Why Blog?

I initially started this blog on a slow day at work (did I say that out loud?)… I was bored and had been talking to a friend who blogged and thought “Why not?  I'm sure I can do that.”  Pretty much anyone I moaned to was fed up listening to my reminisces, memories and comparisons of England, so this was the ideal outlet for my “creative juices” or “moody cow whining” however you want to look at it. But some of the best things have happened because of this blog:

Reconnecting

I have been able to reconnect with people I haven’t seen for over 30 years (Good grief, has it been 30 years!) Although this isn’t technically true in all senses of the word as Facebook has played a part too, I was recently chatting with an old friend via Facebook and he mentioned his brother also lives in California and he would be visiting and would I like to meet up.  Well, of course I bloody would.  

The day came and he gave me a ring to arrange to meet.  I was totally taken aback when he said he would come to my house – I’m so used to the American culture of always meeting for dinner, lunch or the like and really never going to someone’s house.  Obviously right then the conversation went typically British.  “Oh” I said, “You’ll have to excuse the state of the house, we’ve just got a new puppy and it’s a bit of a mess.”   To which he replied “Don’t be silly, we’re coming to see you, not the house.”   How refreshingly polite.

Obviously, I rushed home and tidied up, as you do, and put the kettle on.  The visit was brilliant, even more so when he presented me with this little lot

So, thank you Mr. G.  Hope to see you again sometime soon.

New Friends

I saw a quote on Twitter the other day which said:

“Facebook makes you hate people you already know and

   Twitter makes you love people you’ll never meet.”

@SwedishCanary

That is exactly what this blog has done (well, not the Facebook hating thing).  I have met (virtually) so many people through this blog and Twitter [and if you are one of them, a big hello].  I have also realized how many expats out there are having the same issues, experiences and fun as I am.   

Goodies

This has only happened once (so far) [*hint, hint*] and it was bloody brilliant.

As the Hershey’s debacle was in full swing, a couple of start up companies contacted me to review their service.  I was asked by ChocolateMailBox.com to take a look at what they are offering and they sent me a lovely box full of Cadbury’s.  My post about that is HERE.

So if there’s anyone else out there who is just dying to send me stuff – go ahead [*smile*] – Yes, I am being cheeky.

British Telly

I was contacted by the BBC, yes the real Aunty Beeb, to participate in a telly programme pitting expats and their families at home against other expats and home families.  While this sounded like an absolutely fantastic idea that I would jump at, I missed the deadline (mainly due to the time difference of emails, etc) so I am a bit gutted.  

Hopefully, they will have a second season and I will definitely be there, with bells on!

I’m not in any way saying, though, that this blogging malarkey is easy.  Sometimes I just sit here and stare at my computer with vacant eyes and an empty head not knowing  what to say.  But apparently, my brain kicks into gear every now and again and here we are…

Angry British

On a recent shopping trip I had a bit of a melt down, or a paddy, if you like.  Wandering around Fresh & Easy I got to the “Foreign” section and noticed just how small the English section had become. When I first started shopping there, there were eight shelves of English foods, yes 8!  It looked like this…

Amazeballs!!

It probably doesn't seem much to anyone who has a Tesco around the corner from their house, but in the jolly old USofA, this is amazing!  Well until now, that is.  Now, it’s been reduced to just TWO shelves of baked beans, marmalade, Heinz soup, Robinsons and gravy granules - the bottom two shelves no less.  Oh how I wished I hadn’t been so complacent in thinking it would be there forever.  If I’d have known it was going to disappear, my cupboards would look like Tescos with shelves and shelves of food I would never be able to eat because I had so much.  Well, so much for that!!  How I miss you, Bird's Custard, Ribena and HP Sauce!

And now, with bloody Hersheys taking our Cadbury’s chocolate off the shelves, my pickings are going to be getting even slimmer.

Which is where my paddy came in.  Apart from the disappointment from my lack of choice in the British food section, there it was, that ghastly Hershey chocolate gloating at me from the shelves. I could see it grinning down as if to say “Buy me, I dare you!”   So I went into a wobbly.  I will admit, a few selective swear words were uttered – because obviously it wouldn’t be a real British rant if there was no swearing.  “*^&% You Hershey” may have possibly been said a few times too!  

The Mr. turned to me and said “Do you know that when you’re angry, your English accent gets really strong?  I can hardly understand you”  He certainly knows how to calm me down!  Nothing makes me happier than to be told my accent is still there!

About that time, I walked down the aisle where the sweets are and holy-moley, all the English chocolate (at least everything they have left) was half price.  So what's better to cheer you up than seeing 'real' Yorkie bars for only 99c and buying the whole lot!  

.

Nope, not a York Peppermint Patty

I know I've posted this link before, but if you haven't signed the petition yet, here it is again:

Protest Hershey Lawsuit to Ban Cadbury's Chocolate

Goodbye Cadbury, We Will Miss You!

Anyone who’s lived in America for a while, or even those that have been here on holiday and tried Hershey's chocolate will no doubt understand why us expats are getting all worked up over the lawsuit recently filed by Hershey to ban the import of British chocolate.  

Their reasoning?  They want to protect their copyright in the United States so consumers are not "confused or misled when they see a product name or product package that is confusingly similar to a Hershey name or trade dress."

Because these two are really confusing, aren’t they?

Apparently, it must be the colour of the packets, because I don't think there's any way, at all, that I could be confused about these two.  Not even if I was blindfolded and wearing boxing gloves!

And then, the most ridiculous of all, the Yorkie Bar and the York Peppermint Patty.  What the hell? These are so different, it's a joke.  It's the name, they say, it's too similar, they say.... so in general, American consumers can't read enough to be able to tell the different between Yorkie and York? Nice, Hersey, what a lovely way to treat your customers by insinuating they're all illiterate.

