Get your food from the UK soon.

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Paddy Pumpkin
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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby Paddy Pumpkin » Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:32 am

I have lived in 5 (6 really) countries and I miss things from all of those countries. I also crave food from countries I haven't lived in but have visitied and tried the cuisine (sushi mostly). The only complaint I have about Spain is that the food is not as internationally varied as I am used to.

I guess that is as a result of Spanish food being so good that it is difficult for foreign foods to get a foothold with the wider Spanish public. This is not something I could say for the UK. It's taken a while in Spain but I have now found people who can supply food from all those countries.

Having said all of that, I have never supported anyone who made it harder and more expensive to get that food. Maybe the people in question didn't know or care.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby Free at Last » Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:37 am

Wicksey wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:04 am
I hope our local shop soon gets its supplies for their sake, as the brothers have built up a good little business there since they lost their mum a few years back.
So do I. Their delivery service has been great since lockdown and the bus services direct from Vélez to Torrox and Nerja were withdrawn, making it harder to visit the shop in person. They are definitely sourcing a lot more products from the Republic of Ireland now, as can be seen from their website, and good luck to them.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby katy » Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:46 am

Well according to some expats shouldn’t be watching UK tv either ( bit difficult if they don’t speak Spanish). I am surprised a minority even soil their hands on a British speaking forum ha ha.
BTW Wicksey, your mention of Branston Beans, I had never heard of them but this week saw a display offer for them in a supermarket and a large ad in the Times yesterday.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby markwilding » Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:47 am

Wicksey wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:04 am Why do people have to have a go at those living abroad who want a few items of food from their home country?

This is a very complicated question because everybody is different. On the one hand, there have ben posts by some who say they have totally cut off most ties with the UK and on the other as we all know, there are others who seem to live a life of Britain in the sun without very much contact with the locals. There are plenty of others who enjoy living in Spain but still find some parts of their new life extremely difficult at times so for them having access to things like British TV and food from home helps to tip the balance in favour of staying.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby katy » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:03 pm

I used to go to Gibraltar monthly for a stock up. I also preferred the way they jointed their meat, especially lamb.

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Wicksey
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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby Wicksey » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:11 pm

Like Paddy says, I miss the variety of international foods as well. I have lived in France and there were things we had there that we liked and miss. On rare trips back to the UK I am always amazed at the choice of different food in the big supermarkets.

I love Greek food and although I can make most of it, Russells sometimes stocks taramasalata which is a real treat. Lidl sometimes has a 'Greek week' with several very good quality dips and tins of dolmades. I can't see what's wrong with fancying some of the things that you can really only source from a British supermarket. I made rhubarb crumble last week .... delicious and not a flavour you usually get here.

When we go to the Canaries, we love the local food when we eat out, but always pop into Iceland to buy breaded plaice for a meal at our rental house! There's some things that there's no substitute for. Whilst Mercadona has improved its range over the years, stocking such international luxuries as houmous and foccacia bread, it is very traditional otherwise and I just like variety in what I eat.

Re the Branston beans, I can't remember where I first bought them but I much prefer them to Heinz. They seem to have a richer sauce.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby Wicksey » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:21 pm

markwilding wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:47 am
Wicksey wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:04 am Why do people have to have a go at those living abroad who want a few items of food from their home country?
There are plenty of others who enjoy living in Spain but still find some parts of their new life extremely difficult at times so for them having access to things like British TV and food from home helps to tip the balance in favour of staying.
I wouldn't say that's my reason for fancying rhubarb crumble Mark, I just happen to like food and flavours I cannot usually get from Mercadona/Lidl/Aldi which are my local supermarkets.

I also watch UK TV because I find Spanish TV pretty awful. I sometimes watch the news in Spanish and most days the weather programme on Antena at 4pm, but I trawl through the terrestial Spanish channels in the evening and the only good programmes are English ones anyway (LA2 often shows Jamie Oliver or history programmes from UK TV).

