# Do you miss anything?



## donz

Hi guys me again

Just wondered if any of you miss anything from old Blighty? What would you change if you could? What would have made your transition easier (apart from the language & having a never ending pot of money I guess!)


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## jojo

I miss carpets, central heating and warm, insulated houses. Decent roads and decent road signs

Jo xxx


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## Tallulah

Hmmmmm apart from the obvious - family and friends? 

Certain ingredients which I find quite difficult to find here.

Shops open on a Sunday - I suppose it just makes us more organised and forces us to relax on a Sunday though!

The 9-5ness of offiialdom for paperwork, etc , but I guess that's why it's about a 10th of the cost here!

Oh yes, now the kids are getting older, the lack of a school uniform which is a bit of a funny one, but it sure made things a lot easier and quicker for them to get ready in the mornings, instead of debating fashions.

Massive resources for anything and everything - such as eBay. Not that the item you're after isn't available here, but you just know it's going to be a bit of a pain compared to the UK's "point and click".

The "nanny state" mentality back in the UK's biggest benefit which in my view is complete clarity in just about everythign, even when the law says that legal matters need to be dealt with in Plain English so that people understand - we need a "Plain Spanish" similarity. Not only does that not seem to exist here, but also there are things you scratch your head about endlessly - until one day you hear about a law and then eventually the penny drops as to why it is that way. For example, in a second hand car dealer a while back, I finally decided to get an idea of why a)there seem to be no "banger" dealers about and b) second hand cars cost notably more than the UK as pointed out here many times. He told me the primary reason was that legal dealers (and by that I mean somebody like him, a main Ford dealer) had to by law give a 2-year guarantee on the car. I said "so what?" and he said "no, you don't understand - 2 year TOTAL guarantee" By law, if the wiper blades go in those first two years, he'd have to change them....Suddenly it became clear why the cheap runaround banger so popular back in the UK is not so available here via dealers. 

Also, one of the reasons we found out why rates are so much cheaper here - early on when we arrived, we'd arrived having sold our house in the UK and having gone through the admin, including finishing off some of the admin our crap solicitor should have done when we bought our UK house some years earlier. We had to run around getting certain certifications and road ownerships that he should have done urgently as we were leaving the country. When we did that kind of thing here to build our property here in Spain, certain services were eg Thurs morning between 10am-12.00 . The UK had been anytime Mon-Fri, 9-5. It made me realise very quickly how wonderfully serviceable that was, but on the downside, how massively more expensive that clearly was to provide that service.


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## donz

thanks guys keep 'em coming!

I guess we don't mind the cheaper cost if we do a bit of the leg work ourselves?

Can imagine what you mean about the ease of getting something though (ebay, a range of larger stores, autotrader etc)

The car part - at least you have some peace of mind hey about the guarantee on it  swings and roundabouts it seems


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## lynn

I miss my big supermarkets where I could buy everything under one roof! Here I regularly trawl through three supermarkets for my twice weekly shop, and still have to visit other stores for electicals/garden stuff/clothes/... Having said that, the fresh local produce, even in the supermarkets, is far superior and the fish counters are fab.
My husband and kids miss Tesco own brand yeast extract. We can get Marmite, but I'm reliably (and frequently) informed that it's just not the same! I'm delighted its not available lol!
I too second the lack of good internet shopping. I had become so used to the ease of internet shopping (or even just sourcing goods before going out to shop) and it just isn't here yet to any meaningful extent.
I miss going to watch cricket BADLY. Don't even get me started on that one or I might burst into tears!!


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## jojo

lynn said:


> I miss my big supermarkets where I could buy everything under one roof! Here I regularly trawl through three supermarkets for my twice weekly shop, and still have to visit other stores for electicals/garden stuff/clothes/... Having said that, the fresh local produce, even in the supermarkets, is far superior and the fish counters are fab.
> My husband and kids miss Tesco own brand yeast extract. We can get Marmite, but I'm reliably (and frequently) informed that it's just not the same! I'm delighted its not available lol!
> I too second the lack of good internet shopping. I had become so used to the ease of internet shopping (or even just sourcing goods before going out to shop) and it just isn't here yet to any meaningful extent.
> I miss going to watch cricket BADLY. Don't even get me started on that one or I might burst into tears!!


Have you not been to Carrefour??? They do everything!?

Jo xxx


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## gus-lopez

I didn't have decent roads in Devon ,Jo ! I don't miss anything, except an income. I can understand why all the shops don't sell everything, same as all the tradesmen don't 'multi-task' here & all stick their own jobs. It keeps everyone in work. Once you go down the route of supermarkets selling everything then people in the smaller businesses lose jobs.

The wife misses having decent internet, it's taken 8 years to actually get something that consistently works, she absolutely refused to buy anything without a landline , on the assumption that telefoníca could provide internet. lol.


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## Guest

lynn said:


> I miss my big supermarkets where I could buy everything under one roof! Here I regularly trawl through three supermarkets for my twice weekly shop
> 
> I too second the lack of good internet shopping. I had become so used to the ease of internet shopping (or even just sourcing goods before going out to shop) and it just isn't here yet to any meaningful extent.


I'm a bit shocked by this as it says you live in Mijas! Al Campo or Carrefour are huge hypermarkets that sell much more than anywhere I went to in the UK. Plus you can go to La Canada or Miramar for a huge mall. 

With regard to internet shopping, do you mean grocery or everything else?


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## JohnBoy

This is making me quite homesick as I used to live in Coin. It was so easy to get to both Al Campo in Marbella and Carrefour in Malaga. Then there was always Leroy Merlin and I bet there is even an Ikea now too! Perhaps Lynn does not have a car so Mijas might be a problem for her. Otherwise I was always able to source most things in Mercadona and the Thursday street market in Alhaurin el Grande was always worth a visit.

What do I miss here in Portugal? To be honest, not a lot other than family. For every one thing that I miss there are 10 others to replace it. OK. I miss real ale but it's having a wonderful effect on my waist line! I do enjoy cooking and have a long list of herbs and spices to bring back on my next trip to the UK. And here is an odd one. In a country full of lemon trees and lemon tea do you think I can find lemon jelly anywhere? Not on your life.


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## Guest

Yup, an Ikea by Malaga airport!


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## mrypg9

Nothing as yet. (Only five years away, though).And if I found I did indeed 'miss' something that badly, I'd call Pickfords.
Oh....well, yes, I do miss the yob culture and prevalent culture of vulgarity and anti-social behaviour.....but I have no immediate plans to rediscover it.


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## lynn

Yes, I know there is Carrefour etc etc, but I balk at the prices they charge for some things. If you are happy to burn money, then yes, you can get everything in one shop!! To get value for money, you just have to shop around and go to more than one store. There are value items at at all the stores but you have to shop around to get the best deals. In the UK, I didn't have to do that as I knew Tescos was cheap for everything pretty much. Plus, the supply to the supermarkets can be erratic so that some weeks they don't have any stock of what you want. 
However, the pound is rising against the euro nicely at the moment, so maybe my budget will stretch further and I'll be splashing out in HiperCor soon!!!


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## Tallulah

Typical English Xmas activities - like the children's carol concerts and nativity plays, crib services which they don't do at their school here.


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## Guest

You been to Al Campo? I've not found anywhere much cheaper unless you start trawling around Lidl and the like


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## Tallulah

ShinyAndy said:


> You been to Al Campo? I've not found anywhere much cheaper unless you start trawling around Lidl and the like


They've recently opened a large shopping mall here, with an Eroski hypermarket - really good, everything in it - electrical goods, garden & home stuff, clothing (incl. the Cherokee range they stock in Tescos).

Lack of English tea bags  but have recently found that Al Campo has started stocking bags of 25 Tetleys for 1.81 euros.:clap2:


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## lynn

No, not heard of that one. Where is it???
I do trawl round Lidl actually - how sad!! But I really like their own brand muesli, toiletries, washing liquid ....


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## Pesky Wesky

mrypg9 said:


> Oh....well, yes, I do miss the yob culture and prevalent culture of vulgarity and anti-social behaviour.....but I have no immediate plans to rediscover it.


 
 Me neither!

I remembered this thread on the same subject more or less
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/27748-cream-cakes-books.html

So yes, books, cream cakes and fish and chips are things I go wild about when I go back, but I wouldn't say I hanker after them here. I would miss tea if I couldn't get it, but now I can get it in more than one place. When I first came I had to bring a years supply with me!!
I don't miss central heating because we have it. You can't survive in a town in Madrid without it, do you know how cold it gets here??!
I don't miss carpets. In fact when I saw other (non British) people's reactions to carpets I began to realise how dirty and unhigienic they are...

