the balance yet as I still need to explain things such as what Bomber Command and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission do.

We were really lucky with the weather - we've been told that this week has been stormy and so no-one has been allowed on the cofferdam. When we went we were told we had to wear lifejackets as well as have Hi-Vis jackets - though we were given the Hi-Vis jackets to carry and keep as souvenirs. The zip is broken, but it says 'Aircraft Recovery' on the back, so that's nice. If I ever never to recover an aircraft I have the appropriate Hi-Vis to help me stand out in the crowd. It is a shame that our Johnsons no longer has on-premises staff that can replace zips. They always seemed busy in there but now they post everything away and it costs twice as much.

Sounds like you had a good time with the quiz, well done! The work situation at the moment is tense - definitely simmering, so I am wondering whether it will boil or cool down at the moment.

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Yes - the Tech Team didn't say what the problem was, but they did say a while ago that, since the incident, regular backups are being taken I'm very glad it came back without losing anything - I did my usual trick of typing directly into h2g2 for my Freddie Entry I did recover the html from a cache so I have an offline backup now, too

I can imagine it is tricky to marshal all your thoughts for Entries, as it is a mixture of historical events and personal experience, but writing things down will be a good souvenir to go with your photos It is impressive how the event brought together so many threads from the past

That was lucky about the weather being good enough for your trip. Excellent souvenir hi-viz jacket A shame about Johnsons having to send things away rather than repairing in-house... I wonder if Timpson would be an option instead

I hope your work situation simmered down rather than boiling over My work situation seems to have settled down - funny how weeks can go by without me encountering that particular person, and then I've met him every day this week, but today's meeting was a productive dialogue

I hope you all have a good weekend My sister plans to visit, so that will be good

I just remembered two things I forgot to tell you!

One was a funny yesterday - I got up in the morning and found a slug trail outside the bedroom door. I traced it back to the front door, but couldn’t find the slug anywhere. At lunchtime, I found the slug - by the back door! Somehow it must have sneaked along the skirting board, as there wasn’t any slug trail there that I could see

The other was a funny a few days ago. Since I went to RSPB Conwy, I noticed photos I took with my camera in Automatic setting were overexposed, so I thought the heat had affected it. Then this week I just happened to pick my camera up in a certain way and it showed me the exposure adjustment menu! Somehow the setting had been changed quite considerably Typically, it didn’t reset to default when I turned the camera off and on again, whereas another setting I deliberately change (colour temperature) always resets (to ‘cold’)… Always something new to learn with these things

I'm really glad they've learnt from last time and regular back-ups are being taken. I do still strongly recommend ideally writing things offline and copy/pasting them into h2g2, or at least keeping an offline copy. Just in case.

With the Post entry I'm still not sure what the right balance between what I did and thought it, and what sticking to the facts is. I can only write it from my perspective as that is the only one I have. I think you're right that I'll write it for me to keep while the memories are fresh, and then offer to share it with , but if no-one else wants to read it or think it is all too long, then I've lost nothing.

I think Johnsons and Timpsons merged? Our local shop is labelled both and they used to do key cutting in half the shop and clothes repairs in the other � but just seem to do key cutting now. The only other clothes repairs places nearby seem to be all about wedding dress adjustments on their websites, so probably would charge more than I would want to quickly fix a zip. I had expected there'd be clothes repair places out there � aren't we the nation of keep calm and carry on and make do and mend?
I hope you managed to have a weekend without traffic diversions or closures.

Anyway, at work there's one person in my team I don't seem to be able to get on with, and in team meetings he likes going out of his way to contradict me whenever I say something. Which gets ridiculous, as a couple of weeks ago in a Teams meeting I was asked informally by someone else how far I cycle to work and I replied '8 miles', only for him to but in and say 'no, I know you live in Eastleigh which is only 3 miles away'. Which is very daft as I record my journeys on Strava and surprisingly enough it measures it as 8 miles and not 3. I messaged him a screenshot of Strava after and said, 'As you asked, here's the route I usually take, which is over 8 miles' to which he replied, 'Actually, Matt, I have absolutely no interest in your machinations. I just know where Eastleigh is. You suit yourself.'
Anyway, guess who I was down to spend most of this week in an office with in case there were any on-site issues, just two of us? So on Tuesday morning I went in and said, 'Morning, how are you?' and he replied, 'Oh fluff off' (without actually saying 'fluff'.) I later found out at least why he doesn't like me, which I suppose is progress - he thinks I'm full of male cowpats and apparently I have an 'agenda' where I always have to be right.
We also have a new manager who lives in Sheffield and so hasn't met us, but has upset one of our team by telling her she has the best 'front of house persona' which she interpreted as being called a waitress despite her academic qualifications and he really doesn't seem to understand what our job is and keeps delegating his work to us, but saying it is an opportunity for us to 'upskill'. Our doing his job while also trying to do our own isn't upskilling.

