General Chat

My daughter and her family are moving to Chicago as S-I-L has been offered an excellent job there.
To stop myself from getting too upset im trying to think about what items i could send to them as they might miss.
Thorntons choc is a definate as American choc is awful.
Does anyone have any other ideas?

I haven't any thoughts yet for items you may wish to send but wondered if you have Skype on your computer. If not I would suggest that you set it up. I have found it to be a fantastic way of talking directly to my children, grandchildren and friends.

Also think of the lovely holiday you can have.

I will try to recall the items my friends used to request.

09.13hrs Spain

We already thinking about Skype and holidays.
My husband suggested a lovely idea,,,Of flying to Chicago, and at the end of the holiday flying to New York and sailing home on Queen Mary/Elizabeth/Victoria,

Hello Claire,

I like your husbands thinking. Daughter and I were in Sydney in February and saw both the Queen Elizabeth and Mary. We watched the Queen Elizabeth sail out of Sydney, a truly wonderful sight.

I hope your family have a wonderful adventure and you get to visit them often.

Susan

Look upon the move as inexpensive holiday accommodation! And Skype (with a webcam) will let you see them when you/they call for very little money. If they use a wireless laptop, you can have a 'head in the box' tour of their home as they carry it from room to room - lol

We used to be asked to take or send

Tea Bags
Branston Pickle
Gravy cubes (declare it as Candy)
Gravy Granules (Sain's version do not contain yeast)
Crunchy Bars.
Artificial sweetener tablets - they didn't like the brands available.

Your OH has some great ideas. if you or he can bring yourself to drive while there, it will open even more avenues for exploration. And don't forget Canada is right on their doorstep!

I would like advice on whats not allowed through customs...
Obviously not bacon and stuff like that,,,but not things with yeast in?

Cadburys chocolate is generally available now.

My Mum used to be asked for:
Custard powder(possibly now the instant sachets)
Bisto
Bassets allsorts
Jelly babies
Dolly mixtures
Germolene(all across the world, this only seems avilable in England?)
Smarties

All to her brother in US and sister in Canada

I have sent germolene to relatives in Canada, America and Australia.

I'd love to come back from US by ship, never had the time before, maybe when I retire it will happen

Linda :o) XxX

Re the yeast - that's what we were told! I suppose its because it is potentially 'alive'.

So any fresh produce or meat/dairy is also banned. Hence why gravy cubes ought to be called 'Candy' if challenged. You should have seen the reaction at JFK (admittedly many years ago) when some one had kept the ham sandwich from the airline meal. You'd have thought it was radioactive - lol

There is probably a list somewhere on the internet.

My sister lives in Canada and when we visited she asked us to bring. Marmalade,(its not available there) Liquorice including liquorice allsorts, Marmite, Branston Pickle,PG TIPs.and Cadburys Dairy Milk slabs.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/prohibited_restricted.xml

This is a comprehensive site that tells you what and why.

I live in Canada

Not sure where Shirley's sister lives, but we can buy in our local Safeways:- Branston Pickle, most English Marmalades, some English jams (but mainly European ones), Marmite (albeit in small bottles), liquorice allsorts, HP, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, Oxo packets, Heinz Salad Cream, Birds Eye custard powder (in large tins), etc etc

We can also buy all the same makes of chocolate that you have .......... although new immigrants or visitors notice that they sometimes taste slightly different from those actually made in the UK ................... ones made here have the taste adapted to Canadian taste


I used to ask people to bring Savlon cream (only very tiny tubes available here), and Rinstead pastilles.

Apart from those 2 items ....................... we miss nothing that we cannot actually buy here.



sylvia

LOL in 1990 when my grandaughter was 3, and living in LA...she loved Thomas the Tank engine stories.....and smarties, well we acquired a Thomas train set and some videos, and to save space in our holiday luggage,we filled the carriages with smarties.....LOL...

Bob

Just remembered something else - Chocolate Hob Nobs!

Bob's granddaughter must have really enjoyed discovering the Smarties, although her parents may not have been quite so pleased - lol

Bovril, popadoms, lucozade, twiglets but most things can be bought on Amazon.

Rose

We visited in 2001 .were there when 9/11 happened. They lived them in Abbotsford and sis said the local shops didnt know what she was talking about when she asked for marmalade. She tried to explain but even suggesting it was an orange jam or preserve met with blank response. She loves her toast and marmalade for brekkie so anyone who visited from the uk took her several jars. Even the customs didnt know what it was when our sister who went with us tried to explain what it was in her luggage.
Things look to have moved on since then.

Our elder son and his family live in Canada, we we speak to them on Skype. We also have a "phone deal", and can ring them at no cost.
Regards, Liz

My eldest couldn't find any Mincemeat in the shops for Mince pies at Christmas. Something else which wasn't known about!
She ended up making her own, but couldn't find animal suet (didn't seem have been heard of except as a 'lump') She managed to track down a vegetable substitute.

At this rate, Claire will be paying for excess baggage. Perhaps you ought to sail out and fly home - lol

Went to sea with OH and also lived overseas for many years. Things I missed the most - Mcvities half coated, English Mars Bars and English Tomatoes. I don't have a very sweet tooth normally but not being able to get English chocolate seems to be a craving many seem to have, including myself.

Shirley

That's really interesting

It isn't a matter of "things having changed"

............... I've lived in Vancouver, about an hour away from Abbotsford, since 1968.

We've always been able to buy marmalade .......... I even have 3 or 4 empty stone jars of Dundee marmalade that we use for pens and pencils, and those were bought at least 30 or 35 years ago. We threw out even more of them at the time.

Not only that .............. but there are Canadian and American brands of marmalade, and have been for at least the length of time that we've been here!


My niece lived in Abbotsford until she died 2 years ago, and she would buy marmalade in the stores there.


I must admit that Canadian and, especially, American marmalades and jams are too sweet for our taste ........................ for that reason, I've made my own for the last 20 years or so, although OH has now taken over the job. We only buy strawberry or raspberry jam when needed to make trifle.


sylvia

Just one warning ....................................


Do NOT attempt to take any Kinder Surprise Eggs into the US


They have been banned by the Food and Drug Administration since 1997,
classified as "a confectionery product with a non-nutritive object imbedded in it."

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also says the toys within the eggs fail to meet their small parts requirements for children less than three years of age.


The US has just re-issued their regular warning re these treats.


They are sold in Canada ............... although my daughter didn't like the chocolate, even though it is a Ferrero Rocher company, and she loved their chocolates.



sylvia