louisiana

Cultural exchange? Tell that to the economic migrants. Though I'm sure the British Council would understand.

ruffers Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > People pronouncing H as 'haitch.' And people who deliberately write 'an hotel' thinking it's right. It isn't. Unless you're a Cockney sparrer. The article 'an' comes before a 'vowel sound'. Unless you pronouce hotel as beginning with an 'o' (otel) i.e. Cockney sparrer speak, the word 'hotel' does not begin with a vowel sound.

Hawthorn is fab. (But my other half has a reaction to it.) Combinations. That's what I've been missing all these years...

Chocolate is not a luxury. It's an essential. Condoms. Well. Neither a luxury, Nor an essential. B)

C Looks like my other half has booked us into Hangzhou for next weekend (big national holiday)... ;-) Thanks for the heads up.

Crete is fab. Love the west and south west. We went hiking there last autumn.

The UK is the UK, but governments have sought to control/manage agriculture everywhere from Europe to the USSR (five year plans) to the US to... Farmers respond to current money/profit and financial arrangements, not to population. There cannot be any doubt that productivity at current levels in certain areas cannot be sustained without big pharma, but big pharma depends on big oil and gas (e.g. fertilisers, tractor fuel), and big oil and gas is just about to go down the pan.

Huguenot Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think it's population that demands intensive > farming, not capitalism. We should really by > thanking our lucky stars that capitalism provides > the investment and incentive to develop > appropriate solutions. Huguenot, when was the last time the UK produced anything agricultural in response to population increase/trends? When we had the marketing boards (e.g. the milk marketing board until the 1990s), production was a response to 'you can sell all you can produce' (price guaranteed, no limit on production that could be sold). This - along with developments in technology such as pesticides and fertilizers and breeding - encouraged all farms to move from mixed extensive farming to specialised intensive farming. (Some of them have since realised that it was a cul-de-sac.) CAP was just guaranteed prices with quotas (as opposed to guaranteed prices without quotas as with MMB). Producers just bounced in and out of various quotas, purchased quotas etc. None of this has been a response to population levels.

The two huge copper beeches along our 'backs' are now in full leaf and look magnificent. The colours are fantastic, the shapes so majestic, even the trunks are amazing. Having learned how much wildlife likes ivy-clad trees, and the importance of dead wood, I'm now feeling really, really bad about having chopped a dead cherry covered in ivy a couple of years back... :( (The living cherry is still there and providing lots of yummy food for the birds)

Spotted woodpacker! Wow! Lesser spotted or greater spotted...? Maybe a nut feeder is in order....

There is a little rain, but not much...

Yikes, Sue. How big?

Euro zone is looking a little tricky this year for carriers of the pound. Cuba great, but you want more than eight days; at least 11-12 to justify those long flights, preferably 18-21. If Greece takes your fancy, why not try SW Turkey (Emerald Coast)? You actually sail past it - almost close enough to touch - on the boat from Rhodes to Symi etc. Cheaper than euro zone, lots of lovely hiking, cycling, beaches, diving, historic thingumies, excellent weather etc., and not too far to fly for a week's holiday. There are some old Greek settlements - abandoned - in the area.

Ah, more of those are-they-quotes-probably-not. Morag, dear heart, there are some fabulous books on punctuation. Try the full stop, for starters. It is the punctuation mark that just keeps on giving. B)

Morag Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Isit true they are going to dig up and build in > the Horniman gardens 'now they have lottery > funding'reducing the landscape of an historical > gardens donated by the Horniman family for the > public''along with the museam' that seems to be > stuck on African art' There are more things people > would like to see other than one regions > artefacts'it is so sparse and boring'What do we > want a building in the park for' teaching someone > said in the museam'Teach what?They need lessons on > growing trees seeing as their park manager cut > down most of them 'Less green area if they have > their way So what exactly are they spending their > lottery money on'? I think I'd have a better chance understanding what you were trying to say if you used some punctuation... other than random quotation marks that may or may not be delimiting actual quotes. Perhaps. Sigh.

There are five new ones at the top of Friern Road (junction Lordship Lane) looking a little thirsty. It's a little far for me to carry a bucket or three... (1/4 mile) so anyone nearer...

Today I saw a green-veined white (first time), an unidentified brown or two, and a red admiral. Aren't butterflies wonderful? Some butterflies like plants you might call weeds, including nettles... And if you have violets in your garden you may see fritillaries.

OMG, a nice farmer type allowed me to take a look through his Swarovski bins today (8.5 x 42?). Astonishing, really amazing (looking at a dragonfly far away). Unfortunately these are not Lidl money. They are bonkers money. :(

Thanks C and Huguenot for all the useful info. I hadn't heard of Suzhou, and the speaking phrasebook sounds like fun. My other half had mentioned galleries so thanks for reminding me of that. We'll be at Le Royal Meridien, umpteenth floor, so there will be some R&R between all the other stuff. And they do say a change is as good as a rest. DM you may be thinking of some of the old style street urinals in India. ::o

How are the bargain bins peckhamgatecrasher? How wide-angle are they?

Not sure yet. I'm see how the mood takes me. Might be up to a bit of travel but nothing too crazy; the idea is R&R. Maybe some train travel? You know I know so little about the place and I normally research places to death...

Couldn't agree more RosieH. And it's so easy to know which is which. But everyone just uses "less" for everything these days.

Quite Snorky. The last thing ISPs want to do it pay to store huge amounts of data. They run on tight margins. Witness the fight there's been in recent years over BPI demands, government demands etc. However it does look like in the future the government will pay for/store quite a lot of your comms data... Encryption will be the way to go if you want to protect your privacy.

Who's your supplier? Be or o2? Is the router ADSL2?

Cats I hear are the biggest culprits, so don't feel too down about it.