The same old complaints
 

I was just thinking, its funny this forum. I often meet British people complaining about the rising immigrant population in the UK.

they dont settle in
they expect to bring their culture here and change our ways.
If they come over here they should live by our rules
they come over here and complain they dont like it, if its so bad why dont they go home.
the thing is they dont mix, you see, keep themselves to themselves


blah blah same old xenophobia that is found the world over.


funny isnt it.
Vivienne
if I cant spell its because I am typing with one hand and my left hand doesnt spell well.

Re: The same old complaints
 

Maybe the aussies feel the same way?

Re: The same old complaints
 

That complaint gets on my nerves, although I heard it a lot in the UK, specially as I lived in The Midlands for 9 years... why on earth do people think that? I love the diversity of different and new...!?! Suppose those people are just afraid of change..

*ponders*

Em x

Re: The same old complaints
 

What I hear a lot...............and it drives me mad.................is......'Oh Coles isnt like Tesco's is it'?!!!!

Re: The same old complaints
 

I agree although there is a difference between 'rules' as in laws and way of life. The former I agree with the latter I don't.

Re: The same old complaints
 

Indeed! I did mean way of life... laws broken should be punished just as much as the next person, and on this point, I do think deportation should be a consideration and if necessary, brought into play... set an example of what we will tolerate and what we won't..

As for not conforming to our way of life.. well, horses for courses I say.. you are who you are and everyone does things differently and that makes my life more interesting than the same old same old..

Em x

Re: The same old complaints
 

I think I am living in Australia try to enjoy Australian life and after 6 years for the first time this christmas I was looking forward to being warm and enjoying my christmas in the garden. Every other year I pined for cold.

I am so guilty of the Tescos M&S thing! I miss tescos like mad. if only I had tescos my life would be complete.

New Years resolution, never mention Tescos again. Thats it, its out of my life ;)

Re: The same old complaints
 

I was glad to get rid of Tescos.. they just seemed to take over everything in the last few years.. all the little shops went out of business.. it was all either Tescos or Boots the chemist or nothing else (am being extreme here of course).. tho I spent a great deal of money in Tescos and Boots! haha!

I miss M&S tho... was thinking of writing a weekly letter to their CEO asking for them to start some branches in Australia (there is one in SIngapore!!!) a bit like Shawshank Redemption and their library! haha! You never know! I am also considering haranging Next to deliver abroad too..

Em x

Re: The same old complaints
 

That's true. I LOVE Tesco now, but that's because it's covenient even though I know it is having a negative effect on other shops in the area. I want to embrace that when I get to Sydney - doing my food shopping at the supermarket, and going elsewhere for clothes, shoes, bags, gifts etc. Though there may be an adjustment period where I stomp my feet and moan... :blink:

Re: The same old complaints
 

I havent as yet, it does take a little adjustment tho to get back in the habit of NOT relying on buying everything under one roof! It is strange going to a supermarket and not being able to buy your wine there for instance! lol! But they usually have a bottleshop (not called Office licence here!) next door or near by...

I buy my fruit and veg from our Farmer Market and the local fruit/veg shop.. and I always use the butcher to buy meat for the week... This way of life suits me much better... I do use Coles/Woolsworths most weeks too for the tinned stuff/household.. what me and OH do now is buy up a months worth of supermarket shopping so we don't have to keep going back in..

Em x

The same old complaints
 

I must admit during long breaks to Australia, I found it refreshing the shelves are not packed with package food from Tesco's etc.

I love the fact the focus appears to be around fresh produce, bakeries etc. It reminded me of the good ole days, when butchers were a butchers and you would nip to the bakers for your bread etc.

I am sure once we move, I will be banging on about M&S etc but I welcome the change and can't wait to embrace it.. It will be nice to be able to cook from scratch again without relying on everything pre-ready. Although give me time..

Re: The same old complaints
 

Is it compulsory to eat packaged meals in the UK then:confused:

Re: The same old complaints
 

Are we talking about Australia?
I did find this to be very much the case when living in France,also on visits to Germany both have a very high standard of fresh produce with wonderful bread.
Has anyone noticed the indifferent quality of a lot of the bread here?

Re: The same old complaints
 

The supermarket bread is pretty dire in my opinion.. our local bakers bread is way too scrummy and is killing my waistline! :lol:

Em x

Re: The same old complaints
 

I do that too! :D

No it's not compulsory but there are a lot of them and it is easier for a working family to buy frozen rather than fresh stuff.

Another example is that I used to buy a lot of shopping from the internet, my main shop was done at Asda.co.uk and I would buy my veggies, tinned stuff, cleaning products etc from there - this I would do every month.

Every second month I would fill up my chest freezer in the garage with stuff from the freezer shop. I could buy the same stuff from the freezer shop that I could get from Asda for less than half price. Wasn't so much of an easiness thing, more of a price thing for us.