I don't miss the services in the UK because I never used them when I was there I suppose. I never bought a house, had a car and all those things that create paperwork. )Now you're asking yourselves what did this woman _*do*_ in the UK, did she live or exist!!??)
I find paperwork here a pain the *** anyway, but the timetable makes it worse. Tallulah said 9-5. Luxury! Here it's 9 - 2. The only thing we use regularly here that could be classified as services is the Punto Limpio (Recycling centre??) and it has a pretty good timetable.
Supermarkets - In general we don't use them a lot as we get almost everything through various ecological traders that deliver, but when I run out of meat for example I go to the market and small businesses in general. When I run out of washing powder and we're not due for a delivery, well I have to go to the supermarket. People tell me Carrefour is expensive and Mercadonna is cheaper... I've been buying my bread at Mercadonna recently as OH has given up on making it for a while as he's got to study (oposiciones) and they have a very nice multicereales and bread with walnuts which brings me back to the topic of this thread
:focus:
Nice brown bread is something I actively miss. (Although Mercadonna is helping me there)


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## Guest

Al Campo is in La Canada in Marbella, or as Tallulah says Eroski is very good too and there is one of those in Miramar in Fuengirola.

Can buy Tetley or PG Tips in our local Mercadona for much the same price as their own brand (they even had a "buy 80 get 40 free" pack the other week)!


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## Tallulah

Pesky Wesky said:


> Me neither!
> 
> I remembered this thread on the same subject more or less
> http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/27748-cream-cakes-books.html
> 
> So yes, books, cream cakes and fish and chips are things I go wild about when I go back, but I wouldn't say I hanker after them here. I would miss tea if I couldn't get it, but now I can get it in more than one place. When I first came I had to bring a years supply with me!!
> I don't miss central heating because we have it. You can't survive in a town in Madrid without it, do you know how cold it gets here??!
> I don't miss carpets. In fact when I saw other (non British) people's reactions to carpets I began to realise how dirty and unhigienic they are...
> 
> I don't miss the services in the UK because I never used them when I was there I suppose. I never bought a house, had a car and all those things that create paperwork. )Now you're asking yourselves what did this woman _*do*_ in the UK, did she live or exist!!??)
> I find paperwork here a pain the *** anyway, but the timetable makes it worse. Tallulah said 9-5. Luxury! Here it's 9 - 2. The only thing we use regularly here that could be classified as services is the Punto Limpio (Recycling centre??) and it has a pretty good timetable.
> Supermarkets - In general we don't use them a lot as we get almost everything through various ecological traders that deliver, but when I run out of meat for example I go to the market and small businesses in general. When I run out of washing powder and we're not due for a delivery, well I have to go to the supermarket. People tell me Carrefour is expensive and Mercadonna is cheaper... I've been buying my bread at Mercadonna recently as OH has given up on making it for a while as he's got to study (oposiciones) and they have a very nice multicereales and bread with walnuts which brings me back to the topic of this thread
> :focus:
> Nice brown bread is something I actively miss. (Although Mercadonna is helping me there)


I meant that it was the 9-5 in the UK - not here, but then those services are more expensive, so you just have to organise yourselves and do a lot more legwork, but it's cheaper - so I guess it's a gain!


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## Tallulah

Matalan & George @ Asda.


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## Pesky Wesky

Tallulah said:


> Typical English Xmas activities - like the children's carol concerts and nativity plays, crib services which they don't do at their school here.


Yes, that's true.


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## lynn

ShinyAndy said:


> Al Campo is in La Canada in Marbella, or as Tallulah says Eroski is very good too and there is one of those in Miramar in Fuengirola.
> 
> Can buy Tetley or PG Tips in our local Mercadona for much the same price as their own brand (they even had a "buy 80 get 40 free" pack the other week)!


I'll check out Al Campo next time I visit La Canada. Bit of a trek on a weekly basis though. Yes Eroski in the Miramar is quite useful and I get my Airmiles points there. My point is that I would probably go to Lidl, Eroski and Iceland to get a weeks shop, rather than just going to Tescos in the UK for everything. Time wise I spend much longer shopping here than I did in the UK. Plus I would sometimes get the shopping online and have it delivered.


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## Guest

you shop at Iceland.. crikey, cheaper to shop at El Corte Ingles!!!

Mercadona have online shopping now too you know


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## lynn

ShinyAndy said:


> you shop at Iceland.. crikey, cheaper to shop at El Corte Ingles!!!
> 
> Mercadona have online shopping now too you know


Iceland is not expensive for everything! I'm not interested in Walkers crisps or other branded English products, but they are excellent value for meat (in the new butchers counter), icecreams, bacon, coleslaw, tonic water, CVit, .... and they do a lovely malted granary sliced loaf which is economical. ...


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## donz

brilliant thread this - giving me lots of hints guys thank you!

Somebody mentioned recycling earlier - I know there are lots of recycling bins on the streets etc but is there a local 'tip' you know like we have in the UK where you can take a car load of junk to get rid of?


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## jojo

donz said:


> brilliant thread this - giving me lots of hints guys thank you!
> 
> Somebody mentioned recycling earlier - I know there are lots of recycling bins on the streets etc but is there a local 'tip' you know like we have in the UK where you can take a car load of junk to get rid of?




All the bins take all the rubbish, well thats how it is around here. If it wont fit into the community bins then leave next to them??? 

We have got a recycling bin centre thing in our local town, but everywhere else there are just several big wheelie bins that everything goes in - apart from garden refuse, that goes next to them

Jo xxx


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## lynn

Our urbanisation has different bins for glass/plastic/paper & cardboard and then general waste. As Jo said, people even leave their bulky waste by the bins and it gets cleared. We've got a chap who comes round and reclaims stuff which he presumably mends and sells on. I suspect there is a lot of this for those struggling to make ends meet. It all counts as recycling I suppose.


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## jojo

lynn said:


> Our urbanisation has different bins for glass/plastic/paper & cardboard and then general waste. As Jo said, people even leave their bulky waste by the bins and it gets cleared. We've got a chap who comes round and reclaims stuff which he presumably mends and sells on. I suspect there is a lot of this for those struggling to make ends meet. It all counts as recycling I suppose.


(i've done that myself lol - well, a perfect patio set with a bit of paint on it that I got off easily) 

Jo xxx


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## Caz.I

lynn said:


> Our urbanisation has different bins for glass/plastic/paper & cardboard and then general waste. As Jo said, people even leave their bulky waste by the bins and it gets cleared. We've got a chap who comes round and reclaims stuff which he presumably mends and sells on. I suspect there is a lot of this for those struggling to make ends meet. It all counts as recycling I suppose.


Where I am there are a lot of underground bins for recycling glass, paper, cardboard etc. If you want rid of large items of furniture, I think you are supposed to ring the town hall and they arrange to collect them. Otherwise, there are local charities who will do it. We have a charity which collects old clothes and shoes for recycling regularly and they put boxes round every so often to collect such things. Plus once a month in the fairground there is a recycling unit for things like oil, car battteries?, and other bits and pieces which I forget now.

However, if you leave anything out by the bins, which is in reasonable condition - like old furniture, toys etc, they disappear within seconds! So nothing is wasted!


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## Pesky Wesky

*recycling, waste, rubbish*

As Jojo and Lynn have said in your immediate area you should have access to bins for plastics, paper, glass and the other rubbish which is basically organic. But, what happens if you want to get rid of an xray, a telly, a chair, hedge clippings, a paint tin, and a florescent light bulb??
Well, a lot of people (of any nationality) will put this stuff next to the bins and the bin men might or might not take it, but that's not what you're supposed to do. So what are you supposed to do???
This is where it differs from place to place, but each town hall has a *punto limpio* a recyling centre. It may have a different name, but it's there. You need to look under medioambiente in the town hall (Your town has one Jojo). You're supposed to take the stuff there so it doesn't litter the street. Some town halls also offer a pick up service for furniture or bulky items although they don't always work as well as they should. Our town hall used to come and pick up the hedge clippings, but you could have it outside your door for a week before it got taken away. Now they provide a skip in the "Urba" which they empty.


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## DavidO

As a Yank (going back far enough!) I have a different take on this...

I miss a real Big Mac from McDonalds! I know, they have them here, even in China, but it's not the same. You can't beat a proper American Big Mac. I grew up on them! 

Other things I miss are good bookstores, especially used bookstores. There are lots of small ones in Spain for expats, and I'm sure they do the best they can, but the offerings are really pretty dire: romance, celebs, thrillers and other pulp fiction.

We miss British food (bet you never thought you'd hear that!) and superstores. Carrefour and Alcampo are great on their own terms and we enjoy them too. But British supermarket food, especially puddings, is truly the world's best. I'm serious!

