Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About
Encyclopedia
Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About is the name of a web site, a column in The Guardian
, and a novel
written by English
writer Mil Millington
. The web site deals with arguments the author has had with his German
girlfriend, Margret; the novel is fiction, though it revolves around arguments the English protagonist has had with his German girlfriend.
Within two weeks the author had received offers from two publishers, and set about writing the book; in the meantime, however, he became embroiled in a legal argument when The Mail on Sunday
printed, without permission, segments from the web site.
Mil wrote about the incident on his website and was shocked by the amount of support he received from his readers. Several websites picked up the story, most notably The Register
, who had themselves been plagiarised by The Daily Mail, a sister newspaper of the Mail on Sunday.
The Mail on Sunday wrote Mil a letter of apology and paid him £1600.
(or "Learning Centre"). The story begins with Pel receiving an odd call from his boss, TSR, who quizzes him about extradition
treaties; within a week he has vanished without a trace, and Pel promoted to TSR's former position, "Computer Team Administration, Software Acquisition and Training Manager" (though, in addition to his own job).
The story follows both Pel's home and work lives; at home, there are the arguments with Ursula over the search for a new home, after the latest burglary of their current home; defrosting the fridge during the moving preparations; Ursula terrifying the builders working on the repairs of the new house; a skiing accident, leaving Ursula with a torn ligament in her shoulder.
At work, Pel finds that taking on TSR's job involves more than it seemed at first; he has to pay off student recruiters from the Pacific Ring, who happen to be members of The Triads; he has to take care of the details of the building of a new Learning Centre building, which involves hiding the fact that skeletons from an ancient burial ground have been illegally dumped from the site, and a dangerous neurotoxin to be buried under it.
These details lead him to become closely involved with the permanently hung over Vice Chancellor of the university, which leads to his receiving another promotion, to Learning Centre Manager; the previous holder of that position having left to pursue his fetish website.
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, and a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer Mil Millington
Mil Millington
Mil Millington is a British author of humorous books.-History:Millington first came to public prominence as a writer when he created a web-site entitled Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About, describing arguments and misunderstandings between Millington and his German girlfriend Margret,...
. The web site deals with arguments the author has had with his German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
girlfriend, Margret; the novel is fiction, though it revolves around arguments the English protagonist has had with his German girlfriend.
The website
The web site began in 2001 as a section of the author's home page, and quickly attracted a cult following for its humorous anecdotes, based on real arguments, chronicling arguments over such things as remote controls, the correct way to cut a kiwi fruit, and even arguments over arguments.Within two weeks the author had received offers from two publishers, and set about writing the book; in the meantime, however, he became embroiled in a legal argument when The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
printed, without permission, segments from the web site.
Plagiarism
Mil received a call from an editor at the Mail on Sunday, who offered Mil £800 for permission to run excerpts from the website as an article. Because Mil had recently accepted a book-publishing deal, he declined the offer. But the article ran in the February 11, 2001 edition of the newspaper. Mil and Margret's names were changed and Mil's site wasn't mentioned.Mil wrote about the incident on his website and was shocked by the amount of support he received from his readers. Several websites picked up the story, most notably The Register
The Register
The Register is a British technology news and opinion website. It was founded by John Lettice, Mike Magee and Ross Alderson in 1994 as a newsletter called "Chip Connection", initially as an email service...
, who had themselves been plagiarised by The Daily Mail, a sister newspaper of the Mail on Sunday.
The Mail on Sunday wrote Mil a letter of apology and paid him £1600.
Plot summary
Pel lives with his German girlfriend Ursula and their two children, and works in the IT department of a university libraryLibrary
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
(or "Learning Centre"). The story begins with Pel receiving an odd call from his boss, TSR, who quizzes him about extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
treaties; within a week he has vanished without a trace, and Pel promoted to TSR's former position, "Computer Team Administration, Software Acquisition and Training Manager" (though, in addition to his own job).
The story follows both Pel's home and work lives; at home, there are the arguments with Ursula over the search for a new home, after the latest burglary of their current home; defrosting the fridge during the moving preparations; Ursula terrifying the builders working on the repairs of the new house; a skiing accident, leaving Ursula with a torn ligament in her shoulder.
At work, Pel finds that taking on TSR's job involves more than it seemed at first; he has to pay off student recruiters from the Pacific Ring, who happen to be members of The Triads; he has to take care of the details of the building of a new Learning Centre building, which involves hiding the fact that skeletons from an ancient burial ground have been illegally dumped from the site, and a dangerous neurotoxin to be buried under it.
These details lead him to become closely involved with the permanently hung over Vice Chancellor of the university, which leads to his receiving another promotion, to Learning Centre Manager; the previous holder of that position having left to pursue his fetish website.
External links
- http://www.mil-millington.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/things.html (Website)
- http://www.mil-millington.com (Alternate address)
- FAQ
- The Mail On Sunday saga
- The Register's story