scaniamad

hi lyndon
glad everything is going good for you had my job offer of dave foder last week just waiting for the house to go then hopefully be moving out to lethbridge so see you soon for one of them thar molsons
cheers mate Dave

burton bunch

Hey hey

Another Lethbridge person - good luck with everything

Gaynor
x

loafy

Hey add two more to that list chris 12 and me. Its an invasion lol...

Loafy...

Lorna_D

Changed your mind about Yanke and Regina then have you?

loafy

Mmmmm, just sitting on the fence as you might say.

LOAFY...

Lyndon001

[Darth Vader impression]

Aaahhh we feel your presence young Jedi Loafy, it is your destiny, you will come over to the 'Bridge side.

Lorna_D

Oh - are you still waiting for your Police check. Ours took the full 40 days, it was painful. Just remember your goal. Take care, Lorna

Lyndon001

Quick quezzie

Does anyone read the Joke Of The Day on my Blog or shall I get rid of it?

Lyndon001

If you are ever asked by an official if you know anything about Canadian Customs..........

The answer is NOT
"Yes Sir/Ma-am, mostly eating do-nuts and saying "eh?""

Yesterday was a big learning curve for us, we had to collect Gizmo from Calgary airport and we also had a DHL parcel stuck in customs and it had to be "Self Cleared".

First the parcel, when we came over here we bought 3 big suitcases and the rest of our belongings came over in 3 DHL boxes, air cargo and 2-3 day delivery time. Our plan was to have them delivered to the hotel so they would be waiting for us when we got there. Not a good idea as you have to pay duty on delivery, not a major problem as they got held at DHL in Lethbridge and we could just go and pay the duty and take them away.

So far so good, unfortunately only 2 boxes made it, 1 got held at Customs and we either had to go and clear it ourselves or pay a company $30 to do it for us, trouble is they have to send you a form that you fill in and send it back to them........and dispite promises the forms never arrived.

Well we were up in Calgary yesterday anyway so we thought we would do it personally. Here are a couple of notes in case you are in a similar situation, i wont include addresses but if you need them just ask, i have put them all in my personal google maps.

One point to note is that Canadian Customs is moving / has moved from the airport and is now at 2588 - 27th st NE. If you go before 16:00 then go to that address, later than that go to the airport terminal.

We went to DHL to collect paper waybill, then went to 27th st NE to get it stamped by Customs then went back to DHL to collect the box...job done.

Next was Gizmo, went to Air Canada Cargo Hanger and collected his waybill, went to Customs at the terminal (later than 16:00) got it stamped and paid $30 for his vet exam then returned to Air Canada Cargo, paid another $45 for terminal charges then we took him away. We were offered the crate as we had already paid for it, we had no way of taking it and i dont think Giz would ever willingly go inside it again anyway.

If that sounds easy its because i left out all the driving around trying to find places and getting to one place and being told i had to go to somewhere else first.

Anyway i hope this will make things a little easier for someone else.

Oh yes and about this "Self Clearing" dont worry if it happens to you, apparently they do it if there are clothes or personal effects or high value items in the box, my military medals were in that box and they had been unwrapped so it might have been that, also dont forget that they will be doing random stops anyway.

Lyndon001

I think there was a thread somewhere about grocery prices but never mind because this thread is concerned with people living,working or thinking of moving to the Lethbridge area anyway.

NB. Saying that, everyone is welcome here, even you negative vibe merchants, you know who you are

So far i have found grocery shopping to be cheaper than in UK

Now theres a profound statement but heres why.

If you want to eat the same foods as you did in UK then it will cost you a fortune, in this case familiarity is expensive.

On or around Mayor Magrath Drive we have got the following supermarkets.

Safeway
Walmart
Costco
Canadian Superstore
Taber Corn Vendors

First of all i will deal with Taber, value excellent, quality fantastic.
Choice very poor (they only sell corn )

By the way Gaynor, yes it was peaches and cream, that was the first thing i noticed when i cleaned it for cooking, as a matter of fact if you enlarge my earlier picture i think you can see it.

Safeway is quite dark inside although the choice isnt bad and you can save money if you have a Safeway card. If you like to shop like a Brit and buy the same stuff as in UK then i would say this is the place to go, i would say this is the most expensive though. They do have a flyer and the weekly specials can save you a bit of money, overall though i would prefer to shop else where.

Walmart is brighter and cheaper although their choice of fresh or frozen meat is almost none existant. Choice of groceries is pretty good, about the same as Safeway and has the advantage of a homewares dept and the kitchen ware is cheap. Clothes are about the same as in UK but less choice.

Costco is not a Cash and Carry like in UK but you do have to buy a members card. The idea is still the same, buy in bulk and save money, the trouble is its not all that cheap, ive not really looked at the fresh meat propperely yet, it looks nice and is well presented and the choice is fantastic but i havent reall compared the prices. Its still worth getting a card though and have the occaisional browse because they have specials and you can get some great deals. We got a 42" Akai plasma TV for $950 including the tax and that was the best we found at the time.

Canadian Superstore, now heres an interesting place but its best to think and buy Canadian or it can still be expensive. We will be doing most of our shopping here, we have done 2 big shops now and we are impressed. Chicken is expensive, lamb is the same as UK and beef and pork are cheap. Gator-aid (cheap still flavored drink) is cheap as chips (sorry fries) buy the big bottles and you can buy the big containers of crystals so refill them yourself, its pretty much the same as Cool-Aid.

If you like Crabs, Lobsters and the such like, just check out my blog, say no more!

We think Canadian Superstore is the best of the bunch and i would love to hear sme feedback, there are a lot of marketty type places in town that we haven't had chance to check out though but watch this space for more details soon.

Lyndon In Lethbridge

Lyndon001

Ive left one in the back of the fridge for you, just behind the watty melon and canadian bacon, cant promise it will still be there tomorrow though

loafy

[ yoda impression ]

Mmmmmmm, it is true young loafy, only the strong will be able to see there destiny,
Mmmm, their is no can't just DO !

[Jedi Loafy screaming]
NOOOOOO you are not my father..No Nooooooo!

loafy

I am and your right but all the more so because they cocked up which pi--ed me off big time.
I know my goal and what i want so if i have hiccups on the way i will get over them in one way or another.
Thanks and all take care,

LOAFY...

loafy

Yes i did and do, the olympics questions and answers was a laugh.

burton bunch

But you are in raymond arent you Lyndon ??