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

I don't envy you that situation. I hate it when people buy me ornaments and knickknacks, never mind a full-on decorative colour scheme!

Deb

Oo, I could rant about in-laws *so* easily--especially since they'd never find it here...

That is interfering - by all means offer money on the condition that you use it to decorate the house, but not prescribe the taste you're supposed to have as well

My mum isn't over keen on some of the decoration in my flat, which is just what is there when I moved in - she likes Magnolia but just sees the carved coving and tulip-shaped lampshades as fussy - but I like it as (to my eyes) the decor is mostly neutral but with an art nouveau twist And mum doesn't have to live with it, anyway, so there's no problem

When I was at Uni, my Mum went on holiday to Turkey, and when she came back she announced that she'd bought a house out there and was moving in a month. Which she did. Since then, I've only really seen her once or twice a year at most, and there are years where I've not seen her at all. She arrived in the UK on Saturday, and so on Monday I worked through my lunch and didn't go swimming so I could leave early, as we'd arranged that she'd come round at 5pm.
She was 2 hours late, so no change there then.
Still, it was good to catch up, and she'd brought over some small bits for the family (including the second oddest thing she's brought over) as well as the traditional Turkish Delight. Hopefully I'll get to see her again on Tuesday, but she doesn't plan what she's doing in advance, which is annoying as I'd like to know what she's doing in plenty of time to book days off work and spend some time catching up, but Mum's always been more of a spontaneous person who turns up, and she's always assumed that because she knows what she's doing, everyone else will know.

<BB<

[Amy P]

Deb

I'm just a tiny bit speechless <BB< You're such a decent, generous and genuine bloke. ( I know this because a) I've met you face to face and b) because of all the amazing hard work you do behind the scenes to keep h2g2 rolling along.)

So, I don't understand how your in-laws could possible patronise you to such an extent. It's generous of them to want to help, but not to the extent that you don't get to choose the carpet.

Your mother sounds suspiciously like me though I have a bit of wanderlust in my veins. You ought to ask her for the ticket money to fly your family out to visit her!

Looks like the carpet is going ahead - apparently I don't have the right to get involved in a present going from my inlaws to their daughter. True, I'm not that fussed about the hall's appearance (if I was, we'd've changed the carpet and repainted when we'd moved in), and to be honest, the carpet is beginning to fray in places, and I worry that if it is coming away near the kitchen it might come away near the stairs and cause an accident, so having a new carpet on the stairs would put my mind at rest, but I do think I deserve a basic say about what happens in my own home. I don't know whether they just don't think or assume 'he's colourblind, therefore he has no opinion'. Fear not - we still have the ghastly red carpet in the lounge that I edit out of all the photos I take for h2g2 (but you can sneakily see in the Mega Drive article).

My Mum came round early yesterday - a day I couldn't work through lunch and leave early due to singing commitments. She'd brought over some gifts for the kids that she'd bought from the markets in Turkey, and the children were so excited, but half of them fell to pieces almost instantly, alas. My wife and I did go out to visit her when my wife was fairly pregnant with our son, but her home isn't particularly child-friendly and there isn't enough room for us four. I'd love to go back - there were so many exciting historical sites I wanted to see, but my wife, unsurprisingly, wanted to rest and not move much.

<BB<

At singing today we've started rehearsing the three-part harmonies for a new song, Shakin' Stevens 'Merry Christmas Everyone', or 'Christmas merry one every', as I know it by. I don't know why, but at a young age I worked out that it is one of those rare songs that you can sing the words to in pretty much any order whatsoever and get away with it. So since a child I've been singing,

Falling is snow me around all
Playing children fun having
Season the its understanding and love
Christmas merry one every

And so forth. But now I have to learn the words in the right order, and it is surprisingly hard as I've got used to the silly version.
Fortunately I'm able to get away with doing backing harmonies, so what I have to learn is 'oooooooooo ooooooooo aaaaaaaaaa Christmas songs oooooooooo oooo oooooooo ooooooo-ooo aaaaaaaaa Kiss by candlelight'

<BB<

BB you are a bloke, and therefore to be ignored when a disscussion involving, fabrics, colours, taste. For heaven's sake do not express an opinion on the correct ingredients of Christmas pudding, you could freeze to death in the stares.

PDR, you do make me laugh.

The singing sounds lovely <BB< Do you watch the series on TV called The Choir? It's my dad's favourite, apart from football and antiques stuff.

No, I've not seen it. I don't really watch my television any more, mainly because I don't know what's on. I find the cheap 30p television guides annoying as they only mention soaps, and not what decent films are on, and the Radio Times, the only television guide I would consider getting, now costs £1.60. So I don't buy it, and don't know what's on, and on the whole don't miss not watching it. I've got videos and DVDs of films and the few television series I like, and as long as I get to watch Doctor Who, I'm happy.

<BB<

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008y125

Mondays, BBC2 at 9pm.

I don't watch much TV either, as don't share Father's interests. I listen to R4 and R4Extra.

Argh, earworm! I'll enjoy spreading that round the office this afternoon

Deb

Not watching TV prior to Dr Who is the best way to avoid spoilers

I got to go swimming again at lunch today – hurray! Sadly it was raining quite heavily when I left, and the pool is a mile or so away on the other side of town (to get there I walk through Andrews Park, Palmerston Park, down Above Bar Street to the Bargate, along the top of the mediæval wall next to where Jane Austen lived and then down the steps and across the road to the Quays Swimming Pool). Of course, getting wet isn't a very good reason for not swimming, but the rain turned to hail which made it a not particularly pleasant walk. Oh well...

So I spent roughly 12 minutes walking to the pool, 3 minutes queuing before they let me in, 2 minutes getting changed, 15 minutes actually swimming, 15 minutes to wash dry and get dressed after and 13 minutes to walk back (it's uphill on the way back).

<BB<

Deb

[Amy P]

After working through lunch on Monday, singing on Tuesday and swimming yesterday, today I had a free lunch! I'd heard that the traditional German Christmas Market had returned, and excited I thought I'd look around it. The first time the Christmas Market had come, it was full of exciting decorated stalls selling hand-crafted goods, brightly painted nutcracker men, wooden Christmas decorations, sparkling cottage candle-holders and the most detailed pop-up models I've ever seen. Magical stuff.

So imagine my disappointment when I went around the market today and found the same rubbish tat found in a typical market, but housed inside a few sheds. Christmas? Pah – unless of course I'm misremembering the bit where the angel says to the shepherds, 'Lo! And you will find him lying in a manger, wrapped up in a onsie...'

There is, at least, vast amounts of food. Somerset cider, Thai, two Greek stalls, hog roasts, candyfloss and toffee-apples, pizzas, chestnuts, s, s and frozen yoghurt (seriously? At this time of year?). And of course the beer tent and German s. Yet in the past, whenever I've bought one, the bun is only a third of the size of the sausage, so I'm not prepared to accept that – and it never lives up to the smell, either.

<BB<

I visited the Southampton German Market the year before last (I think), and was bitterly disappointed. It was just a few food stalls.