Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

Yes it rains in Malta....heavy sunny drops, and angry winter sloshes....nothing like the Canadian unremitting constant ones:blink:

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

You could say that's classic of a country anywhere... There's always a certain percentage who don't move from their armchairs or go only where they comfortable- home from home so to speak. It would be really boring if we were all the same- some people just want to take a holiday where they can relax entirely.

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

I think this is it. I was struck by the number of comments in this thread that were familiar to me from my early days in Britain. Well, except the Kraft Dinner one, but I will give you scotch eggs in return....

The UK has changed a lot since I came here from Canada in 1991 but an 'off the top of my head' list of things that struck me at the time include:

- absolutely dreadful coffee... instant coffee with some hot chocolate added to make cappuccino [now fixed by Caffe Nero and thousands of others... and I am not defending Timmies!]

- long sandwich shop queues out into the rainy street at lunch time to get a mediocre sandwich [now fixed by Pret, Eat, Pod and thousands of others]

- that if I was unable to afford a house, I could pay extra tax so someone who could afford one would get tax relief on their mortgage [now fixed in a budget some years ago]

- that if I was not bright enough/switched on enough/had the right kind of parental 'encouragement' to go to university, I could pay extra tax so that those with these attributes could go to university for free [now fixed by charging for tuition]

- the ability to find a traffic jam anywhere and at any random time... it may be different now, but when I lived in Toronto, the traffic jam locations and times were generally predictable [accidents on the Gardiner/DVP excepted]

- what people were willing to put up with on public transport. I felt it should be obligatory for Cabinet Ministers to travel by public transport at peak times. And send their children to state schools.

- the passive aggressive comments about Canadians was mirrored by my experience of Brits in the UK. Often there would be a striking comment, followed by a total unwillingness to engage. Unless the person was wearing a shell suit and had very short hair... like the one I found urinating against the wall of my flat one night.

- apparently there have been some issues with Germany in the past....

Another anecdote: an English friend came to see a baseball game back when the Jays were able to win championships and had a real rivalry with the Yankees. She was astounded that the fans of the respective teams were not separated. I was astounded that it was necessary to do so for football games in the UK.

For balance:
- it took me a while, but I learned to appreciate roundabouts over 4 way stops
- the sense of humour [that took me a while, too]
- the quality newspapers
- my wife... [it is why I am still in the UK]

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

Isn't the drinking water salty?

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

That's the tears, (they don't want to talk about it). ;)

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

Haha :D!

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

Can't see any similarity between the 2 really. It's not necessarily just that the stuff is vile though (obviously everybody has different tastes) - it's the fact that lots of restaurants here are selling pre-packaged dried foods on their menu as an actual meal choice.
And many mums I have spoken to seem to think that it is a perfectly healthy meal for their toddlers. :unsure:
Whether or not you like scotch eggs at least they are actually made from real eggs and sausage meat (as opposed to dried powder reconstituted)

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

Kraft Dinner is not as abominable as you make out. Dried pasta is dried pasta. The cheese sauce is in powdered form as opposed to a bottle of the stuff. Unless you're making the sauce from scratch, not a great deal of difference. How different, for instance, is it from a tin of Heinz spaghetti which many mothers in the UK feed to there children.

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

You just made me hungry. I want a Scotch egg, now.

Am I going to find one around here? No.

I'd settle for a pork pie and some strong mustard. I'm equally screwed (apart from the mustard).

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

I enjoy Scotch egg - minus the egg part - may need to pour one a little later. ;)

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

I'll take 2 sausages out of the freezer and boil 3 eggs now before going to work. Thank you.
Edit: have fresh sausage after all, bonus!

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

It's horrible - the ingredients list is a shocker. I agree pasta is just pasta but the sauce is just awful.
And how many restaurants do you see passing off macaroni cheese made with cheese sauce from a bottle (also vile) on their menus?:confused:

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

Not like it's difficult to make good mac & cheese from scratch either.

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

I wouldn't feed my child a tin of Heinz spaghetti as a meal but a quick google produces this comparison ( I would say just a little bit of difference)....

Ingredients in Heinz spaghetti;
Spaghetti (49%, Water, Durum Wheat Semolina, Wheat Flour (contains Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Tomatoes (43%), Sugar, Glucose - Fructose Syrup, Modified Cornflour, Salt, Citric Acid, Herb Extract, Garlic Salt, Spice Extract,

Additives: Free From Artificial Colours

Additives: Free From Artificial Flavours

Additives: Free From Artificial Preservatives


Additives Other Text: Absolutely no preservatives

Additives Other Text: No artificial colours or flavours


Ingredients in Kraft dinner;

Macaroni is the first ingredient, as expected. The second ingredient is a “cheese sauce mix” composed of 20 sub-ingredients. The first three are not even cheese – Whey and whey protein concentrate are byproducts of milk, and modified food starch – an additive that increase the bulk of a food. Other additives include potassium chloride – used instead of salt to decrease the sodium level in foods, sodium tripolyphosphate – used to maintain moisture, Medium Chain Triglycerides – a substitute for regular oil, and artificial colors yellow 5 & 6 – shown to cause neural problems in some children.

Re: Canadian stereotypes of Britain?
 

Exactly! We learned in home Economics at 12 years of age how to do it.