The Night Mail

[iL Dottore]

....besides I don't think Bear will pay £1.50 for a tin of Heinz Baked Beans: https://www.fortnumandmason.com/heinz-150th-birthday-baked-beanz-415g-2215170

[polybear]

2 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

....besides I don't think Bear will pay £1.50 for a tin of Heinz Baked Beans: https://www.fortnumandmason.com/heinz-150th-birthday-baked-beanz-415g-2215170

 

Bear can get FIVE tins for that....

Besides, they don't even sell Pizza...or oven chips.....or LDC.....

F. Useless.

Glad I'm not posh.

[Hroth]

1 minute ago, polybear said:

 

Bear can get FIVE tins for that....

Besides, they don't even sell Pizza...or oven chips.....or LDC.....

F. Useless.

Glad I'm not posh.

 

We can tell that...

 

Never mind!

 

[Happy Hippo]

Talk about the northern Powerhouse. More a dirty w**rehouse!

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/record-numbers-ancient-std-found-31485152

 

No wonder it's called Grimsby.

[Tony_S]

52 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Bear can get FIVE tins for that....

Besides, they don't even sell Pizza...or oven chips.....or LDC.....

F. Useless.

Glad I'm not posh.

I haven’t been in Fortnum & Mason. I don’t think I have ever been in receipt of one their hampers. So having seen what @polybear noted they didn’t sell I had a look at their website. It looks like they are trying to market what wealthy Edwardians ate to rich overseas visitors. 
Now we are “old” certain kind and well meaning people give us food hampers at Christmas. We have gently asked them not to. They are full of stuff we don’t eat or eat rarely. We did get a hamper as a gift when we bought our last car, that was filled with products from Tiptree (not only jam), those did get consumed. 
Before Aditi and her family arrived in the UK in the 1950s a previous generation had arrived in the 1930s. One of the great uncles had invited friends for dinner and telephoned Fortnum & Mason to ask what wine he should serve with a curry. The answer “lager beer, sir, lager beer”. 
 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Tony_S

[AndyID]

Just for the halibut I thought it might be interesting to make a list of countries where TNM'rs post from on a somewhat regular basis.

 

Here goes:

 

England

Wales (I have promoted it :)  )

IOM

France

Poland

Australia

Canada

USA

Switzerland

Scotland

Germany

Romania

 

Corrections? Omissions?

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by AndyID

[AndyID]

Just now, AndyID said:

Just for the halibut I thought it might be interesting to make a list of countries where TNM'rs post from on a somewhat regular basis.

 

Here goes:

 

England

Wales (I have promoted it :)  )

IOM

France

Poland

Australia

Canada

USA

 

Corrections? Omissions?

 

 

Missed Switzerland

 

[AndyID]

Comment by a Facepuke correspondent from Detroit:

 

"I don't know why they call it Motor City. Nobody here can f**king drive!"

 

🤣

[Happy Hippo]

31 minutes ago, AndyID said:

Just for the halibut I thought it might be interesting to make a list of countries where TNM'rs post from on a somewhat regular basis.

 

Here goes:

 

England

Wales (I have promoted it :)  )

IOM

France

Poland

Australia

Canada

USA

 

Corrections? Omissions?

 

Wherever in the Carpathians Paul is currently living.

[iL Dottore]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Bear can get FIVE tins for that....

Besides, they don't even sell Pizza...or oven chips.....or LDC.....

F. Useless.

Glad I'm not posh.

So are they....

 

British inverse snobbery at its finest!

Edited November 25, 2023 by iL Dottore

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

I haven’t been in Fortnum & Mason. I don’t think I have ever been in receipt of one their hampers. So having seen what @polybear noted they didn’t sell I had a look at their website. It looks like they are trying to market what wealthy Edwardians ate to rich overseas visitors. 
Now we are “old” certain kind and well meaning people give us food hampers at Christmas. We have gently asked them not to. They are full of stuff we don’t eat or eat rarely. We did get a hamper as a gift when we bought our last car, that was filled with products from Tiptree (not only jam), those did get consumed. 
Before Aditi and her family arrived in the UK in the 1950s a previous generation had arrived in the 1930s. One of the great uncles had invited friends for dinner and telephoned Fortnum & Mason to ask what wine he should serve with a curry. The answer “lager beer, sir, lager beer”. 
 

A hamper for Christmas?

 

Well I keep begging, but all I get are watermelons and socks.

[Tony_S]

2 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

socks

Socks would be nice. Aditi and I have given up buying each other presents as I ask for socks and she thinks I have enough. Aditi doesn't expect presents and has a long list of things not to buy her.

[Tony_S]

20 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

British inverse snobbery at its finest!

Is it? I have a suspicion that what you are paying for is the wrapping paper and pretty boxes. the contents are probably not too different to those from Waitrose, Tesco or Aldi.  Though I don't think Aldi deliver.

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Tony_S

[TheQ]

Have posted to TNM when in Scotland.

 

We too have given up presents, only those of school age in the family get them from us. There just 1 nephew left at school now, but... It can't be long before the next generation arrives.

 

I'm guessing we've had the last hamper, as they came from  from work,  I retired 01/01/23

Certainly never had the inclination to buy one , they never seem good Value.

What we do is buy in food we wouldn't normally have, but like..

It's normally around next week we make decisions on the Christmas / new year meals.

 

[Hroth]

My father belonged to the Tate & Lyle pension scheme.  When he first retired, every Christmas he was sent a "hamper", a large cardbox box, full of goodies which were reasonably useful at first.  As the years passed, the box got smaller, the contents fewer and the number of T&L products (especially those which seemed to be trial products) increased.  Eventually the hampers stopped and were replaced by the mawkish Christmas Card from the Group Pension Trustees which used to be included in the hamper...

