The butchers and bakers are not self serve, so why the need to search bags? The fruit barn may be self serve, but if the child seat is not being used, you can put the fruit there. The reason people shop outside supermarkets is because they CAN and the quality/price combination is better. Is this 20 years behind the times?

BTW what a sad whinge this all is. My wife met a refugee from the Sudan today. She's 31 and has six children, married at 15 as the second or is it first wife of two. After 14 years in a camp in Nigeria, she has a chance to come to Oz and husband refuses so she comes on her own. Living in a house with a stuffed plumbing system till yesterday, they were using bottled water for everything! Including washing.

Needless to say, she doesn't have parking hassles: she has no #$%$#$ car!

Where does that leave the Tesco sad sacks?

Having a bad day Mr Yamahaha?

Herrchook

Not at all Im just an angry Jock!
You know me

That sounds great - better than here I would say. Can I just add that when I was last in OZ I was so totally captivated by it all that I don't think there was one thing I missed about shopping at home! I used to love trying all the new foods and brands I handed seen before - call it novelty factor but it was great, and I seem to remember that despite being a poor backpacker, I ate more healthily there than I had here. Actually, I lie, my dad's a butcher and I missed his sausages, they are the best - I wish I could convince him to move with us and bring his recipe with him. Hmmmm, maybe a good business opportunity there!

BTW - it's not wrong to miss things from home you know, it IS allowed. We're all human after all, just don't moan about it all the time.

I completely agree with all those who can't understand the British obsession with supermarkets. We have all been brainwashed to believe that having everything under one roof is what we should all want!!!! Nope that is what Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco's want, they then have a captive audience and can get away with poorer quality meat, fish and veg because of the 'convenience' of being able to get it all under one roof.

As one poster said earlier, veg and fruit goes off after a couple of days because it has been travelling the world before it even gets to the supermarket counter.

If Oz has loads of quality independent shops you should support them and use them and don't let it go the way that we have in the UK!

(Sorry getting a bit evangelistic here, my pet cause at the moment)

Flutterby

I think you need a cold one mate! Maybe I'll go buy you some in Tescos. Oh, on second thoughts, maybe not - it would be warm

DAMN STRAIGHT!

Here, here!

G'day!
That one 'poster' was me! HURRAH! One goes to a 'different' country to enjoy and explore different experiences; a different culture; a different way of doing things - A different way of life. Wouldn't it be nice if I could visit England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and find VARIETY! But no... it's the same old same old with the same 'high street' transplanted into different locations. The same Boots. The same Asda. The same Tesco's. The same B&Q. The same Sainsbury's. The same Marks and Spencer... selling exactly the same M&S stuff every other store in the UK has to offer turning the people of Inverness, Cardiff and Hastings and York into lovely little compliant clones of each other. Is this a security blanket thing for you? Do you feel threatened if it's unfamiliar? Shop arround in Oz people! BUY INDEPENDANT! BE INDIVIDUAL! If you really want big business to dress you and feed you; dictate to you how to think and feel, then supply your booze... come back to the UK!

You'll be much happier!

Iolair.

Couldn't agree more. I would sooner die than by meat from any supermarket (still in the UK). That is what the butcher is for. Similarly veg - we have a great nursery not too far with fab veg. The supermarket gets used for milk, yogurts, tinned toms. Go to the baker for bread.

I don't understand how, if you have children, people can give them processed ready meals night after night even when they work. The rubbish that is going in their systems is part of the reason for many children not concentrating properly at school, becoming obese, etc etc. It takes no time to throw together a fresh stir fry, spanish omelette, etc. Even a more substantial meal doesn't need to take more than half an hour and that way I do know what is going in to my children.

If I can cook a decent meal with very little salt, tons of flavour and NO sugar then I don't see why M&S and all the others can't. Sorry rant over. Just one of my bug bears and I can't wait to get to Aus shops for decent fruit and veg and more sensible choice (for me anyway).

Here, here!

OZ food is fresher and better quality then Pom food. Britain has to import alot of its food which means its not as fresh while in OZ most of our meat, fish, fruit and vegetables has been freshly produced in OZ. This is because OZ has different climates for example in the tropical north you can grow Banana's and watermelons for example and Potaoes and apples in the cold south.
Aussie meat is the best quality in the world none of that foot n mouth and mad cow disease. ln Japanese supermarkets some of them refuse to buy any meat that is'nt from OZ or NZ.

But how long does it take, to get them to eat it

Completely agree with you.

A

Whats the difference between shipping, apples from Tasmania up to Q'land, and apples from france to the UK ?

Or Beef from Ireland to the UK, Or Beef from from Q'land to Vic, Or Grapes from the Murray up to Q'land. Or grapes from france and spain, to the UK ?

Salmon from Tasmania all around Aussie. Salmon from scotland, all around the UK. etc etc etc.

All the above, from europe can now come in by road or rail, the trip across the channel only takes 2 hours by sea.


It's also a furphy that the Aussie produces more fresh fish than the UK, as the north atlantic, and north sea are some of the most prolific fisheries in the world.

It's warehousing and distribution thats the main food handling difference in the UK, rather than the locale at which they are produced.


As for those that love to shop around over here, Good on yer !! you've obviously got a lot more time on your hands than I/we have.

I guess we do have more choice in small outlets, I personally rarely have time to use them, and would much rather have all of the produce under one roof.

This is one Aussiephile, that loves english supermarkets.

In my opinion, the biggest reason for the popularity of supermarkets in the UK, is not the shopping-under-one-roof feature, it's the parking. Why go shopping in the high street when you have to pay for parking, and more seriously, when you have to pay a £20-£40 fine for being 5 minutes late getting back to your car.

When I was in the UK, there were lots of complaints about the out-of-town shopping centres killing the high street and the blame was put firmly on the supermarkets. Personally I blame the councils for the demise of the shopping street because of their obsessive use of parking fees and fines. This is the reason why France still has viable high streets even though their hypermarkets are much larger and more convenient than the UK's supermarkets.

A