Hello readers! Happy October! It is now my favourite season, and it's almost my favourite holiday, Halloween!
As of 5th October 2020, my blog is officially one month old. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has been reading my posts, I was very nervous to share my blog on Facebook. I really didn’t think anyone would care or even read my posts, but I’ve had so much support and it’s been so fun to get creative again. It’s a little embarrassing for me to talk about my thoughts and feelings however, I’ve found it to be an amazing outlet for me and a way of updating everyone who I may not talk to often or rather, people I forget to message back! Being so far away from home has been made easier, as my posts don’t make me feel so distant.
For this week’s post, I would like to talk about everything I miss about the UK!
So, grab a cup of tea and a snack, speaking of which...
First things first….
1. FOOD
British food is not renowned worldwide. In fact, in comparison to other cuisines, we have very bland taste buds. However, me being British, of course, I’m going to miss some typical British dishes and snacks.
Here are a few that I miss, that I can’t get in the US (or can but it’s so expensive that I don’t)
- Scotch eggs
- Pork pies
- Cheese and Onion walkers’ crisps
- Tea brands like PG Tips, Tetley, Yorkshire (I can get them….but a pack of 40 for $5? No way!)
- Dairy Milk chocolate (I can buy them, again very expensive and they don’t taste the same)
- HP sauce (It’s expensive here so, I substitute for A1)
- Salad cream
- Custard (For some reason I can’t find it here, so, I now make my own and oh my it’s so easy!)
- Sandwiches (I know I can make them myself but I’m talking about the ones you can get in Tesco or Morrisons. They hardly sell sandwiches in stores here and when they do, it’s always dry (af) with turkey and processed American cheese – no thanks)
- CAKES! – the cakes here taste…weird. I can’t explain it, but I guess they’re not as sweet as the ones in the UK.
- Chocolate – same as cakes, not that sweet.
- Fridge raiders
- Cornish pasties
- Curried pastry slices!!
- CURRY in anything. I realise that we put curry in a lot of things in the UK and I MISS IT!
- MY SISTER’S CURRY!!!
I MISS CURRY OKAY!
- Fish n Chips (again I can get it here, but it’s overpriced, and the chips are not chips, they’re more like fries)
- My mum’s stew with dumplings
- Shepherd’s pie
- Bachelors pasta in cheese sauce and broccoli
There’s probably more, but these are just the ones that come to mind right now.
Okay, now that we’ve established that I love and miss British food, here is a list of all the other things (non-food related) that I miss about the UK.
THE WEATHER
I can’t believe that I miss the rain, but I miss the rain. It doesn’t rain much in Colorado, which means the fields look dry. I miss how green the UK is! It’s always luscious and beautiful, it has a very homely feeling about it.
BRITISH WILDLIFE
I miss the sound of the birds. In Colorado, there are so many unfamiliar bird sounds, they’re not as cute sounding. Not to mention Colorado has bears and mountain lions. At least back home I can walk through the New Forest without having to worry about whether a Lion is going to eat me. However, I do love the Prairie dogs and hummingbirds here!
LONDON
I miss London so much, and everything you can do there. The history, museums, FOOD, the multicultural environment. London is my favourite city in the whole world, and I am so glad that I lived there for 6 years. I won’t say too much because I plan to write a post about living in London soon!
THE SEA!!! Colorado is in the middle of the United States, the nearest ocean is in California which is over 1,000 miles away. I can’t believe that I haven’t seen the sea in over 6 months!
BONFIRE/GUY FAWKES NIGHT
I can’t believe that I won’t be celebrating bonfire night this year, or be hearing fireworks on November 5th, I think I may buy some sparklers and celebrate it with my husband.
PRIMARK
I took Primark for granted, so many cool looking clothes, for such a cheap price. Granted they are badly made and of terrible quality but still…CHEAP!
NEW LOOK
I miss New Look so much, it's my favourite store and they always have a good Autumn and winter collection so, I know I’m missing out right now.
CONTACTLESS PAYMENT If you read my previous post, you will know that the US is very behind with their bank cards! I miss the convenience of contactless payment.
FASHION
This applies more to London because people in Southampton, tend to copy one another. No offense. However, it’s even worse in Colorado, everyone dresses the same, literally. The men all seem to wear, long shorts, a t-shirt, a cap, and sunglasses. The women all wear similar outfits too and when I walk around in my leather jacket and ripped jeans, I feel overdressed or as if I'm dressed over the top. They seem to all dress in their indoor/comfy clothes but wear them outside. I just miss how unique people dress in London.
MY HOMETOWN
I’m from a small town on the outskirts of Southampton and although the people there sometimes drive me up the wall, I can’t help but miss it. I miss the history, the vibe, and the memories I have growing up there.
DRIVING AROUND THE NEW FOREST
I miss driving a manual car around the new forest. It really is a beautiful area and I’m so glad that I learnt to drive around the forest, just like my dad did. Automatic cars are so much easier, but I do feel strange still when driving my husband’s car, my foot feels out of place not doing anything.
FAMILY
Of course, I miss my family and my cat Beebe! I miss having long, deep conversations with my sister who honestly, kept me sane whilst I was long-distance from my husband. I miss having breakfast with my mum in the mornings and talking to my dad about history and languages. Also, it might be close to a year since I saw my brother, so I feel sad that I didn’t get to say goodbye to him at all when I left. I haven’t seen my granddad in a very long time either or my aunts and uncles.
There are lots of things that I miss that I didn’t think that I would miss, such as my family...
…haha just kidding!
However, if I was to move back to the UK, I would begin to miss things about Colorado, so I can’t win but being away from home definitely makes me appreciate it more.
Overall, I miss the history (good and bad) culture and the sense of belonging that I never even realised I felt. I am proud to be from the UK but I am also proud to be living in the United States!
Thanks for reading,
Kerry