On 2016-07-13 17:05:15 +0000, Roland Perry said:

In Ely the Tesco only has canned/bottled/packaged-dry-goods in the
Polish aisle. You would probably have to go to one of the specialist
corner shops for fresh produce from Poland. And Aldi has a lot of
German-influenced (but still plastic packaged) produce.

If you want actual German stuff, Lidl is a better bet - Aldi have
Anglicised their range far more than they have.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.

On 2016-07-14 08:26:59 +0000, d said:

The german stores, particularly Lidl remind me of UK supermarkets in the
1970s. Slightly shabby and with vacuum packed produce that looks about as
natural as an essex blonde.

And small enough that you can get round in 20 minutes.

Though FWIW I've given up supermarket shopping - delivery is a
wonderful thing. Which is kind-of going full circle back to the time
before there even *were* supermarkets.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.

On Thu, 14 Jul 2016 09:30:10 +0100
Neil Williams wrote:
On 2016-07-14 08:26:59 +0000, d said:

The german stores, particularly Lidl remind me of UK supermarkets in the
1970s. Slightly shabby and with vacuum packed produce that looks about as
natural as an essex blonde.

And small enough that you can get round in 20 minutes.

Though FWIW I've given up supermarket shopping - delivery is a
wonderful thing. Which is kind-of going full circle back to the time
before there even *were* supermarkets.

The few times we tried it it actually took longer to shop online than actually
do it in the shop. Though we're lucky and live within walking distance of
a supermarket. I imagine for people in villages and small towns its a godsend.
The only problem is you have to rely on someone at the depot to pick you
fruit and veg that isn't unripe/overipe/damaged which apparently isn't always
the case according to some friends.

--
Spud

On 2016-07-14 08:47:47 +0000, d said:

The few times we tried it it actually took longer to shop online than actually
do it in the shop.

If you largely buy the same stuff, it then gets easier because you can
get it to show you "what I normally buy" and "what I bought last time"
and just go through selecting quantities and clicking add. Takes maybe
10 minutes, versus over an hour to drive there, shop and drive back,
even given that I have a choice of all the major supermarkets (English,
"American", German and posh) all within 10-15 minutes' drive.

I didn't do it for years because it does take ages to set it up from
scratch, but once set up it saves hours.

The only problem is you have to rely on someone at the depot to pick you
fruit and veg that isn't unripe/overipe/damaged which apparently isn't always
the case according to some friends.

There is that, though what I tend to do is to have a load of
non-perishable/frozen stuff delivered (and freeze the fresh meat
myself) once a month, then pick up fruit, veg, milk[1] and bread when
it is convenient, often from smaller shops. It's much easier to do
that on the way home from somewhere than to do a full shop.

[1] Though I order a load as a starter - the "filtered" stuff tastes
nicer and keeps nearly 2 weeks unopened.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.

In article , (Roland Perry)
wrote:

In message , at
11:33:00 on Wed, 13 Jul 2016, remarked:

Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsburys have entirely white English staff as
far as I can tell. Although the most usual language you'll hear from
customers, in Tesco at least, is Polish.

In Ely maybe. Tesco Cambridge is more diverse, in staff, customers and
goods, than Bar Hill.

I don't doubt it. Cambridge is an ever expanding bubble quite
divorced from the real world.

I was told in Bar Hill when asking for some Polish
cooked meats there that "they don't do that demographic".

In Ely the Tesco only has canned/bottled/packaged-dry-goods in the
Polish aisle. You would probably have to go to one of the specialist
corner shops for fresh produce from Poland. And Aldi has a lot of
German-influenced (but still plastic packaged) produce.

I'm not sure which category you think cooked meat (including sausages) comes
in.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In message , at 09:29:11 on Thu, 14
Jul 2016, Neil Williams remarked:
In Ely the Tesco only has canned/bottled/packaged-dry-goods in the
Polish aisle. You would probably have to go to one of the specialist
corner shops for fresh produce from Poland. And Aldi has a lot of
German-influenced (but still plastic packaged) produce.

If you want actual German stuff, Lidl is a better bet - Aldi have
Anglicised their range far more than they have.

I agree. But my nearest one is over 20 miles away, and Aldi is half a
mile.

--
Roland Perry

In message , at 07:11:11
on Thu, 14 Jul 2016, remarked:

In Ely the Tesco only has canned/bottled/packaged-dry-goods in the
Polish aisle. You would probably have to go to one of the specialist
corner shops for fresh produce from Poland. And Aldi has a lot of
German-influenced (but still plastic packaged) produce.

I'm not sure which category you think cooked meat (including sausages) comes
in.

Plastic packaged fresh produce. I think Tesco might have tinned
'hot-dog' type sausages. But nothing else that would qualify as
"produce" (fresh or otherwise).
--
Roland Perry

In article , (Roland Perry)
wrote:

In message , at 09:29:11 on Thu, 14
Jul 2016, Neil Williams remarked:
In Ely the Tesco only has canned/bottled/packaged-dry-goods in the
Polish aisle. You would probably have to go to one of the specialist
corner shops for fresh produce from Poland. And Aldi has a lot of
German-influenced (but still plastic packaged) produce.

If you want actual German stuff, Lidl is a better bet - Aldi have
Anglicised their range far more than they have.

I agree. But my nearest one is over 20 miles away, and Aldi is half a
mile.

I think your Aldi is the nearest to Cambridge at present.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On Tue, 12 Jul 2016 08:28:10 +0000 (UTC), d wrote:

On Mon, 11 Jul 2016 16:37:58 +0100
Someone Somewhere wrote:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-36764417

I assume this means the rear platform doors will now always be closed
between stops, obviating one of the (small) benefits of this vehicle?

It obviates the only remaining benefit given their hybrid systems seem to be a
miserable failure too. Hopefully in 10 years or so they'll be sold on and
some standard buses - whether hybrid or pure electric who knows - will be
bought instead for considerably less.

On that subject I'm not entirely sure why successive mayors have never even
considered trolley buses, at least in part like in Boston where its electric
part of the way and a diesel engine takes over where the wires stop. Seems to
me it would be a perfect solution for central london.

I have been to Boston but not recently. Is it still, like most places
in the USA,, cluttered with overhead wiring?

Guy Gorton

d writes:

The few times we tried it it actually took longer to shop online than actually
do it in the shop. Though we're lucky and live within walking distance of
a supermarket. I imagine for people in villages and small towns its a godsend.
The only problem is you have to rely on someone at the depot to pick you
fruit and veg that isn't unripe/overipe/damaged which apparently isn't always
the case according to some friends.

Not only the pickers but also the packers (and possibly delivery
drivers). Things can easily be squashed in the crates, and things which
clearly labelled "keep upright" arrive on their side. Frozen food can be
left out of the freezer for too long and partially thaw and
refreeze[1].

[1] Evidenced, for example, by frozen clumps of peas or beans in the bag.