As a follow up thread to Movi's about cars not sold in UK what about other consumer products?
Currently 'en vacances' in France and enjoying a glass of Ricard as an aperetif. Only French pastis sold in UK seems to be the cloyingly sweet Pernod. Heineken also choose not to distribute Bieres Pelforth in Uk.
Conversely no French supermarket seems to carry the tinned or bottled Frankfurter Sausages stocked by Aldi and every other UK chain that, with tinned lentils, are one of our reserve meals for late arrivals after shops close.
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Can't remember the name, but there is a French syrup used like squash, sickly sweet and in loads of flavours, including a refreshing mint. Sold in tin cylinders.
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Make your own Pernod. Better than shop-bought ! Learnt that in a B&B on the Somme a few years ago. Milk of amnesia !
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You don't happen to mean Teisseire Syrop do you, zippy? If you do, I used to think it was France only, but these days it's in Waitrose and even on Amazon.
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>> You don't happen to mean Teisseire Syrop do you, zippy? If you do, I used
>> to think it was France only, but these days it's in Waitrose and even on
>> Amazon.
>>
Yes!
Thanks Crankcase.
They've changed the packaging though. Just remembered it from my childhood stays on the continent.
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>> They've changed the packaging though. Just remembered it from my childhood stays on the continent.
Huge rack of sirops in the Carrefour we've been using for last few days. Not just Teisseire but several other brands too. I have a list of flavours to take back for various grown up kids in family including Grenadine (mixed summer fruits) for my own two and Iced Tea for Miss B's sister in law to be.
Sirop avec l'eau is standard stuff on kid's menus. Probably also an ingredient in the lurid coloured drinks the locals sip outside pavement cafes.
On our first visit to France with kids when they were 4 & 6 I mixed up sirop de cassis with creme de cassis and was reprimanded by the waitress for trying to by alcohol for a minor!!!
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I've never been of the type to travel with teabags and corn flakes and typically find for every product I miss there's one I like that I can't get at home.
In my experience the differences between most countries in Europe is simply a question of demand. In many places where I go / have been outside Europe the climate and infrastructure have significant effect.
I think many people, though not most here, miss the truly substantial difference between EU and not EU.
Within the EU if someone wants to sell their product in another country, then they are able to do so. Currently.
Free movement of goods within the EU has helped the UK because it has enabled various countries to use the EU as a single export target in their business plans. In the future the lack of the additional weight is likely to make the UK substantially less attractive since it will be a standalone market with greatly reduced relevance.
Remember the joys of duty free and import restrictions?
No doubt the UK will try to protect its status as a global exporter and importer. The best way will be for them to agree to continue to adopt identical standards to the EU. Which they will no doubt do.
Still, price worth paying and all that.
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>>Still, price worth paying and all that.
Certainly going to miss my duty free booze and the Mrs is going to miss her discounted perfumes!
I suspect many of the thing I like to be more expensive after a hard brexit, as we will no longer be able to pop over to the continent to buy the equivalent - remember how expensive cars used to be here before we were able to order the equivalent in Europe and get a UK spec car delivered!
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>> Still, price worth paying and all that.
>>
On the other hand, I imagine the rest of Europe is looking forwards to being saved from the UK supermarket source frankfurter and lentil dish that formed part of the OPs first post!!
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The worse thing about Brexit is all the American foodstuffs Schiesß we will have to put up with.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 4 Aug 17 at 23:13
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>> The worse thing about Brexit is all the American foodstuffs Schiesß we will have
>> to put up with.
>>
Gawd, American beer, crisps, chocolate, sweets and cars are bally awful!
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>> >> The worse thing about Brexit is all the American foodstuffs Schiesß we will
>> have
>> >> to put up with.
>> >>
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>> Gawd, American beer, crisps, chocolate, sweets and cars are bally awful!
American chickens washed in chlorine, American beef saturated with hormones, everything that grows GM'd.
