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

...and welcome to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy : Sol III Edition I am Crescent one of the many friendly Assistant Community Editors that inhabit h2g2 This is basically posh lingo for an official volunteer meeter and greeter That is not all we do, we can lend a helping hand if you get stuck, not likely looking at your homespace.

Like the author list - but no Zelazny? No Mary Gentle? and no Alan Moore? No Dave Gibbons? of course maybe you do not like them I am also a big mead fan, though the easiest to get hold of here is Moniak Mead, really a honeyed wine rather than the proper fermented honey Still nice tho' Well hopefully see you around Until later....
BCNU - Crescent

Would it please you to know that I have a (nearly full!) bottle of Moniack in my own cabinet?

When I returned from my first ever "overseas" holiday, it was with 6 bottles of U.K. based meads (Moniack being one), and an axe from Sweden, tucked in my backpack!
I would have loved to bring back some of the Danish ones, but they were in beautiful stoneware, and weighed too much to carry with me for the rest of the trip.
I was also unable to post any alcohol home (it runs afoul of the customs people.) Alas!!!!

I have not read any of the authors you have mentioned - not that I recall, although Zelazny is a familiar sounding name! Perhaps a visit to the library is in order then..

Thankyou for your greeting.

Hee so what do you reckon of the Moniack? I am going to order some of the Lindusfarm stuff soon, see what it is like

Zelazny is my favourite author - check out Lord of Light and the Amber stories for his more accessible ones (though my other half needed to start Lord of Light a couple of times before it made sense ). Ash : A Secret History is probably Mary Gentle's (what an unlikely name for the writer of that book) best so far. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons were the team that wrote Watchmen possibly the greatest graphic novel out there, and the story that revitalised the comic industry almost single handed

So I take it was a special kind of axe - was it a big battle axe? hatchet style? Until later....
BCNU - Crescent

Moniack has an interestingly grape-like taste - like fresh little round dark (pinot?) grapes straight from the vine. I cannot account for why!
I wonder where the honey is from (flower-wise).

I noticed that there was a difference in flavours between the countries - NZ honey tastes different - perhaps because the honeys are "distinctive types" (depending on the flowers in the region).

The Scottish ones I have sampled are -
Scottish Mead Company - "Oransay" - a light and delicate mead.
Scottish Mead Company - "Cumbrae" - unopened yet! But it is a spiced mead according to the description. The bottle itself is lovely. The mead looks light in colour.
Moniack Mead - Tastes like pure fresh grapes were squeezed in. Quite yummy!
Murray's Scottish Highland Liqueur - (Malt Whisky and Honey Liqueur) - Definitly tastes of whisky, but with less of a burn. (tempered by the honey aftertaste, no doubt!) Good for the throat...

I have a very tiny souvenir bottle of the Lindisfarne mead - alas the air pressure of flying caused it to leak through its waxed stopper in transit. So you'll have to tell me about that one.

I picked most of those up from a couple of liquour shops on the "Royal Mile" in Edinburgh.

In Denmark I sampled mead at the Ribe Viking Centre (a cool place!), and again at the Roskilde Viking Ship Centre. I really wanted some from that last place - and the bottles were groovy stoneware (perhaps just heavy ceramic) - anyway, the meads I tasted in Denmark were spiced. And warming!

If someone would pay me to go and drink of all the meads in the world, well, just show me to the nearest plane, and I'll start my research immediately!

Good grief. You've let me make a complete mead nerd of myself!

With regard to "Watchmen", I know who to ask. One of my friends ran a comic shop for some years. I wonder if he has it? My ownership of graphic novels is currently limited to "Ghost in the Shell", and the very good "Marvels" as illustrated by Alex Ross. And a couple of Discworld ones.

The axe was a replica of a viking age wood-cutters axe. It is very sharp and goes through kindling like a thing that goes through kindling very fast...

How did you come to be on this site? I've just finished reading Nick Webb's biography on Douglas Adams. (I didn't know that Douglas had died holding his towel - that made me unexpectedly teary!)
It's a bit daunting, the idea of wading into this place, so I will just venture forth at random. That seems like the best course!
Cheers!

Sorry it took so long to get back to you - work got in the way I would not worry about being a mead nerd. Everyone has their own anorak, be it football, cars, trains, rpg's, computers or mead Most of the honey up Inverness way is heather honey. I was looking for other Scottish meads, but didnae see any, will have to search with those names

I came to this site a very long time ago, when all this was just fields. Before it was BBC site, when Doug himself used to come and visit. I think I read about it in a PC magazine, or was it on Slashdot, one or t'other, and I liked the idea of an online encyclopaedia that anyone could write for. I used to be quite prolific (no Demon Drawer, but not too shoddy ) However, work has been getting in the way for a long while now but I think I am getting the writing bug again I can picture the axe now Well, work calling, so until later...
BCNU - Crescent

Ahhh work..
The reason drink was invented.

I never even knew this place existed, prior to that biography.
I wonder how many others have signed up subsequently, because of it?
Doug used to lurk, hey? It's nice to know that he was enthusiastic about so much. Wish I knew more people like that, some days.

My tendency to prattle will probably ease off a bit after a while ... until then, the newness of it all will keep me awake into the stupid hours! (er, like tonight!)

May your writing bug develop into a full blown infectious case! And I hope that your work is not too mind numbing - it can sure get that way...
Cheers~!

hee It is true what they say h2g2 is addictive and I can feel the writing bug start to burrow - which is a good thing as I have numerous Entries that need finished off before they could be submitted to Peer Review Doug not only visited but wrote a couple of Entries. Check out user number 42....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/U42

Well, until later...
BCNU - Crescent