It started with the recipe change of Cadbury's Crème Eggs, making them taste gritty and bland (basically, just like Hershey chocolate).  They think we are just being typically picky expats when we complain about the bloody awful chocolate here.  And why wouldn’t we?  British made Cadbury’s Dairy Milk has a high fat content because the main ingredient is milk, leading to a nice creamy taste.  The main ingredient of the American version is sugar and some lovely Polyglycerol polyricinoleate and soy lecithin (yummy).  I think there might also be some sawdust and coal in there too, judging by the consistency. 

So what can we do about this?  Well, it might be a long fight, but the first thing would be to sign this petition:

PROTEST HERSHEY'S LAWSUIT AGAINST BRITISH CHOCOLATE

It's not just us expats who are taking this badly, Andrew Baker of The Times wrote:

"It will seem more likely to anyone who has ever tasted Hershey's own-brand products, and its approximations of Cadbury's, that they are instead preventing consumers from buying products which taste much better than Hershey's own," 

Oh, and then there's this:

DEFINITION OF "MONOPOLY"
A situation in which a single company or group owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service.  By definition, monopoly is characterized by an absence of competition, which often results in high prices and inferior products."   [http://www.investopedia.com]

So go and sign that petition now.  And a note to my family - get ready to fill your suitcases with Cadbury's chocolate next time you visit!

A Good Old English Christmas

There’s nothing better than the run up to Christmas in England…. The weather is cold (usually raining), the lights go up around town and the radio is filled with Christmas songs.  Bliss… and I may be fantasizing a bit about how nice it is, having been here over 20 years, but there are still things I miss.

This on the radio:

Or this

I haven’t actually heard these songs in years.  They are never, ever played in the US.  Instead we get stuff like Bing Crosby’s White Christmas and Frosty the Snowman.  Every now and then, I hear George Michael’s Last Christmas.  But you really only hear them if you are listening to a station that plays continuous Christmas music.

Christmas Specials on the Telly

I used to love to sit down at Christmas and watch the specials.  Only Fools & Horses was always particularly brilliant.  Blimey, even the soaps have a special on Christmas Day – you can always guarantee a shocker in Eastenders.  But here? Not a chance.  There may be a little mention of Christmas and perhaps some snow, but that’s about it.  And most of the programmes shown on Christmas day are repeats.

The Queen’s Speech

Yeah, nobody ever watches it but it’s more than likely on in the background.  I’m not saying I want to watch it, but it’s an English tradition, isn’t it?  I’m sure if I wanted to, I could find it on the internet somewhere, but really, I’m not that fussed.

Chocolate

Cadbury’s Selection Box was always a favourite for Christmas.  Could you imagine opening a present on Christmas morning and finding a bag of six or seven chocolate bars?  It would be a bit disappointing, not to say a bit lazy - but put them in a fancy box with a picture of Father Christmas on the front and they become extra special and the present everyone wants.

And what about Quality Street?  Do they even sell those big tins at any other time of the year?  They are a total necessity at Christmas and who doesn’t argue over the hazelnut in caramel (aka the purple one) or the gold toffee stick or toffee penny?  Nobody ever wanted the orange or strawberry crème and they would always be in the bottom of the tin until Easter when they were finally thrown away.

Mince Pies and Christmas Cake

What would it be like to have no mince pies?  Just ask me – bloody awful, that’s what.  There were a few years there when I couldn’t find them.  They are not a thing here.  Ask someone for a mince pie and the likely response is “Oh that pie with the kidneys you Brits eat? Eew”  (Yes, the eew is always at the end of that sentence.)   Um, nooo, that would be those scrummy fruit pies you eat with custard.  I have actually found a couple of specialist shops that sell them now, and I think last year they sold them at Fresh & Easy.

Christmas cake, to an American, is a dry, fruit concoction that gets passed around family and friends for years and nobody will eat it.  I’m not surprised, I wouldn’t eat a cake that’s years old either.  But when I tell them “our” Christmas cake is soft, moist and fruity with lots and lots of alcohol it gets a good reaction, especially when I tell them it stays in the cupboard for months after baking and Brandy is added every week or so.  What’s not to like about that?

American Fruitcake - Nope!

Boxing Day

Oh dear me.  This one is a killer.  Every year for the last 20 years I have had to beg and plead for the day off. Nobody cares [*sad face*].  Boxing Day (or as its known here, the day after Christmas) is when everyone says “well, that’s Christmas done and dusted, lets throw out the tree.”  (When they come home from work, that is).  A pretty sorry state of affairs.  Oh how I miss that day.  Even though I have actually managed to never work on the day, it’s just not the same.  You don’t get any more presents and you certainly don’t have cold turkey and piccalilli, mainly because you can’t get piccalilli anywhere. (Isn’t that a wonderful word… piccalilli – mainly pronounced here as Piccadilly by anyone with the slightest idea of what I’m talking about).

Oh and then there's the footie.  What would Boxing Day be like without a football match to go to, or at least watch on the telly?

Crackers

If you don’t sit around the table, pulling crackers, wearing a paper crown and telling silly jokes, you are not doing Christmas right.  And there’s an unwritten rule (in my family anyway) that you don’t pull the crackers until after the turkey, but before pudding.  That’s just how it is.

Not like the first time I cooked Christmas dinner for only my American friends.  I was devastated to realize nobody knew what a cracker was or what to do with them.  Can you imagine the look on my face when I realized people were shaking them, trying to look inside and actually pulling them on their own!  I’ve got to say, it wasn’t the best Christmas I’ve ever had and there may have been a moment when I lost my temper and I “might” have actually slapped someone for doing it wrong. Christmas officially ruined!

DO NOT DO THIS!