One day I'll finally achieve my dream of having a quiet, uneventful work life

Those are funny and bizarre stories! Hope that you don't have any more slug invaders � we've stuck copper strips down and that seems to have helped. You're also supposed to be able to spot them with torchlight, such as from a mobile phone, and be able to trace where they come in that way, but that hasn't helped us so far.
And phones also have cameras, leading to the bizarre world of camera settings � how weird! At least you know now.

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Yes indeed - I often have a Notepad open and must get into a better habit of using it for h2g2, as even message posts can disappear into the ether

Yes, most important for you to capture all the memories while they are fresh

Ah I didn't know that Johnsons and Timpsons had merged... I went to my local Timpson today and unfortunately the machine they would have used to fix my item is broken, so they couldn't do it They did say there is another store that has a working machine, so I could travel there. Luckily not urgent, so I will plan for that another day I see on the website that yours is limited these days Is it straightforward for you to get to the one in Asda? A shame indeed that it isn't easier to 'make do and mend' in this day and age...

I did have a good time at the superresourcecentre - no problems getting there, and then I managed to get what I was looking for (some of them were the last ones on the shelf, so that was lucky)

That is sad about your colleague taking against you because of thinking you have machinations Irony in him thinking you're always wanting to be right, so he's always 'correcting' you because he always wants to be right... Sounds like a case for the Dignity and Respect Policy, but that's easier said than done... Not least because it helps to have a manager who can communicate, which your new manager doesn't seem to be doing just yet... It is indeed the dream to have a nice clear and suitable job description and the power to just get on with it. I know it is possible, and it is sad that that is unusual... Good luck with it all

Luckily I don't mind slugs - I can touch them unlike - so I can eject them when they visit, but it is funny! Good idea about the copper strips Also good idea about the torch, as it can shine light from different angles to catch the shine of the slime rather than being reliant on sunlight being at just the right angle like it was yesterday morning I had a look this evening and could see a little bit of slime along the skirting board, but the rest of the trail was probably hoovered up yesterday and just didn't catch the light.

Bizarre world of camera settings indeed - I wouldn't know where to find that exposure adjustment now, but at least it is back to 'normal'! If I want to increase the exposure I can do it either using the Shutter Speed button (which I do know where it is) or photoshop

I keep forgetting that there's one at Asda. Asda isn't the easiest place to get to - I have cycled there a few times but it is too far to get to and back in a lunchtime and the journey there is all uphill with a busy roundabout to navigate (you can cross at a crossing where due to a bush you can't see if traffic approaches), so not the best place to go by bike.

Glad you had a good trip to the superresourcecentre - frustratingly today we ran out of bags and the shop had run out too.

The last couple of days hasn't been too bad with Andy, though I wonder whether that is because he has decided there's someone else he dislikes more, in the form of the new manager.

Hope you had a good weekend. We didn't do much in the end as my son was unwell, but I took my daughter to the cafe for a & .

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Ah, that is a tricky route... The only other thought would be Hedge End on a weekend (Sainsbury's).

That is annoying that the shop ran out of teabags I hope you are fully replenished now

Glad things have settled down a bit with your colleague - makes sense that he has someone else to worry about now... I met my colleague again yesterday and today and am essentially doing the same thing over and over, but it's getting quicker each time. The first deadline has already gone whooshing past, but it will definitely have to be 'finished' by the end of the week (in the sense that he will just have to call it 'done' even if he thinks it could be improved by a few more 'redo's) as it's the end of the month.

I've been enlisted into the joys of HESA returns, too because of the dreaded project - costcodes disappeared because the project wasn't completed, but then it turned out that the costcodes had already half disappeared last year, so there's quite a bit of work to do

Sorry your son was ill, but glad your daughter got to get out and about with you I did have a good day with my sister and family