Having said that, the U.K. seafood department is dire and the Spanish offering (much of it caught off the British coast!) is splendid. So when not in Spain we miss the fish and some of the meat.

Another thing I miss when in Spain is Tenants Super Lager :spit: (yes, I confess  , but just now and then!). However, a new British store near us is stocking it now... hurrah!


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## baldilocks

ShinyAndy said:


> I'm a bit shocked by this as it says you live in Mijas! Al Campo or Carrefour are huge hypermarkets that sell much more than anywhere I went to in the UK. Plus you can go to La Canada or Miramar for a huge mall.


Not all of us live in the likes of Little Britain nor do we want to. Alcalá la Real is just 7km away with Lidl and Mercadona for occasional items but otherwise, we shop in the village and get excellent value especially when we don't have to factor in the cost of fuel. Carrefour, we visit whenwe have to go to Granada for hospital visits.


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## lynn

baldilocks said:


> Not all of us live in the likes of Little Britain nor do we want to. Alcalá la Real is just 7km away with Lidl and Mercadona for occasional items but otherwise, we shop in the village and get excellent value especially when we don't have to factor in the cost of fuel. Carrefour, we visit whenwe have to go to Granada for hospital visits.


Good for you


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## Guest

Good for you and your choice to not live in "Little Britain"  ! I was answering Lynn who lives in Mijas and so it's probably no further than treking around all the other shops she mentioned


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## gus-lopez

lynn said:


> Yes, I know there is Carrefour etc etc, but I balk at the prices they charge for some things. If you are happy to burn money, then yes, you can get everything in one shop!! To get value for money, you just have to shop around and go to more than one store. There are value items at at all the stores but you have to shop around to get the best deals. In the UK, I didn't have to do that as I knew Tescos was cheap for everything pretty much. Plus, the supply to the supermarkets can be erratic so that some weeks they don't have any stock of what you want.
> However, the pound is rising against the euro nicely at the moment, so maybe my budget will stretch further and I'll be splashing out in HiperCor soon!!!


Yes I agree with you that the same things in different supermarkets can vary wildly. Even in the same supermarket chain but different stores you can have a 30% difference in price which I find really maddening !
Yes we tend to go to lidl's, & mercadona mainly & when I go to Águilas I use aldi's for dog food. I tend to stay away from eroski's now as they are dearer than all the others.


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## gus-lopez

Another thing I find is that some of the small supermarkets are far cheaper on lots of things than the big supermarkets. I buy cheese in a small supermarket @7,20 a kilo. I saw exactly the same make in eroskis last week 12,45 a kilo!! As david O says I used to miss a mcdonalds milkshake. When I was first here I was in Cartagena one day & saw a mcD, went in ordered asked for un batido a got the 'Sorry , coke, coffee or beer.


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## Tallulah

Surprised you guys find Eroski more expensive than the other leading supermarkets - especially on own brand stuff. Find it much cheaper than any others here.

Mmmm....McDonalds milkshake - just fat and flavourings really, but yummy nonetheless!

Ohhh, McFlurry ice cream!!


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## DavidO

Milkshake AND a Big Mac... followed by a Super Lager or Special Brew!


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## Guest

gus-lopez said:


> asked for un batido a got the 'Sorry , coke, coffee or beer.


I love that you can get a beer in a meal deal at any of the fast food type places


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## baldilocks

DavidO said:


> Milkshake AND a Big Mac... followed by a Super Lager or Special Brew!


Hey Moderators - this sort of talk is dragging down the quality of posts!!! :clap2:


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## jojo

DavidO said:


> Milkshake AND a Big Mac... followed by a Super Lager or Special Brew!



Yes, this could be seen as an offensive post 

Jo xxx


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## lynn

baldilocks said:


> Hey Moderators - this sort of talk is dragging down the quality of posts!!! :clap2:


STOP PRESS!! STOP PRESS!! STOP PRESS!!

Big big news:

*Spaniards *spotted shopping in Carrefour and Eroski in the 'Little Britain' otherwise known as the Costa del Sol. 

Local British chavs reported that the audacious Spaniards were guilty of attempting to be part of the 21st Century. What ever next? Will they start driving cars instead of riding donkeys, or eating MacDonalds instead of slaughtering their own pig???


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## Guest

I even heard that they've adopted the use of mains water and electricity lately too... whatever next, place is going to the dogs :doh:


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## baldilocks

lynn said:


> STOP PRESS!! STOP PRESS!! STOP PRESS!!
> 
> Big big news:
> 
> *Spaniards *spotted shopping in Carrefour and Eroski in the 'Little Britain' otherwise known as the Costa del Sol.
> 
> Local British chavs reported that the audacious Spaniards were guilty of attempting to be part of the 21st Century. What ever next? Will they start driving cars instead of riding donkeys, or eating MacDonalds instead of slaughtering their own pig???


Took our little pup out for his walk last night and he shot out of the into our narrow street barking his head off, nearly made the old boy riding on his mule, fall off.

A case of an ass on his ass riding on an ass!


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## baldilocks

Yes, around the village, there are a few mules delivering, with goods in pannier baskets. I think it is great, we were a little more modern in UK when I was a kid - they used horses and carts for bread and coal but a bicycle with two churns (one on each handlebar) for delivering the milk. - I miss those; but then, that was over 60 years ago.


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## mrypg9

baldilocks said:


> Took our little pup out for his walk last night and he shot out of the into our narrow street barking his head off, nearly made the old boy riding on his mule, fall off
> 
> 
> A case of an ass on his ass riding on an ass!


Wasn't the pup on a lead?


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## baldilocks

mrypg9 said:


> Wasn't the pup on a lead?


Of course he was, but even with only 18 inches of lead reeled out he can be out of the door and into the road. I hadn't heard the mule approaching with the door shut but he had. The old boy and I had a little laugh over it in the end!


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## mrypg9

baldilocks said:


> Not all of us live in the likes of Little Britain nor do we want to. Alcalá la Real is just 7km away with Lidl and Mercadona for occasional items but otherwise, we shop in the village and get excellent value especially when we don't have to factor in the cost of fuel. Carrefour, we visit whenwe have to go to Granada for hospital visits.


Not all Spaniards live in the country either, though. Now there's a surprise!!
We live on a street, not an urb, no communidad and all our neighbours are Spanish. Not a Brit in sight and we go for days with the only English heard at home. 
Not a single donkey or pig around but our neighbours have chickens and there are goats in a field at the end of the road kept by a guy who drives a shiny 4x4.
The so-called 'real' Spain is everywhere, in towns and cities as well as the deepest remotest countryside.
We have also found 'little Britains' in remote places. How many Brits does it take to constitute a 'little Britain'?


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## baldilocks

mrypg9 said:


> How many Brits does it take to constitute a 'little Britain'?


It's not so much quantity but quality and attitude!


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## mrypg9

baldilocks said:


> Of course he was, but even with only 18 inches of lead reeled out he can be out of the door and into the road. I hadn't heard the mule approaching with the door shut but he had. The old boy and I had a little laugh over it in the end!


Well, you say 'of course' and Our Little Azor is always on his lead but most of our Spanish neighbours allow their mainly small dogs to run all over the place, annoying our dog by sniffing at his posterior and other undignified (for him) antics. Now this is a breach of the law which could have serious and tragic consequences as most of these dogs have no road sense whatsoever and their owners -often nattering away on mobile phones -let them run wild.
That annoys me intensely and the police ignore it all.


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## jojo

I hate all the roaming dogs in Spain. There are so many of them, some have owners and are just sent out for the day and others I think are just strays! What surprises me, and its not a coincidence, is that alot of them will trott along to a zebra crossing, wait for a clear road and then cross!

Jo xxx


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## mrypg9

baldilocks said:


> It's not so much quantity but quality and attitude!


Now you're opening up a minefield! Who is qualified sufficiently to judge 'quality' and 'attitude'?
I have described the types of criminal and anti-social behaviour I abhore but I wouldn't attempt to define 'quality' or 'attitude'.
What attributes would you ascribe to persons of 'quality'? What constitutes 'undesirable attitudes'?
This could be an interesting debate...


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## mrypg9

jojo said:


> I hate all the roaming dogs in Spain. There are so many of them, some have owners and are just sent out for the day and others I think are just strays! What surprises me, and its not a coincidence, is that alot of them will trott along to a zebra crossing, wait for a clear road and then cross!
> 
> Jo xxx


No, the pesky dogs round here belong to our Spanish neighbours or Spanish people in nearby streets. What annoys me is that if OLA got fed up with having his privates sniffed and showed his annoyance he'd be the aggressor because of his size. He's been bitten by small dogs about five times without retailiating - yet. He just looks hurt and puzzled, poor boy.
Maybe I'll bite them


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## Tallulah

mrypg9 said:


> How many Brits does it take to constitute a 'little Britain'?