We didn't have any greengrocers, butchers or anything like that left where I come from - sadly the supermarkets wiped them out a few years before we moved here. Pretty crap really to say that William Morisson made all his money from a stall in the markets :( the very same ones he eventually helped to kill off




Tell me about it! Yummy - and so cheap too! :D

Re: The same old complaints
 

I guess its a matter of choice is'nt it?I live in the UK,and yes we have all the big supermarkets but its my own choice if I go into them which I don't.I grow my own food instead....very liberating!!!I also work fulltime but still manage to cook from scratch.On my days off I cook even more.Yesterday was biscuits,today soup!(as well as breakfast and dinner!!!!)

Re: The same old complaints
 

Not compulsory ... but it would seem that the British are hardly being forced to buy them at gun point. :rofl:

Re: The same old complaints
 

Bit like the Australians using fast food outlets then.:lol:

Re: The same old complaints
 

Yea, because your average Brit never goes anywhere near Mc'Ds, KFC, Wimpy, BurgerKing, Wendys, the local Chinese, the local Indian, Spud-u-like or the kebab shop.

:rofl:

Re: The same old complaints
 

I have a real problem with the ready meal/convenience food culture in the UK. People are continually told that they don't have time to prepare meals as they have such a busy life so that they start to believe it themselves, seriously how long does it really take to prepare spaghetti bolognese from scratch using your own ingredients?? Half an hour?

I remember one day at work in the UK one of my colleagues discussing how she had "tried" her husband on Asda peri peri chicken but that he wasn't that keen on the particular flavour, firstly it sounded like she was talking about her child and secondly why not try to make your own and then you can flavour it how you want.

Re: The same old complaints
 

I don't see that as any different from the fast food culture here.

It came as quite a surprise to see so many people constantly 'grazing' especially around shopping malls.....and the extent of obesity.

It is also a bit silly to talk about a 'convenience meal culture' in the UK.

None of my family or circle of friends ever ate ready made meals.

A few people may but then lots of Australians eat home delivered pizza etc.

G

Re: The same old complaints
 

When I cycle to work in the monrings I'm always amazed by the number of people going into McDonalds and KFC - presumably for breakfast!

Re: The same old complaints
 

So you've got the double-whammy in the UK then - not only do the Brits consume more pre-packaged ready meals than most of northern Europe put together, but they're just as addicted to the fast food outlets as the aussies.

I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Brit's main contribution to international culture the fried chip? And, ermm, wasn't it the British that invented the very concept of fast food with the fish and chip shop?

Sure. Total surprise. :rolleyes:

Oh well, since none of your family and friends ever stepped within 50metres of a Tescos Chicken Tikka Masala - it must be true for the whole of the yookay! Elementary my dear Watson.

:lol:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7165990.stm

Re: The same old complaints
 

The packaged food industry thrives because I think a lot of people are either a) too lazy to pick up a recipe book or b) seem to have lost their confidence on how to cook or c) never been shown how to cook a meal from scratch despite more cookery shows on telly than I could wave a wooden spoon at..

It makes me very sad that people can't cook and I mean cook.. not just reheat things.. when I first had my son, my neighbour had a baby of the similar age.. we became friends.. she would spend a huge amount of her money on jars of baby food.... My husband was working and earning, hers wasnt... how on earth did she afford it?! I used to buy some brocolli, carrots etc, boil them, push them thru a fine mesh sieve, chuck 'em in some icecube trays and freeze them up... I could make up a months worth of babyfood in about 2 hours... pudding would be either purreed apple or banana etc etc.

She would go to Tescos and buy up 60 jars of baby food for the month.. 30 dinners, 30 puddings...

I still can't get my head around it :ohmy: When I asked her about it, she said she was afraid she would harm the baby if she didnt get the "proper jars"...

Why do people not have the confidence to try things out?

*gets off soapbox and sits back in chair*

Em x

Re: The same old complaints
 

Well....something must be going wrong for Australia...with an obesity rate of 21.7% versus 23% for the UK. Considering Aussies are enjoying such wonderful freshly prepared meals AND the 'outdoor lifestyle' we hear so much about....what's the problem? Especially considering countries such as Canada, Ireland, Germany, France, <insert other western country here> manage sub 15% rates.

I'm not having a dig at Australia....but I think eating habits are generally poor in both countries.

Re: The same old complaints
 

Portion sizes I would think... have you seen the size of everything they serve here?! Also having pie shops everywhere too.. everyone just stops for a pie or sausage roll smothered in tomato sauce!

Em x

Re: The same old complaints
 

Yep you are wrong. Chips were around way before the British made them popular.

Re: The same old complaints
 

I think the Belgians might lay claim to chips. :lol:

Em, you are right - I reckon portion sizes have a lot to answer for.

