Christmas pressies

@childonias- Scottish, northern Irish and welsh are all a part of the British isles. If England was the only country in the British isles, why bother with the British part, just call it Britain. I hate it when people get england with Britain. Worst of all was at the BRITISH coverage of the BRITISH Olympics being covered by english commentators.

I'm not sure about the origins of the word pressies, but my English father learned it from his English mother, and rest of the English half of my family use it.

The scots have ruined the English language!? What about the Americans?:soccer, overpass,trunk, sidewalk, vacation, dollar;*. I could go on. *said in a cheesy American accent.

And what's wrong with being patriotic? Being patriotic shows that you love your country/state/town etc. It's perfectly fine as long as your not claiming to be better than anyone/anywhere.

Sorry about the outburst, it's just because Scotland is getting the reputation of a drunken hellhole. Now no tourists come, and then no money. And because England get all the safety money, scotland gets nothing.
er..right. Did you even understand my posts? Just wondering if maybe you were too drunk :D

My mother and grandmother are Scottish by the way.
 
Since I don't usually get many presents, and what I do get is nearly always aftershave or clothing, every Christmas I treat myself to a book - which I make a point of not looking at, or even removing from its packaging when it arrives from Amazon, until Christmas Day. This year I couldn't quite decide which book to buy, so I ended up buying several:

1. "Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives" by Thomas French, about Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo.
2. "Zoos and Tourism: Conservation, Education, Entertainment?", edited by Warwick Frost, about the paradox zoos face in that they need to embrace conservation/education whilst simultaneously providing a good day out for families, and the two aspects are not always compatible.
3. "Animal Attractions: Nature on Display in American Zoos" by Elizabeth Hanson.
4. "Darwin's Garden: Down House and The Origin of Species", by Michael Boulter, discussing the experiments conducted by Darwin at his home at Downe.
5. "New Worlds, New Animals: From Menagerie to Zoological Park in the Nineteenth Century", edited by R.J. Hoage and William A. Deiss, an very good book which could have been better had it mentioned Bristol Zoo, one of the first UK zoos in the 19th century, the first to be known by the abbreviation "zoo", and the first modern UK zoo to be open to the general public (London Zoo at that time being open only to Fellows of the Zoological Society of London and their guests).
 
@childonias- Scottish, northern Irish and welsh are all a part of the British isles. If England was the only country in the British isles, why bother with the British part, just call it Britain. I hate it when people get england with Britain. Worst of all was at the BRITISH coverage of the BRITISH Olympics being covered by english commentators.

I'm not sure about the origins of the word pressies, but my English father learned it from his English mother, and rest of the English half of my family use it.

It's funny how those "Scots" with "English" blood seem to be the most fervently patriotic.:p

The scots have ruined the English language!? What about the Americans?:soccer, overpass,trunk, sidewalk, vacation, dollar;*. I could go on. *said in a cheesy American accent.

The English language like British people is an evolving mishmash of influences (mostly good, some bad) and it always has been. Personally, having studied the matter a little, I think the language is so good (in terms of versatility) because of its assimilating influences and being flexible enough to change for local people's uses.

And what's wrong with being patriotic? Being patriotic shows that you love your country/state/town etc. It's perfectly fine as long as your not claiming to be better than anyone/anywhere.

I'd largely agree with that sentiment but in reality many seem to find it hard to love something (be it a country or religion) without feeling superior to those who are different.

Sorry about the outburst, it's just because Scotland is getting the reputation of a drunken hellhole. Now no tourists come, and then no money. And because England get all the safety money, scotland gets nothing.

Calm down! To anyone reading this outside Britain/UK that's a lot of unproven facts there and over-simplyfying in the above:

1. I've never heard anyone suggest Scotland is a drunken hellhole, although a few statistics (which are based on averages which don't reflect individuals) show certain area have problems -the same could be said about pockets of populations anywhere in the UK;

2. I'm not sure Scotland has suffered from a fall in tourism any worse than anywhere else in the UK (or if it's to do with the alleged "hellhole" reputation");

3. As far as I'm aware Scotland get's it's fair share of the public purse (per head of population), in fact the Scots presently have many advantages others in the UK don't have -free prescriptions, free university level education and (I believe) far more generous retirement/nursing care.

Cards on table, I love Scotland* -great country, fantastic capital, one great and many good zoos and good people (those I know well are fairly laid back, have a dry humour and a good sense of fairness, stoicism and pragmatism -then again I'm not saying they're representative of everyone) I just don't like unfounded whines and generalisations from anyone.

*I visit for a week every year
 
I'm rather enjoying all this English/Scottish talk :p To be honest I would rather tease the Welsh with a few sheep jokes but each to their own! :D

What did I get for Christmas???
*New icehockey equipment (helmet and shinpads)
*Superdry coat
*Idiot abroad 1 and 2 on DVD
*Pair of vans
*Various bird inspired things (books, jigsaws, clothes)
*Alcohol and chocolates
 
It's funny how those "Scots" with "English" blood seem to be the most fervently patriotic.:p



The English language like British people is an evolving mishmash of influences (mostly good, some bad) and it always has been. Personally, having studied the matter a little, I think the language is so good (in terms of versatility) because of its assimilating influences and being flexible enough to change for local people's uses.



I'd largely agree with that sentiment but in reality many seem to find it hard to love something (be it a country or religion) without feeling superior to those who are different.



Calm down! To anyone reading this outside Britain/UK that's a lot of unproven facts there and over-simplyfying in the above:

1. I've never heard anyone suggest Scotland is a drunken hellhole, although a few statistics (which are based on averages which don't reflect individuals) show certain area have problems -the same could be said about pockets of populations anywhere in the UK;

2. I'm not sure Scotland has suffered from a fall in tourism any worse than anywhere else in the UK (or if it's to do with the alleged "hellhole" reputation");

3. As far as I'm aware Scotland get's it's fair share of the public purse (per head of population), in fact the Scots presently have many advantages others in the UK don't have -free prescriptions, free university level education and (I believe) far more generous retirement/nursing care.

Cards on table, I love Scotland* -great country, fantastic capital, one great and many good zoos and good people (those I know well are fairly laid back, have a dry humour and a good sense of fairness, stoicism and pragmatism -then again I'm not saying they're representative of everyone) I just don't like unfounded whines and generalisations from anyone.

*I visit for a week every year

The hellhole comment is mainly Glasgow(hate Glasgow), but some people are giving that generalization to the rest of Scotland.

where about do go in Scotland? and what zoos do you like?
I think that sky is AMAZING, especially the faerie pools. Glencoe is my personal number2 for tourists, with the small town of crail 3rd.
 
Eff all Xmas pressies, but that's what I expected. May have to buy myself the new Canon 6D tomorrow to make up for it. :D
 
Six great things about Glasgow:
Good Black Grouse site not far away
Spitting distance of Loch Lomond
Kelvingrove Museum -- good natural history & Pre-Raphaelite collections
University Museum
Botanical Gardens
Some fine views looking out of the city
 
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