Who am I...?

Isn't that funny? My kids think Flakes taste like dirt.

The younger one thinks Malteasers are the best thing since sliced bread!  I have to admit, they do seem better than regular malted milk balls...

I like Crunchies, myself.  And Bounty bars - the dark chocolate ones.  Used to be able to get those here in the States, but not anymore.  LOVE those!

Yeah, malteasers are good. They remind me of when I used to go to my grandmother's house. She kept a large fruit bowl filled with them and then had the foresight to hide the bowl on the bottom shelf of a cabinet. God bless her I used to get soooo sick.

Bounty is good but I miss Mounds as well.

Check out Publix. I could have sworn I saw a Flake bar in the "foreign foods" section.

Oops.  

Hi Peedal,
Good to hear more about you!  I hope that you will have a smooth transition to the UK with your boys!  It can be a bit stressful.  I agree with everyone here that there will be many American influences, but you may find that they will become very useful when your boys get homesick.  My step daughter is 14 and has been coming to the States from the UK and South Africa every summer since she was 8 and let me tell you it was very difficult to find things that reminded her of home in the States: like peri, peri sauce, passion fruit, and biltong!  I am on my way to London in about a week.  (DELAYS! DELAYS! and hope to meet you and your sons when you arrive!  We love Kent, Tonbridge Wells to be precise, and will probably end up settling there eventually.  We will be in Greenwich for the next year or so!  Your should plan to bring your boys for a weekend in Greenwich.  Lots to see and do!  No Wal-marts, but definitely Starbucks and the others.  

By the way everyone, FYI - Asda is Wal-mart!  Wal-mart purchased the chain two or so years ago.  Also, can I ask that we not be too hard on Starbuck's!  I confess that I do like a tall, skim light whip mocha and my friend worked for them in Seattle after returning from a 2 year peace corp assignment.  She was responsible for monitoring the work conditions of their coffee farms and they really do try hard to do the right thing most of the time!  
Cheers!
Tammy

I don't even buy Starbucks here - sorry!  Never been a big coffee buff, but when I do drink it, a nice plain cup of Columbian does me just fine!

As comforting as the US references are going to be, I do want the boys to remember that we ARE in the UK!!

And I definitely won't be going to Asda!

Definitely looking forward to taking the boys everywhere we can.  Hit Stonehenge and Cambridge, London twice, on this last holiday.  Can't wait to spend weekends taking them all over the country!

I guess I'm an anomaly.  When I first moved to UK there were't too many places to get a decent cup of coffee.  Even the coffee I bought in the supermarkets was not up to scratch.  One thing I will say for McDonald's (even though I rarely eat there because I really hate the food) is that I could always count on a fresh cup of coffee.  And I was grateful when Starbucks opened up in Liverpool.  And Pizza Hut.  And I did most of my grocery shopping at ASDA in Walton.  Tesco and Sainsbury's were too expensive and often didn't carry the things I wanted.  I know cultural encroachment is a real issue, and I would hate to see England (or anywhere else) lose the characteristics that make it uniquely what it is, but as an American not living in America, I was glad to have some things nearby that were familiar.

I agree with your kids, biggest_apple.  I don't like Flake bars either.  

i don't drink coffee and i'm a vegetarian, so it is easy for me to hate starbucks and most of the fast food joints around...  i hated them in the U.S... but my soul was crushed to find the UK so saturated w/them.  esp starbucks & mcdonalds.  i was standing around piccadilly circus today, and i could see 2 mcdonalds from there.  is this really necessary?  i might have been able to see three if i'd have made an attempt, but i decided not to ruin my day.  i was having a nice lunch all-in-all.

well i'm going to go have some naked lunch with my naked chef... weeee!  



sean is good cook.

two years ago I went on a whirwind tour of europe.  One of those under 35 camping deals.  Ten countries in 21 days.  In every single country we went to the first place everyone would flock to was the nearest McDonalds!  Keeping in mind that we almost alway also had dinner at a resturaunt that served the cultural dish of the country.  Even the people who swore they wouldn't  as they were here to experience the culture, eventually succumbed by the end.  To be honest it became a kind of game to guess what was served in the McDonalds of the next country.  (e.g. beer in Germany, along with no katsup!)