We can call it Big Max though

I can’t necessarily offer an answer here, but I can give you a bound at least. I was able to find this 1703 geography of the Kingdom of Naples that explicitly calls Italy a boot, so “some time before 1703” can be said for sure

Forma una Penisola, à guisa di uno Stivale, fi come l’Italia tutta fù meditata da Strabone, e da altri Geografi di rigo

Machine translated:

It forms a peninsula, like a boot, just as all of Italy was studied by Strabo and other renowned geographers.

I’m fairly sure the Strabo bit means “we’ve known it was this shape since Strabo” rather than “Strabo said it was boot-shaped”

To speculate a little more, I think the style of boot that Italy looks like started off as riding shoes developed in 10th century Iran (heels are good for staying in stirrups, apparently). If that is correct then it can’t be earlier than the 10th century since there weren’t boots that Italy looked like

I appreciate the recommendation! Unfortunately the keyboard I’ve got is very old and does not have a MIDI output. I don’t mind learning the old fashioned way though! It got me through the other instruments

Ask and ye shall receive

Although apparently my cat is laying claim to it today

Blues and rock are my comfort zones, and I can happily get along with most genres of jazz and metal that aren’t ultra-technical. I can do some passable funk

Guitar is what I’m best at, I’m decent on bass, and I’m complete dogshit on keyboard but working to change that situation. I technically also own a little reed flute that I bought from a whittler at a winter solstice festival that I know how to play the Shrek theme and Darude’s Sandstorm on

If you play guitar, bass, or piano/keyboard, we’re having a jam session. Otherwise, board games! Flashpoint is a cool one, it’s easy to pick up and it’s cooperative

Most of the Nordic countries do not have those. Norway has a lot, Denmark has a little, the others have nothing significant

Anecdotally I would say that London specifically, rather than the UK as a whole, has either an unusually high population of foxes or a unusually bold one. I’ve never seen so many out in the open as there

Thank you for adventuring responsibly! I’m glad you had a good time here

I know, I’m saying that the UK gets the same colours at the same time of year. It should not have been weird to that audience

Anecdotally, UK wildlife does generally seem to be quite quiet compared to other countries. We’ve got talktative birds and the odd cricket and such, but that’s about it. Everything else is in stealth mode

Wait hang on, the UK has heaps of trees that go that colour every year

To be fair it’s very pretty. I get that one

OP, I want you to know that you are not alone, I am also a Brit who loves seeing all the wee reptiles scooting about when he visits places that have them. We barely have any here and they’re fun tiny little dinosaurs!

Edit: actually I do have a proper answer too. I’m in Scotland, which has different trespassing laws to the rest of the UK. In Scotland you have a right to roam under which you can enter any outdoor land, other than that with crops and the immediate surroundings of houses, provided you do so responsibly. There are other reasonable exceptions but the point is that you don’t generally need to check for access here. The rest of the UK is far more restrictive and I have found that visitors find it incredibly weird to walk through a field of grazing sheep or similar when trying to get somewhere

Folkrace is the most reasonable way to get into it actually, that’s fair. It’s not much of a thing where I am so I forgot about it as a format

Motorsports absolutely is not a chill one. Besides the significant cost in most formats, it’s actually quite physically demanding to do basically anything except the slowest go-karts. Obviously not everyone has to do full on neck strength workouts like the F1 drivers, but still

Putting soy sauce on my houmous and washing it down with coffee just to beanmax

Well you do have a whole New Scotland over there

I am Scottish, I own a kilt, and I love haggis and whisky. I have eaten the odd deep fried mars bar. I also like the sound of bagpipes (I have to concede that the Irish uilleann pipes are a much more versatile instrument BUT THEY’RE NOT AS POWERFUL)

I suppose I sort of fit the one about calling myself Scottish before I call myself British, though I don’t consider the two incompatible if Scotland is part of the UK. I am both. Mostly I am just left in a terrible dilemma of whether to make fun of the French or the English more when the opportunity arises

Art

Also I’m fairly sure he’s one of the guys from Rubberbandits