3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
Apr 21st 2009, 4:49 am
#76
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
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Apr 21st 2009, 5:24 am
#77
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
Out of the 20+ staff we dealt with only 2 were British, but that is beside the point if their standards are up to a good level. They weren't and neither was their treatment of my wife or baby, who had shoulder dystocia after a long labour and had to be resuscitated.
Clearly none of you have had experience of inner London hospitals.
Clearly none of you have had experience of inner London hospitals.
However, although we can try & predict a shoulder dystocia, ie. large baby or a delayed second stage, obstetrics is not an exact science. The majority of the women I prepared in labour with a large baby on board did not go on to have a shoulder dystocia. Most occurred as a "surprise" when the baby's head started to 'turtle'. The midwife(&team) have then got approx 8mins to get baby out. It is not unusual for the baby to need resuscitating post-delivery.
I cannot comment on your individual case but I appreciate that it will have been traumatic for you. I hope your child is well & hasn't had any lasting effects.
My views come from my own observations & those of others (British & Kiwi) who have worked in both systems in different locations in both countries.
Apr 21st 2009, 5:58 am
#79
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
Quote: "The UK supermarkets may have the market stitched up and their suppliers by the short and curlies but they do provide choice that is wider than most of the rest of the world (don't take my word for it check out the experts who discuss these things on, erm real radio, you know Radio4, not NZ National - wait a minute, much of the programming there is re-cycled from the BBC, so you might catch that......just like many of the newspaper articles.....) - I digress...."
I don't know what the radio says, I can only tell you my own experience of having lived 25 years in NZ and 5 years in the UK. The UK does actually have very good choice and quality if you know where to go but in my experience your Sainsbury's, Tesco's, Co-op's and Asda's on the high street offer less choice than NZ supermarkets. To get better quality you need to go further afield, especially when it comes to fresh food such as meat.
I don't want to sound like I cannot accept criticism of NZ, but this in my view is quite contrary to my experience.
I don't know what the radio says, I can only tell you my own experience of having lived 25 years in NZ and 5 years in the UK. The UK does actually have very good choice and quality if you know where to go but in my experience your Sainsbury's, Tesco's, Co-op's and Asda's on the high street offer less choice than NZ supermarkets. To get better quality you need to go further afield, especially when it comes to fresh food such as meat.
I don't want to sound like I cannot accept criticism of NZ, but this in my view is quite contrary to my experience.
Apr 21st 2009, 6:40 am
#81
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
It's kind of what I'm trying to say but people won't open their blinkered eyes. Sophistication is down to the individual and is a very subjective term.
You can't blanketly say somewhere like France or Italy is more sophisticated than anywhere else. I've worked in Belgium and France and they are definitely not sophisticated once you get to know them.
And how ironic that someone with a brummy accent is complaining about lack of sophistication.
You can't blanketly say somewhere like France or Italy is more sophisticated than anywhere else. I've worked in Belgium and France and they are definitely not sophisticated once you get to know them.
And how ironic that someone with a brummy accent is complaining about lack of sophistication.
Apr 21st 2009, 6:43 am
#83
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
Was my entry censored? Go on admit it you were all thinking the same as me.
Apr 21st 2009, 6:43 am
#84
By name and by nature
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
Lardyl, if you're going to travel to Albany to shop you might as well come over to Butcher Jack's (corner of Wairua and Glenfield Roads) for your meat. He does great sausages 
and he's cheaper than the supermarket and the meat is great quality. 
and he's cheaper than the supermarket and the meat is great quality.
Apr 21st 2009, 6:54 am
#85
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
sr71, I'm sorry to hear that your wife had a shoulder dystocia at your child's birth. This is a very frightening situation for ALL concerned, it's probably THE obstetric emergency that all midwives & obstetricians dread.
However, although we can try & predict a shoulder dystocia, ie. large baby or a delayed second stage, obstetrics is not an exact science.
However, although we can try & predict a shoulder dystocia, ie. large baby or a delayed second stage, obstetrics is not an exact science.
What really annoyed us was the treatment we received and the bedside manner from a lot of the staff. I'll be blunt and say that the African nurses that were there were quite horrible human beings - I really don't know how or why they ended up in nursing. A large proportion of the hospital is pretty much Victorian and decrepit, just to add to the ambiance. Muslims also don't have the best bedside manner and probably 75% of the patients and staff fit into this category.
