jackytoo

Correct Tinned Tuna is err...tinned Tuna I only used Fairy liquid in Spain and most of the brands of dishwasher tablets etc. are global. I do miss Agua Fuerte though but the thought of it leaking in a suitcase, probably bring down the aircraft We were there recently for a party and didn't bring anything back. Even the whiskies etc. were not worth carting around.

jojojojojo

er................ Tinned tuna isnt tinned tuna!!!! Mercadonas tinned tuna has an easier tin to open (a pull ring) and the oil its in gives it a much better flavour and its a nicer texture

I miss agua fuerte too, not sure I'd risk it in a suitcase. But even the normal cleaning stuff is much better and does the job. in the UK everything seems so "safe" to the point of being ineffective!!!

..... and mercadona face cream is the best, so are the body sprays...

Jo xxx

lynnxa

agree totally - all the mercadona 'own brand' beauty stuff is amazing -both teh Deliphy & the Stylius hair stuff - and not just cos it's cheap - it's good quality too

jackytoo

Don't know about the oily Tuna ones, only ever bought "Natural" in Spain which is in "springwater" in the UK. Didn't go to mercadona much, Alcampo was my hunting ground Their own brand stuff was ok. as it was all from France.

Lynn R

It is where I live - there never was a large British community, but over the last two years several couples/families have left. The latest couple left yesterday and another one plans to leave in the New Year. Doesn't bother me, but for anyone researching setting up a business catering (no pun intended!) to the British community, it can't be good news.

anonimouse

Yep where I live all the Brits have gone, only two of us left permanent now, It's great, coz most of them, when out, used to always be complaining about the food and beer or some other thing not being as good as it was in the UK, most embarrassing.

jimenato

Strange, where we are people are coming and going as usual - I'm not aware of any exodus of Brits - indeed we're expecting two new households to arrive to live here (one retired and one working) in the new year. I guess it's a bit different here due to the proximity of Gibraltar.

BTW if you try to set anything like a Brit shop up here you are in direct competition with Morrison's.

I agree with what other people have said - all along the coast, at least, Brit goods are readily available. There are also good substitutes which most people will find and make use of within a short time of getting here and also most people will go at least some way towards changing their habits towards the Spanish way.

Fred James

A Brit shop opened in our village this year - closed after 3 months!

Most of the others are either closing or for sale.

If Iceland opens east of Malaga they will all go bust overnight.

As for offering an online store, there are loads of online stores available but they nearly all fall down because of the exorbitant prices they charge usually due to the shipping costs.

However, recently you can now actually buy some products from Amazon UK for free delivery in Spain. No one is going to be able to compete with that!

As for Brits returning, we mix mainly with retired ex-pats and the only ones I know that have gone back to the UK have been in an urn!

jimenato

Actually a 'supermarket' in our village changed hands (remaining Spanish) a few months ago and has started selling more Brit orientated stuff. It advertises itself as a sort of 'gourmet' outlet but it's really only the prices that are gourmet. I don't think it's doing that well.

Most of the Brits who live in places like this go at least partly native - that's why they live here - they'd be on the coast otherwise. The most that people do here usually is get themselves a 'fix' from time to time of comfort food (Sausage rolls, pies, scotch eggs and the like) and that comes straight from Gib.

jackytoo

Hmmm. I find that most people on the coast eat international and are happy eating Spanish, French, Argentinian or British etc as long as it is good.

I think why the brit shops fail is they sell such bloody awful quality stuff. Unbranded sausages and pies eg. that you wouldn't give to your dog Visiting some of those shops and markets is like taking a trip to some run down UK town. Iceland seems to have got it right with prices etc. Perhap the exchange rate has been in their favour.

tex_ritter

I don''t Food is quite a lot dearer in Spain these days Jo, you may well be in for a shock when you go back.

agoreira

With one of your "Traditional Sunday Lunches"?

jimenato

Absolutely!!

Why bother going to the trouble seeking out and cooking your favourite meals from 'back home' yourself if you can pop along the road and get a wholesome home-style freshly prepared meal at a very reasonable price and comfortable friendly surroundings?



Actually, that is one British shop that does very well - Paul the English butcher in Guadiaro where we buy our meat for Sunday lunch. He had three people working in there up to Christmas and it's only a small shop. He gets a fair few Spanish buying in there as well. I think the cuts are different from Spanish ones or something - but our Sunday cook won't get the meat from anywhere else.

jojojojojo

Not wishing to sound like I'm loaded, the cost isnt the issue, its the quality and that has been the one thing that struck me when I first arrived back in the UK - the cleaning sprays, dishwasher powders, washing up liquids, washing powders (mercadonas own brands) etc, are all perfume and no power, the same with the shampoos, face creams and cosmetics. It all seems watered down in the UK. I brought some of mercadonas own dishwasher tablets back with me and I have to ration them, but they beat the hell out of the "top of the range Finish" tablets.

Jo xxx

montgomail

And the ant killer does just that .... kills ants!

Never taken that much notice of cleaning products tbh but I do use very cheap Puntomatic tablets for clothes washing and they do the job.