This is a tale out of school. as those of you who care may know, elvira is presently in Paris, learning to cook and becoming a better person. To help her out, in this latter aspiration, I arranged for her, a guided tour of the UK Houses of Parliament. Her tour guide was to be none other than myy very good friend, the Baronness Barker of somewhere-unpronounceable-on-Speyside (This is NOT a spoof) <BR> <BR>I received this e-mail when I got home from work tonight.... <BR> <BR>"Well what a fun lunch I had. Marna is a real star. I think I began to <BR>realise how the land lay when she was sitting at the entrance wearing a fake <BR>tiara much to the amusement of the attendants." <BR>

LOL!!! I can't wait to read HER trip reports. Oh wait, which forum will she post them under

Thank you, Sheila, for sharing that with us. I guess she is a certifiable loon (loveable, no doubt) after all, just as she has been claiming all these years. Cheers.

hey all! <BR> <BR>can't wait to hear her stories either. she actually gave me her tickets for the Parliament tour on 9/15, as she was not going to be in London on that day. It was magnificent! that was very nice of her. <BR> <BR>I don't know if she has email access, so I hope she reads this! Marna, (Elvira) it was a great tour, as I am sure you know by now! <BR> <BR <BR> <BR>Beth <BR>

I know I'll get slammed for this, but.... <BR>Who cares? Why you keep your little fun (?) to yourselves instead of boring the rest of us!

Sheila-- what a hoot! Loved to hear Elvira is keeping her sense of humor! Thanks for the laughs!

Paris is in the UK? Well, I'll be darned. That explains the overwhelming love of Parisians by the British.

Sheila, <BR>What are the chances of getting Elvira a Fodor's absentee ballot so that she can vote on which format she likes best? Perhaps it's a plot that all of these changes have come about while she is gone. Now, what a suprise if she comes back and finds favour in the way Europe is factioned off? What are the chances of that? <BR>Betty

Betty...not bloody likely that Lady Elvira will vote against going back to the old forum ways. She likes the community feeling, too, that's pretty clear. <BR>(I know you were just being rhetorical.)

<BR>Sheila, <BR>I felt sure you were going to report nuptials celebrated by Elvira and some elderly lord, thus making her officially Lady Elvira (hmmm, sounds like Lady Godiva). She has mentioned her intentions in that department.... Thanks for the report! Maybe we'll start having reports of Elvira spottings, like Elvis. What a hoot!

Don't you see? It is all so obvious now. Elvira is the only Fodorite who has not posted objections to the new format. Fodors says they changed the format because they received a deluge of requests. <BR> <BR>One plus one equals two, people. Elvira has obviously been spamming Fodors to change to the new format, and now she is too embarrassed to 'fess up. <BR> <BR>I smell a rat in Denmark. Or something like that.

I DID relay messages about checkingout the revolutioon and got back a message about difficulties with French keyboards. <BR> <BR>Me, I think Fodors waited till she was out of on-line touch before they had the courage to do this

Oh, I guess this must be a woman's thing!

<BR>hohum: <BR> <BR>You hit the nail on the head <BR>there is an elvira in every chat room and message board on the internet They always have exotic names---and they are the grand dammes of the site with a huge following of salivating alcolytes <BR>They can do no wrong in the eyes of their worshippers But that is what the internet is all about isnt it? <BR>

Boris, <BR>Do you mean *acolyte* or *alpo-lite*?

How mean-spirited you are Hohum, Boris and Leo. You cannot possibly imagine how much knowledge, warmth and humor Elvira has contributed to this forum. I can't wait until she returns from her current travels and shares with us her unique view of her trip. If you find this thread so boring, why don't you go elsewhere?

Back off, Traveler! I totally agree that Elvira is knowldgeable. (And, in fact, I have benefited from her postings.) Having now said that, I'll also say that it has nothing to do with the fact that I find the so-called humor on this thread childish and inane. I know, I know, someone's going to say, "Then don't bother reading this." And I said, "But it's also kind of interesting in its inanity!"

Could I just point out that I posted the message out of whimsy. Now someone who knew nothing about the fact that this was being done has been slagged rotten. How would you like it if you came back from your sabbatical/holiday and discovered your character had been shredded in your absence for no good reason? <BR> <BR>Who knows? Maybe I am an acolyte: certainly I don't salivate. I know my life is richer for my acquaintance with Marna, even if that acquaintance is "virtual" <BR> <BR>And you guys? well, I can't remember reading anything useful any of you have posted earlier anywhere. Try guessing which of you I think is the greater waste of space. <BR> <BR>Now, how long will it take me to bury this thread so that it won't be visible when Marna gets home

<BR>leo--- <BR> <BR>acolyte <BR> <BR>

Let me get straight. You posted this out of whimsey and you accuse US of shredding her character! Further comment would be superfluous!