DAN H

I have been vegan for 15 years (and lacto-ovo for about 15 before that)

My wife has been omnivorous for about 8 years after a brief spell as a vegan (and was vegetarian before that), and has recently had our first child (7 months ago).

My wife is really into me starting to eat meat, as she says it will be good for us to all eat together as a family, and we don't have enough time in our schedules to cook 3 separate meals for baby, wife and me...

So my question is...

Are there any good training meats that I should go for just to get a taste for it, some friends are saying chicken, wife reckons a nice slow cooked beef dish would be best as its v tasty, myself I'm not so sure.

I was thinking maybe fish, but I have had bad experiences in past with fish as school dinners... so if there's a not-too-fishy-fish out there??

Any answers gratefully received (no haters please!- abuse I can live without!)

thanks

I was thinking of Erica Frances Grace Heller for our baby (she's 3 weeks and going by the name of Erica at the moment).

My wife (her mother(!))'s middle name is Grace, and Frances comes from my family. Erica is named after the heather on the Scottish island where we holidayed last year...

any thoughts?

I would like to make a plaster of paris model of a marine microbe that will be dissolved by acid over a period of about 3 days.

1) Will plaster of paris disolve in acid?

2) Is there another easily mouldable material that I could use instead??

3) What acid could I use? (vinegar? kettle descaler? something stronger?)

Any advice from anyone who's done a simlar thing would be great!

Does anyone have any experience of using 'Pro Accounting' (a freeware package being sold on ebay)??

I'm looking to buy an accounting package for a small charity and obviously if this does the same job just as well, then we'd rather not spend the £300...

Ay other advice on better/ cheaper software would be most welcome (this is a UK based charity, also registered as a limited company if that makes any dfference to your answers!!)

thanks in advance for any advice

I just spotted a lizard or newt shaped thing under a rock in my garden. (Sheffield, UK)

It was about 6cm long, flattish body (rather than round in cross-section) four spindly little legs (no visible toes, although they would have been very small)!, tail looked like it was part of the body rather than 'stuck on'.

Colouring was brown on the back with a orange stripe running the length of the body. I didn't manage to turn it over to look at the belly-side.

It looked kind of sleepy (as if I'd woken it from hibernation) but it crawled off, so I can't answer any more questions about it.

If anyone can help me identify it I'd be greatful!