cricketman

I thought the yuppies died out 20 years ago

And that ready meals are eaten by chavs

But what do I know?

JLFS

Ready meals are eaten by wide range of people, old people who want a hot meal, but cannot cope with all the preparation involved, in chopping carrots or whatever.

Workers on unsocial shifs, where usually the canteen is closed but they have a microwave.Caravanners and boaters are another group, as space is very much reduced and with a precooked frozen dinner, they stack well in the fridge/freezer and you have the choice of a hot roast dinner for example, without the danger, steam and general hassle of cooking one from scratch.

They can be jazzed up by opening a tin of peas or carrots for example.

Coz not all boaters can afford to eat in the quaint little pubs along the canalside, everyday.


Chavs do eat their fair share, granted.......but not only chavs.

Remember not all CHAVS eat ready meals,
and not all ready meal eaters are CHAVS.

lynnxa

this is true - & I'm not saying that ready meals/convenience food & takeaways don't have a place - just that if that's ALL you eat there's a problem

when my mum died recently my brother decided that my dad needed a microwave & a freezer full of ready meals - so took him out & bought them (using dad's wallet of course)

I agreed that this would be a help to my dad - who wants to go to the hassle of cooking for one, after all

as soon as bro returned to OZ dad chucked the lot out & the microwave is just somewhere to keep the teapot on top of

my dad still hasn't forgiven him for chucking out the meals I prepared & put in the fridge & freezer before I left & getting takeaways every day until he returned to Oz!!

bil

There's always something to be said for cooking too much when you do and freezing it down in one meal portions.

Prepacked meals are usually comparatively costly, as well as high in calories and salt.

Trouble is, my daughter who is still in the UK bitches that if she eats healthily and buys fruit and veg, it ends up costing her a bomb.

whitelinen

I would be concerned if my kid was not eating healthily and would either increase his or her allowance or arrange and pay for weekly deliveries of fresh foods to them whilst at uni. There are hundreds of box schemes to chose from.

Mitzyboy

Did you come back on the santander boat 20th? I thought I might have seen you judging by your description but wasnt sure enough to come over. Were you in the kids room on the second day just after lunch?

bil

Usual assumptions, and I hope you won't mind me saying it, a tad patronising?

1. She finished in June, I went to visit her to congratulate her on her results.
2. She is in work and gets a wage, so no allowance.
3. Like so many of us I don't have the kind of financial reserves to pay for anyone else to eat.

Hamadl

After driving in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the UK is a doddle. Hate the petrol price though .

whitelinen

Im sorry to hear that.

bil

No problem.

Like a lot of ex pats, we have been thru our rough spots, and come all too close to going over the edge. I still wake up sweating at the thought.

We get by ok, and if everything goes ok we will be fine. I just don't have the reserves to help the kids out, all of whom are earning.

licinius

Unfortunately I have to make regular trips back to the UK for work & one thing is for sure, it is not cheaper than Spain! Sure you can get some cheap crap in the supermarkets, but I'd rather pay a few pennies more for fruit & veg in Spain that has not had the flavour genetically removed.

When was the last time you walked into a UK supermarket & actually smelled the fruit & veg? You don't because it has no smell. In Spain however you only have to walk down the high st to be hit with the most fantastic aroma long before you get anywhere near the greengrocers.

We get fresh bread daily from virtually anywhere, it's free of preservatives, E numbers & god knows what else the mass producers decide to put into a loaf and yet ex pats are not satisfied with this wonderfully tasting bread, instead they'd rather pay twice as much for "English bread" which is quite frankly CRAP!

The same can be said for meat and fish. UK supermarkets are destroying the food chain & I really struggle to understand how anybody could miss it. Maybe it's just me & I'm wrong to expect a chicken to have flavour, perhaps I'm wrong to sit there on an evening & think "that meal was truely fantastic", but I'd rather get satisfaction from eating real food than the junk you have to make do with in Britain purely to satisfy your palate.

Lionda

I LOVE being back in England

licinius

The only thing I miss about England is football & before anybody says anything, Spanish football does not compare. I'm not talking about on the pitch but the whole day that makes match days worth living for.

HBG

During her temporary absence, I’ve been clearing out the freezer of Iceland meals and I must admit I’ve come across some marvels. I’ve disposed of the giant sausages and beefburgers, minted lamb chops, Chinese pork chops, chips, and mountains of curries.

Unfortunately, I found some chocolate ice lollies as well. Coated in nuts.

This morning, feeling brave, I stepped on the scales. She’s back in two days time and I’ve got to lose three kilos. I’m not an expert on calories and the like, but reckon I’ve got to eat nothing till then.

And, half-an-hour before midnight, I’m starving. There’s a frozen chicken vindaloo in the freezer, and it’s calling out to me.

scampicat

I agree however that the chickens and eggs are tasty in Spain.


But on the whole the Spanish supermarkets are not a patch on Morrisons or Asda. IMHO of course.