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

Long time Lil! How are you these days?

Hello love.. I'm doing well

What have you been upto?

That's good! Stay well, be happy!

And me? Well, I've been trying to be retired with varying degrees of success. Still do a little voluntary driving for a day centre from time to time. Our family are rather scattered so we spend time visiting.

Oh, and we've managed to fit in some travel too.

Early in the year we escaped the worst of the English winter by going to Florida and the Bahamas for a month. Later on we took the motorhome over to Europe and toured through Belgium, Germany and France,which was a great trip. Most recently we took a quick week's break in Corfu, grabbing some late sunshine.

*giggles*

I've often been told there is not such thing as retirement.

Most of those I know seem to be busier than ever - only this time they are enjoying it!

Well done you for finding some sunshine - it was diabolical here for most of the Summer...

You're right! At least in theory you can say no once you're retired. Yes, I did say in theory!

Summer in England was its usual mixed self: some lovely sunny days, some appalling wet ones and plenty of indifferent ones. That's why we try to get away when we can.

Yes, umbrellasmiley would be good!

Oh, did I have the motorbike last time we 'spoke'?

I lost my broadband in the middle of our conversation!


You know, I don't believe you've mention having a bike before.

What have you got? Hubby is an ex-biker and the girls both have bikes

So glad you got your broadband back! I guess it happens.

Ah, good to hear you have bike connections! I have a Kawasaki GPZ500S. It's great fun and you can see a photo here (I hope!)

https://skydrive.live.com/?sc=photos&cid=a670e392a1114542#cid=A670E392A1114542&id=A670E392A1114542%211727&sc=photos

My daughter has a bike too, a Yamaha Fazer 600, a bit more of a 'beast' than mine!

That's a big bike!

I've no idea what the girls bikes are these days.

VC has swapped her bike a couple of times with her Hubby.

VV used to have a virago. The one she currently has, has been custom built for her

Her partner has a couple of show bikes, all in perfect running order and he takes them around the country to exhibit.

The Kawasaki is a pussycat around town. Out on the open road it can be a tiger! I'm told it will do 120mph (nearly 200kph?) but I'm never going to find that out! I just enjoy the ride.

Sadly the days of riding in this year may be few now as the weather gets worse. I'm a fair-weather biker I'm afraid! Apart from being uncomfortable, it also gets less safe and I'm reckoning on making it a bit further if possible!

Anyway, enough about me. What's happening with you nowadays?

I know VV has greased and wrapped her bike for the winter.

VC's Hubby usually keeps one of their bikes ready, just in case his car won't start during the winter. Not that he's keen on using it during the bad weather.

Me? I'm not doing much these days. I help out with Dad when I can and my brother is doing a sterling job with him

A lot of my time is taken up behind the scenes here, in hootoo. We are trying to sort out some of the old help pages which have become rather bewildering

That's a very worthwhile cause, working under the bonnet on h2! It's a good thing that it has been saved from extinction.

I can relate to taking care of your dad. With my sister living in the USA we looked after Mum fairly intensively during what proved to be her last year. She had a good and long life and passed on peacefully so we have no sorrow there other than missing her of course.

Today was another 'bonus day' in that it was sunny and dry so out came the bike for our trip into the nearby town. (We live in a small village with no facilities.)

Do you have mild winters where you are?

How do you cope with the shopping if you live in the middle of no-where?

Hi again!

Winters? Well, for the UK we do have more mild winters than most parts. Down in the south-west of England we get predominantly SW winds which come off the atlantic and are therefore warmer but wetter. Having said that, for the last few days we've been stuck in an easterly airstream that has made it feel rather chilly. About half-an-hour ago (around 9.40pm here) I opened the door and was surprised to find that the wind had dropped and it felt almost warm! That's the way it is here: unpredictable.

We are in a village about 6 miles from the nearest small market town. We used to have a shop (never very good though) and a tiny post office (in the porch of someone's home) but like so many English villages we lost those some years ago. There is one bus to town each day, but not Sundays, and some who have no car rely on using that to go to the shops in town. It goes around the villages and takes ages but it's rather like a social occasion with friends meeting for a chat as they travel in. It only allows a couple of hours or so before returning by the same circuitous route. The town has most of what we need from day to day but for anything bigger it's necessary to go around 12 miles in the other direction. Without a car it means walking a mile or so to the next village where there is a bus along the coast road every couple of hours.

So you can see that we rely on our own transport quite considerably. Anywhere further afield becomes much more difficult since there are no long-distance buses nearby or trains closer than 12 miles away.

Having said all that, we wouldn't live anywhere else! It's beautiful, quiet and the people are friendly. In spite of being 'off the beaten track' there is plenty going on and in the nearest town there is an excellent arts centre that hosts performances of all sorts and some great exhibitions. It's quite an artistic and cultural area.

Wow, I've gone on a bit! I'll let you digest that now.

What a wonderful description you have given me! I can quite easily visualise the area.

I know what you mean about the southwesterly winds. We once stopped in Burnham on Sea, Somerset, one very blustery February afternoon and walked along the sea wall, it was almost blowing us over, but it was a warm wind. Once on the sands it was quite balmy out of the wind!

Are you in Devon or Cornwall? They are both beautiful places.


lil x

Just a quick reply for tonight now as I'm just off to bed!
I am in West Dorset, quite close to the Devon border and on the south coast.

Back tomorrow!

................

Zzzzzz Zzzzzz

Dorset!!! I love Weymouth!

I'll try to catch you tomorrow, hunny.. Sleep tight


lil x

A little outing today, just by way of a change. We went along the coast a short distance to Lyme Regis where there are some nice art galleries and studios to browse.

We went in the motorhome and had our lunch down by the sea. With the sun streaming through the large windscreen it was cosy and warm inside although there was a brisk breeze today.

I was fortunate to catch the last day of an exhibition by a local artist which I am so glad not to have missed. Her name is Shraddha Bhagalia and you can see her beautiful, vibrant work on her web site:

http://www.moltencolour.com/index.html

Give yourself a treat; click on the link and pay her a visit!

Look forward to hearing from you.

Les

Oh! What wonderful work

I especially like the dawn/sunset paintings of the sea and coastline.

I'm glad you were able to see her work before the exhibition closed


Thank you for the link!


lil x

You're welcome Lil!
I shall be keeping an eye on her website as I should very much like to buy one or more of her paintings for my walls.

Here's another, a friend of mine and a very different artist. He has a unique way of depicting objects and scenes from the natural world in an abstract form.

http://marttebbs.co.uk/

By the way, I keep meaning to ask you whereabouts you are. You probably told me once but it fell through one of the many holes in my brain!

Les, I think I did tell you a while back that I live just outside of Chester, at the very edge of the Wirral

I'm not too keen on abstract art. I can't say I totally dislike it as I have been known to see the meaning in some - though not many

lil x