Things you miss about Britain

[Paul1Perth]

On 03/07/2021 at 18:35, Marisawright said:

I have recently learned how to cook salmon well at home but not any other kind of fish

Barramundi cooks well in just a frying pan. Fish is pretty easy to cook on a barbie too. 

[Paul1Perth]

On 02/07/2021 at 09:54, ramot said:

My son who came here age 31, said one of the many things he prefers living here is that life doesn’t revolve around the pub. He didn’t realise how much it did where he had lived in England,  until he returned back for a visit, and friends just went to the pub most nights. The climate here is much more conducive to outdoor life.

Having said the above I do usually visit one of two pubs when I’m in Sydney, enjoy an English type of pub meal for a nice change, with no chicken parmigiana on the menu!!!

The pub regular visit is something I miss about the UK. Mind you I think things have changed. When we were young we were in the pub every night, followed by nightclubs at weekends. Those days though you wouldn't have met a girl or saw your mates if you didn't do that.

These days you can do all that on-line, without leaving the house.

Darts and dominoes killed hours and the laughs we had can't be recreated on line. Unless you like cat videos.

[BeachBabe2022]

Actually, not very much at all (been here since 1995) - honestly I hardly ever think of the UK

But if I had to choose five things, they would be:

1) Plaice (as in Plaice & Chips)

2) Regional beers - I use to adore Duchy Originals Organic (although must say, Australia has some excellent boutique IPAs)

3) Nice beer gardens at pubs

4) Walking through a wooded glade full of bluebells

5) Going for a walk in the county without the need to worry about being bitten by a deadly snake

Cannot think of anything else

 

[HappyHeart]

The longer I’m away, the less I miss. 
Crisps, I still miss the variety of English crisps. Pudding, chips and gravy. What else? Not much. 

[rammygirl]

11 hours ago, HappyHeart said:

The longer I’m away, the less I miss. 
Crisps, I still miss the variety of English crisps. Pudding, chips and gravy. What else? Not much. 

Ooh pudding,  peas and gravy was my go to.  My mouth is watering now

[Blue Flu]

So much to miss about London . The varied world views of the people. The feeling of living in the centre of the world all around and clearly visible on a daily basis. Walkability. No need to own a car. Public transport that will get one most everywhere (although over priced) Never knowing 'what's around the corner' in a matter of speaking. Experiences in one form or another, that would simply take place with regularity, that over a few months, would take years in if ever, in other cities. 

[MARYROSE02]

On 30/05/2021 at 12:43, rtritudr said:

These days you can stream British radio quite easily via the internet.  Just install Simple Radio on your phone and you can stream it while you drive too.

I was just thinking about Simple Radio. At home I use my phone as my radio, usually on 2GB via their app, or via Simple Radio for,  say, ABC Grandstand if I want to listen to the cricket, BBC Radio Solent if I'm thinking about "Home", Curtin FM on Perth which is my fave oldies station.  If I'm in a Go Get car I either listen to JJJ or sometimes to whatever station the previous driver was listening to - RN, 702, Smooth FM.

I watch every single Spurs game live (can you do that in England? Is every PL and European Cup game plus most of the FA Cup and League Cup shown live?)

I read all the match reports either on the Daily Mail site or "News Now - Spurs" site. 

I can't go to the ground of course but there's a pub where fellow Spurs fans go,  subject to Covid. 

Foxtel has both SKY Australia and SKY UK news plus BBC World News, CNN and Fox News. There's plenty of UK TV shows on the various channels I have.

I can't buy booze in the supermarket but so what? Pubs have bottle shops and there are stand alone bottle shops too, drive thru ones too. Do they have them in the UK?! And I like Aussie pubs and Aussie beer / wine. 

I like Aussie "Indian" food too and don't find it substandard compared to Pommie "Indian" food.  As long as the staff are fair dinkum Bangladeshi then their cuisine is fair dinkum too. And there's an A to Z of the rest of the world's cuisine here for me to do into. 

I like Australia's colonial history and its indigenous culture, both being the equal of pre-1788 history.  History is history regardless of which century.

