Official UK Chat Thread (second mortgage, living in, restaurant)

[Jezer]

Nothing to lose by trying tinalimey. Good luck.

Sunshine- I've never made elderflower cordial, but maybe I should try. There's a few elder trees here, so I have no excuse.

[sunshineleith]

Originally Posted by tinalimey

I could try, but I haven't attempted to make bread since school cookery classes. Attempting to bake bread would be interesting!

Tina you might be able to get decent bread here:

Hugh's Wine Cellar
4250 Hwy 22
Mandeville, LA 70471

Langensteins Grocery
1330 Arabella Street
New Orleans, LA 70115

Langensteins Grocery
800 Metairie Road
Metairie, LA 70005

Martin Wine Cellar
3827 Baronne St
New Orleans, LA 70115

... they feature breads from WildFlour Breads

and say that they offer a hearty multi-grain! Good luck!

[paull805]

Tell me about it ian, in these times of austerity the Queen is showing off the pomp and ceremony and how well off she is, really grates on me.

[asubram3]

Originally Posted by mxcolin

Since I left the UK about 5 months ago for sunny Southern California I thought I'd compile a list of things that I miss/don't miss about the UK.

Miss

• Friends and Family (obvious one really)
• The BBC (apart from their coverage of the Royals)
• News from the world outside of the US
• The 24 hour clock
• Writing dates the right way around
• Celsius
• Good tea
• Cold water straight from the tap that tastes great
• Being able to withdraw cash from ATMs that aren't owned by your own bank and not being ripped off for doing so
• Chip and pin
• Good supermarkets that sell everything including quality food
• Paying the advertised price for things and not having to add tax
• Celebrity Juice and other great TV shows
• Cynicism and moaning (seriously)
• Back Bacon
• Good sausages
• Atheism and Liberalism
• My credit history
• Simple taxes
• The NHS
• Range of good modern music
• Good quality white bread
• Cookers with grills
• Good quality microwave meals
• M & S
• Good quality fish and chips
• Great Indian Food. The stuff here is barely edible.

Don't Miss

• The abysmal weather
• Dirtiness
• Disgusting toilets
• Negativity
• Football (especially anyone droning on about the Premiership)
• Sky
• The Daily Mail and The Sun
• Bad coffee
• The Royal Family and especially anything to do with the Jubilee and the general sycophantic coverage they receive
• People's lack of ambition
• High taxes
• Talk about the Olympics
• Glorification of idiots
• Robbie Williams (although I guess he is here, at least I don't have to hear or see him)
• Getting wet all the time (see weather)
• Terrible customer service
• Criminal petrol prices
• Constant roadworks
• Crappy mobile phone reception
• Complete obsession with and centralisation to London

I'm sure there are more but thought I would get the ball rolling. Some of these might seem contradictory but I think people will know what I mean

What do you mean by "Chip and pin?
Why do you miss good supermarkets in California ? There should be plenty of them around.
With Britain being a densely populated country, why is the mobile phone reception bad?

[dragonborn]

Originally Posted by ian6479

I miss the fact that the UK actually honours public holidays!! I'm actually missing some rain too!

I don't miss - the monarchy. The support of which, especially during the jubilee, is something I don't want to be around.

I totally agree and with the economy the way it is, I find the whole thing distasteful at best.

[Jaggy001]

Originally Posted by asubram3

What do you mean by "Chip and pin?
Why do you miss good supermarkets in California ? There should be plenty of them around.
With Britain being a densely populated country, why is the mobile phone reception bad?

Debit cards in Europe use "Chip and pin" technology. There is a chip in the card which is then inserted in a reader connected to the central computers and you have to key in your pin number. It is much more secure than the magnetic stripe technology used in the USA.

There are plenty of supermarkets in the USA. But, they do not sell things like Jaffa cakes, Eccles cakes, Maltesers, Ribena, potato scones, etc. Therefore, by definition, they cannot be good.

Hope this helps

[Crazee Cat Lady]

I was wondering about the Chip and Pin thing myself. Thanks for the info.
This has been an interesting thread (Even though I am an American, never lived in the UK)
I was wondering what is a chav? A Jaffa Cake or Eccles Cakes? (I am going to have to go do a google
picture search on those, lol)

[dragonborn]

Originally Posted by Jaggy001

Debit cards in Europe use "Chip and pin" technology. There is a chip in the card which is then inserted in a reader connected to the central computers and you have to key in your pin number. It is much more secure than the magnetic stripe technology used in the USA.

There are plenty of supermarkets in the USA. But, they do not sell things like Jaffa cakes, Eccles cakes, Maltesers, Ribena, potato scones, etc. Therefore, by definition, they cannot be good.

Hope this helps

I have seen Ribena and Maltesers in the ethnic foods section of my local supermarket. Labeling such foods as "ethnic" is still weird to me.

[Jaggy001]

Originally Posted by dragonborn

I have seen Ribena and Maltesers in the ethnic foods section of my local supermarket. Labeling such foods as "ethnic" is still weird to me.

The World Market chain also has a decent selection of British food and sweeties.

[Jaggy001]

Originally Posted by Crazee Cat Lady

I was wondering about the Chip and Pin thing myself. Thanks for the info.
This has been an interesting thread (Even though I am an American, never lived in the UK)
I was wondering what is a chav? A Jaffa Cake or Eccles Cakes? (I am going to have to go do a google
picture search on those, lol)

You 'deserve' a vacation in the UK if only to sample the delights of British cuisine