Re: The same old complaints
 

The Brits invented what may have been the first fast food - the sandwich.

Re: The same old complaints
 

probably because fresh produce is so expensive and the 'outdoor lifestyle' thingy is a complete myth :ohmy:

Re: The same old complaints
 

Really? The Flemish?! We were there last March.. it was all lace and posh chocolate! :lol: Not a chip in sight! haha!

On the portion size thing.. OH went to our bakers.. bought 2 lamingtons.. they are huge.. not just huge.. massive.. have cut one in half for our kids.. they still have a massive portion... me and OH have taken to sharing cakes now whilst out for a coffee.. a situation I would have never to have dared consider previously! (I love me cake, I do!)

Em x

Re: The same old complaints
 

Agreed, eating habits are lousy in both countries. But your nationmaster figures are very out-of-date - 2002 survey, based on 1999 data. Slightly more up-to-date figures are here and they state that in Australia:

• overall 16.4% of adults were reported as obese in 2004–05
• 17.8% of males and 15.1% of females were obese.

:)

Re: The same old complaints
 

It's not a myth here any more than it is in the yookay. If you prefer to sit on the couch watching 103 on the Austar, then that's fine. Doesn't mean that everyone else is the same.

Re: The same old complaints
 

That is incredibly high.. not just overweight either.. obese... :(

Em x

Re: The same old complaints
 

Belgian frites - double fried and served with mayo. Yum.

I'll repeat what I've said on this and other forums - I think we Brits see Australians as fit, toned outdoorsy people, and we get a shock at the reality. The fit are fit and the fat are fat; we don't really notice those in between.

It's much the same in the US, and from what I've seen it's become much the same in the UK. Anywhere remotely developed and prosperous, I think. Yes, anywhere the fast food chains move in. Look at Asia where it's cool to go to Starbucks and drink cups full of sugary shite. :unsure: edited to add - Asia, where diabetes is on the increase at an alarming rate, as people turn away from the local diet.

(Before anybody comments I'm a hypocrite - yes I'm fat, but you'd be surprised at my diet.)

Re: The same old complaints
 

Besides poor diets peoples general immobility adds to a rather unhealthy life style here.
When living in France one thing we used to do was walk after a meal especially after a weekend lunch...promenade in the hills or along the river for an hour or so often with friends..A big portion of the locals appeared to be doing the same.In Paris we would walk through the streets at night after a meal..always a lot to see and movement all around.Perhaps a coffee in a different cafe or area to take in the ambiance.
In Central London i was able to follow a slightly different but similar procedure in the evenings.
Here in Perth even with the best intentions and living inner city can no way pursue any thing remotely similar to the above mentioned and have put on weight accordingly.(although still reasonably fit)
Even though i cycle to work and back most days,a total of close on three hours in the saddle still find it hard to loose those additional kilos.
Walking bores me here being few others about and does not feel conjusive to do so, besides walking should be a pleasure not a chore.I do not know people that walk here uness it is taking the dog out..staying in with the telly or computer seems to be how most pass their evenings.
As European friends visiting have noted going out here seems to involve a lot of sitting in cafes eating..all very passive.

Re: The same old complaints
 

I must admit that I was shocked that Australia has a problem with weight as you think they are all sports mad before you live here.My oldest daughter is in year 11 this year and has told me that she is not doing any sport as not enough people wanted to do it!She is very sporty but not into basketball or soccer so unless you are tough it seems!

Re: The same old complaints
 

I reckon Perth is brilliant for keeping you fit! Yep, loads of cafes and good restaurants but:

1. An hour in the ocean with the kids....
2. An hour in the swimming pool.
3. Fantastic cycle paths for getting to and from work
4. Little suburban traffic so cycling to and from the shops is doable.
5. Great parks for the kids
6. Cycling tracks in teh hills.
7. Beautiful sunsets for an evening stroll

Now, whether you can be arsed getting off your arse (note how long I've been on BE today) is a different issue....
I've put on 5kgs over xmas but I'm pretty confident(!) that I'll lose it once I get back to cycling to work.

Re: The same old complaints
 

Bear with me. Just trying this on for size.

1) Yea, assuming you don't get eaten by a shark.
2) With 50+ sunscreen, rash vest and hat on, of course.
3) Crammed full of yobs on skateboards wanting to mug you.
4) Yea, but what suburban traffic there is, is hoons in souped up Holdens doing doughnuts at traffic lights.
5) Until the mossies descend, quickly followed by the flies.
6) Full of outback murderers.
7) An evening stroll through blandsville, to nowhere?

Blimey. It's quite easy this.

Re: The same old complaints
 

Well what have I missed here this morning?

Whose toys are these, all over the floor?

:rofl: