Nice people thread part 4 - sugar and spice and all things

lostinrates

zagubov wrote: »

I've heard that turkey eggs sometimes self-fertilise so they have embryos in them when you crack them open. They're -rarely- parthenogenic like aphids. A few reptiles are like that too I think.

I'd find that off-putting if I was into cooking eggs, so I'd assumed that's why they never caught on.

wow.

we get fertilised eggs sometimes, and yes, it IS offputting....turns you off eggs and baking for weeks:o. If I have chicks that don't hatch I also crack and look...too see if there is a health problem/deformity etc. It is yuck. I used to not be worried about any of that sort of stuff, but I find I'm getting a bit squeamish as I get older.:o

vivatifosi

sss555s wrote: »

I can do Europe, South America, Scandinavia, Middle east and Asia but struggle a bit on Africa, USA states and some of the Island groups.

I had the most trouble with the South Pacific: 530 seconds with 54 errors. I think I could probably get a higher score blindfolded:o. Others ok. Another member of the I love maps club.

neverdespairgirl

vivatifosi wrote: »

How exciting! I'd love to go to Mongolia. Jim Rogers went there in one of his books (Investment Biker?) and was talking about how Ulan Bator was progressing and now had its own stock market. I'd love to see it for myself. The idea of an extremely traditional countryside in which little has changed for centuries vs a modernising capital city appeals to me. Even the placename is evocative of marauding hordes, travelling across the Steppes.

How long ago were you there? What did you think of the place?

I was there 9 years ago, for just shy of 3 months. We spent a bit of time in Ulaan Bataar, but not that much, most of it was out in the countryside.

It's a very wild, wonderful place. I've written quite a lot Elsewhere, if you care to pop over for a shufti.

neverdespairgirl

Well, I tried to post there, and it came up with a 404 when I pressed submit or save or preview.

vivatifosi

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Well, I tried to post there, and it came up with a 404 when I pressed submit or save or preview.

Simultaneously I tried to visit and thought you must have gone to some other, other place:o.

sss555s

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I was there 9 years ago, for just shy of 3 months. We spent a bit of time in Ulaan Bataar, but not that much, most of it was out in the countryside.

It's a very wild, wonderful place. I've written quite a lot Elsewhere, if you care to pop over for a shufti.

Ah, i see you picked up some of the lingo too!

Davesnave

morag1202 wrote: »

Bet you didn't find this beach at Mellon Udrigle though, just 3 miles off your route and IMO the best beach in the world

27 years since I last visited Scotland, but when we were last there we came across this place by accident. It wasn't like it is in the pictures, but pretty new, totally deserted and a real shock. We felt it was like a film set for a new series of "The Prisoner."

http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/Polphail

We spent the afternoon wandering around, taking photos and trying to work out what was going on. We met no one. We guessed what had happened, more or less, though there was no means of checking at the time.

A day or so later, I left the camera on the beach and lost all the pictures; something I'll always regret. :(

lostinrates

speaking of maps I'm pouring over my tourist maps in guide books for Brussels. I'm really looking forward to it I'm also seriously impressed with how much stuff I got in a TINY bag. My suitcase got damaged two trips ago and I haven't replaced it yet, so have got a tiny man sized carryon from the box room that dh must have bought at some point in a rush. Its funny, how man sized normally means bigger, but in carry on stuff its smaller. Three pairs of shoes ALL FLAT, for the weekend. Seriously, I know I'll regret not having any ''proper'' shoes, but I'm even only taking one dress which can be worn with flats. One dress, two pairs of trousers and about six tops, three pairs of earings, two lipsticks, a hat, a scarf and a seriously chunky cardigan.....that should do the weekend right? I've opted not to take gloves to lose and its meant to get warmer over the weekend. I wonder if I could ditch the scarf?

zagubov

silvercar wrote: »

Ashamed to say I've never been to Scotland.

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I've not been to either N Ireland or Scotland.

lemonjelly wrote: »

Never been to scotland. Nor either irelands..

Very much recommend you give Scotland a visit. Only a tiny bit's built-up -about 2%. Countryside looks fantastic but it could all fall in the sea tomorrow and nobody would notice, as nobody lives there. It's so empty that one of the parliamentary contituencies is as big as Cyprus. The highlands might remind you of Wales.

The islands I dunno -hardly been there. Recommend Greater Cumbrae- it’ll remind you of the village from the Prisoner.

Inverness looks like a market town from the shires, but the two big cities look very different from any in England. Glasgow seems big and bustling and sometimes seems more like a city than London! It's doubled for Philadelphia and San Francisco in recent movies.

One of the strangest things my kids loved was when you go on a bus across one of Edinburgh's bridge streets and you look over the edge and you see different streets about two or three stories below the one you're travelling on. You get multi-story shops with street exits on different floors. Don't feel I'm describing it particularly well!
I’ve just never seen a cityscape anything like it anywhere else in Britain. And it has Arthuir's Seat, like a giant cliff where you feel like you're out in the countryside but you're still in the city centre.

michaels

When is the best time of year for Scotland, when it is cold, wet and miserable or when it is cool, wet and full of biting midges?

I once almost got stuck in the Trossachs and not surprisingly haven't been back since.