It would be nice to ride a cycle in the New Forest again.  I hate urban cycling but that would be the same in London as it is in Sydney. My mum and dad are gone and I've sold my house in England and there nothing else that I'm desperate to physically appreciate in England now. 

[Bulya]

On 22/01/2022 at 07:07, MARYROSE02 said:

I was just thinking about Simple Radio. At home I use my phone as my radio, usually on 2GB via their app, or via Simple Radio for,  say, ABC Grandstand if I want to listen to the cricket, BBC Radio Solent if I'm thinking about "Home", Curtin FM on Perth which is my fave oldies station.  If I'm in a Go Get car I either listen to JJJ or sometimes to whatever station the previous driver was listening to - RN, 702, Smooth FM.

I watch every single Spurs game live (can you do that in England? Is every PL and European Cup game plus most of the FA Cup and League Cup shown live?)

I read all the match reports either on the Daily Mail site or "News Now - Spurs" site. 

I can't go to the ground of course but there's a pub where fellow Spurs fans go,  subject to Covid. 

Foxtel has both SKY Australia and SKY UK news plus BBC World News, CNN and Fox News. There's plenty of UK TV shows on the various channels I have.

I can't buy booze in the supermarket but so what? Pubs have bottle shops and there are stand alone bottle shops too, drive thru ones too. Do they have them in the UK?! And I like Aussie pubs and Aussie beer / wine. 

I like Aussie "Indian" food too and don't find it substandard compared to Pommie "Indian" food.  As long as the staff are fair dinkum Bangladeshi then their cuisine is fair dinkum too. And there's an A to Z of the rest of the world's cuisine here for me to do into. 

I like Australia's colonial history and its indigenous culture, both being the equal of pre-1788 history.  History is history regardless of which century.

It would be nice to ride a cycle in the New Forest again.  I hate urban cycling but that would be the same in London as it is in Sydney. My mum and dad are gone and I've sold my house in England and there nothing else that I'm desperate to physically appreciate in England now. 

Why can’t you buy booze in the supermarket as you certainly can here…

[MARYROSE02]

10 hours ago, Bulya said:

Why can’t you buy booze in the supermarket as you certainly can here…

I don't drink at home.  I go to the pub.  If the pubs are closed as they were during lockdown,  I don't drink.

But if I did drink at home,  my local pub, 100 metres away,  has a bottle shop whereas the supermarkets are all 10 or 15 minutes walk away.

In the shopping malls there are often a bottle shop next to the supermarket and it's only a minor inconvenience to go from one to the other. 

I went to a bottle shop the other day to buy booze for a friend who was isolating.

If I'm eating out and the restaurant is BYO I usually don't drink but go the pub afterwards. 

[newjez]

4 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I don't drink at home.  I go to the pub.  If the pubs are closed as they were during lockdown,  I don't drink.

But if I did drink at home,  my local pub, 100 metres away,  has a bottle shop whereas the supermarkets are all 10 or 15 minutes walk away.

In the shopping malls there are often a bottle shop next to the supermarket and it's only a minor inconvenience to go from one to the other. 

I went to a bottle shop the other day to buy booze for a friend who was isolating.

If I'm eating out and the restaurant is BYO I usually don't drink but go the pub afterwards. 

I know a lot of people who only drink in the pub and never drink at home. I always assumed it was a British thing.

[Bulya]

8 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I don't drink at home.  I go to the pub.  If the pubs are closed as they were during lockdown,  I don't drink.

But if I did drink at home,  my local pub, 100 metres away,  has a bottle shop whereas the supermarkets are all 10 or 15 minutes walk away.

In the shopping malls there are often a bottle shop next to the supermarket and it's only a minor inconvenience to go from one to the other. 

I went to a bottle shop the other day to buy booze for a friend who was isolating.

If I'm eating out and the restaurant is BYO I usually don't drink but go the pub afterwards. 

You didn’t answer the question.  Why can’t you buy booze in the supermarket where you live?

[calNgary]

2 hours ago, Bulya said:

You didn’t answer the question.  Why can’t you buy booze in the supermarket where you live?