Apr 21st 2009, 7:00 am
#86
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
my 3's are
1 } Shit housing
2 } Shit wages :curse:
3 } Almost all the people I've ever come across in 'rural' NZ are living in the 1890's
1} Better weather (well I did come from Wales)
2} Opportunities
3} big volcanos that sometimes go BANG
1 } Shit housing
2 } Shit wages :curse:
3 } Almost all the people I've ever come across in 'rural' NZ are living in the 1890's
1} Better weather (well I did come from Wales)
2} Opportunities
3} big volcanos that sometimes go BANG
Apr 21st 2009, 8:15 am
#87
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
I was really hurt by your number 3 (crap things) until I read number 1 (great things) and then I felt sorry for you. please don't take that seriously, it's a joke....true
Apr 21st 2009, 3:06 pm
#88
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
I don't really think anyone can say that that the NZ supermarkets offer more choice than the likes of Asda, Tesco abnd others in the UK. The UK supermarkets are some of the best in the world.
The thing is that folks are the sum total of their experiences, and when they come to NZ most have had experience of other larger and better choices. Therefore, it's not 'fussy' to compare as we do. And, once you've experienced something you can't 'unfussy' yourself. Compare you will - that's natural. We'll compare supermarkets, house construction, etc. Perhaps one of the reasons there is less choice here in groceries and foods is because there has been less immigration from Europe and less Italians, Greeks and Germans who have brought such colour and diversity of foods and delis to Oz. Has anyone visited the Ri Store in Perth? That place (if it's still there) was going strong years ago in Perth. A great deli with loads of delicious food. I still haven't found anything quite like it anywhere in NZ.
The thing is that folks are the sum total of their experiences, and when they come to NZ most have had experience of other larger and better choices. Therefore, it's not 'fussy' to compare as we do. And, once you've experienced something you can't 'unfussy' yourself. Compare you will - that's natural. We'll compare supermarkets, house construction, etc. Perhaps one of the reasons there is less choice here in groceries and foods is because there has been less immigration from Europe and less Italians, Greeks and Germans who have brought such colour and diversity of foods and delis to Oz. Has anyone visited the Ri Store in Perth? That place (if it's still there) was going strong years ago in Perth. A great deli with loads of delicious food. I still haven't found anything quite like it anywhere in NZ.
Apr 21st 2009, 5:04 pm
#89
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
Whitesand. I still maintain that the likes of Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's fall behind their NZ counterparts when it comes to fresh food such as meat and fruit/veges both in terms of the selection and the quality.
Does the UK has the best supermarkets in the world? Says who?
I find the supermarkets in the UK to be different to NZ in that in the UK more of the work has been done for you and more of the food is ready to eat as it is bought. Perhaps coming from the UK your expectations are different. Eg, ready meals seem to be very popular in the UK, most supermarkets have several aisles of these. I don't like to eat these too often because they are very unhealthy. UK supermarkets also seem to be heavily in favour of ready-made and highly processes foods such as cakes and biscuits, pre-made sandwiches and even the salads have been made for you, you don't need to make your own. All this may be very well if you're too lazy to cook your own meals, but for quality I'd rather make my own meals.
Having said that not all UK supermarkets are bad, there's a really good one called Wholefoods which sells anything and everything. But there aren't that many stores, I only know of one of these.
Does the UK has the best supermarkets in the world? Says who?
I find the supermarkets in the UK to be different to NZ in that in the UK more of the work has been done for you and more of the food is ready to eat as it is bought. Perhaps coming from the UK your expectations are different. Eg, ready meals seem to be very popular in the UK, most supermarkets have several aisles of these. I don't like to eat these too often because they are very unhealthy. UK supermarkets also seem to be heavily in favour of ready-made and highly processes foods such as cakes and biscuits, pre-made sandwiches and even the salads have been made for you, you don't need to make your own. All this may be very well if you're too lazy to cook your own meals, but for quality I'd rather make my own meals.
Having said that not all UK supermarkets are bad, there's a really good one called Wholefoods which sells anything and everything. But there aren't that many stores, I only know of one of these.
Apr 21st 2009, 6:14 pm
#90
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Re: 3 great thing and 3 crap ones about NZ?
Whole Foods is an unsophisticated American supermarket, that is exploring the UK market. Probably bad timing though!