:clap2: "Little Britain" must surely be the collective noun by now for a group of Brit Expats.


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## lynn

Tallulah said:


> :clap2: "Little Britain" must surely be the collective noun by now for a group of Brit Expats.


Are we supposed to get a 10 mile exclusion zone from other British expats implemented around us when we move out of the UK?? Should I cross the road and avert my eyes if I accidently stumble across another Brit?? Perhaps we could get ankle bracelet tracking systems installed to prevent us Brits congregating together and perhaps enjoying each others' company??


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## Tallulah

lynn said:


> Are we supposed to get a 10 mile exclusion zone from other British expats implemented around us when we move out of the UK?? Should I cross the road and avert my eyes if I accidently stumble across another Brit?? Perhaps we could get ankle bracelet tracking systems installed to prevent us Brits congregating together and perhaps enjoying each others' company??


errrr no????!!!!!  But then I'm assuming this is tongue in cheek.


----------



## lynn

Tallulah said:


> errrr no????!!!!!  But then I'm assuming this is tongue in cheek.


:nod::nod::nod::nod:


----------



## Tallulah

lynn said:


> :nod::nod::nod::nod:


Then can you please make sure that when you're out and about, you put on a Union Jack t-shirt so I know who to avoid.


----------



## mrypg9

Tallulah said:


> Then can you please make sure that when you're out and about, you put on a Union Jack t-shirt so I know who to avoid.


And, if in a small pueblo, be of quality and hasve the right attitude?
As far as I was aware, I didn't have to pass a test of any kind when I came here.
Spain is big enough - and welcoming enough -to accommodate all tastes and preferences.


----------



## lynn

mrypg9 said:


> And, if in a small pueblo, be of quality and hasve the right attitude?
> As far as I was aware, I didn't have to pass a test of any kind when I came here.
> Spain is big enough - and welcoming enough -to accommodate all tastes and preferences.


:clap2:

And Tallulah,

I can normally be spotted in my Beefeater outfit. Bought it in M&S, so it is top quality


----------



## Caz.I

Now that is what I miss, M&S! And Primark, and decent kids trainers, and the variety in shopping. Not to mention the typical Brit fare of samosas and onion bhajiis!


----------



## Tallulah

Caz.I said:


> Now that is what I miss, M&S! And Primark, and decent kids trainers, and the variety in shopping. Not to mention the typical Brit fare of samosas and onion bhajiis!


But I thought you had an M&S near you, recently opened?? My geography sucks, so....

Yeah we've got a Primark now as well!! I have one happy little girl in my family.


----------



## lynn

Tallulah said:


> But I thought you had an M&S near you, recently opened?? My geography sucks, so....
> 
> Yeah we've got a Primark now as well!! I have one happy little girl in my family.


Yes, there's an M&S in La Canada down in Marbella, but it's only small and doesn't have much to speak of. 

No Primark within striking distance, so I get my OH to get stuff for the kids whilst he is back in the UK.


----------



## Tallulah

No food hall?


----------



## lynn

Tallulah said:


> No food hall?


Bits and pieces, but not a proper food hall. Can go to Gib for that tho!!!


----------



## Tallulah

An M&S in Gib....wow you guys have everything don't you!! Not jealous, much.


----------



## Pesky Wesky

Tallulah said:


> No food hall?


When there was a M&S in Madrid the food hall was full of useless items like jars of peppers from Italy and olives from Greece...
There was also toilet paper and toilet cleaner. Why any body would ever buy those products beats me. Of course they closed down after a few years. Ihope the person who's in charge of the Spanish market is better informed now than then.
As for customer service. I took a t shirt back as it has shrunk and gone patchy in the wash. The person who attended me said (in Spanish) "But it's been worn, and washed!!"


----------



## Tallulah

And just think, they used to let you get away with pretty much anything back in M&S in the UK, ages after you bought it!!

Actually for foodie bits and pieces, like Mexican, American and hell, even British good old Branston type pickle etc, they have "special days" in Lidl. Certainly beats El Corte Ingles over inflated prices for a jar of horseradish or mint sauce.


----------



## jojo

Tallulah said:


> An M&S in Gib....wow you guys have everything don't you!! Not jealous, much.



I prefer the big Morrisons in Gib, not because its morrisons as such but its a great big proper ENGLISH supermarket!!! Its got everything in it! Paracetamol, Lenor, weedkiller, pound signs and everything lol

jo xxx


----------



## Tallulah

:boxing: Go on, rub it in!! LOL 



xxx


----------



## Pesky Wesky

Tallulah said:


> And just think, they used to let you get away with pretty much anything back in M&S in the UK, ages after you bought it!!
> 
> Actually for foodie bits and pieces, like Mexican, American and hell, even British good old Branston type pickle etc, they have "special days" in Lidl. Certainly beats El Corte Ingles over inflated prices for a jar of horseradish or mint sauce.


Branston's another thing i like to binge on during the annual visit to Britland. So we've got cream cakes, cheese and pickle sandwiches and fish and chips plus half of Directors, or 6X or similar. YuMMMM


----------



## Tallulah

Let me know if you want a recipe for a "branston pickle" if you're in the foodie mood - very good. Oooh, ploughmans lunch, baguette and strong cheddar yum!


----------



## jojo

Tallulah said:


> :boxing: Go on, rub it in!! LOL
> 
> 
> 
> xxx


ok!!.... and of course Gib has a M&S, Next, BHS, Dot Perkins, Peacocks, ciggies a 1pound a packet, petrol at 70p a litre....

And its just the right distance away, too far away to be dangerous, but close enough for a visit every now and again

Jo xxx


----------



## Pesky Wesky

Tallulah said:


> Let me know if you want a recipe for a "branston pickle" if you're in the foodie mood - very good. Oooh, ploughmans lunch, baguette and strong cheddar yum!


 But how long does it take to do it????????????


----------



## Tallulah

Coupla hours cooking, with sterilising the jars and then bottling. But well worth the effort! Just in case you get withdrawal symptoms. If you want it , let me know and I'll pm the recipe.

xxx


----------



## Pesky Wesky

Tallulah said:


> Coupla hours cooking, with sterilising the jars and then bottling. But well worth the effort! Just in case you get withdrawal symptoms. If you want it , let me know and I'll pm the recipe.
> 
> xxx


Thanks.
Might pm you at a time when I'm not so busy with classes


----------



## gus-lopez

Tallulah said:


> Surprised you guys find Eroski more expensive than the other leading supermarkets - especially on own brand stuff. Find it much cheaper than any others here.
> 
> Mmmm....McDonalds milkshake - just fat and flavourings really, but yummy nonetheless!
> 
> Ohhh, McFlurry ice cream!!


Apparently mercadona is officially the cheapest super market in Spain with eroskis well down the list.

http://www.observatorioprecios.es/N...sentaciónejecutivaobservatorioprecios0941.pdf
Page 25 is the one .
We used to have one eroskis in the centre of Lorca then they built a new hipermercado quite close to me. Some of the prices in the new one are 30% higher than in town on the same item. I only realised by accident when buying pepsi sin caffeine. 1€ in town 1,29€ in the new store !! What's that all about ? Since then I've looked @ lots of things & there are quite a few items with similar mark ups.


----------



## Tallulah

gus-lopez said:


> Apparently mercadona is officially the cheapest super market in Spain with eroskis well down the list.
> 
> http://www.observatorioprecios.es/N...sentaciónejecutivaobservatorioprecios0941.pdf
> Page 25 is the one .
> We used to have one eroskis in the centre of Lorca then they built a new hipermercado quite close to me. Some of the prices in the new one are 30% higher than in town on the same item. I only realised by accident when buying pepsi sin caffeine. 1€ in town 1,29€ in the new store !! What's that all about ? Since then I've looked @ lots of things & there are quite a few items with similar mark ups.


But I know what I put in my trolley each week, Gus. I appreciate the statistics side - but I've done my list of shopping for what I do (cooking from scratch 99% of the time) and the supermarkets own brand in Eroski for my particular needs here where I am in Galicia is far cheaper than what I have bought in the past in Carrefour/Gadis. I'm not interested in the price of pepsi!!


