Thanks so much for the welcome
This is definitely the friendliest forum I've ever posted in anyway

Thanks theotherside26 I can take a bit of sarcasm I was in the British Army for four years. In fact I can both give and take a lot of grief, it's the imagined stuff I can't take :D
Thanks a lot guys now I feel I can say most things and not be judged.
Yeah Skillz I guess our use of the language does have it's interesting side. I'm from the North where expressions like 'put t'wood int' 'ole' are sometimes used. It translates to 'put the wood in the hole', i.e. close the door please

And 'e's a rum un' meaning he's an odd guy.
I'm from North Yorkshire and if you heard us talking you would soon change your mind about us sounding more intelligent (Sean bean is from Yorkshire). Listen to someone from Newcastle or Birmingham speak, they are like kryptonite for the sound of intelligence. I would think all you get to hear is English people trying their hardest to speak like the Queen in the media

Oh and my Mum would kill me if she heard me use the word cunt or twat. I wouldn't say they are seen as evil but they are the two words most frowned upon by people who find profanity vulgar.
Good luck with the travel plans, by the way you're talking I'm sure you'll love it when you get over here. I don't plan on staying in Wales, I will write my PhD thesis in Canada then emigrate, probably to Canada but with a doctorate the world will be my oyster.
We do seem to have quite a bit in common Skillz. Growing up on a farm must have been fun and you had a tarantula and cockatiel....so lucky

..., I would have loved that. I had a couple of dogs and cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and the odd goldfish but my favourite was the pond I built, it was full of frogs and newts for years. Then I made it bigger and stocked it with koi who ate all the frog and newt spawn. After a couple of years all the amphibians were gone

But watching koi is a pretty amazing way to take your mind off a hangover or a comedown

So relaxing.
Here in my place in Wales we did have three chickens for eggs but we lost one to a fox and one ran away leaving us with one who was looking super ill yesterday so I hope she's going to be ok. My house-mate just bought an Amazon blue fronted parrot but it has still got to get used to the new surroundings before he starts talking properly.
As far as saving the world goes I want to try and do something that will change the way we exploit resources with an eye to conservation but hopefully over time the changes would increase people's quality of life.
I was inspired initially by a few books written by
Daniel Quinn, and Ishmael was the first and is still the best, it shows perfectly what we have done and are still doing to devastate the planet. Then there is a big idea on how we could change the way we live through the
Venus project which is explained largely by the
Zeitgeist movies. I'm not saying I subscribe to all the ideas they put forward but they were great starting points for me, they opened my eyes and I started down the path to understanding the earth's problems in much more detail, hoping I can be of some help in implementing a 'solution'.
Anyway there are some links in the text for anyone who's interested in joining my crusade
Been great to talk to you so far Skillz, hopefully I can find the advice and support I need to help sort myself out and start enjoying life properly again
