Sending food to ex-pats
Discussion
Stood in line at the Post Office this morning. In front was a lady with five tins of Jacob's cream crackers and a large box. Total weight just over 4kg, didn't catch where it was going to, but the postage was £92.
The PO clerk suggested she split the package into three lots of under 2kg for £20 a package.
£60 to send 5 tins of crackers.
Should this be in First World Problems?
What's the worst food to postage ratio anyone has seen?
The PO clerk suggested she split the package into three lots of under 2kg for £20 a package.
£60 to send 5 tins of crackers.
Should this be in First World Problems?
What's the worst food to postage ratio anyone has seen?
€2.50 for a 300g pack in my local expat shop compared to £1 in Sainsbury's, so by my reckoning 4kg would be about £16.50 more expensive in NL than UK, so I hope she's sending them a lot further afield 
Everywhere with a reasonable sized immigrant population seems to have expat shops these days, and they usually do mail order for those further away, so seems crazy sending anything relatively mainstream.
Many years ago my sister went to visit family in Nairobi and was asked to bring a couple of things over...marzipan for the Christmas cake and a bag of horse shoe nails for the pony club. Can you imagine your suitcase going through the scanners with that in these days?
Everywhere with a reasonable sized immigrant population seems to have expat shops these days, and they usually do mail order for those further away, so seems crazy sending anything relatively mainstream.
Many years ago my sister went to visit family in Nairobi and was asked to bring a couple of things over...marzipan for the Christmas cake and a bag of horse shoe nails for the pony club. Can you imagine your suitcase going through the scanners with that in these days?
TooMany2cvs said:
"ex-pat"...
<spit>
They have emigrated from the UK.
They are immigrants in the country they now live in.
They are migrants.
Cv's<spit>
They have emigrated from the UK.
They are immigrants in the country they now live in.
They are migrants.
<spit>
Correct, it's a s
thole.Incorrect, some have dual Nationality.
We have the courage to leave the piss ridden carpeted toilets and fish n chips behind and look for a more enjoyable standard of living elsewhere.
And if you move to the Nürburgring then your weekly deliveries of Jacobs Crackers, Stilton, Back Bacon, Strongbow, and microwaveable Indian Curries and brought over by mates wanting to drive the track.
So there
A few years ago the BiL ordered a book off eBay, had it delivered to our address as he lives in Australia because "it would be easier for him to have it delivered in the UK, then could we send them when we get a chance".
Cheapest price was £120... they're still sitting in a cupboard at home...
Cheapest price was £120... they're still sitting in a cupboard at home...
I live in a foreign country but I don't consider myself an expat. We live in Austria, France before that, and Switzerland before that. The amount of fking petty comments I've heard over the years from expats is appalling. People complain about immigration in the UK and lack of integration, but you should see what Brits are like when they're long term abroad. Only sticking to themselves, narrow mindedness, not learning the local language, complaining that "you can't get a proper piece of bacon" abroad. Once in France, I heard someone actually say "the French make good cheese but you can't beat a nice bit of cheddar". He was munching on a piece of sweaty cathedral city at the time.
I can't ever remember a time where I have desperately needed Jacob's crackers, "proper bacon", cheddar cheese, Cadbury's chocolate, or any of the other st that expats make a big deal about. Particularly not enough to warrant spending £20 a packet posting them. How ridiculous. The most I will stretch to is conceding that people bring us tea. Even then, it isn't for me, it's for my Austrian Fiancée.
king petty comments I've heard over the years from expats is appalling. People complain about immigration in the UK and lack of integration, but you should see what Brits are like when they're long term abroad. Only sticking to themselves, narrow mindedness, not learning the local language, complaining that "you can't get a proper piece of bacon" abroad. Once in France, I heard someone actually say "the French make good cheese but you can't beat a nice bit of cheddar". He was munching on a piece of sweaty cathedral city at the time.I can't ever remember a time where I have desperately needed Jacob's crackers, "proper bacon", cheddar cheese, Cadbury's chocolate, or any of the other s
t that expats make a big deal about. Particularly not enough to warrant spending £20 a packet posting them. How ridiculous. The most I will stretch to is conceding that people bring us tea. Even then, it isn't for me, it's for my Austrian Fiancée.magooagain said:
Mouse to house deliveries every week to my local town for British migrants here in France. Tesco,waitrose goods etc.
It's surprising how many Brits move abroad and still cling to their British foods and culture, and then some of them moan about migrants in the UK My wife dragged me to local English tea shop for a cream tea last month, but they use squirty cream not real clotted cream so we won't be going back
bulldong said:
I live in a foreign country but I don't consider myself an expat. We live in Austria, France before that, and Switzerland before that. The amount of fking petty comments I've heard over the years from expats is appalling. People complain about immigration in the UK and lack of integration, but you should see what Brits are like when they're long term abroad. Only sticking to themselves, narrow mindedness, not learning the local language, complaining that "you can't get a proper piece of bacon" abroad. Once in France, I heard someone actually say "the French make good cheese but you can't beat a nice bit of cheddar". He was munching on a piece of sweaty cathedral city at the time.
I can't ever remember a time where I have desperately needed Jacob's crackers, "proper bacon", cheddar cheese, Cadbury's chocolate, or any of the other st that expats make a big deal about. Particularly not enough to warrant spending £20 a packet posting them. How ridiculous. The most I will stretch to is conceding that people bring us tea. Even then, it isn't for me, it's for my Austrian Fiancée.