----------



## baldilocks

Tallulah said:


> Then can you please make sure that when you're out and about, you put on a Union Jack t-shirt so I know who to avoid.


with a can of lager in one hand and half-eaten pizza in the other and sporting the regulation ta-oos


----------



## mrypg9

baldilocks said:


> with a can of lager in one hand and half-eaten pizza in the other and sporting the regulation ta-oos


If that's what turns you on.
Not my cup of coffee (I'm a non-tea drinker) but to each his/her own and although I would prefer not to spend too much time with people like that it is their choice and they are entitled to eat their pizza, drink their lager and sport their tattoos wherever they wish, be it in Torremolinos or some miniscule pueblo in the back of beyond..
I don't feel anyone has a right to patronise other people because of their taste or perceived lack of, whether they be in Spain or the UK.
Once again: sobre los gustos no hay disputos. Verdad.


----------



## mrypg9

Tallulah said:


> Then can you please make sure that when you're out and about, you put on a Union Jack t-shirt so I know who to avoid.


During the last World Cup, I was given a wonderful Viking-style hat complete with horns and pigtails in red and white with a cross of Saint George. I'll see if I can dig out a photo, it's a marvellous thing.
Just right for a night down the local....


----------



## baldilocks

You lot are really sad.  Seriously, you absolutely cannot get by without your retail therapy in the likes of M&S, Primark and the rest? Why did you ever move to Spain? You could have gone to Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Florida and done all your retail therapy. 

My sister is the same as you lot she absolutely has to buy everything in M&S, nowhere else! Of course if the BBE date will be along within the next week or two it will have to be thrown out, even if she only bought it two days ago; then she complains she is hard up and doesn't know where she is going to find the money for her next maintenance payment on the flat and her next payment on the credit card.

The only thing I ever buy in M&S are underpants which have no equal anywhere but, for everything else....


----------



## gus-lopez

Tallulah said:


> But I know what I put in my trolley each week, Gus. I appreciate the statistics side - but I've done my list of shopping for what I do (cooking from scratch 99% of the time) and the supermarkets own brand in Eroski for my particular needs here where I am in Galicia is far cheaper than what I have bought in the past in Carrefour/Gadis. I'm not interested in the price of pepsi!!


unfortunately the doctor said I've got to cut out the caffeine, makes me hyper-active. lol.
Yes , a lot of there own brand is good value it's just the difference in price between the same item in two different stores that annoys me.


----------



## gus-lopez

mrypg9 said:


> During the last World Cup, I was given a wonderful Viking-style hat complete with horns and pigtails in red and white with a cross of Saint George. I'll see if I can dig out a photo, it's a marvellous thing.
> Just right for a night down the local....


I've got one here that belongs to my younger daughter if you need a twin for this year.


----------



## lynn

baldilocks said:


> with a can of lager in one hand and half-eaten pizza in the other and sporting the regulation ta-oos


I do have a tattoo actually. Not a fan of pizza, but do partake of a lager occasionally (especially at the cricket - don't let me dwell on my missing watching cricket boo hoo!). If you're nice to me baldilocks, I might agree to show it to you...

That's called being tolerant, broad minded and generally non judgemental, and taking people as you find them, rather than making sweeping generalisations.


----------



## Guest

Tallulah said:


> And just think, they used to let you get away with pretty much anything back in M&S in the UK, ages after you bought it!!
> 
> Actually for foodie bits and pieces, like Mexican, American and hell, even British good old Branston type pickle etc, they have "special days" in Lidl. Certainly beats El Corte Ingles over inflated prices for a jar of horseradish or mint sauce.


I love the weekly Lidl flyer, if anything just to see what they brought in this week.


----------



## baldilocks

gus-lopez said:


> unfortunately the doctor said I've got to cut out the caffeine, makes me* hyper-active*.


Does this mean that you do all your shopping in *hyper*- markets?


----------



## Tallulah

halydia said:


> I love the weekly Lidl flyer, if anything just to see what they brought in this week.


Hey - we get email updates!!


----------



## Tallulah

mrypg9 said:


> During the last World Cup, I was given a wonderful Viking-style hat complete with horns and pigtails in red and white with a cross of Saint George. I'll see if I can dig out a photo, it's a marvellous thing.
> Just right for a night down the local....


Now that I would _love_ to see.


----------



## Tallulah

baldilocks said:


> You lot are really sad.  Seriously, you absolutely cannot get by without your retail therapy in the likes of M&S, Primark and the rest? Why did you ever move to Spain? You could have gone to Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Florida and done all your retail therapy.
> 
> My sister is the same as you lot she absolutely has to buy everything in M&S, nowhere else! Of course if the BBE date will be along within the next week or two it will have to be thrown out, even if she only bought it two days ago; then she complains she is hard up and doesn't know where she is going to find the money for her next maintenance payment on the flat and her next payment on the credit card.
> 
> The only thing I ever buy in M&S are underpants which have no equal anywhere but, for everything else....



Oh FFS Baldilocks. I'm up here for goodness sake and the title of the thread is "Do you miss anything". Course, party packs of M&S knickers cos of the quality. Primark - (anything cheap along those lines) well you just try kitting out three kids who seem to be outgrowing everything within five bloody seconds!! Unfortunately where I am, cheaper outlets for clothing esp. for the kids are pretty few and far between, so hell, yes, I do miss it.

WHY we moved to Spain is an entirely different matter.


----------



## lynn

OOOOH Myrpg, could you let me borrow it for the world cup this year?? It wouldn't half look good whilst I threw plastic chairs at Spaniards down at a Brit bar in Fuengirola lol

(JOKE!!!!!)


----------



## lynn

Tallulah said:


> Oh FFS Baldilocks. I'm up here for goodness sake and the title of the thread is "Do you miss anything". Course, party packs of M&S knickers cos of the quality. Primark - (anything cheap along those lines) well you just try kitting out three kids who seem to be outgrowing everything within five bloody seconds!! Unfortunately where I am, cheaper outlets for clothing esp. for the kids are pretty few and far between, so hell, yes, I do miss it.
> 
> WHY we moved to Spain is an entirely different matter.


Yey! Bring them on!! 
He got them back safe and sound by the way


----------



## mrypg9

baldilocks said:


> You lot are really sad.  Seriously, you absolutely cannot get by without your retail therapy in the likes of M&S, Primark and the rest? Why did you ever move to Spain? You could have gone to Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Florida and done all your retail therapy.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> You seem to have some really strange ideas about life in Spain, if you don't mind me saying so, as well as telling us how we should behave.
> Why shouldn't people shop in Primark M&S etc. if that's what they want to do? The last time I was in M&S in La Canada it was packed with Spaniards.
> How do you think people who move to Spain should behave? I wasn't aware that there was a set pattern of conduct. Do you imagine that the only way to experience Spain is to live in a village and abjure all things non-Spanish?
> The majority of Spaniards live in large towns and cities so you are more likely to find the 'real' Spain, that figment of the romantic imagination, in Bilbao, Madrid, Toledo etc. Their daily lifestyle resembles that of most European citizens.
> 
> It strikes me as odd that people even use the phrase 'the real Spain', tbh. In all my years in Prague I never once heard people going on about the 'real' Czech Republic, although I can tell you that you will find a much greater difference between town and country in the CR, which is still in many respects a developing country, than you will find in Spain. A life with no running water, earth privies,poorly-stocked shops, vile air from burning lignite and plastic bottles for heating and intermittent electricity supply is real enough but is not as romantically appealing as donkeys and lemon groves, I guess.
> 
> I can't see how a retired person can ever experience the so-called real Spain. To do that you have to be like Tally,PW and a few others, immersed in Spanish family life and work. We are just lucky onlookers.
> 
> Lynn....I would really love to have a tattoo but I think I may be a bit past it. And I know just where I'd like to have it and what form it would take.


----------



## jojo

The worlds big enough for all of us to live our different lives and small enough for us to have most things we want nowadays! Seriously I'm not too bothered about M&S or other Brit shops, I buy alot of our cheapie clothes from the chinese todo shops in town. They do just fine for me!!!

jo xxx


----------



## jojo

The worlds big enough for all of us to live our different lives and small enough for us to have most things we want nowadays! Seriously I'm not too bothered about M&S or other Brit shops, I buy alot of our cheapie clothes from the chinese todo shops in town. They do just fine for me!!!

jo xxx


----------



## mrypg9

lynn said:


> OOOOH Myrpg, could you let me borrow it for the world cup this year?? It wouldn't half look good whilst I threw plastic chairs at Spaniards down at a Brit bar in Fuengirola lol
> 
> I'll bring it down on me donkey!  But it will cost you two cans of lager, a packet of crisps and a pizza with chips. I've found a photo of my grandson with it on but in spite of Doggy telling me how I can't upload photos to my posts.
> 
> Incidentally, you were right to gently rebuke me for my past remark about Fuengi. I've seen some really nice photos, must take a trip some time.


