The next step on my personal journey back in time.... I'm living with my mum! Ok, so she's visiting for a few weeks. (No, I have not moved back into the parental home, watching TV on the sofa, calling out for food like some scary giant physicist-cuckoo-chick.) Anyway, she brought treasured stuff with her (thanks also to my sister, cmj!), including things that almost all UK people in the USA crave: Ribena, Marmite, proper simple teabags, decent chocolate (sorry but Hershey's just suckity suckity sucks)....
I can get a lot of this in the English shops in Santa Monica, (and the G&B chocs in some regular shops these days) but it's just not the same as getting it shipped in, inside a suitcase, with that delicious feeling of anticipation while it is unpacked. I actually don't eat this sort of thing under normal circumstances. I suspect that it is the connection with the old country, its people, my people, and the past that I want to savour for a little while. Note that this photo was taken within 24 hours of her arriving and the seals are broken on some things already. Now how am I ever going to maintain my girlish figure...? -cvj