We'll all end up looking and talking like Trump. And thats a bad bad thing folks, really.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 4 Aug 17 at 23:23
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>> We'll all end up looking and talking like Trump. And thats a bad bad thing
>> folks, really.
>>
....as long as none of it affects the mind, we'll be OK.
....oh, wait a minute......
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also choose
>> not to distribute Bieres Pelforth
good shout, that was my first choice in nearly all parts of france for a lager, only place being the far south west where it was EKI.
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Going the other way, SWMBO always takes egg cups abroad because she does like a boiled egg for breakfast. Seems the rest of Europe doesn't.
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They don't go in for kettles much either. Savages.
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Kaz, the limon variant is lovely, not sold here as it contains quinine and we don't allow that in products aimed at children ...
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My Missus would kill for a Sagres Radler.
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I note that Durian ice cream is now available so cross that off the not available list.
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Well mr bathtub
The hotel in tenner iffy I've just spent 3 weeks in had both 3 minute & 6 minute eggs available at brekkie. And a plentiful supply of egg cups for the aforementioned
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Tenerife isn't "abroad" , it's part of Romford.
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The funniest thing you've ever said.
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And of course, the truest.
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Tenerife surpassed my expectations, only a tiny part of the island being twinned with Romford. Turn right leaving TFS and rather than arriving in the fleshpots should you turn left, you experience some local colour. No fried breakfasts, no 'lucky lucky' boys selling imitation tat, or being enticed into a place selling overpriced food.
Wonderful live music every Friday & Saturday night on the plaza by the beach in El Medano... choirs, a half decent orchestra, an ensemble of accordian players, a large folk band.
Yet only 10 miles away, as the crow flies, as much drunken debauchery as you can shake a stick at in Veronica's.
Last edited by: legacylad on Sat 5 Aug 17 at 22:18
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I like the Canary Islands a lot. Real gentle, relaxing time to be spent there.
Just nice.
All you need to do is make sure you choose the area that suits you.
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Plenty of nice places if you turn left, you just need to drive past Playa de las Americas. Canaries in general are the only short haul place to get some sun in Jan/Feb.
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>>Currently 'en vacances' in France and enjoying a glass of Ricard as an aperetif. Only French pastis sold in UK seems to be the cloyingly sweet Pernod.<<
Ricard Pastis was definitely available in the UK during the 70s and 80s, and according to Mr Google, it's still available today.
You're unlikely to find it in many pubs, but your friendly local publican will probably buy in a bottle or two if he thinks you're likely to drink it.
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>> Ricard Pastis was definitely available in the UK during the 70s and 80s, and according
>> to Mr Google, it's still available today.
Was looking for stuff to drink at home. Cannot find it in any supermarket near Northampton. Perhaps specialist off licences would be a better hunting ground.
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For gawds sake, none of this fancy frog stuff, drink gin or port like a proper brit
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Was looking for stuff to drink at home. Cannot find it in any supermarket near
>> Northampton. Perhaps specialist off licences would be a better hunting ground.
>>
Bit of a trek but www.beersofeurope.co.uk/ricard
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When I was in my twenties and should have known better, I used to have a penchant for Ricard. In milk.
I'm sorry, had you just eaten?
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Steel almirahs are not available in UK.
a sample is shown here
5.imimg.com/data5/JC/JH/MY-26433306/slimline-with-locker-2-door-500x500.jpg
The advantage is ready made wardrobe and secured because made of steel.
Nearly every Indian household has one or more of these almirahs. Every almirah usually has a separately lockable inside compartment where people keep jewellery.
These items are hard to break into without the keys. No digital gizmo, pure mechanical security.
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Better than Ricard is Henri Bardoin pastis. You can buy it in Waitrose.
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Wow Brompt I just thought it was me who liked Ricard in the country! I got the taste for it on my honeymoon in Paris 30 odd years ago.
Luckily my in-laws live in Folkestone and visit Cité Europe regularly, last time they went I got them to get me a bottle, 750ml was €16, although they had it on special and 1 litre was only €18.
