Tales of Home

Halfy - fair enough.

I actually prefer London of the two however I probably haven't seen enough of NYC to really have an informed opinion, particularly the boroughs outside of Manhattan.

I would day London feels both cleaner and more spacious, with more variety in architecture and history. It also feels for more organic.

NYC has a better setting with the East and Hudsons rivers and then out in to the bay. It has a much more specific set of architecture that is different to London which is far more limited in breadth but finer in the examples has. Some people prefer the dirtier feel and count it as part of its character.

In terms of things to do, both have endless things to do and I don't think it is worth comparing those.

If I ever have some time I would like to see more of the other NYC boroughs though. I have been advised that Brooklyn and Queens are both worth a visit... not sure if that is true.

In terms of cities I like more... Vancouver and San Francisco would definitely get my vote over both of these!!

Petty - I hope so too! Waiting for an accurate antibody test to be available so I can confirm if it was Covid or not!

@Lance, I should think its pretty sure you had covid from the symptoms, and there isn't any flu around at this time of year. I really hope you start to feel stronger quickly but it may be a while, you may have to do some respiratory strengthening, I think there are certain exercises that the doctors outpatient clinic can give you to do every day. I remember doing them after I had pneumonia to help with oxygen levels n 'stuff. Also a long sea air holiday would be ideal. When I am in the UK I live in Scarborough, its an old fashioned Victorian seaside town where they used to go to recover from TB in ye olden days. It does work, a few seaside walks should do the trick.

@Halfy, its more the atmosphere and place of New York that interests me, as I grew up on Hollywood films I feel I already know the place, it is part of my psyche. You can blame Tom Hanks movies for that.   I used to live in parts of London, so I know it quite well. I knew it before charges to get in the city, I used to work as a picture restorer near Tower Bridge, and I would regularly drive past Buck House and Bloomsbury and get lost in the Crusty section of Camden Market. great times. I also used to go to a dock to sample the wine bars, but I cant remember the name of it.

Im happy you are recovering Lance & if you ever can, a trip to a seaside town wouldn't be a bad idea. The breezes coming off the sea are fresh & the air is relaxing.

Lance - I'd say the only real reason to visit Brooklyn and Queens is for the restaurant scenes in both and the nightlife in parts of Brooklyn, specifically Williamsburg. There's not much in the way of site-seeing (views of Manhattan, a nice sculpture park). There is the wonder of riding a subway all the way to the beach, but though the beach areas used to be leading entertainment complexes they have grown shoddy and I'd even say depressing.

Figgs - What you'll get in NYC is a feeling of energy that could maybe only be matched by Hong Kong in its heyday (not anymore I suspect, even discounting the virus). And you MUST pursue some of the nightlife, which does NOT include just walking around Times Square at 2 in the morning.

Other than that, I agree with Lance. I found London more interesting on a visitor's level. And you have all those irresistably cute accents.

Saw this as I went shopping & the 1st thought that popped into my mind was --- A naked Dalek

{{  

1.17 in }}

yes, you gotta have that old charm

As I was walking ( hey nonny nonny ) I saw the blossom dancing & blowing in the breeze ( & a hey nonny ho ) Its a shame when the blossom flies away, it never seems to stay with us long enough. It felt all Sherwoody forest, Robin & Marion this morning. Pink blossom all over the streets & roads, covering cars & filling up in little banks inside the curbs, pink snow. Saw this tree, first time I had noticed it & I saw this fungi growing quite ashamedly. Now theres hardly people & traffic filling my eyes & ears Im noticing things I didn't before.

that fungus is alien. I wouldn't get too close.