If he was referring to Surfers Parodies he is correct, Supermarkets here do not sell alcohol. They tend to have a BWS or similar nearby.

 Cal x

[Lavers]

16 minutes ago, calNgary said:

If he was referring to Surfers Parodies he is correct, Supermarkets here do not sell alcohol. They tend to have a BWS or similar nearby.

 Cal x

You can't buy alcohol in the supermarkets in Sout Aus either.

[Bulya]

1 hour ago, calNgary said:

If he was referring to Surfers Parodies he is correct, Supermarkets here do not sell alcohol. They tend to have a BWS or similar nearby.

 Cal x

Very strange 

[Parley]

BWS in the same building next to the supermarket.

[welljock]

12 minutes ago, Parley said:

BWS in the same building next to the supermarket.

Not always, the one in my suburb is a separate building 500m away. Even then it's not the same as buying alcohol in the supermarket

[Parley]

Just now, welljock said:

Not always, the one in my suburb is a separate building 500m away. Even then it's not the same as buying alcohol in the supermarket

No because it is illegal for the supermarket to sell alcohol. But they can sell zero alcohol spirits in there.

I never understand why anyone would pay $50 for a bottle of non alcoholic gin, but that is another topic.

[welljock]

3 minutes ago, Parley said:

No because it is illegal for the supermarket to sell alcohol. But they can sell zero alcohol spirits in there.

I never understand why anyone would pay $50 for a bottle of non alcoholic gin, but that is another topic.

The point was someone said that a thing they miss from the UK is being able to buy booze in the supermarket. Bulya says you can.

[Ken]

4 hours ago, Bulya said:

You didn’t answer the question.  Why can’t you buy booze in the supermarket where you live?

Laws on sale of Alcohol vary by state. In Queensland Supermarkets can't sell alcohol. In Victoria and NSW they can - but most choose not to. The exception is Aldi. You can buy alcohol in Aldi in Victoria and NSW (it's in a separate area of the store not in a regular aisle like in the UK but you still pay at the same till) but they can't sell it at all in Queensland. Even in Victoria Coles and Woolworths don't sell Alcohol but they normally have a Liquorland or BWS next door which is generally the same as in Queensland.

The layout of some of the older Coles stores in Victoria suggests that at one time you could collect alcohol from Liquorland during your shop - but access to Liquorland from the Supermarket has since been closed off and even when I first moved to Victoria in 2012 while you could enter Liquorland from the Supermarket you still had to pay in Liquorland and not at the Supermarket till.

[Parley]

8 minutes ago, Ken said:

Laws on sale of Alcohol vary by state. In Queensland Supermarkets can't sell alcohol. In Victoria and NSW they can - but most choose not to. The exception is Aldi. You can buy alcohol in Aldi in Victoria and NSW (it's in a separate area of the store not in a regular aisle like in the UK but you still pay at the same till) but they can't sell it at all in Queensland. Even in Victoria Coles and Woolworths don't sell Alcohol but they normally have a Liquorland or BWS next door which is generally the same as in Queensland.

The layout of some of the older Coles stores in Victoria suggests that at one time you could collect alcohol from Liquorland during your shop - but access to Liquorland from the Supermarket has since been closed off and even when I first moved to Victoria in 2012 while you could enter Liquorland from the Supermarket you still had to pay in Liquorland and not at the Supermarket till.

To sell alcohol a staff member has to have an RSA licence (Responsible Service of Alcohol). If they sold alcohol in the supermarket then every staff member would presumably have to have their RSA. Whereas by restricting it to sale in the ajoining BWS only the couple of staff who work in there would need the RSA licence.

[Bulya]

1 hour ago, Ken said:

Laws on sale of Alcohol vary by state. In Queensland Supermarkets can't sell alcohol. In Victoria and NSW they can - but most choose not to. The exception is Aldi. You can buy alcohol in Aldi in Victoria and NSW (it's in a separate area of the store not in a regular aisle like in the UK but you still pay at the same till) but they can't sell it at all in Queensland. Even in Victoria Coles and Woolworths don't sell Alcohol but they normally have a Liquorland or BWS next door which is generally the same as in Queensland.