We have them here too, some have lived here for 10 years or so and still can't speak a word of German. It was a sad day for me when the English Pub opened in Adenau as it has attracted a lot of the sort of crowd that we thought we'd left behind in England (hence we hardly ever go in there).However, if you take in look in the photo of your lunch thread on PH, I think you'll understand why I like microwave Indian meals from the UK. king petty comments I've heard over the years from expats is appalling. People complain about immigration in the UK and lack of integration, but you should see what Brits are like when they're long term abroad. Only sticking to themselves, narrow mindedness, not learning the local language, complaining that "you can't get a proper piece of bacon" abroad. Once in France, I heard someone actually say "the French make good cheese but you can't beat a nice bit of cheddar". He was munching on a piece of sweaty cathedral city at the time.I can't ever remember a time where I have desperately needed Jacob's crackers, "proper bacon", cheddar cheese, Cadbury's chocolate, or any of the other s
t that expats make a big deal about. Particularly not enough to warrant spending £20 a packet posting them. How ridiculous. The most I will stretch to is conceding that people bring us tea. Even then, it isn't for me, it's for my Austrian Fiancée.Zetec-S said:
A few years ago the BiL ordered a book off eBay, had it delivered to our address as he lives in Australia because "it would be easier for him to have it delivered in the UK, then could we send them when we get a chance".
Cheapest price was £120... they're still sitting in a cupboard at home...
How big is it???Cheapest price was £120... they're still sitting in a cupboard at home...
Only you might find it's a lot cheaper - up to 5kg for books for £12.05 on ultra slow boat.. (international economy)
https://www.royalmail.com/australia/
RizzoTheRat said:
It's surprising how many Brits move abroad and still cling to their British foods and culture, and then some of them moan about migrants in the UK
My wife dragged me to local English tea shop for a cream tea last month, but they use squirty cream not real clotted cream so we won't be going back
I went to somewhere similar last week,I can't get over being spoken to in English. I hate it and get thrown by it,thinking why are they not speaking French!My wife dragged me to local English tea shop for a cream tea last month, but they use squirty cream not real clotted cream so we won't be going back
Little packets of Brits doing Brit chit chat etc. burn em. They keep phoning my mrs to do translating and favors. Lazy feckers can't string a French sentence together and if they managed then they don't understand the reply.
cootuk said:
Stood in line at the Post Office this morning. In front was a lady with five tins of Jacob's cream crackers and a large box. Total weight just over 4kg, didn't catch where it was going to, but the postage was £92.
The PO clerk suggested she split the package into three lots of under 2kg for £20 a package.
£60 to send 5 tins of crackers.
Should this be in First World Problems?
What's the worst food to postage ratio anyone has seen?
Stupid to pay that, my GB food packages, up to 30kgs cost only GBP 20,- via the shopping sites.....The PO clerk suggested she split the package into three lots of under 2kg for £20 a package.
£60 to send 5 tins of crackers.
Should this be in First World Problems?
What's the worst food to postage ratio anyone has seen?
sent a box of clothes , and treats to the missus who was in greece for a few months looking aftr her ill mother. box weighed about 10 kg give or take. lady in the p.o. advised parcel force 4 day priority as the cheapest option and was a discount on that service too. cost me about 50 quid and landed 4 days later. was quite pleased with the service to be honest
magooagain said:
RizzoTheRat said:
It's surprising how many Brits move abroad and still cling to their British foods and culture, and then some of them moan about migrants in the UK
My wife dragged me to local English tea shop for a cream tea last month, but they use squirty cream not real clotted cream so we won't be going back
I went to somewhere similar last week,I can't get over being spoken to in English. I hate it and get thrown by it,thinking why are they not speaking French!My wife dragged me to local English tea shop for a cream tea last month, but they use squirty cream not real clotted cream so we won't be going back
Little packets of Brits doing Brit chit chat etc. burn em. They keep phoning my mrs to do translating and favors. Lazy feckers can't string a French sentence together and if they managed then they don't understand the reply.
t, Its 30 years since I did my gcse and I have barely used it in the meantime but I do try and make myself understood. We were in Cancale and decided to have an icecream, we decided what to have and then I went to the counter and started ordering. I was very brusquely told "you can speak english" which completely threw me.cootuk said:
Stood in line at the Post Office this morning. In front was a lady with five tins of Jacob's cream crackers and a large box. Total weight just over 4kg, didn't catch where it was going to, but the postage was £92.
The PO clerk suggested she split the package into three lots of under 2kg for £20 a package.
£60 to send 5 tins of crackers.
Should this be in First World Problems?
What's the worst food to postage ratio anyone has seen?
5 tins of crackers seems a bit nuts, but sometimes there are certain foods you miss and simply cant find anywhere else (or the local versions are a bit crap). There are some foods I miss from Oz that I've never seen here (Cherry Ripes, OEP nacho topping, Bundaberg Sarsaparilla).The PO clerk suggested she split the package into three lots of under 2kg for £20 a package.
£60 to send 5 tins of crackers.
Should this be in First World Problems?
What's the worst food to postage ratio anyone has seen?
I don't have any stories worse than that (although I'm seriously considering asking my sister to send some nacho topping), I think paying £5 a bag for some Cherry Ripes at SANZA foods is highway bloody robbery.
TooMany2cvs said:
"ex-pat"...
<spit>
They have emigrated from the UK.
They are immigrants in the country they now live in.
They are migrants.
Ex-pat, short for expatriate, means a person living outside their native country. <spit>
They have emigrated from the UK.
They are immigrants in the country they now live in.
They are migrants.
Immigrant means that you have become a citizen or acquired a pathway to citizenship of a foreign country.
Many people live in foreign countries on non-immigration visas, thus making them expatriates, not migrants.
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