macliam

You may be correct about the Stilwell book being a novelised history..... I'm sure that sells better than dry old facts!

I don't know the book you indicate, but my concern would be that it is written by a Portuguese - and, as I mentioned before, history was heavily "revised" by the Estado Novo, so anyone over 50 is likely to have been "tainted" by this nationalistic interpretation. I recall having stand-up rows with some people back in the '80s, who insisted that Columbus was Portuguese because they had been taught this in school and Portuguese influence were heavily stressed at the cost of others (Drake was "a pirate", "nem bom vento, nem bom casamento", etc.). But equally, many Portuguese influences have been whitewashed out of "standard" world history too - for example "Ferdinand Magellan", who circumnavigated the globe under spanish colours, was Portuguese - or the part Portugal DID play in the dicoveries by Columbus (via his marriage to the daughter of the governor of Madeira). Even with foreign historians there is a danger of bias - more than one writer has been heavily influenced by anti-Catholic or other prejudices and I recall reading one comment that said the entire "Golden Era" of the discoveries had been reduced to a footnote due to the author's concentration in the Inquisition and the slave trade. Unfortunately, all written history is interpretation, so Caveat Lector...... As long as you remember this and read more than one source, you're OK - but it makes it very difficult to find a single narrative.

Portuguese history is very rich - from the early formation of Portus Cale, the expansion and reconquista, the dynastic struggles and the continual threat to independence. The "leaps" in technology and instrumentation which enabled Portugal to navigate the globe.... but you might need to take chunks and read around the subject, rather than trusting any one author to provide you with an accurate account.

Actually standing on some sites brings history alive too - if "Disneyfication" has been avoided. A visit to Tomar, with the connection to the Templars and their influence on the discoveries; A visit to Marvao, to get a feel for "border politics", a visit to Batalha and some reading around Aljubarotta, etc. etc. After a while, it all starts to come together!

A bit far from teabags..... perhaps we need a Portuguese history thread!

Rambling archer

Macliam - so here I sit with my cup of tea and Madeleine cake mixing UK with Portugal and reading your historical guidance notes. It is amazing what we can all get from a nice cup of tea!

Talking of nice cup of tea, this is curtesy of Amazon.es, one of their 240-bag boxes (well known English make), at a not very cheap price, BUT it does say on the webpage, and repeated in the check-out, that the price quoted (with postage and packaging extra if you are under their limit of expenditure for the free-P&P service, nor Prime), is the final price you will pay. And so it is. It is up to them to bring it into Europe, and this is probably why the product is "not very cheap" so that we just pay the internal transport within EU with them sorting out any customs fees (presumably done in bulk). It certainly worked for this. Tracking of the parcel showed it started off from Montelimar, France, came via Barcelona, and arrived Central PT within 3 days.

liveaboard

I'm referring specifically to Amazon.de or .es orders, as they seem to have some sort of customs clearance system.
Seem to...
Maybe I've just been lucky.

macliam

It does seem odd - my ill-fated purchase of a hose and connectors from Amazon.es didn't say anything (as far as I saw) but actually started in the UK, crossed to Belgium overnight and passed through customs the next day, before being driiven to Madrid and then being "lost" by the idiot courier on the last leg..... No customs duty and no delay (to Madrid anyway).

macliam

I got an "A" in UK A-level history when such grades meant something....... everyone thought I would go on to study it at Uni, but I decided to change course entirely! The problem is that most people seem to think it's all about the dates,etc., but the truth is, just like now, the real story is WHY and the second most important is HOW.....WHEN is almost coincidental! Trying to pull apart Anglo-Irish history is good practice.....

As I said before, I find the Aldi tea perfectly acceptable, luckily. I really can't see myself ordering things like that online.......

wellinever

As a big Tea drinker, normally Sainsbury Gold, I have tried Barrys some years ago, and remember it being a very good solid tea.....never seen it since in Portugal.

macliam

Since the Brexit impact, the Iceland store in Guia is importing a lot of Irish brands to replace those British lines they can't fill - maybe they will stock Barrys

peterfc

Much has been said about T bags and not a lot being helpful so i email the UK.gov for advice.
The reply gave me the Tariff codes when i placed my order. Below is the reply from the UK.gov site i use for help and a tariff code looks like .0902100000
The site address for my enquiries is https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov...th=1&year=2021

[email protected] Peter Calder

Thank you for your email enquiry detailed below.

From the information supplied, my advice is that the goods would be classified to commodity code 0902100000 for green tea bags and 0902300000 for black tea bags. If your product varies in any way to your description a different code may be applicable.

A free online UK Trade Tariff to look up commodity codes and duty rates for your products is available on the GOV.UK website at: www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. Please telephone our VAT, Excise and Customs Helpline on 0300 200 3700 (+44 2920 501261 if overseas) for any duty rate enquiries.

Our advice is not legally binding and should be accepted as guidance only. Legally binding rulings can be obtained by submitting an electronic application via the Government Gateway. Further information on how to submit an application is available from the gov.uk website at: www.gov.uk/binding-tariff-information-rulings.

We aim to respond to email enquiries within 5 working days, however in times of high demand this could take longer. Please allow time for the team to respond before contacting us again, as this will increase the delay in response times further.
All email enquiries should be sent to [email protected]

Yours sincerely

Janet Jones



Tariff Classification Service
Email: [email protected]


HMRC’s classification rulings have changed from 1 January 2021. Please visit: www.gov.uk/guidance/changes-to-legal-rulings-for-the-classification-of-goods-from-1-january-2021 for more details.

barlaventoexpert

I verified this with the Alfandega on-line via the Portal das Finanças - Screenshot below.

philat98

I just got some tea from Twinings and they dispatch from Belfast so no taxes. Expensive courier DHL. The tea is dated 2023 so a good shelf life.

Midgo

In the end, my wife was in Lisbon near an international food shop in Campo de Ourique and she called me to say that they had PG tips 340 bags for EUR 22
I though about it and despite the fact they were nearly 5 times more expensive than UK Tesco's, I realised that in the overall scheme of things that was peanuts compared to other costs considering how long they would last, and since it was easy (and she would pay ) I asked her to get some
The owner apologized about the price but said he had huge import costs now from UK
Sometimes I overthink things

borisface

Whilst it does seem expensive it's less than 7 cents a cup.

Alan PT

Surprised that (as far as I can see) nobody has mentioned https://www.britishcornershop.co.uk/ who now ship from an eu warehouse, so no customs problems

A small tip with them - I find that when I go to the site it tends to auto-select Portugal as the country. Great, but the prices are very high. But if I go "change country" and select Portugal again, suddenly the prices decrease. I've had this happen consistently with different computers, so I think it's a site glitch

sidgold

Has anyone tried using their Tea Bags twice?

If you get a good strong product such as a Tetley or a Yorkshire Tea bag... its almost acceptable for your second cuppa... but admittedly its not perfect.

Please let me know what you think?

BillBullock

It works well for me because I drink my tea black. I find a lot of tea bags are so strong, I have to remove them almost immediately I've added the boiling water.