Sarah

Without question the foooooooood.

As Bob said, can get whatever telly (and radio) you want from the interwebz if you know where to look.

Sarah

Didn't know you were heading back, good luck with everything. I'll be really interested to know how it goes once you get back home

kimilseung

+1 to all that

Redwing

I really don't miss either much, as I have been here over 30 years. I eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, chicken and fish, and try Asian restaurants when I can.

SultanOfSwing

Good one, that!

I'd say probably the food. Certain things I can get here (HP Sauce is readily available in my area and the wife just bought me two chocolate oranges at World Market ) but you pay over the odds for most chocs and that.

I didn't watch much TV other than Top Gear and repeats of sitcoms right before I left so I can satisfy those needs very easily with my DVD collection, BBC America and the You Tube. It is not, however, quite as easy to pop out for a fish supper or a battered sausage and curry chip, or (only fellow Carrick-ites will appreciate this) a bright pink pasty bap, which is very nice, despite being the colour of a highlighter pen.

I did discover while out for a dander the other day that there's a place in the town centre that has started doing deep fried chocolate bars, so I must pop in to see if there's a Scot on the premesis, and maybe try a deep fried Milky Way

Nickw_2308

I don't watch that much TV but I do miss the UK comedy. I know a lot of it is built around panel games like QI but I didn't realize that format was so British. Some of the comedy is funny in the US but most of it is so obvious and total shite. I definitely couldn't watch another chat show with the house band and all the usual crap.

As for food it's a close one, we have some great veggie restaurants here so we are OK, I've even found a decent Indian that does UK strength curries. You can get by in the chains, they usually have one or two decent options. I do miss proper Italian food, not the sloppy NY Italian style food that seems to be very prominant here but the good stuff. On the plus side, the sushi here it so much better than in the UK, in fact other than London I don't even remember being able to get it.

Given the choice I would stay here, it's not about the food, it's the fact that I can sit outside in December with a cold beer in my shorts and enjoy the sunshine.

nethead

Yes, but can you sit outside in your shorts drinking beer in the summer? Without (a) getting roasted alive, (b) getting bitten to death?

I can get by without TV, and the foods I can get here. I miss the feeling of familiarity, of how things work and the sense of belonging, or being in the right place. It's not something I find easy to articulate

Keith

When I left the UK the TV was not that great ( Corry St had just started) and when we arrived in Ottawa it wasn't that much better (cable didn't exist).

The food was not great, Fish and chips or Chips and Fish and the odd Wimpy Hamburger. Ottawa had some good eateries and unlike the UK, family friendly.

Last time I went back (1982) it seemed to be improving but still not to many family restaurant.

SultanOfSwing

Not easy to articulate, but something I can instantly understand . . .

nethead

I knew you would

SultanOfSwing

Yes, I've become rather predictable, haven't I

Actually, I'm doing OK for now. At the back of my mind I still miss all those things but I think now it's started to cool off a bit I can deal with it a bit better than before.

nethead

No I wasn't meaning you're predictable, just we feel very similarly I generally just get on with it and day to day I'm fine, but every now and then it gets a bit overwhelming.

SultanOfSwing

I know exactly what you mean. What didn't help me was having my parents and sister out for a week, that set me back a bit! Autumn and winter rolling in always makes it easier though, I have that to look forward to. The final third of the year was always my favourite.

MrSensical

Do you do a ferret down the trousers?

Englishman43

Yeah I was the same for the first 8 or so years I was here then , for no particular reason , that became completely unimportant and family became very important which set me on the should I stay / should I go thing.

Luckily there are a heap of British shops within a few miles of me for Wispa's, Curly Wurlys, Twiglets and wot not.