things you really miss

[Grugz]

nearly losing my trousers to a pocket full of pound coins the other day i began to think what else i miss and wondered if anyone else missed anything (other than family members etc)

pound notes...they were light and made my wallet look fuller

my Raleigh phaser..the first bike i owned and loved dearly right down to the chunk missing out of the left handle bar where i collided with the wall.

loooong hot summers

letters, properly written ones from penpals not the computerised ones that are usually after money.

the smell of a freshly opened original star wars figure.

yorkie bars when not owned by nestle

"laser" bars dunno if anyone else remembers them 2p each rock hard candy that was just luvly (closest thing in flavour these days are "frosties" the sweets not the corn flakes

white dog poo (strange i know but it was always a staple of life)

creosoted fences

the days before social media/mobile phones

getting 10p back on your bottles of pop

chip pans filled with lard

probably think of more but please lets have yours

i was going to include hardback books but as they seem to be making a comeback recently

[Professor Bear]

Being able to push children into the sea or a pool.  Thanks a lot, iPhones.

[Link Prime]

The Mk 1 Lawgiver.

[DaveGYNWA]

Being able to see my toes without holding in my stomach or leaning forward.

[ZenArcade]

Junker.  Z

[radiator]

Proper fish and chips.

You can get something called fish and chips over here, but it's just not the same. Whenever we're back in the UK it's a high priority - large haddock and chips, lemon, tartare, mushy peas, pickled onions, and so much salt and vinegar it makes your eyes water.

Sunday roasts and proper english pubs too.

I was worried moving to the US I'd miss loads of stuff, but aside from friends and family that's all I can think of really. We're lucky that we can get near-enough everything else where we are. I think I'll probably miss more things about America when I'm back in the UK.

I miss being able to eat whatever the hell I want and not do any exercise and not put on any weight!

I think the thing I miss most of all is free time. While I feel very lucky and am always super busy, the notion of spending a whole day at home in my pants playing videogames and eating junk food seems like a distant memory now, likewise painting and drawing into the wee small hours. I don't understand people who say they're 'bored'. There's always so much to do, and so little time to do it.

[Dandontdare]

Proper fish and chips.

You can get something called fish and chips over here, but it's just not the same. Whenever we're back in the UK it's a high priority - large haddock and chips, lemon, tartare, mushy peas, pickled onions, and so much salt and vinegar it makes your eyes water.

Sunday roasts and proper english pubs too.

I was worried moving to the US I'd miss loads of stuff, but aside from friends and family that's all I can think of really.

Aren't you in Portland? I read an article recently said it was the "street food capital of the world" (though I still bet they won't do proper fish'n'chips!)

[radiator]

Proper fish and chips.

You can get something called fish and chips over here, but it's just not the same. Whenever we're back in the UK it's a high priority - large haddock and chips, lemon, tartare, mushy peas, pickled onions, and so much salt and vinegar it makes your eyes water.

Sunday roasts and proper english pubs too.

I was worried moving to the US I'd miss loads of stuff, but aside from friends and family that's all I can think of really.

Aren't you in Portland? I read an article recently said it was the "street food capital of the world" (though I still bet they won't do proper fish'n'chips!)

Yep.

There's a food cart downtown that purports to do 'authentic Scottish fish and chips', but it's clearly cooked from frozen. Bullshit. Any chip shop worth its salt (and vinegar) makes everything in-house.

[Dandontdare]

Proper fish and chips.

You can get something called fish and chips over here, but it's just not the same. Whenever we're back in the UK it's a high priority - large haddock and chips, lemon, tartare, mushy peas, pickled onions, and so much salt and vinegar it makes your eyes water.

Sunday roasts and proper english pubs too.

I was worried moving to the US I'd miss loads of stuff, but aside from friends and family that's all I can think of really.

Aren't you in Portland? I read an article recently said it was the "street food capital of the world" (though I still bet they won't do proper fish'n'chips!)

Yep.

There's a food cart downtown that purports to do 'authentic Scottish fish and chips', but it's clearly cooked from frozen. Bullshit. Any chip shop worth its salt (and vinegar) makes everything in-house.

Fair enough, but given the incredible selection of stuff you apparently can get, I'd be willing to do without fish and chips for a little while! It's weird how they seem to have turned "eating from a van"into a whole massive tourist thing.

[radiator]

Yeah, that's kinda the point I was making. Everyone always asks me what I miss most, and proper chip shop fish and chips is really the only thing I can think of. Everything else I can get locally or make myself. I don't even miss British beer, because American beer is equally awesome.

As I say, there's way more that I'll miss when I move back. I think American breakfasts most of all. I had chicken fried steak and sausage gravy for breakfast the other day. Chicken fried steak!

[zombemybabynow]

my sobriety, hic!

[I, Cosh]

Proper fish and chips.

Amen brother. I also like to make sure I get in a fish supper or a Chinese takeaway on any trip back to Blighty.

It's even worse here. It's practically impossible to find any form of takeaway food other than kebab or pizza (from the better kebab shops) after about 8 at night. Would I wouldn't give for a portion of Glasgow style spare ribs on the way home some nights.

Having said that, a chippy opened in Heuwaage a few months ago. The fish is mediocre but the chips are, without doubt, the best I have ever eaten outside the UK.

[radiator]

My girlfriend ordered fish and chips at a bar the other night. What arrived was like a cross between crisps and chips. I think if you presented that as 'fish and chips' to someone in the UK you'd have a riot on your hands!

You can't really get UK style, MSG-tastic Chinese takeaway here either, and curry options are limited, but the plethora of other options (Mexican, Vietnamese, Japanese etc) more than make up for it.

I also kind of miss 'ordinary' sliced bread - I've tried every different brand over here, and it all tastes really sweet, even wholegrain. Doesn't really work for Marmite on toast.

Oh, I thought of another thing - Scampi Fries!

[Mardroid]

I was pleasantly surprised by a portion of frites in Amsterdam recently. By the name one would think they would be French fry style chips. Not at all. They were thick with potato and crispy on the outside.*

These street chip shops are pretty popular in Amsterdam. I don't to m they come with fish but if you fancy a  chip snack they're rather nice. They have the option of a variety of sauces too.

Much as I like sampling foreign food I'll admit I stuck with vinegar. (I should have asked for salt too.)

* This sounds nice, and it is, but conversely the fact they were so crispy meant they were perhaps  slightly too fatty for my palette compared to the comparatively soggier UK chips** ( depending on where you go) but this feels like I nitpick. They were truly proper chips.

** Emphasis on 'comparatively'. I'm not into really soggy chips. A bit of crispness is good. But not so much that they're too oily. Although soggy chips can be oily too.

[Tjm86]

Considering all this talk about missing blighty food, this might seem a bit odd.  The one food that I do miss is a real good schnitzel.  When we were at Kaiserslautern in the early eighties it was something special going out to the local Gasthaus for a meal.  Either straight or with a Jaeger sauce.  Fond memories.

Oh, and my hair. Definitely missing that.