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

yes I knew Susan Cockyll

We used to live next door to her mother when I was a kid and used to see her quite a bit

Does she still work there or has she retired now!

Think she used to work for English By radio. She may still be around, although I can't recall her having been through here lately. I'll have to check.

Just been into staff records and she is not there, so she must have left.

My mother would probably know - they still keep in touch I think - you know, Xmas and b/days that sort of thing!!

Always meant to go and see her when we went back to London but never got round to it somehow

that'd probably be right. She was a bit older than me so probably retirement age now I should think!

Somewhat miffed, this bloody thing's just kicked me out and I've had to fight to get back in again. Do you think it's trying to tell me something?
The remaining words have been censored.

Are you on a pc?? We dont seem to have that problem here Know the lot on telewest digibox's have major probs with log in and keyboards

Plz dont go - enjoy your company

Office computer
Venus on another thread says she has Arkwright's keyboard from Open All Hours, mine is steam driven.

We must be lucky here I guess - but then we cant afford for comps to go haywire!!! Dont think callers would be too happy if we couldn't find numbers for them

Every now and then a pc will throw a wobbly but then there's always another one to use

Well there's 9 next door in the next office which is part of our section, but I have to stay in this room, where the transmissions are.
Day shift is in the next room, or this one depending on shift, and you can go back and forth, but on nights you're fixed in the one room. Sometimes think I'm the only one in the building. Don't see a sole on a night shift. Thank God for these threads.



Yup one of our girls swears the place is haunted. Don't believe a word of it.

Am open minded about ghosts and spectres! Cant say I've ever seen one myself but did have quite a sppoky experience when I lived in South Africa

Who are we to say what does and doesn't exist?? (or not)

I think she hears the people trotting along upstairs corridors.
Wonder if I'll get another free breakfast. It's quite common, the night staff and the day staff don't seem to get on in the canteen. I brought in sarnies, but I've eaten them all, I usually do by this time. Nights seem to make me more hungrier, is there such a word? Any way.Canteen opens at 03:00

We dont have a canteen as such - just vending machines and a microwave! The food in the machines is cr*p so I bring in sandwiches or a cooked meal and heat it up at dinnertime. We're always complaining about the standard of the food but ,as usual, nothing ever gets done

Do you get hot food in your place?

Oh yes. At one time the food was brilliant, then it went to outside contractors. It went down hill overnight. At first they didn't want the canteen opened at night, they did not understand the needs of braodcasting. Now you can get various meals until about 21:00. Then about 23;00 they do a basic meal till about 01;00 Then breakfast is from 03;00. Teas and coffees are there all the time, as are sweets etc. There are two microwaves if you want to bring things in. I brought in soups last winter on the odd nights and that wasn't too bad. Breakfast is about the best thing they do as it is done fresh, and there's not much you can ruin in the way of sausage & bacon and various bowls of oats or cornflakes. There is a toast machine too.

Forgive me, you said South Africa and I didn't pick up on it. Were you there on holiday or did you live out there?

Sounds a lot better than what we have here

I lived and worked in South Africa for 3 years and in West Africa in a place called Gabon for a year before that! I was a croupier and worked in Sun City in S.Africa was quite an experience!!!

Sounds like quite an adventure. Dull old boring me.
Went to Kenya on a safari holiday in 1988. Quite an experience.
A croupier? And your now on the 'phones?
Anyway, go back to Kenya like a shot if I had the money.
Went to Egypt this year. A week cruise down the Nile followed by four days in Luxor and three on the Red Sea.

South Africa was really quite civilised but Gabon was a completely different story I hated it there and couldn't wait to come home. We were contracted for a year but managed to get out after 10 months I was never so relieved to get on a plane!! Could tell you some real horror stories from there but dont want to spoil your breakfast

Sun City was a fantasy world and it wasn't like 'real living' plus the fact that we worked nights so it was like we were living in a twilight world all the time!! Was different tho

Went to Mauritius on holiday when we were out there cos it's just off the East coast of Africa and was cheap to get to from there. Was beautiful there but very poor

btw when I say 'we' I'm talking about my ex-husband!!!

You don't sound if you enjoyed S/Africa. My friend, his garden backs onto mine, is married to a South African lady and she is very nice and they often return there. He's not South African he is from Manchester. I suppose it depends on the place. I don't know where they go.

I did enjoy s.africa - we had some good times out there! It was just a bit of a fantasy lifestyle - we were earning really good money and could afford to do more or less what we wanted The downside was that my ex was drinking heavily and it did cause quite a lot of problems for me