Mince Pies

Unfortunately yes. As a kid I remember my gran making it. Not impressed with her nostalgic take on food. I have had haggis which includes tripe but it is all minced up and spiced and is actually quite nice. I've had some dish apparently made from parts of a pigs face in the Philippines. But not recognisably so. I haven't actually had a snout cooked and put in front of me for example.So what is the weirdest thing you have eaten?

Thai curries are my current passion. Lush.

Never had that (alas) but love coconut based curries. Was it like Thai curries at all? I am always stoopid enough to try. And I always fail pathetically causing myself great embarrassment in the process. All part of the fun. My most recent attempt last year was playing beach football with Brazilian kids (no more than 10 years old). They whooped my sorry English ass. I had to resort to picking them up and dumping them in the sand as the ball came towards me. It was the only way I could even get a touch of the ball. They found my ineptitude generally hilarious. It was a very fucking cool job. But I eventually had to leave to earn proper money. To go to the programme office in the country where the staff manage all the volunteers for that country and setup all the IT stuff, connections back to London, email blah blah blah. Then source a supplier to support it all and train them up on what I had done and how to keep it going. If you like IT geekery of that sort it was fantastic. If not then I guess it isn't that interesting as a job. But the travel would still be aweseome. And as a self confirmed geek I loved trying to get all this stuff to work in places where the infrastructure for it barely even existed at the time. I usually had a week or two to do the setup and training in the capital. Then a week to roam around exploring the country while they looked after the stuff I had setup themselves. And then a week back in the office to sort out any problems and do any extra training.I was also a physics teacher as a volunteer myself (living in in Guyana for about 18 months) before working for the charity in question as an actual employee. That was very cool too. I might well make it my next one. Whenever that is going to be. Not anytime soon alas. When I was there it was still pulling itself together economically after it's conflict with Ethiopia. I am glad to hear it is doing well now. Well off the top of my head (which means I may be making this shit up without meaning to) I know two interesting facts about Kiribati (pronounced Kiribas)1) It came to fame in 1999/2000 as the country where the Millenium first "started" as it is the first to officially welcome in each new year. For that reason it had it's one and only ever tourist spike.2) It officially has the largest area of any country but it is almost all water as it is made up of dispirate islands so has very little actual land mass.That last one in particular sounds dubious to me even as I write it. But I am too lazy to check so it stands until someone tells me I am talking out of my favourite orifice

Now I have never had squirrel but am well up for trying that.Is squirrel meat something I can buy in shops these days? Or do I have to catch my own?

Hi Straggler, You'll be lucky, but it is sometimes available from game dealers, gamekeepers and forestry managers. A good option if you're not squeamish about catching, killing and prepping your own meat. Squirrel cage traps are about 20 and are very easy to use. They're also pretty easy to make. Mine we're caught in my Mum's garden; they had been ransacking the bird feeders, so instead, they fed us.Mutate and Survive

A case of brew, a lawn chair and a BB gun would also work quite well.

---

Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people
-Carl SaganFor me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
-Carl Sagan

All somewhat lacking in sunny Brixton. Well I have killed a chicken or two in my time and wouldn't say I am squeemish. But I am not sure I would know where to start on prepping a squirrel. Good for you (and the birds!!)But I wonder what people would make of me and my squirrel trap on the city streets. Might raise a few eyebrows. I am gonna look into this squirrel business and see if I can sort something out. Maybe set a challenge to the Halaal butchers of Brixton market I'll let you know how I get on.PS - I can imagine my poor little son (he loves squirrels and tries to chase them up trees) realising that he is munching squirrel. I may have to hide this fact from him if I do manage to source any.

We have something over here that people famously either love or hate. It's called Marmite. It's so well-known that there is no middle-road they even ran a successful advertising campaign depicting some people spitting it out.Strangely, though, I can take it or leave it. And it's the same with mince pies.

Ewww, gross. I certainly would be eating that TWICE. I would have to pass on that. No. From my ancient memory lap-lap is sorta bland and maybe partly sweet because of the coconut cream.If ever in India or Nepal or thereabouts: There is this concoction of areca nut with spicy paste wrapped in betel leaf leaves. Its a stimulant, so gives a SLIGHT buzz or rush. Because it was assembled under less than hygienic conditions on the street, it should have given me stomach problems, but I tried it anyway and liked it. When chewed often, it turns the teeth permanently red or black which they think is attractive. Beware, it is thought to be addictive and cancer causing.http://www.travelpod.com/...leaf-packs-of-chew.jpg/tpod.htmlAreca nut - WikipediaAlso, quite gross is Nepalese tea (SUtcha, bad spelling). Comprises black tea, yak butter and salt. It was really difficult to drink with a smile while in front of my Nepalese hosts.On the other hand I love trying pizzas of the world. Nepalese pizza with yak cheese is delicious. Also I tried Romanian pizza with goat cheese, which was very nice. Never been to Italy, but maybe their pizza is OK too.

No seriously. You should try haggis. It is OK. Despite the gross sounding construction.But the funny thing is that on my list of never been to places is Scotland. Kitibati - Yes. But Scotland - A few hours train journey away - No never.

Funny, Scotland for you, . . . Guatamala, just in my back yard, I haven't been to. (Would love to see the Mayan temples).Regarding Haggis, I think my mind wouldn't allow my stomach the adventure. At least not permanently.

Have been to Guatamala. You should go. It's a great place. Don't tell me you have been to Scotland!? Seriously once the skin thing is off it is just a pile of spiced mince meat. It contains nothing that doesn't go into the average sausage and tastes considerably nicer in my opinion.And on Burns night it is traditional (so I am told) to drink whisky with it too. Which is a delightful bonus in my book.

Really? That's awesome, you rock. It seems archaeologists keep finding ruins buried in the jungle. Love that stuff. I really need to go. A few years ago I tried to go with a study group from University of California, but it was ridiculously overpriced. Any must sees you could recommend? No. It's not very high on my list, but would like to go for the castles. I am nuts about medieval history. I am planning a very short minor Slovokia/Hungary/Romania trip now, mostly for its history.I'll keep your encouraging words about Haggis in mind. But I remember when I was served pigeon in Egypt. When the waiter brought it over, and its fully intact body with head was smiling at me, I lost my apetite, and returned it for a veggie platter.

Youngest Daughter did that, more or less, with a couple of other girls - she said Hungary was wonderful, and that you MUST SEE the church made entirely of the bones of Black Plague victims. (It might be in the Czech Republic, though.....)

I was based in Belize when I crossed over to Guatemala for a few days. The Mayan ruins are the very obvious, but very wothwhile, highlight. On the foodie "on topic" note - The fruit I had there tasted like nowhere else on Earth. Nor mine. But I will go one day. For the Edinburgh arts festival or Burns night. Sounds good. I haven't been to any of those countries. Russia and Czech Republic closest I have been. I have to say that Eastern European women are the most amazingly good looking I have ever encountered. Every waitress in Prague was utterly stunning.And I include Brazilians in that assessment. Haggis is just Scotttish sausage in a different shape. Think of it like that and it all makes (sort of) sense.