The two most dreadful things in Britain.

[Governmentyard]

1: Welsh casual jingoism
2: Scottish casual jingoism

Chaps, on behalf of all Englishmen: we don't think we're better than you and we certainly don't think you're better than us. So be polite. We're BRITISH, for God's sake!

[limb_clock]

1. Housing system
2. Public Transport and the prices of them

[Felonious Feline]

1. The onset of bloody health & safety craziness / ambulance chasing solicitors
2. Estate Agents.

Why can't we have more than 2???

[Orava]

Not sure there is anything better in your area but here is Licata.

http://www.licata.co.uk/

I used to live a two minute walk from them in Bristol. I still go there every time when I am in Bristol.

They are not a wanky Italian deli, but a proper family-run Italian shop. Cheap too for olive oil and stuff. Availability of things can be a bit random as a lot of things arrive in family-driven vans from Italy. They are really nice too.

[Muphex]

1. Foreign types complaining about the food.
2. The food.

[gilesgoat]

"There are no tomatoes in Britain" .. none .. or if they are they completely out of my reach ..

They don't look like tomatoes, they don't taste like tomatoes, they don't cook like tomatoes ..

Can you grow your own?

No, because the problem is there are not enough months of full-sun-in-a-row to get the proper level of ripeness.

Greenhouse .. not really the same thing, however I could simply say then "why you don't find tinned tomatoes here the
same level of quality of Italian tinned tomatoes ?".

I mean .. someone could simply stock "Cirio tomatoes" and that would be something, you find LOADS of "39p tomatoes"
and some that claim to be "Italian quality" that cost considerably lot more yet .. I don't know where the fuck they come
from or what they put in ..

Anyway yes "the weather" could be my third thing in the list

[gilesgoat]

1: Welsh casual jingoism
2: Scottish casual jingoism

Chaps, on behalf of all Englishmen: we don't think we're better than you and we certainly don't think you're better than us. So be polite. We're BRITISH, for God's sake!

Not me, therefore I am better than you

[Orava]

"There are no tomatoes in Britain" .. none .. or if they are they completely out of my reach ..

They don't look like tomatoes, they don't taste like tomatoes, they don't cook like tomatoes ..

Can you grow your own?

No, because the problem is there are not enough months of full-sun-in-a-row to get the proper level of ripeness.

It can work, even outside but you need that strange beast, a really hot British summer. The last three or four years have been wash-outs but they do happen. In my ~15 years here I've had about three tomato-bonanza years in my garden. A bit more difficult here in the West as it is more damp rather than hot. Used to live in Guildford, now that was good for tomatoes.

[defsdoor]

1. The Roads (they're all full!)
2. The Government (and complete apathy of the majority of the population towards politics in general)

[gumboot]

Can you grow your own?

No, because the problem is there are not enough months of full-sun-in-a-row to get the proper level of ripeness.

Greenhouse .. not really the same thing, however I could simply say then "why you don't find tinned tomatoes here the
same level of quality of Italian tinned tomatoes ?".

I understand that tomatoes are traditionally grown alongside marijuana, indoors.

I imagine it's not impossible to grow a good tomato indoors... it may just be a lot of work. It's possible that the thing that makes normal indoor tomatoes rubbish is all the other intensive-farmingness that goes along with it.

[Mark]

Ant & Dec

[aureole]

Okay, I just checked on Google and there's any number of online delis selling San Marzano tomatoes in huge catering tins or individually.

And everyone knows that coffee outside Napoli is crap anyway.

[gilesgoat]

Okay, I just checked on Google and there's any number of online delis selling San Marzano tomatoes in huge catering tins or individually.

And everyone knows that coffee outside Napoli is crap anyway.

I'll have to check and see how they are.

Now .. I have been in Naples 3 times ( and not been robbed not even
once, that's quite a thing ) ...

It's true .. coffee in Naples is "another world" .. Caffe' Medina is the
place to go ..

Pizza .. I don't even talk about it .. "all we know about pizza outside
of Naples is totally wrong" ..

Again .. "another world" ..

I hope one day to be able to bring Yak here, I still promised him one
day I have to bring him at Pompeeii in the same stadium where the
Pink Floyd were ... I was there ( not with the Pink Floyd of course ).

Naples is "a must to see" .. it's .. crazy .. crazy and utterly astonishing
the same time, the traffic there is another thing "out of this world".

Still .. a place where you know you enter, you don't know how you
could come out ...

[anon76235]

"people who come here and start complaining about stuff"
"hairdressers who can only give you a crew cut or a skinhead"

[seanyseansean]

And everyone knows that coffee outside Napoli is crap anyway.

Get fooked. Portugal do some great coffee too.

Their TV is shit, mind.