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby costakid » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:26 pm

I still think about the ducks tongues that I used to eat when i went to to HK and China on business in the 90s. Delicious but not everyones cup of tea.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby spanish_lad » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:46 pm

Iceland & tesco (both overseas.es really) both stock branston beans
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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby peteroldracer » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:51 pm

Back in the day I used to deal with Morrisons supermarkets. The late Sir Ken Morrison used to visit all the stores unannounced, and have a breakfast in the ones that had cafes. he insisted that the beans served had to be Branston.
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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby Free at Last » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:09 pm

Wicksey wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:21 pm
markwilding wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:47 am
Wicksey wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:04 am Why do people have to have a go at those living abroad who want a few items of food from their home country?
There are plenty of others who enjoy living in Spain but still find some parts of their new life extremely difficult at times so for them having access to things like British TV and food from home helps to tip the balance in favour of staying.
I wouldn't say that's my reason for fancying rhubarb crumble Mark, I just happen to like food and flavours I cannot usually get from Mercadona/Lidl/Aldi which are my local supermarkets.

I also watch UK TV because I find Spanish TV pretty awful. I sometimes watch the news in Spanish and most days the weather programme on Antena at 4pm, but I trawl through the terrestial Spanish channels in the evening and the only good programmes are English ones anyway (LA2 often shows Jamie Oliver or history programmes from UK TV).
Same here. I don't find my life here difficult, but I do like more variety in what I eat than is available in a Spanish supermarket - although, as you said, there are quite a lot of things now available in Mercadona that we never saw when we first arrived here. We wouldn't starve without the British items we buy, but it is nice to have them for a change.

Before the pandemic I used to go to the UK twice a year and bring back some items we like (some of which we won't be allowed to bring back even for personal use now) and go to Gibraltar once, maybe twice a year and stock up at Morrisons. Having a local source has been very useful though, not having been able to do any of that for the past year. No point in going to Gibraltar any more even when travel restrictions permit, as there are so many things we could not bring through Customs that it's not worth it.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby katy » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:21 pm

costakid wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:26 pm I still think about the ducks tongues that I used to eat when i went to to HK and China on business in the 90s. Delicious but not everyones cup of tea.
My worse nightmare in Spain was visiting distant relatives near Cadiz. Dinner looked lovely all set out under the trees. Out came the snails in tomato sauce followed by a large dish of whole cooked birds which they had caught in nets around the finca. From tiny sparrows to blackbirds, they ate them whole and spit out the bones. Fortunately there was a large group so was easy to skip. I was sick the next morning just thinking about it. Chicken claws are popular too, There are some weird things in UK too, pork scratchings, jellied eels etc. Our french friends like eating pigeon, one each. ugh!

Main course was rabbit but after seeing them being punched at the back of the neck and hung out to dry in the sun I passed on that.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby Paddy Pumpkin » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:53 pm

Free at Last wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:09 pm
Wicksey wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:21 pm
markwilding wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:47 am
There are plenty of others who enjoy living in Spain but still find some parts of their new life extremely difficult at times so for them having access to things like British TV and food from home helps to tip the balance in favour of staying.
I wouldn't say that's my reason for fancying rhubarb crumble Mark, I just happen to like food and flavours I cannot usually get from Mercadona/Lidl/Aldi which are my local supermarkets.

I also watch UK TV because I find Spanish TV pretty awful. I sometimes watch the news in Spanish and most days the weather programme on Antena at 4pm, but I trawl through the terrestial Spanish channels in the evening and the only good programmes are English ones anyway (LA2 often shows Jamie Oliver or history programmes from UK TV).
Same here. I don't find my life here difficult, but I do like more variety in what I eat than is available in a Spanish supermarket - although, as you said, there are quite a lot of things now available in Mercadona that we never saw when we first arrived here. We wouldn't starve without the British items we buy, but it is nice to have them for a change.

Before the pandemic I used to go to the UK twice a year and bring back some items we like (some of which we won't be allowed to bring back even for personal use now) and go to Gibraltar once, maybe twice a year and stock up at Morrisons. Having a local source has been very useful though, not having been able to do any of that for the past year. No point in going to Gibraltar any more even when travel restrictions permit, as there are so many things we could not bring through Customs that it's not worth it.