Doesn't last that long, even managed to find an original Ricard water carafe at a car-boot.
Often offered Pernod instead of Ricard, nothing like each other, I think Mr Pernod came from Switzerland?
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I've not seen Gauloise cigarettes for a few years now.
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>> I've not seen Gauloise cigarettes for a few years now.
You can't see any branded ciggies now
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>> You can't see any branded ciggies now
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Although they do still have the brand name on the pack, if you look hard enough. I've had to buy a cigarette case on ebay because of those disgusting images they put on the packs. How they expect youngsters to take up smoking if they frighten them with stuff like that beats me.
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What impresses me about America is the vastly greater range of parts and servicing facilities available for most mechanical things, especially cars.
Many times when I have googled for a particular car part I find none in the UK but a ready availability in the US. Someone on the Volvo forum was looking for a new or reconditioned steering rack for a 240. Unavailable here, but loads of suppliers and reconditioners over there.
Where we have embraced the chuck it out not worth repairing ethos, Americans seem to encourage specialist companies that recondition or sell the inner bits, in the way that we used to. I know Americans are backward in so many ways, but this characteristic I do admire.
I hope with Brexit we get some proper free-trade agreements with the rest of the world, especially America. It's exorbitant that ordinary things bought from America get a massive customs charge, and then a further Post Office admin charge. Last week a car heater hose, unavailable in the UK, was only £10 from America including postage, but then incurred £10 customs duty and £8 PO charge. This wasn't mentioned in the advert, in fact I didn't know it was coming from America - the seller had a UK web address.
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>>What impresses me about America is the vastly greater range of parts and servicing facilities available for most mechanical things, especially cars.
Is it down to skills? We don't train people to do technical jobs here. I got a cylinder head re-ground years ago for about £40. Nowadays they would quote you for a new engine!
Is it down to trust? In 1988 I had a fault in the electrics of my car. The first garage I took it too wanted to charge me £300, the car wasn't worth that. The second garage actually charged me £2!!! It was a small length of wire that had come lose under the distributor cap. The first garage had taken off the distributor cap and I guess saw the fault.
Unfortunately the first garage has thrived. The second not. I have never been back to the first, avoiding their petrol station, food outlet and any other business connected to the local owners.
America does business differently. When we were lending on "inventory" out there (before the crash), we would get a local valuation expert to value it. If the deal went pear-shaped the expert would cut us a check (sic) for the value of the stock remaining, based on his valuation. No ifs, no buts. Try getting that deal here! Of course, the experts new their market and built margins in, but it did make life easier!
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Is it down to skills? We don't train people to do technical jobs here. I
>> got a cylinder head re-ground years ago for about £40. Nowadays they would quote you for a new engine!
I think they are still about, but perhaps they don't sell/deal with the public. Perhaps it's a business to business type of market now?
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Try:
www.corrycylinderheads.co.uk/
Just about every valve in my MX5 leaked when I bought it. These people fixed it.
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Corry - love their testimonial which starts - "when I need a replacement cylinder head...
How many cylinder heads can a man (or woman, or transgender) need in a lifetime?
Last edited by: smokie on Sun 6 Aug 17 at 23:02
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>> man (or woman, or transgender)
Could get into trouble leaving it there. LGBTQ+ is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and others.
But yes you'd assume this is not a problem you'd want on a regular basis across cars!
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>> You can't see any branded ciggies now
>>
If I smoked I'd want to rebel against this state censorship and sport a branded cigarette case instead:
tinyurl.com/y8nehs6v
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Love those!
It takes one rebel to recognise another Cliff;)
Pat
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Me too. I've always resented being told what I should or shouldn't do. Two fingers and all that.
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Laptops with US keyboard is not generally available in UK. I find US keyboard easier to type, especially because of larger left shift key. £ sign is not a problem as it can be remapped using software.
Some Amazon sellers do supply laptops with US keyboard although warranty is questionable.
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Products Not Available in UK - zippy