Hello! Long time no sea, said the dry cod *dad-laugh*

I hope all of you are doing well, amid the crazy times Thanks for taking us along in Central Park, Halfy, makes me wanna book a flight oh wait nevermind ..    I am glad you all are enjoying spring, i am not ! We had record amounts of snow this winter (i've moved back up north) and we literally have had winter since about mid october and it is still going. We changed to summer-tires may 1st, but had to change back as it started snowing again.. i currently have a 5 meter tall snow-pile outside my livingroom window, but the sun has come out (and by saturday 18th it'll be here 24 hours! of the day) and it is doing it's best!

i don't have too much to update you guys on, but i had the urge to say hi today! covid didn't hit my town too hard, luckily, but we still have been staying inside and had home-offices. crossing fingers will be back to normal soon. i feel very grateful. 

i have had my tortoise for a year now. He is also looking forward to summer (but we barely have spring (as most people know it)).

What the hell would a tortoise do in a place with snow?

Hi Norc! ;wave:

halfwise wrote:What the hell would a tortoise do in a place with snow?

i am asking hte same question.. i see on fb people in the uk and even scotland can have torts outside, like in greenhouses etc, but that is seeming more and more impossible for us... 

he be chilling though, he's on instagram. https://www.instagram.com/aage_the_tortoise/

A tortoise always seems to be swimming through life.

halfwise wrote:A tortoise always seems to be swimming through life.  

but tortoises don't swim, they drown. you're thinking of turtles.

I'm talking about his legs. No matter where he goes, he seems to be swimming. It's just the way his legs come out of the shell.

halfwise wrote:I'm talking about his legs.  No matter where he goes, he seems to be swimming.  It's just the way his legs come out of the shell.

naaah.. i don't see it..

Most quadraped legs go straight down. His come forward and sweep to the side like he's doing a breast stroke. Rear legs look like a frog kick. It's probably more like that in pictures because you can't see the legs operating independently, but in pictures where the legs are symmetrical it looks like he's breast-stroking through life.

halfwise wrote:Most quadraped legs go straight down.  His come forward and sweep to the side like he's doing a breast stroke.  Rear legs look like a frog kick.  It's probably more like that in pictures because you can't see the legs operating independently, but in pictures where the legs are symmetrical it looks like he's breast-stroking through life.

hmmm.... i guess i see your point, torts' legs gp out to the side, but then they point straight down.. if they only go to the side, the tort is prob sick.. they should be able to lift hteir bodies of the ground.

hi Norclet, great to hear from you. The snow sounds like it is having a bit of a laugh.

{{ Norc! Great to see you back lass. We had snow in Scotland today too, but it was bit of blue as last few weeks have beenn oddly spring like and sunny! My nieces have a tortoise, it stays indoors during winter, but in summer it has a cage and run in the backgarden. They used to let it out to wander the garden but, despite their reputation for slowness, it had a habit of wandering off and disappearing. They thought it was goner few years ago, it got away from them and didnt show back up for nearly 2 weeks! }}

Hello Norc, Hope your doing well

I was able to watch one of Petty's video rambles on another computer and enjoyed it very much. I hope to watch Halfy's and Figg's and others(?) soon. I wish I could share my ramblings with you folks as well, but the best I can do is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAClhk-ablc

From 0:50 to 1:00 you're looking at my farm and the forests I grew up in, reading Tolkien while cradled in the limbs of giant old spruce trees. (Petty, some of those spruces are 120ft tall and 8ft in diameter with acres of open space under and between, but they're exactly the same sitka spruces that your foresters are planting like sardines instead of allowing to grow naturally. {{probably have no business on your continent anyway...}}

From about 4:00 on you'll see the beaches I walk daily. In winter it's also the battlefield on which I wage war on the forces of coastal erosion that are threatening our community, which I think I've posted about.

So that's a peek into my world. Hope you enjoy it!

Nice drone overview, though woefully lacking in commentary. If you've got any way to record such a thing we could stick them together.

To me it's freaky how stable and well, mechanical these drones are. I'd feel more comfortable if they were swooping around like flying things are meant to do.

Yeah, sorry about the lack of commentary. That was taken and uploaded by a neighbor a year or two ago, but it seemed to cover a lot of the areas I'd have wanted to show you folks in a walkabout. Best I could do....