Ah, surveys. Where would be without them? PR companies churn out "findings" which are then very often regurgitated by various parts of the media as "proper news". Of course they aren't, but where there's muck there's brass.
Hence I was slightly taken aback to read of a survey of the five foods British expats most miss when they live abroad. A foreign exchange provider did some research with companies that sell food to expats to determine which were the goodies that had people thinking fondly of home.
I'll be honest, as soon as I read what came in at number five I almost instantly lost interest. This was because the fifth most missed food for British expats was Bisto gravy granules. God's teeth, I don't think you should even be allowed to count gravy granules as food. They're just gunk you add water to in order to make something you try to pass off as gravy....and it ain't. Are we clear on that?
In no particular order the other four missed "foods" were Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate, McVities Digestive biscuits, PG Tips teabags and Twinings English Breakfast teabags.
Right, so as I write this I am on a small island in the Aegean for which most food comes by sea, which means that sometimes in winter not everything gets through. But even so, broadly speaking it is possible to get milk chocolate, digestive biscuits and teabags. I've never even looked for gravy granules.
I happen to know Dairy Milk is available here because Mrs C likes it. As for digestives, fret not. In Greece we have Papadopoulos's wonderful biscuits of all kinds. And I've definitely seen Twinings teabags here.
Granted, I am sure there are some far-flung places where British expats sit and drool constantly, tormented by the knowledge that they are so distant that none of the so-called delicacies of home will ever reach them. To them I can only offer one of my favourite pieces of advice: "If you can't get what you like, then you'll have to like what you get". Chin up, I'm sure there'll be a boat along in a few months.
For music to go with this I nearly, but only nearly, chose Food, Glorious Food from the musical Oliver. And although it's not a bad idea, instead I went for Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen. It's not about food, but I refer you to the advice I mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Hence I was slightly taken aback to read of a survey of the five foods British expats most miss when they live abroad. A foreign exchange provider did some research with companies that sell food to expats to determine which were the goodies that had people thinking fondly of home.
I'll be honest, as soon as I read what came in at number five I almost instantly lost interest. This was because the fifth most missed food for British expats was Bisto gravy granules. God's teeth, I don't think you should even be allowed to count gravy granules as food. They're just gunk you add water to in order to make something you try to pass off as gravy....and it ain't. Are we clear on that?
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| Gravy, I think. |
In no particular order the other four missed "foods" were Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate, McVities Digestive biscuits, PG Tips teabags and Twinings English Breakfast teabags.
Right, so as I write this I am on a small island in the Aegean for which most food comes by sea, which means that sometimes in winter not everything gets through. But even so, broadly speaking it is possible to get milk chocolate, digestive biscuits and teabags. I've never even looked for gravy granules.
I happen to know Dairy Milk is available here because Mrs C likes it. As for digestives, fret not. In Greece we have Papadopoulos's wonderful biscuits of all kinds. And I've definitely seen Twinings teabags here.
Granted, I am sure there are some far-flung places where British expats sit and drool constantly, tormented by the knowledge that they are so distant that none of the so-called delicacies of home will ever reach them. To them I can only offer one of my favourite pieces of advice: "If you can't get what you like, then you'll have to like what you get". Chin up, I'm sure there'll be a boat along in a few months.
For music to go with this I nearly, but only nearly, chose Food, Glorious Food from the musical Oliver. And although it's not a bad idea, instead I went for Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen. It's not about food, but I refer you to the advice I mentioned in the previous paragraph.
That is what the food section on Amazon is for! I sometime just browse around in there just to see what is on offer. You never know what you will find.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about buying food on Amazon. I think I'll stick to my local shops, even if their range is sometimes a bit limited. Are you A to Z-ing this year?
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