An Expats Home Sickness Remedy Treats - (where to get them if you're really desperate)
Its not often that I am lost for words. Ask anyone
especially my husband Super G and he will tell you that this Yorkshire girl can
talk under water. However, this week I was chatting to our newest Opal and I
was asked the pretty simple question of what I miss most about England. I was
stumped. I normally can reel a whole load of things off but as I sat there
looking at him, I was silent. I think my newest Opal mistook my silence for
being upset and as they reached across the table to touch my hand and ask if I
was ok, I couldn’t think of a word to say.
Years ago, what I missed from the UK read like a shopping
list, and every time I had visitors I would online shop at Asda and get it
delivered directly to them to pack in their suitcases. After greeting them at
the airport and hugging them I would practically ransack their suitcases. Fast
forward a few years and how different this story is. I now ask for a few token
items which each time I’m asked the list gets less and less.
So, what is it that I miss, you may be surprised by my list,
or maybe you won’t but here goes….
Trashy Magazine
I love trashy magazines. The trashier the better. Not your
celebrity ones though, as
over the years I have no idea who the UK celebrities are.
I find myself saying” who is this” on every page which always leads the
magazine bringer to say, “its so and so from Emmerdale” and I say “ummmm who”
and of course I haven’t watched it for so long that I’m told Viv is dead and
Charity Tate is back…. Mind blown! I love the type of magazines that cost 30p
and have stories like “I was sold for an iPhone” or “it’s not your baby its
your grandads baby”. My mum and friends collect them over the year for me and
quite a few of my Opal arrivals have brought magazines for me, but to be honest
the ones sold here in Coles are very similar and now I just tend to read these.
Monster Munch
Ask any expat and somewhere in the list of things they miss
will be monster munch. We love them at our house and even Lucky the dog has his
favourite flavour (flaming hot if you are interested). They often arrive
crushed and in crumb format, but we don’t care, we still hoover them into our
mouth as fast as possible so that the other family members at our house can’t
eat them all…. Yes, its true bring any Monster munch packets into any expats
house and you will start a war. No matter how many packets we have we always
can be sure to add monster munch to the list for any visitors, and if no
monster munch appear then there is a hotel down the road for 79 dollars a night…..
We can buy monster munch in several local sweet shops. They are around $3 a
packet but as a treat we buy them, but rest assured when we do, we savour eat
nibble and lucky the dog doesn’t stand a chance of getting one.
Bold Washing Pods
Yes, you read that right. I am addicted to the things. I
currently have about 1200 in the garage and my little sister who arrives in a
few weeks is instructed to bring more. My big sister brought a lot a few months
ago and a client travelling with a huge baggage allowance practically cleared
the local Asda out of them for me. I have no idea what it is about them that I
love but love them I do. When I get down to around 1000, I start to feel a
little crazy and I manically instruct anyone and everyone to pack them for me.
Quite a few Opal arrivals have had the hash tag #thisopalisbringingbold. There
is great washing powder here in Brisbane and it works just as well as bold and
there is really no need for me to have this obsession, but I do and I can’t
help it.
Books
Books in Australia are classed as a luxury item and
therefore have luxury tax applied to them. You don’t see it as an added tax,
but it makes the overall price of the books higher. There are a few local
discount book companies or I purchase books from www.bookdepository.co.uk who
offer free international shipping. I am also an avid fan of our local library
bus but there is nothing quite like walking around a bookstore adding books to
your purchase pile. Unless you have a very stretchy wallet this really isn’t an
option anymore. I had so many books In the UK that we didn’t bring and now my
actual book collection is dismal. Not because I don’t buy them anymore but
because when I have read them, I pass them on to others either via friends,
local community share clubs or charity stores. I also now have a large
electronic book collection on my kindle and an even bigger collection of audio
books on Audible. I also raid any visitors book collections when they arrive,
and they get added to Shelley’s collection 😊 Where there is a will ….
Fry’s Chocolate
Creams and Caramac Chocolate
This is probably the only chocolate I still love from the
UK. The fry’s chocolate cream must be the original flavour and reminds me of my
mum. When I’m feeling a little sad and tell anyone and everyone who will listen
that “I’m all alone in a strange and foreign land” my mum puts some in a packet
for me and sends via royal mail. Normally by the time they arrive I’m no longer
sad and they sit in the freezer a while until next time I’m having a moment.
The strangest parcel I ever received from my mum was in a Friskies cat food box
and all the chocolate tasted like cat food. Needless to say, this didn’t help
with the sad feeling and my mum never sent chocolate in a cat food box again.
I love Caramac’s, my sister Terri knows I love Caramac’s,
but I am still waiting for a shipment from her since September. She claims she
has posted it, or that she got mugged on the way to the post box, but I secretly
know she has eaten them and will eventually get around to getting me more. As
with most things these two are often available in Coles but there is nothing
like a parcel of goodies from your loved ones in your letter box.
And that’s my list! Its pretty short really and it took me a
while to think of it. What's on your list? If you can't find it in one of the major supermarket chains e.g. Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA, then you may be able to find it in the specialist stores such as:
Obviously, there is lots of other things I miss about
living in the UK but none really compare to sniffing bold washing pods while
reading trashy magazines and eating chocolate that tastes a little of cat food….
Until Next Time
The Opal One X
Comments
Post a Comment