Countrymouse, by noon your time even I, nightowl that I am, have gone to sleep. (That's 4am here, I believe.)

In what part of England do you live? We will be in Eastbourne for a conference in Sept 2005 and will probably travel various other places seeing friends. We could have a cuppa if it works out -- a far cry from a GTG but still could be fun.

Hi panucci, I'd watch out for those roman cats,you know how impressionable a teenager can be!
Are your cats pedigrees? Our Toby is an ordinary common 'moggy' but we love him dearly even though he is the most accident prone animal God put breath in! We had him from a friend of my sons who lived over their shop in the high street, and he kept sitting under cars and getting run over so they were looking for a home for him where he would be safe from cars. When we got him he still had his leg in plaster. Since weve had him he's fallen off the fence twice and got into a fight with another cat where he lost his eye. I bet I could have bought a mink coat for what he's cost us in Vet's bills but we wouldnt part with him he's such a character.

Marilyn : It's 11pm here now so I reckon it's about 3 pm where are. hope youre having a good day.
I live in a small village called Albrighton which is is Shropshire in central England. It's the opposite end of the country from Eastbourne, but I would love to have a spot of 'tiffin' with you so we'll have to see what we can arrange.
Off to bed now.
Nighty night
CM

Shropshire...sigh...

When I learned that the Tropical Storm had gone north and skipped us, I ran to the computer to share :)
Fodorites want to know!!

I will be your wandering weather girl when the big storms hit, you can picture me on a beach, huge waves breaking behind me, sand blowing sideways..I will do it for my FodorFriends.

S((F))

Oh Countrymouse, can you believe I was in Telford last spring for 5 whole days (another convention)? Too bad we couldn't have met up then!

Scarlett, be sure to take your umbrella!

Countrymouse, I misunderstood. My Tobi ia a dog(and Cali and Jordy also), but up until 2 months ago we also had a Siamese cat, Lucca. :-<Unlike your Toby he was not accident prone and lived a very healthy, spoiled life until he was 22. He was the Alpha in the house and even the dogs spoiled him. Toby is lucky you came in to his life, you'll take care of him. So you are far from London? I think we will be visiting friends there for Christmas. I haven't been to England in 20 years, but now that my friends moved there we will be going every year. You'll have to recommend some places to visit. Did you get the smiley page? If you're still having a problem I can copy it and email it to you.

jck4, Where else are you going in Oct.I will not be in Venice. I don't think our paths will cross but I still would love to hear your plans.

Scarlett, where are you? What storm? I've been so busy trying to figure out where to get my rental car in Tuscany that I have know idea what else is going on in the world. Maybe I should get back to reading the paper instead of fodors....Nah. Well, I hope the storm moves past and you're left with sunny skies.((R))

Socialworker, Haven't heard from you in a while. You realize this has become group therapy.

artstuff, I am a bit jealous that your husband shares this with you. My husband is right here making fun of me. But when I had all this great information and planned an amazing trip last summer he didn't make fun.

Hi all
Having trouble with my server tonight.
This is my third attempt to post a reply! Keep losing the connection.
Well here goes again.
Scarlett I hope you havent been blown away by the storm. It can get very scary during a hurricane.

Marilyn Its a small world. Ive never found anyone from abroad before who has even heard of Telford let alone been there! What a shame we didnt know each other then. At least you know where to find me if you visit again.

Panucci Aren't siamese a law unto themselves? We had a siamese cross years ago who used to 'talk 'to us, but we were to 'thick' to understand what she was trying to say.
We live about 150 miles from London, and visit there several times a year so if i can be of any help let me know. My husband was born and bred there but hasnt lived there for about 30 years. In fact we visited a couple of weekends ago and had a great time seeing the Lion King.
You can e-mail me at brenandel@hotmail,com.
Would love to hear from you.
Well I hope this gets through this time!
nighty night
CM

"The things we ought not to do, we go because we got to." :)

I was getting a little sad thinking this one was over. Thanks Countrymouse for keeping it up. This post has really been a treat for me. Everyone has been so nice and fun and clever. I look forward to all of your replies.
Siamese cats are like dogs without the drool. They speak, fetch and understand everything (that they want to).
After this posts dies out we need to start another general, keep in touch post. So what do all of our psychologists think of that :-d abandonment issues?

Hello!
Out having a 'Day of Beauty 'today
((p)) ((H))
No storm here, at least not an interesting one, just the usual "late afternoon thunderstorms with dangerous cloud to ground lightening" LOL

Stay safe up there in the Carolinas!

Countrymouse, it is my sincere hope never to be in Telford again. I told my DH it was going to be just like the town in The Office, and I think I nailed it.

But fate may yet provide a meeting for us...

The first time I ever consulted this board was Feb. 20th of this year. In retrospect the great responses I got from others to my initial question probably sealed my fate as an addict. I too have a husband and son familiar with the contributors but only by the (affectionate) term I coined for them early in my participation on the board--"The Travel Groupies"!!

'It's four in the mornin and once more the dawnin has woke up the longin in meeee' OH NO Faith Hill has taken over again! (THANKS PM!).

Oh Panucci DONT LEAVE ME!!!! Yes I think I am suffering from Fodors withdrawl!

Scarlett your beauty day sounds like a good idea but is'nt it 'gilding the lily' in your case?

Marilyn I agree Telford ,being one of those 'new towns' so favoured by 60's politicians is pretty 'dire', but we only visit it to shop and then escape back to our lovely village so it has it's uses. Your'e spot on about it's resemblance to the office.

Socialworker I've always fancied being a groupie, now's my chance!

TTFN
CM

Hi everyone, I started another post called Travel groupies (Thanks Socialworker) which I thought we could continue this and maybe touch on some general travel topics (books, movies)instead of going through old threads. We'll see.
How's the weather Scarlett?

Artstuff, that is TOO funny!! I have never had a Fodors dream, but I'm sure it will happen. Sorry, I don't have dark hair, my hair is a light red, but I do like travel books!
I would like to think that I'm NOT an addict, but as we all know, denial is one of the signs of addiction. So count me in with the rest...

I would like to do a research on how and why Fodorites are far nicer and professional and well-mannered than Lonely Planet?s Thorntree folks, esp in the Western Europe section and in Thailand (where I?m working). There?re a lot of haters and unproductive critique at the forum. Sometimes I?m shocked by their harsh response to other travelers.

My lecturers said the economical environment taught the budget travelers to be mean, becuz they are not used to finer manners. I don?t know how true their supposition is. But what I can be sure of is my gratefulness towards all and everyone of you who contribute to our community.

HI JanePost--I too found the people here to be very helpful when I have had a question and I have tried to be of help in return. However, even here I find some contributors to be too caustic for my comfort level. After reading your post, I will make sure to steer clear of Lonely Planet!!

I used to think Fodors was addictive. But Virtual Tourist is 100% more addictive than Fodors.

How do you find the webcams?

emmitt, you can start with this:
http://www.worldlive.cz/en/webcams

Should keep you busy for a while...

emmitt -

You can find additional webcams at the following website -

www.camvista.com

I spend a lot of time watching Trafalgar Square in London. Have fun...Peace. :)>-

Robyn