windsong

Thanks so much for the train line tip. I will let my friend know. That's a huge difference in price!

I will look up Hatchards and Waterstones and see if there is one in this area. I really miss a few hours in a book store. Often in the U.S. if I had nothing to do and just wanted to get out for a while, I'd drive to one of the large bookstores, look around, have coffee in the coffee shop there and then go home.

windsong

By the way, the quality of food in the supermarkets here is far superior to the USA. One thing I have found, though, is that because the fridge is too small to put veggies in, I have to keep them outside the fridge and, after buying broccoli, it went YELLOW after only three days and a packet of carrots turned moldy after only a week. I must be doing something wrong - or is it that all US veggies were "preserved"? Maybe I somehow need to make room in the little fridge for the veggies.

When I start work I can't go shopping more than once a week so there has to be a solution.

The food here actually has a taste compared to food in the U.S. which all seemed to taste the same to me, no matter what you ate.

mikelincs

US ones might well have been 'irradiated' to keep them fresh.

Editha

Broccoli does go yellow quickly. Keeping it away from light will help. Carrots should not go mouldy after a week; make them out of the bag and make sure they are dry before you store them. If you buy the ones with their leaves on, cut off the foliage as soon as you get them home, or they wilt.

fulwood

Hope ok to ask here.. Does anyone have a phone plan in US that includes calls to mobiles? I have a plan that does not include mobiles. I'm a Virgin (customer that is...

windsong

I used to have TMobile in the U.S. They have a basic plan that offers a few voluntary options, one of which is international calling. I think one intl option is 10 dollars and allows calls to landlines only. The other option at 15 dollars a month includes calls to both landlines and mobiles. I can't remember if the calls were free or if they were at a very much reduced rate. A look on their website or a call to them would answer that one.

windsong

Thanks Editha. I had the broccoli in a cupboard. I will be sure to use it more quickly next time.

Another item is blue cheese. I bought some a week ago and went to use it last night - moldy. However, I'd far rather have fresher food in the UK even if it does go off faster.

Thanks for the tip about carrots, too.

windsong

Yes. That might indeed be the case. So glad the food is better here.

mikelincs

I would suspect that keeping it IN the light would help, the green is the chlorophyl which is needed to turn sunlight into food by the plant, keeping in the dark will stop the photosynthesis, and therefore the chlorophyl will decrease. There is a huge number of articles on broccoli going yellow and how to stop it by searching on google.

Pollyana

Blue cheese should be ok for a week -actually its already mouldy, thats what the blue is, but I know what you mean!
have a look at your fridge for a thermostat/temp control. It may not actually be set cold enough.
Then have a look at what you keep in it -things like jam and ketchup don't really need to be in the fridge, so they can come out to make room for veg if necessary. You will have less of a problem in a month or so when the weather is colder again, you'll find more fruit and veg stays ok out of the fridge.

If you are really stuck, look at getting a small tabletop fridge as an extra to what the landlord provides. Argos is good for stuff like that, in fact if you haven't discovered Argos yet, do so! A whole new easy shopping world! You can browse the catalogue at home or on the net, order it, pick up in store, and they have some really cheap bargains.
My nieces used to spend hours browsing the catalogue, especially near christmas -it was known as the Laminated Book of Dreams!

Editha

OK. I get the chlorophyll thing, but it is a flower head, not a leaf, and in light it just goes on flowering and goes from green to yellow. In my experience, it is better in the dark.

Incidentally, something that puzzled me when I was in Canada was that broccoli sold there has a very tough skin on the stems, compared with varieties grown and sold in the UK. In Canada, if you want to eat the stem, you need to peel it, but that isn't usually necessary in the UK.

Fish n Chips 56

R.I.P. Cilla...

She was truly a British star.

lf1

That she was and she seemed so down to earth. This evening,on BBC Radio2 at 10pm, an interview she did with Johnnie Walker will be re-aired. I love both of them, so I am looking forward to downloading it later on.

Fish n Chips 56

Im a Johnnie Walker fan too, I used to listen to him at lunchtime in the 70s.

Cilla did lots of good and made people very happy, she made a real difference.

Heck Id forgot about Alfie, I love that film, she did some lovely Burt Bacharach songs, so powerful and clear...

fulwood

Yes I was very sad to read of her passing. Something singularly British about our Cilla Black! RIP..