Anyone getting stocked up on food etc just in case?

treliac

fc123 wrote: »

There's more Treliac....my cousin is over from Canada, finding his roots and all that...and got stuck in Godstone.
Godstone is very nice but £75 pn excl I mean....he's still recovering from the shock.

Anyway, they managed to drive the rental car down to Brighton and arrived this pm..., he grew up in Montreal and lives in Quebec so snow is no big deal.....except in a rental car without snow tyres.


I need some mental brain energy to post on the emigration thread as he wants to move back here as soon as his kids are big as he is a creative type and he felt he never had the opps in Canada.
He has a huge house (but has never earnt big bucks ever) and a cushty life but something is missing for him.
Dragged him around Brick Lane Sunday and his eyes just popped open.

Careful then, or it may not take long for him to change his mind!!

(and keep him away from amcluesent )

fc123

treliac wrote: »

Careful then, or it may not take long for him to change his mind!!

(and keep him away from amcluesent )

Well, that is the strange thing....he has everything that people like Amcluesant post about wanting for the UK. Not picking on Amc or anything but just using him as an example.

Canada loves academics (my uncle left in the brain drain of the 70's) , it only has 30 million odd population and is massive. Land is everywhere but they have had some HPI over the past 5 years. The NHS is wizzy, it has a welfare support system (that is taken advantage of like here) and you can have a very ordinary, non demanding job but afford a big 5 bedder with garden and have time off for hobbies like sking and kiteboarding etc. The state schools sound to die for too.

So, all in all, sounds very balanced.

But cousin hinted that it 'misses' something. Perhaps creative pursuits need angst and pain and cold and empty shelves?......but not too much. It's like a fine line between total comfort Canada style and Russia when they have power cuts (at -20 the brain shuts down).
I have a Russian SIL so know a bit about Russia too.

treliac

fc123 wrote: »

Well, that is the strange thing....he has everything that people like Amcluesant post about wanting for the UK. Not picking on Amc or anything but just using him as an example.

Canada loves academics (my uncle left in the brain drain of the 70's) , it only has 30 million odd population and is massive. Land is everywhere but they have had some HPI over the past 5 years. The NHS is wizzy, it has a welfare support system (that is taken advantage of like here) and you can have a very ordinary, non demanding job but afford a big 5 bedder with garden and have time off for hobbies like sking and kiteboarding etc. The state schools sound to die for too.

So, all in all, sounds very balanced.

But cousin hinted that it 'misses' something. Perhaps creative pursuits need angst and pain and cold and empty shelves?......but not too much. It's like a fine line between total comfort Canada style and Russia when they have power cuts (at -20 the brain shuts down).
I have a Russian SIL so know a bit about Russia too.

It sounds good. I might have been interested myself but don't like the idea of living in an even colder country.

Perhaps it's a lack of 'depth' - culture, history, tradition? Speaking personally, I think I'm attached to my roots here, my childhood memories and this contributes to my sense of being.

I would probably always feel something was missing elsewhere - however good it was in other ways.

misskool

we're still eating the christmas turkey so we'll be ok.

and thanks for the stories fc,

carolt

fc123 wrote: »

Means I had to resort to the Co-op...who only had a half price fresh duck...nothing else at all...and I feel bad cos I am sure it's a battery duck too.

Loved this bit! :rotfl:

And the bit about your poor cat! (Hope it's OK now.)

Cleaver

treliac wrote: »

What's even more interesting, Cleaver, is that you've kept the thread stashed away... all ready to bring out for a re-airing - exactly that one year later.

But then, it is one that should never die!

Actually, I think it was chucky who posted a link to it in a similar thread earlier today and I re-read it this morning, having a good chuckle on the way.

Davesnave

treliac wrote: »

I would probably always feel something was missing elsewhere - however good it was in other ways.

I have a long lost friend who's lived in Vancouver for many years. She has a pretty good life there and looks well on it, but she has recently bought a house overlooking the sea here in Devon, 'just in case.'

fc123

Davesnave wrote: »

I have a long lost friend who's lived in Vancouver for many years. She has a pretty good life there and looks well on it, but she has recently bought a house overlooking the sea here in Devon, 'just in case.'

Other cousin is in Vancouver. It takes longer to fly there from Quebec to visit than it does to fly to UK.

She and her OH have a very comfortable life. No kids (and not planning to, they are early 40's) and plenty of time to cycle for Canadian team, big house and not very full on jobs.
I have never visited Vancouver but loved Montreal....it's just The Snow for a few months every year. I think it would depress me.

They are both fluent French too.

Davesnave

Thinking about this thread, the stockpiling did me a few favours with the type of tea I drink - now £1 dearer - to say nothing of the beans, which speak for themselves.:o:rotfl:

PasturesNew

No, I've not read a single posting in this thread, not even the primary post that started it ... I mean .... 523 posts already, life's too short and I can pick it up from the title.

My mother always stockpiled food, I think it was a war/hunger thing. I've usually got quite a stockpile in just because I buy stuff I know I use a lot and because sometimes I buy the odd tin here and there that sounds nice, or I think I should have in to make something with (a tin of corned beef is a good example, I always think that'd be a good idea and it sits in the cupboard for well over a year).

But, if you think you might be losing your job, it might be better to set the cash aside, rather than stockpiling food. I'd rather spend the time squirrelling cash and learning to buy/cook cheaper.

Now ... snowy weather! Fear, media reports, Y2k/similar .... definitely worth a small box or two of genuinely useful stuff.