----------



## lynn

Lets set up an exchange trip. I'll come down to you, and you come over to me. I saw Jo the other day, and we said it would be wonderful to get a few of us CDS dwellers together finally. What do you think?? 
If you could let me know soon so I can book the donkey....


----------



## gus-lopez

I hear Xtreme does good rates for donkey hire .


----------



## lynn

gus-lopez said:


> I hear Xtreme does good rates for donkey hire .


That's good to hear, but I am a skinflint Gus, so I'd have to shop around. Eroski, Carrefour, Lidl, Iceland, Aldi....... 
Oh dear, maybe Baldilocks was right and I should have moved to Florida lol!!


----------



## Tallulah

Hey Gus, got any price comparison websites for donkey hire?!


----------



## mrypg9

lynn said:


> Lets set up an exchange trip. I'll come down to you, and you come over to me. I saw Jo the other day, and we said it would be wonderful to get a few of us CDS dwellers together finally. What do you think??
> If you could let me know soon so I can book the donkey....


I think it would be great! Putting faces to posts...although in my case I'd be justifiably a little apprehensive.
We've got son and dil next week so in a couple of weeks?
Our 'problem' is Our Little Azor, who is not so little. We don't like leaving him indoors for too long especially in the summer and we realise that not everyone is as besotted with their (large) pets as we are. He is well-behaved though and in our opinion very loveable.
A swim party?
By the way, is it just my useless computer or is anyone else having problems accessing this site? I'm using a cheap-ish laptop I bought from Tesco (shock horror on line and it's often been threatened with immersion in said swimming pool. I can't complain tho' as Tesco forgot to bill me for it.

I've just realised....I suppose that makes me a thief.....

I'm determined to stay up for the election results so I'm keen to keep posting until they start coming through as I need to stay awake.


----------



## Tallulah

mrypg9 said:


> I think it would be great! Putting faces to posts...although in my case I'd be justifiably a little apprehensive.
> We've got son and dil next week so in a couple of weeks?
> Our 'problem' is Our Little Azor, who is not so little. We don't like leaving him indoors for too long especially in the summer and we realise that not everyone is as besotted with their (large) pets as we are. He is well-behaved though and in our opinion very loveable.
> A swim party?
> By the way, is it just my useless computer or is anyone else having problems accessing this site? I'm using a cheap-ish laptop I bought from Tesco (shock horror on line and it's often been threatened with immersion in said swimming pool. I can't complain tho' as Tesco forgot to bill me for it.
> 
> I've just realised....I suppose that makes me a thief.....
> 
> I'm determined to stay up for the election results so I'm keen to keep posting until they start coming through as I need to stay awake.


No, it has definitely been playing up - maybe site maintenance??


I thought the results were being shown in the morning. Who was it who used to do the digital graph thingies - John Snow? Do they still do that?


----------



## mrypg9

gus-lopez said:


> I hear Xtreme does good rates for donkey hire .



Sorry, Gus, I should have included you amongst the roll call of the 'authentic', what with your ancestry and olive groves.


----------



## mrypg9

Tallulah said:


> No, it has definitely been playing up - maybe site maintenance??
> 
> 
> I thought the results were being shown in the morning. Who was it who used to do the digital graph thingies - John Snow? Do they still do that?


No, it's Dimbleby on the BBC and I think they've got new gizmos.
I'm old enough to remember that Bob somebody -Worcester?? - with his 'Swingometer'. A sort of cardboard pendulum on a sheet of cardboard, if I remember rightly.
I can't wait 'til morning, I'm an old politico....although I couldn't be a***d to get a postal vote this time..which is rather telling.


----------



## gus-lopez

Tallulah said:


> Hey Gus, got any price comparison websites for donkey hire?!


No , but I'm sure there 'll be one out there somewhere.


----------



## gus-lopez

Yes , I've been having problems the last 2 hours or so,posting replies, changing pags, threads. I knew it wasn't me as the other site I was on was working perfectly.


----------



## Tallulah

Well, in reference to the title to this thread, a good old whinge today it seems.

Nice it's kinda turning around now though.:spit:


----------



## gus-lopez

Tallulah said:


> Well, in reference to the title to this thread, a good old whinge today it seems.
> 
> Nice it's kinda turning around now though.:spit:


I was just going to look to see what the thread was supposed to be about. :lol:


----------



## Tallulah

gus-lopez said:


> I was just going to look to see what the thread was supposed to be about. :lol:


:noidea: Yeah, I had to double check too Gus!! :lol:


----------



## jockm

baldilocks said:


> with a can of lager in one hand and half-eaten pizza in the other and sporting the regulation ta-oos



Does noone on the forum drink lager - from a can? Or eat pizza? (I was thinking of having it for dinner tonight, given it's Friday - a bit of a treat really) - or sport a tattoo?

I stand guilty of all three crimes! Eeekkkkkk!!!!

And if I can swing the supping of the beer accompanied by the mastication of the pizza, even better!

Sometimes, if it's really hot and I am especially thirsty, I might even SWIG!


----------



## Caz.I

jockm said:


> Does noone on the forum drink lager - from a can? Or eat pizza? (I was thinking of having it for dinner tonight, given it's Friday - a bit of a treat really) - or sport a tattoo?
> 
> I stand guilty of all three crimes! Eeekkkkkk!!!!
> 
> And if I can swing the supping of the beer accompanied by the mastication of the pizza, even better!
> 
> Sometimes, if it's really hot and I am especially thirsty, I might even SWIG!


Well I certainly hope you are not wearing jeans while you are doing that - you'll be slung out!


----------



## jockm

Caz.I said:


> Well I certainly hope you are not wearing jeans while you are doing that - you'll be slung out!


Never!

(Too hot here, I would be wearing denim shorts )


----------



## mrypg9

jockm said:


> Never!
> 
> (Too hot here, I would be wearing denim shorts )


Well, I hope they cover you adequately when you bend down as if they don't you are not qualified to live in Spain

Now there's something you see often in the UK, builders' crack I believe it's vulgarly called, but I don't think I miss it here.
Back on thread track??


----------



## Guest

mrypg9 said:


> Well, I hope they cover you adequately when you bend down as if they don't you are not qualified to live in Spain
> 
> Now there's something you see often in the UK, builders' crack I believe it's vulgarly called, but I don't think I miss it here.
> Back on thread track??


Oh boy, I've seen it here too... 
It's frightening, worldwide!


----------



## mrypg9

halydia said:


> Oh boy, I've seen it here too...
> It's frightening, worldwide!


Yes, it's gruesome.
But we mustn't be sexist... .larger women with what I believe are called 'muffin tops' are equally 'orrible. And women who wear thongs with low-slung trousers...
People guilty of such outrages should be physically barred at the Spanish border


----------



## Guest

mrypg9 said:


> women who wear thongs with low-slung trousers...


Nowt wrong with that (as long as they're no more than a size 10  )


----------



## mrypg9

ShinyAndy said:


> Nowt wrong with that (as long as they're no more than a size 10  )


I meant large women...but I've never really gone for this idea of displaying your knickers, whether thongs, Calvins, D&G etc whatever your shape and size


----------



## baldilocks

mrypg9 said:


> I meant large women...but I've never really gone for this idea of displaying your knickers, whether thongs, Calvins, D&G etc whatever your shape and size


This thread has degenerated into the list of "what I am glad to miss"


----------



## thrax

What along thread to which I haven't contributed,,,, well now I have!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## thrax

But seriously, I am still in UK so most of what I miss is in Spain. However I do know already what I will miss and because I am a chef it's mostly specialist ingredients. However, I already know how much fun it can be trying to find alternatives that work.


----------



## dunmovin

thrax said:


> But seriously, I am still in UK so most of what I miss is in Spain. However I do know already what I will miss and because I am a chef it's mostly specialist ingredients. However, I already know how much fun it can be trying to find alternatives that work.


Having been an expat for 15 or is it 16 years, you grow it, make it or get someone to post it to you. I even found an acceptable recipe for Scottish square sliced sausage, sheer bliss with homemade tattie scones on a soft baked bread roll


----------



## baldilocks

dunmovin said:


> Having been an expat for 15 or is it 16 years, you grow it, make it or get someone to post it to you. I even found an acceptable recipe for Scottish square sliced sausage, sheer bliss with homemade tattie scones on a soft baked bread roll


What no mealie Jimmys? or Tatties and Neeps? or Scotch pies?


----------



## dunmovin

baldilocks said:


> What no mealie Jimmys? or Tatties and Neeps? or Scotch pies?


Pies..I use Iceland's lamb mince and the casings are easy. Neeps ...found a good source in a local shop...working on perfecting aberdeen buttereies


----------



## mrypg9

baldilocks said:


> This thread has degenerated into the list of "what I am glad to miss"


Maybe because on balance that's how things are. There are more negatives than positives, perhaps?