Re Gibraltar I am open to correction here but as I understand the new deal (that is half agreed) means/ will mean Gibraltar is in Schengen. There will be no border checks between Spain and Gibraltar. So just the same as you can bring a ham sandwich from Portugal to Spain you can bring one from Gibraltar. The full deal has not been published but realistically they can't be in Schengen but still have customs posts. This is what is causing all the problems in Northern Ireland....some didn't realise what the free trade agreement meant,

Slight tangent here but that is why some have a problem with the deal as Gibraltar authorities will not have the final say on who can enter Gibraltar from outside the EU. Yes we could have the situation that BoJo fly to Gibraltar and the Gibraltar border control allows him in but the frontex EU border guards say no. Additionally Gibraltar will have to equalise their duties on alcohol and tobacco which will decimate their high street shops. This duty is 27% of the government income.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby markwilding » Sun Mar 14, 2021 2:00 pm

Wicksey wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:11 pm
I wouldn't say that's my reason for fancying rhubarb crumble Mark, I just happen to like food and flavours I cannot usually get from Mercadona/Lidl/Aldi which are my local supe

I also watch UK TV because I find Spanish TV pretty awful. I sometimes watch the news in Spanish and most days the weather programme on Antena at 4pm, but I trawl through the terrestial Spanish channels in the evening and the only good programmes are English ones anyway (LA2 often shows Jamie Oliver or history programmes from UK TV).
I would say, I am similar to you and Free at Last but I had a friend here who really suffered living here for reasons I found difficult to understand. In the end every little thing annoyed him and he went back.
Having said that, rhubarb is definitely not one of the delicacies I miss. Apple crumble is my preference. I struggled to find salad cream last summer and missed that with my salads.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby Wicksey » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:06 pm

Some people never seem to settle here Mark. I have seen neighbours come and go over the years. It's the ones that always refer to England as 'home' even after they've lived here for years I've found to be the ones that go back. My home is here and the UK seems like a foreign country to me.

A fresh glass of real ale is nice though when we go back. Lidl had 'beer week' the other week and we bought the last remaining 4 boxes of real ale which we are currently enjoying. I think Lidl has been good at bringing a bit of variety at times. but during Covid it seems to have cut back on the specials weeks a bit.

Katy, pigeon breast meat is nice but very tiny. I like game and have bought partridge breast from Lidl at Christmas. A shame you can't get venison here, although perhaps in the north it may be available? I lived in foie gras country in France, so there was a lot of duck on the menu, together with pigeon, and guinea fowl was very popular which you never see here. It was often part of a menu de jour there.
Last edited by Wicksey on Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby katy » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:08 pm

Not sure how there will be an agreement with the border if Spain can have the final say. There are a lot of troop movements from Gibraltar to UK and back. There were over 80 soldiers on manoeuvres in Gibraltar last week. Also VOX is making a lot of noise. Perhaps Boris could build a tunnel :lol:
There is also the fact that the EU Parliament have not ratified the trade deal. Could all be torn up by June.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby Free at Last » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:09 pm

Paddy Pumpkin wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:53 pm

Re Gibraltar I am open to correction here but as I understand the new deal (that is half agreed) means/ will mean Gibraltar is in Schengen. There will be no border checks between Spain and Gibraltar. So just the same as you can bring a ham sandwich from Portugal to Spain you can bring one from Gibraltar. The full deal has not been published but realistically they can't be in Schengen but still have customs posts. This is what is causing all the problems in Northern Ireland....some didn't realise what the free trade agreement meant,

Slight tangent here but that is why some have a problem with the deal as Gibraltar authorities will not have the final say on who can enter Gibraltar from outside the EU. Yes we could have the situation that BoJo fly to Gibraltar and the Gibraltar border control allows him in but the frontex EU border guards say no. Additionally Gibraltar will have to equalise their duties on alcohol and tobacco which will decimate their high street shops. This duty is 27% of the government income.
It will be good if that deal is agreed, but until it's signed and sealed (and these days, even that can't be relied upon, it seems) I'm not counting on it. If it does come to pass, one thing that will no longer be on my shopping list from Morrisons is sausages - the ones I now buy from a British butcher down the coast (made on the premises) are far superior.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby katy » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:19 pm

Wicksey wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:06 pm Some people never seem to settle here Mark. I have seen neighbours come and go over the years. It's the ones that always refer to England as 'home' even after they've lived here for years I've found to be the ones that go back. My home is here and the UK seems like a foreign country to me.