 

More Bah...

 

[Welchester]

46 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Is it? I have a suspicion that what you are paying for is the wrapping paper and pretty boxes. the contents are probably not too different to those from Waitrose, Tesco or Aldi.  Though I don't think Aldi deliver.

 

 

None of those sells pickled sprouts.

 

https://www.fortnumandmason.com/pickled-brussels-sprouts-570g

[Hroth]

3 minutes ago, Welchester said:

 

None of those sells pickled sprouts.

 

https://www.fortnumandmason.com/pickled-brussels-sprouts-570g

 

Good Lord!

 

Those look like they HAVE been on the boil since September!  🤢🤮

 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Hroth
Added emojiis

[Mike Bellamy]

I was given a hamper when I retired - but it was made up by the people I worked with so it contained 6 bars of chocolate and six bottles of beer - plus a Slaters 7mm wagon kit. In my few words of thanks I said' Oh great, another one to add to the pile which probably won't get built' but Neil, my good friend and fellow modeller told me to open the box. Not only had he built the kit, but he had also painted it, and added transfers in the name of Bellamy Brewers - the wagon was numbered 20 on one side and 65 on the other as I had been there 20 years and retired at 65.

.

[polybear]

2 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Missed Switzerland

 

 

And Scotland

And Germany

 

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

Is it? I have a suspicion that what you are paying for is the wrapping paper and pretty boxes.

 

Thirty Bob for a tin of beans is proof enough

 

43 minutes ago, Mike Bellamy said:

I was given a hamper when I retired - but it was made up by the people I worked with so it contained 6 bars of chocolate and six bottles of beer - plus a Slaters 7mm wagon kit.

 

Bear got a piece of paper to sign.  And the b'sterds even wanted that back......

[iL Dottore]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Is it? 

 

In many cases, yes.
 

British social history if full of statements along the lines is of "not for the likes of us"  inverse snobbery is as much about "keeping people in their place" in the social hierarchy as it is about poo-pooIng or ridiculing people who pay X amount of money for Y.

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I have a suspicion that what you are paying for is the wrapping paper and pretty boxes. the contents are probably not too different to those from Waitrose, Tesco or Aldi.  Though I don't think Aldi deliver.

 

Err, actually no. The more you pay for foodstuffs the better the quality of the ingredients and the less shelf-life enhancing chemicals involved.

 

One of the British consumer magazines did a test of baked beans and they found that the very cheapest baked beans had fewer beans per tin and a much more watery sauce than the more expensive tins of baked beans.

 

The other thing is that many "treats",if done to the original recipe, contain very expensive ingredients and/or ingredients with a very short shelflife. A good example of a very expensive ingredient is saffron. Unless you are paying a considerable amount of money you will not be getting real saffron in what you buy: it will be a saffron flavoured substitute and colouring. The cheapest I have seen Cornish saffron cakes for sale online, cakes using real saffron and real butter, is £6.25 for four.

 

But once you get to a certain level of quality of ingredients, then yes it does become about the fancy wrapping and the name on the bag – which is why I think Selfridge's is the better value "upmarket" place for occasional self indulgence (or regular shopping if so inclined and can afford it)

Edited November 25, 2023 by iL Dottore

[AndyID]

Country List Edited.

 

I find it interesting that we are so geographically dispersed. There's probably a way to put somewhere where it's won't disappear but I don't know how to do that.

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Welchester said:

 

None of those sells pickled sprouts.

 

https://www.fortnumandmason.com/pickled-brussels-sprouts-570g

If people desired such a thing I am sure they would. Described as “oh-so-British” by Fortnums. Definitely aimed at tourists. 

[Flying Fox 34F]

3 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Wherever in the Carpathians Paul is currently living.

Add Romania to the list, please?

Approximately 40km south of Brasov.

 

Paul.

 

My old home town is the shed code.

 

 

[SM42]

10 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

 

 

I keep finding Heljan Class 128's, Kadee coupling springs, 12BA nuts and bolts and the tips of broken scalpel blades in our downstairs cloakroom.  I'm pretty sure that somewhere in the corners of the cupboard, one day I'll find the lost city of Atlantis.

 

 

Could you pop the 128 over tomorrow please.

 

I was wondering by which portal to another dimension   I had left it.

 

Ta muchly. 

 

Andy

[Northmoor]

23 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

In many cases, yes.
 

British social history if full of statements along the lines is of "not for the likes of us"  inverse snobbery is as much about "keeping people in their place" in the social hierarchy as it is about poo-pooIng or ridiculing people who pay X amount of money for Y.

Err, actually no. The more you pay for foodstuffs the better the quality of the ingredients and the less shelf-life enhancing chemicals involved.

 

One of the British consumer magazines did a test of baked beans and they found that the very cheapest baked beans had fewer beans per tin and a much more watery sauce than the more expensive tins of baked beans.

 

That works for some products and not others.  Comparing a good quality range with a cheap retailers' range it probably applies, but where a supermarket has three ranges - Basic, Mid-range and "Treat yourself" - it is generally accepted that the basic range uses cheaper items but the most expensive is normally the same as the mid-range, with more expensive (usually slightly heavier) packaging.

 

I once went into Fortnums and sure enough, a box of Cornflakes was about three time the price of any other supermarket, but they do stock mostly their own products which you're unlikely to get similar elsewhere.  You also apparently get a type of customer you don't get elsewhere.  My wife was queuing at a counter (no tills, that would be much too common) and as soon as she got to the front, a clearly wealthy woman who probably did all her shopping there, stepped straight in from the other direction and clearly expected to be served first.  When my wife politely but firmly pointed out her "mistake" and the cashier agreed that the woman had jumped the queue, she harrumphed with indignation and went to find another cashier.......