----------



## jockm

dunmovin said:


> Having been an expat for 15 or is it 16 years, you grow it, make it or get someone to post it to you. I even found an acceptable recipe for Scottish square sliced sausage, sheer bliss with homemade tattie scones on a soft baked bread roll


I am trying to picture this: Square snag, potato scones, then on bread? So a bready-type thing (the scone) with more bread? Interesting!

My ggrandfather & ggmother were from Aberdeen - I've just transcribed a large number of letters he wrote on his journey to Oz and his first year here, to his fiance and brother in Aberdeen. I know this is off topic but it was an amazing experience and I got to learn alot about him, scots expressions (lovely), and Aberdeen.



(Are you able to translate this? “Feel, young fowk, ye Ken”? I couldn't quite suss that one out, so I'd appreciate a local's intepretation!

Yes yes! :focus:


----------



## Pesky Wesky

JohnBoy said:


> In a country full of lemon trees and lemon tea do you think I can find lemon jelly anywhere? Not on your life.


And in a country full of tomatoes, where there is even a fiesta somewhere where they thrown tons of tomatoes of each other, you can't get tomato _*purée*_??!!


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## JBODEN

Pesky Wesky said:


> And in a country full of tomatoes, where there is even a fiesta somewhere where they thrown tons of tomatoes of each other, you can't get tomato _*purée*_??!!


?? tomatoe concentrate is available


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## nigele2

JBODEN said:


> ?? tomatoe concentrate is available


I think JB that you have not understood Pesky's desperate need. I found this vid which I think is Pesky in another life expressing better than I could:

youtube.com/watch?v=5RpLOO7T9h4

ps sorry not a clickable link cause I keep getting it embedded.


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## JBODEN

nigele2 said:


> I think JB that you have not understood Pesky's desperate need. I found this vid which I think is Pesky in another life expressing better than I could:


Ugh!


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## baldilocks

Pesky Wesky said:


> And in a country full of tomatoes, where there is even a fiesta somewhere where they thrown tons of tomatoes of each other, you can't get tomato _*purée*_??!!


You are so tied to convenience foods? 

Make your own! I bet you buy Yorkshire Pudding mix or even Aunt Bessie's pre-made part cooked rubbish. Try making all those things you buy in convenience packages just as the Spaniards do, the way we all used to back home a few years ago - they taste better, are cheaper and usually fun to do!


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## baldilocks

jockm said:


> (Are you able to translate this? “Feel, young fowk, ye Ken”? I couldn't quite suss that one out, so I'd appreciate a local's intepretation!
> 
> Yes yes! :focus:


I'm nae a scot but from memory “Feel, young fowk, ye Ken” = Fool, youngsters, you know?


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## baldilocks

We are having various reform works done and I have come to the conclusion that I miss the likes of DiY stores such as Homebase, B&Q, etc. What they have here just is not the same nor do they have the same ranges of products, and the alternatives are just not what I want.


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## jojo

baldilocks said:


> We are having various reform works done and I have come to the conclusion that I miss the likes of DiY stores such as Homebase, B&Q, etc. What they have here just is not the same nor do they have the same ranges of products, and the alternatives are just not what I want.


Actually Baldi, that reminds me of something I miss - the layout in shops! I dont know whether its my uk upbringing, but shops in spain, seem to stock their shelves in a totally illogical way! You go to a specific aisle looking for something and it wont be there, it'll be somewhere that it shouldnt be - if that makes sense. I end up wandering around shops for hours looking for things that arent where my logic tells me they should be!

Jo xxx


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## Pesky Wesky

nigele2 said:


> I think JB that you have not understood Pesky's desperate need. I found this vid which I think is Pesky in another life expressing better than I could:
> 
> youtube.com/watch?v=5RpLOO7T9h4
> 
> ps sorry not a clickable link cause I keep getting it embedded.


 
Caught red handed!!

I'd probably hate the stuff now, but I haven't seen it all the time I've been here which is quite a long time...


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## JohnBoy

Are you sure that you cannot find this Pesky? I thought that I was able to buy it in Mercadona but it is definitely available in El Corte Inglés so presumably the more reasonably priced Hipermercado too.


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## dunmovin

jockm said:


> I am trying to picture this: Square snag, potato scones, then on bread? So a bready-type thing (the scone) with more bread? Interesting!
> 
> My ggrandfather & ggmother were from Aberdeen - I've just transcribed a large number of letters he wrote on his journey to Oz and his first year here, to his fiance and brother in Aberdeen. I know this is off topic but it was an amazing experience and I got to learn alot about him, scots expressions (lovely), and Aberdeen.
> 
> 
> 
> (Are you able to translate this? “Feel, young fowk, ye Ken”? I couldn't quite suss that one out, so I'd appreciate a local's intepretation!
> 
> Yes yes! :focus:


potato scones are made from mashed potato flour and salt, all mixed together adding flour until the mix is like dough, rolled out to about 3mm thick, cut to shape and the cooked in dry frying pan. they can be eaten hot or cold. With sweet or savoury toppings I like them fried up with the sausages

I agree with Baldilocks' translation.


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## Pesky Wesky

JohnBoy said:


> Are you sure that you cannot find this Pesky? I thought that I was able to buy it in Mercadona but it is definitely available in El Corte Inglés so presumably the more reasonably priced Hipermercado too.


Perhaps it's 'cos I'm fussy about my shops! I hate the Corte Inglés and this negative relationship started fairly early on in my life in Spain. Also, until a couple of years ago there was no Corte Inglés shop around here - now there are one or two Opencors. Neither was there a Mercadona until about two years ago. But seriously, I probably wouldn't even use it now, after more than twenty years of doing without.

Also, although Baldilocks seems to have understood I'm dependant on covenience foods, I'm not and rarely buy ready prepared stuff; make my own tomato sauce now etc etc. But when you've been working, come home to housework and it's 40º outside (and inside!) well, yes we sometimes say F**k it (or coño!)and get a Chinese or use a (WARNING - BAD LANGUAGE)convenience food


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## lynn

Pesky Wesky said:


> Perhaps it's 'cos I'm fussy about my shops! I hate the Corte Inglés and this negative relationship started fairly early on in my life in Spain. Also, until a couple of years ago there was no Corte Inglés shop around here - now there are one or two Opencors. Neither was there a Mercadona until about two years ago. But seriously, I probably wouldn't even use it now, after more than twenty years of doing without.
> 
> Also, although Baldilocks seems to have understood I'm dependant on covenience foods, I'm not and rarely buy ready prepared stuff; make my own tomato sauce now etc etc. But when you've been working, come home to housework and it's 40º outside (and inside!) well, yes we sometimes say F**k it (or coño!)and get a Chinese or use a (WARNING - BAD LANGUAGE)convenience food


:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:


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## baldilocks

jojo said:


> Actually Baldi, that reminds me of something I miss - the layout in shops! I dont know whether its my uk upbringing, but shops in spain, seem to stock their shelves in a totally illogical way! You go to a specific aisle looking for something and it wont be there, it'll be somewhere that it shouldnt be - if that makes sense. I end up wandering around shops for hours looking for things that arent where my logic tells me they should be!
> 
> Jo xxx


The problem is Jo that you got so used to the UK supermarket trick of always putting what you wanted at the back of the store so you would walk past all the stuff you hadn't intended buying. They don't seem to do that here. 

Mercadone in Alcalá put their fish fairly near the main entrance so instead of your olfactory senses being regaled with the delights of the in-store bakery (hot cross buns, freshly baked bread, etc) you are hit with the ammoniacal smell of fish!


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## baldilocks

dunmovin said:


> potato scones are made from mashed potato flour and salt, all mixed together adding flour until the mix is like dough, rolled out to about 3mm thick, cut to shape and the cooked in dry frying pan. they can be eaten hot or cold. With sweet or savoury toppings I like them fried up with the sausages
> 
> I agree with Baldilocks' translation.


I like to put herbs (parsley, sage, etc) in mine just like a fish cake without the fish really! Not sure whether Dunmovin meant 3mm or 13mm - the former seems a bit too thin and they would tend to disintegrate, even if you add beaten egg as a binder.


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## Guest

I replied to this thread earlier today and it has gone ?