The layout of some of the older Coles stores in Victoria suggests that at one time you could collect alcohol from Liquorland during your shop - but access to Liquorland from the Supermarket has since been closed off and even when I first moved to Victoria in 2012 while you could enter Liquorland from the Supermarket you still had to pay in Liquorland and not at the Supermarket till.

Every little corner shop and supermarket sells alcohol here.  They treat us like adults.  

[Blue Flu]

On 22/01/2022 at 04:07, MARYROSE02 said:

I was just thinking about Simple Radio. At home I use my phone as my radio, usually on 2GB via their app, or via Simple Radio for,  say, ABC Grandstand if I want to listen to the cricket, BBC Radio Solent if I'm thinking about "Home", Curtin FM on Perth which is my fave oldies station.  If I'm in a Go Get car I either listen to JJJ or sometimes to whatever station the previous driver was listening to - RN, 702, Smooth FM.

I watch every single Spurs game live (can you do that in England? Is every PL and European Cup game plus most of the FA Cup and League Cup shown live?)

I read all the match reports either on the Daily Mail site or "News Now - Spurs" site. 

I can't go to the ground of course but there's a pub where fellow Spurs fans go,  subject to Covid. 

Foxtel has both SKY Australia and SKY UK news plus BBC World News, CNN and Fox News. There's plenty of UK TV shows on the various channels I have.

I can't buy booze in the supermarket but so what? Pubs have bottle shops and there are stand alone bottle shops too, drive thru ones too. Do they have them in the UK?! And I like Aussie pubs and Aussie beer / wine. 

I like Aussie "Indian" food too and don't find it substandard compared to Pommie "Indian" food.  As long as the staff are fair dinkum Bangladeshi then their cuisine is fair dinkum too. And there's an A to Z of the rest of the world's cuisine here for me to do into. 

I like Australia's colonial history and its indigenous culture, both being the equal of pre-1788 history.  History is history regardless of which century.

It would be nice to ride a cycle in the New Forest again.  I hate urban cycling but that would be the same in London as it is in Sydney. My mum and dad are gone and I've sold my house in England and there nothing else that I'm desperate to physically appreciate in England now. 

Van life is a growing trend in UK. Around half a million already partaking. 

I listen to Radio Solent on occasions. Daily Mail , Sky News, Fox News I'm a bit concerned at times subvert your world view if taken seriously. I suppose in all fairness I should add Spurs to that list. 

I agree . Just back from South Coast WA and know a couple of great Indian restaurants , while hardly cheap turn out as good as most anywhere. Sadly never found a favourite in Perth though. I've only ever crossed a Bangla run Indian restaurant twice in Australia, one of those was in Sydney. The owner a Brick Lane boy. (Bangla Town East London)  Other here close to me in Leederville was called Brick Lane but didn't last. There attempt to bring British Indian food to the masses ended in failure.

Far easier to recall Australian history than British or European being of such short duration. While history is history some have a deep intricate story behind where they stand now.

Cycling even better in countries like Denmark and Germany. 

[Blue Flu]

On 24/01/2022 at 11:23, Parley said:

To sell alcohol a staff member has to have an RSA licence (Responsible Service of Alcohol). If they sold alcohol in the supermarket then every staff member would presumably have to have their RSA. Whereas by restricting it to sale in the ajoining BWS only the couple of staff who work in there would need the RSA licence.

There's a bit of paper for most everything. I guess flogging alcohol makes as much (or less) sense depending on your view as anything.

[Bulya]

On 24/01/2022 at 14:23, Parley said:

To sell alcohol a staff member has to have an RSA licence (Responsible Service of Alcohol). If they sold alcohol in the supermarket then every staff member would presumably have to have their RSA. Whereas by restricting it to sale in the ajoining BWS only the couple of staff who work in there would need the RSA licence.

Not here they don’t.

[Parley]

5 hours ago, Bulya said:

Not here they don’t.

I think they do. https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/s/article/liquor-licensing-and-permits-tab-for-employees