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

Sorry, Rich. It makes me cry. Truly. Honestly.

Night night

J

Hey Rich,

Just glanced through the messages, reckon you were better off with your mother and the soup


Presume the nutmeg turned up

Have a lovely day !

Jen

Hi Jen

Don't exactly know which messages you mean. Me, I tend to get annoyed by MB posters who complain about their jobs & girlfriends - they don't realise they're lucky to have 'em...

Watched my first ep of "Monarch of the Glen" last night so I could see how Tom Baker has changed (not very much, it seems). I wasn't aware that there were so many hot babes on that show!

Bought new nutmeg last week - 15p for a whole one at the health food shop. And my pumpkin was much more orange-coloured inside than any in the shops. If only it impressed the ladies...

Rich

Rich

I don't know which messages I meant now.

Your message about being 37 and stuck in with your aged mother whilst there was a 'party' on the CB was a little sad. Sorry.

Didn't see Monarch of the Glen......not a big telly watcher I'm afraid. Especially now since Friends has finished

Right, off now, I have to be somewhere else in 3 minutes. Late again I guess,

Hope you have a good day, Rich,

Jen

Hi Jen

Sorry if I made you sad. Quite honestly I am so used to this situation now that I am emotionally numb to all of it...

New Freeview channel started yesterday - "ABC1" on Freeview channel 15 (not on Sky or cable). The channel is dedicated to a lot of the old Disney sitcoms & soaps, several different episodes daily, from 6am to 6pm: General Hospital, Moonlighting, Home Improvement, Ellen...

I didn't think much of the award-winning comedy drama "Sports Night", and obviously the American audiences didn't either, because the stars quickly went on to other shows (eg Six Feet Under & Frasier). And I see that the Geena Davis Show only lasted for 22 episodes.

But I was very impressed with the sitcom "8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter" starring John Ritter as a magazine writer who has to become a house-husband when his wife returns to work. Very good cast, good jokes, and I'm surprised that it wasn't picked up by Channel 4.

To be honest, I'm not a big TV watcher either - last night, after watching my first & only episode of "Sports Night" at 5.35, I just listened to the radio: Mark Knopfler on Drivetime, REM on the Album Chart Show and a couple of Radio 4 documentaries (I didn't realise ravens can really actually mimic human speech...)

I have perfected the pumpkin recipe (though I see that Granada's nutmeg harvest was devastated by Hurricane Ivan) so I'll write it out for you sometime.

Have a good day.

Rich

Jen

Jen...

...?

Your point being...?!

It seems that I don't have much more to watch of that new series "8 Simple Rules": ABC1 is showing episodes every day at breakfast & lunch, and the Daily Mail keeps referring to the show's star as "the late John Ritter".

I don't think I watch too much TV, certainly not any kind of sad loser stuff like that "ITV Celebrity Awards" last night. The only TV shows I watch regularly are:

CSI
CSI Miami
Formula 1
Will & Grace
Scrapheap Challenge
Enterprise (when it's on)
Horizon (but not every week)

And last night I started watching the BBC's new US comedy show "Arrested Development", very fast paced show about a rich Californian family whose father is sent to prison for fraud. Narrated in a documentary style by Ron Howard from "Happy Days". No annoying canned laughter. Looks pretty good, but the BBC has a bad track record of keeping American shows at the same schedule - they usually end up on BBC2 at 12.15am.

We've finally got some rain here, which is good because the pumpkin leaves are dying & one of the pumpkins still hasn't turned fully orange yet.

Looking forward to this afternoon's "Open Book" review show, 4pm on Radio 4 - A.S. Byatt discussing the Brothers Grimm and also a celebration of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. (Haven't read book 4, Wizard & Glass, yet...)

Rich

More details I just found out: John Ritter died in hospital from a heart defect on 9/11 last year. There was a 2 part "Goodbye" story in season 2 of "8 Simple Rules" which drew high audiences. The new father figure in the show is Grandpa, played by.... James Garner!

Good Evening.

Sorry, about the . Fingers missed the button and I only sent you a little similey instead of a huge message Must get these nails cut.
I digress.
How is your American girl-friend ? Romance back on course I hope.
You and I have been writing for so long, but, naturally, unlike you and the American babe, there's no between us.

Rich, thank you so much for your informed comments on yet more good reads. How is Anna Karenina going. Still part of Oprah's group ?
Must try harder to do some more reading Mr Parker is now in the kitchen. He's overdue so will return him and pay the fine tomorrow.
I know you have tried hard over the last few months to improve my reading. I am going to make more of an effort.
And you are so well informed about the new TV programmes.

Bye Rich,

Jen
x

Rich,

Thanks for that !

Sorry, how rude of me, I forgot to menion your pumpkin harvest. Will you have any little ones left for Hallow'een? Children do love them.

See you

Jen
x

Sorry, missed out the 't' in mention.

Hi Jen, thanks for the lots of replies

Miss America has disappeared, no reply for 3 weeks.

Two pumpkins left, one is bright orange & the other is still slightly greenish, so that one should keep until the end of the month.

Haven't read any of Anna for the past 6 weeks, I'm halfway through so I'll probably get around to finishing it sometime this year. Oprah's latest book club selection is not available in the UK, so I get a month off!

Around this time of year, I usually PROMISE myself I'll read a lot of horror novels, and usually I don't read ANYTHING.

So I have definitely decided to make the effort - this morning, I'm going to the local bookshop with my free £5 voucher (one point for every £5 spent, 12 points gets you a free voucher) and I'm going to buy last year's "Best New Horror" anthology, and maybe also the collection of Suffolk's own early 20th century ghost writer M.R. James...

Hi Rich

What a surprise hearing from you so early !
Just as soon as I can find my password I will be deleting my membership from here.

It's been fun talking to you over the last months. Good luck with everything you do.

Love,
Jen

X

More news...

We've had a damp patch in the corner of the northwest-facing room for the past 30 years. The council replastered the wall 25 years ago but the problem did not go away.

Recently, we've had a few builders in to examine the problem, including the bloke who lives across the road. The builders all gave us horror stories about people catching pneumonia from the mould spores, and having to strip the entire plaster from two walls, estimated cost: over £1,500...

Yesterday, got the council's Environmental Health Officer to check it. His verdict - the walls are all perfectly sound because the 25-year-old plaster is still solid & unblemished. The problem is actually condensation beneath the wallpaper (not helped by a gas fire, which always produces moisture).

Solution: strip all the paper, dry the walls & paint them.

Estimated cost: certainly less than £1,500, that's for sure!!

Which would be fine...

If only that exact same prerecorded announcement was not repeated before EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of the show!

A few more 8 Rules facts:

The oldest teenage daughter is played by 18-year-old 5' 7 1/2" (blonde goddess) Kaley Cuoco.

The YOUNGER teenage daughter is played by 25-year-old 5'-tall Amy Davidson.

Yesterday's episodes included a poignant scene, after the older daughter is arrested for driving, in which John Ritter lies on his bed and yells to his wife "You're a nurse - feel my heart!" to which she pats his chest and says with emphasis "Your heart is FINE." Of course, unknown to all, John Ritter's heart actually wasn't fine...

Rich,

That made me smile. Hey, our posts have crossed !

I'm leaving here.

Bye again,

Jen