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## baldilocks

Pesky Wesky said:


> Perhaps it's 'cos I'm fussy about my shops! I hate the Corte Inglés and this negative relationship started fairly early on in my life in Spain. Also, until a couple of years ago there was no Corte Inglés shop around here - now there are one or two Opencors. Neither was there a Mercadona until about two years ago. But seriously, I probably wouldn't even use it now, after more than twenty years of doing without.
> 
> Also, although Baldilocks seems to have understood I'm dependant on covenience foods, I'm not and rarely buy ready prepared stuff; make my own tomato sauce now etc etc. But when you've been working, come home to housework and it's 40º outside (and inside!) well, yes we sometimes say F**k it (or coño!)and get a Chinese or use a (WARNING - BAD LANGUAGE)convenience food


Sorry Pesky, as a retired person, I tend to forget (had forgotten) that feeling of getting home exhausted and having to get a meal.

BTW isn't "convenience food" also bad language?

What I do find hard to understand is the Brits in this area who have to have such things as Corn Flakes and other cereals shipped in from UK (all available in Lidl or Mercadona) and frozen pork chops (Spain is all about pork)! OK for all those of you who are about to tell me that Spanish pork chops are so wafer thin that you can only flash-fry them, I would say -"think outside the box" I buy cinta de lomo which is the nice meaty part of pork loin chops in the long piece then cut it into pork steaks the thickness we are used to/want. Also cut it into roasting joints, some of which I cut in a spiral and we use for stuffed pork roll. (We use fruits that we have dried ourselves or had given us by neighbours - peaches, apples, figs, etc. - all sun dried on the balcony - absolutely delicious!)


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## Pesky Wesky

ValL said:


> I replied to this thread earlier today and it has gone ?


It didn't register val, 'cos I didn't see it.


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## Pesky Wesky

baldilocks said:


> Sorry Pesky, as a retired person, I tend to forget (had forgotten) that feeling of getting home exhausted and having to get a meal.
> 
> I really don't like using ready prepared food and OH won't hear of it usually, but every now and then... It's also a cultural thing. In general I think people in the UK cook, what is really cook, less and less, at least that what I see in my family and what you see in the supermarkets.
> I didn't think about it very much, but when I came here there weren't any convenience foods really. Tinned alubias and albondigas and that was about it. I don't even remember seeing pizzas. So you *had* to cook your own stuff, and then, when I became more interested in food, organic stuff etc I was glad I was doing it.
> *BUT*. I do not have a very typical timetable. I do not work from 8:30 am to 8:00pm, and I only have one daughter. *PLUS* I have an unusual Spanish OH in that he cooks and shops and is capable of doing all household chores.
> If I was a typical Spanish woman worker, and perhaps if I was a typical British woman worker, I wouldn't be able to organise my cooking and lifestyle in the same way.
> 
> 
> BTW isn't "convenience food" also bad language?
> That was what I was referring to!
> 
> 
> What I do find hard to understand is the Brits in this area who have to have such things as Corn Flakes and other cereals shipped in from UK (all available in Lidl or Mercadona) and frozen pork chops (Spain is all about pork)! OK for all those of you who are about to tell me that Spanish pork chops are so wafer thin that you can only flash-fry them, I would say -"think outside the box" I buy cinta de lomo which is the nice meaty part of pork loin chops in the long piece then cut it into pork steaks the thickness we are used to/want. Also cut it into roasting joints, some of which I cut in a spiral and we use for stuffed pork roll. (We use fruits that we have dried ourselves or had given us by neighbours - peaches, apples, figs, etc. - all sun dried on the balcony - absolutely delicious!)
> 
> 
> PS sounds yummy!
> Cinta de lomo is good and recently we've been buying a "roll" of it, but didn't think of stuffing it!


***


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## Guest

Pesky Wesky said:


> ***


Thank you for noting that you have an "unusual" Spanish OH. I was starting to wonder if my model was defective  

Baldilocks, please place a disclaimer when you talk about your cooking. It's making me hungry! (And giving me good ideas.)


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## nigele2

halydia said:


> Baldilocks, please place a disclaimer when you talk about your cooking. It's making me hungry! (And giving me good ideas.)


Yes I get the feeling dropping in on the Casa de Baldilocks would be an interesting eating experience 

Baldilocks glad you mentioned cooking with fruit. My spanish family rarely do and that strikes me as odd. They even seem chuffed when I do pork with apple. Last christmas I did a mango salad and you would have thought it was my unique creation.

Don't get me wrong they do cook very well especially rice things, fish stews normally cooked on the small outside bbq, whole legs of lamb (one each) and costillas with all the trimmings 

I was going to skip dinner after having a balti for lunch but hell all this talk of food - you only live once.

Enjoy your weekend one and all :thumb:


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## dunmovin

baldilocks said:


> I like to put herbs (parsley, sage, etc) in mine just like a fish cake without the fish really! Not sure whether Dunmovin meant 3mm or 13mm - the former seems a bit too thin and they would tend to disintegrate, even if you add beaten egg as a binder.


Alan, 3 to 5mm is correct, the density of the potato and flour mix holds it together. By the way you can add cheese, onion, bacon bits (only if you intend to fry them afterwards), chopped chillis, or whatever you want to experiment with. Adding oats to the mix add to the crunch texture when fried.


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## xabiaxica

Pesky Wesky said:


> I really don't like using ready prepared food and OH won't hear of it usually, but every now and then... It's also a cultural thing. In general I think people in the UK cook, what is really cook, less and less, at least that what I see in my family and what you see in the supermarkets.
> I didn't think about it very much, but when I came here there weren't any convenience foods really. Tinned alubias and albondigas and that was about it. I don't even remember seeing pizzas. So you had to cook your own stuff, and then, when I became more interested in food, organic stuff etc I was glad I was doing it.
> BUT. I do not have a very typical timetable. I do not work from 8:30 am to 8:00pm, and I only have one daughter. PLUS I have an unusual Spanish OH in that he cooks and shops and is capable of doing all household chores.
> If I was a typical Spanish woman worker, and perhaps if I was a typical British woman worker, I wouldn't be able to organise my cooking and lifestyle in the same way.


you're right

recently in the UK - first time for 6 years! - I had trouble walking around Sainsburys getting 'fresh, cook from scratch' ingredients - then when I did find the ingredients for a beef stew, the beef was ridiculously expensive & tasteless, and although the veg was very pretty - it too was tasteless

the stew wasn't bad, but not as good hare 'at home'

I also managed to find a fresh chicken for roasting (cost about the same as here, I could have got a frozen one for much less!) - but the meat looked grey & again, didn't taste the same

on the other hand, my brother who was also there & has lived in Australia for 17 years, was impressed with the range of stuff in the supermarket, but complained about the lack of 'take-aways' & the price of them

I don't know if he's a typical Aussie, but he reckons they rarely cook anything at all - only for special occasions - most days they get a different take-away meal cos it's cheaper than cooking!

you have your OH very well trained

as do I - everyone in our house can cook a meal from scratch - even the 10 year old:clap2:

for some reason though I'm the only one who uses the washing machine


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## Pesky Wesky

xabiachica said:


> you're right
> 
> recently in the UK - first time for 6 years! - I had trouble walking around Sainsburys getting 'fresh, cook from scratch' ingredients - then when I did find the ingredients for a beef stew, the beef was ridiculously expensive & tasteless, and although the veg was very pretty - it too was tasteless
> 
> the stew wasn't bad, but not as good hare 'at home'
> 
> I also managed to find a fresh chicken for roasting (cost about the same as here, I could have got a frozen one for much less!) - but the meat looked grey & again, didn't taste the same
> 
> on the other hand, my brother who was also there & has lived in Australia for 17 years, was impressed with the range of stuff in the supermarket, but complained about the lack of 'take-aways' & the price of them
> 
> I don't know if he's a typical Aussie, but he reckons they rarely cook anything at all - only for special occasions - most days they get a different take-away meal cos it's cheaper than cooking!
> 
> you have your OH very well trained
> 
> as do I - everyone in our house can cook a meal from scratch - even the 10 year old:clap2:
> 
> for some reason though I'm the only one who uses the washing machine


Yes, that's what I've found in the UK and also it's not easy or at least shopping isn't geared towards getting your basic stuff like plain unsugared yoghurt, (plenty of flavoured or Greek, or Luxury or even more 0%fat and the like. Plain chicken is another - we've got barbequed, herb, garlic, country stuffed, and probably chicken with toffee sauce, but just chicken - it's there, but there's so much crap hiding it.

I don't want to give the impression that I'm Mrs. super cook slaving over a hot stove everyday. I'm certainly not that, and quick and easy is the tune of the day 90% of the time in our house I would say, but if possible with fresh, good ingredients.

By the way, OH well trained??? He came semi trained, but has a stubborn streak and likes to do things his own way. Last night he volunteered to do the evening meal. We sat down at 11 0' clock!! Now that's late, even for us!

My daughter's not much of a cook, but she can fry a steak or a piece of chicken, in good Spanish style. She's going to be doing a short cooking course in England this summer. Should be interesting!


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