A fresh glass of real ale is nice though when we go back. Lidl had 'beer week' the other week and we bought the last remaining 4 boxes of real ale which we are currently enjoying. I think Lidl has been good at bringing a bit of variety at times. but during Covid it seems to have cut back on the specials weeks a bit.

Katy, pigeon breast meat is nice but very tiny. I like game and have bought partridge breast from Lidl at Christmas. A shame you can't get venison here, although perhaps in the north it may be available? I lived in foie gras country in France, so there was a lot of duck on the menu, together with pigeon, and guinea fowl was very popular which you never see here. It was often part of a menu de jour there.
I know people who have been in Spain 25 years and still have traditional Sunday lunch nearly every week. They also eat very early, 5.30/6pm :| We have never got out of the habit of eating late, about 8pm but has been a little earlier since family here during lockdown. With our Spanish friends would be lucky to be sat down for dinner at 10pm.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby Free at Last » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:36 pm

Wicksey wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:06 pm
Katy, pigeon breast meat is nice but very tiny. I like game and have bought partridge breast from Lidl at Christmas. A shame you can't get venison here, although perhaps in the north it may be available? I lived in foie gras country in France, so there was a lot of duck on the menu, together with pigeon, and guinea fowl was very popular which you never see here. It was often part of a menu de jour there.
I have seen venison on sale in the Atarazanas market in Málaga capital, in the winter.

I have only eaten pigeon once in my life, when invited to stay at the country house belonging to the wealthy parents of a school friend. For dinner pigeon pie was served up (pigeons shot by the man who looked after the grounds for them). I nearly choked forcing it down for the sake of politeness (and it wasn´t improved by the lead shot still in it), the taste was far too strong for me.

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Re: Get your food from the UK soon.

Postby elusive » Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:30 pm

Paddy Pumpkin wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:53 pm
Free at Last wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:09 pm
Wicksey wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:21 pm

I wouldn't say that's my reason for fancying rhubarb crumble Mark, I just happen to like food and flavours I cannot usually get from Mercadona/Lidl/Aldi which are my local supermarkets.

I also watch UK TV because I find Spanish TV pretty awful. I sometimes watch the news in Spanish and most days the weather programme on Antena at 4pm, but I trawl through the terrestial Spanish channels in the evening and the only good programmes are English ones anyway (LA2 often shows Jamie Oliver or history programmes from UK TV).
Same here. I don't find my life here difficult, but I do like more variety in what I eat than is available in a Spanish supermarket - although, as you said, there are quite a lot of things now available in Mercadona that we never saw when we first arrived here. We wouldn't starve without the British items we buy, but it is nice to have them for a change.

Before the pandemic I used to go to the UK twice a year and bring back some items we like (some of which we won't be allowed to bring back even for personal use now) and go to Gibraltar once, maybe twice a year and stock up at Morrisons. Having a local source has been very useful though, not having been able to do any of that for the past year. No point in going to Gibraltar any more even when travel restrictions permit, as there are so many things we could not bring through Customs that it's not worth it.

Re Gibraltar I am open to correction here but as I understand the new deal (that is half agreed) means/ will mean Gibraltar is in Schengen. There will be no border checks between Spain and Gibraltar. So just the same as you can bring a ham sandwich from Portugal to Spain you can bring one from Gibraltar. The full deal has not been published but realistically they can't be in Schengen but still have customs posts. This is what is causing all the problems in Northern Ireland....some didn't realise what the free trade agreement meant,

Slight tangent here but that is why some have a problem with the deal as Gibraltar authorities will not have the final say on who can enter Gibraltar from outside the EU. Yes we could have the situation that BoJo fly to Gibraltar and the Gibraltar border control allows him in but the frontex EU border guards say no. Additionally Gibraltar will have to equalise their duties on alcohol and tobacco which will decimate their high street shops. This duty is 27% of the government income.
It will be like Sweden and Norway. Norway is part of schengen but not the E.U.. so there will be random border checks. Hopefully all the uk plated cars!!


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