One of the things about being in a different country is "Where do I...?" That could mean "where do I buy lollipops?", or "Where do I catch the bus?". Simple things that we take for granted on a daily basis in our home town/country. The "where" can also be the "what". "What brand of soup do I buy"? "Which one do I like the best"? Of course, I have no idea which brand I like the best because most of them are totally different. And even the brands that are the same, taste different.
We were looking for a clothes rack for drying our washing. We don't get enough sun in the back garden during the day to dry clothes. Where do you buy one in the UK?
K found one at Argos. Now there's an interesting concept Australians don't have. You can go to the shop, or look online. You choose your purchases. At the shop, you punch in a bunch of numbers into a machine
pay with your credit card (or I assume cash), and you are given a number. Then you wait while they organise your order. In time, depending on how many people are waiting, suddenly there is your order. You can buy almost anything there. We bought some bed linen, a couple of cute sleeping bags for the boys who are visiting this weekend, a clothes airer and some pillows. K picked the stuff online, from the comfort of our lounge room and then 1/2 hour later, we were home again with all our goodies. What a great way to shop. Aussies can check it out here.
Shopping in Argos
Traditionally, an argos catalog customer will browse through the catalog - either at the in-store browser points or at home with a argos catalog, selecting items they wish to buy and writing down the argos catalog numbers for those items. The customer then takes the shopping list of argos catalog numbers to a till, where the cashier types them into the till, checks the stock levels, and sells the items, issuing the customer with a receipt. As soon as the items are sold, picking tickets are printed in the store's stockroom, and a member of argos staff picks the items from the shelves and takes them to the collection area in store. Meanwhile, the customer takes their receipt to the collection counter, and (sometimes after a few minutes' wait at busy times) is issued with their goods. Most stores have an automated "Call Forward" system in place, which issues customers with an order number and estimated collection time , and the customer is called forward to the collection counter automatically once the estimated collection time is reached, or sooner if the argos staff override the system used touch screen keypads.
This is what it looks like inside. Lots of things to look at.
I also want to get some hooks. You know, the kind you stick on the walls and hang things on. Where the dickens do you get them in the UK? I have no idea and M&K still don't know and they've been here for almost 12 months.
When I wanted to get my hair cut, it was the same thing. Where do I go? What does it cost? What is a good price? What can I expect here that is different from what I am used to?
Shoe sizes are different here. I've been trying on shoes and in the UK I'm about a size 4. Damn. My feet have shrunk since I've been here. Or maybe that's a good sign.
Prepackaged food is interesting over here as well. You can buy a large range of prepackaged meals. So far my favourite is called the Prawn Layer from Mark's and Spencer. It has layers of prawns, carrot, lettuce, cucumber, corn and I don't remember what else. All topped with a bit of mayonnaise. Yum !!
We live in a terrace house. The house is narrow, two stories. Downstairs we have the lounge room, dining room, and kitchen. Upstairs there are 3 bedrooms and the toilet/bathroom. Even the plumbing here is interesting. the number of different shower systems I have seen since I've been here !! In this house, for the shower, we just push a button and there's the hot water, temperature controlled.
We have a room with pipes and stuff and a round thingee which is all about the hot water and heating in the house. Great doors to hang wet clothes on.
This is what it looks like. We having nothing like that in Australia.
We have a radiator in the bathroom similar to this one. Great place for drying your towels.
There are radiators in every room. Not like this one. These are special for the bathroom.
Street parking only. On our street, the only parking is for residents. Our car has a special permit. We have permits for visitors as well. They have to mark off the date, day and time they parked and they are only allowed to stay for 24 hours. Interesting for someone who comes from a place where each house has their own carport or garage. it seems to work. There is always a spot for our car.
I'm waiting for a parcel for K to be delivered. Doing some washing so I can use the new clothes airer, and watching old tv shows while I'm writing this.
Today is my son's 35th birthday so we are going out tonight. He's going to have to wait for his present. K and I know what we are getting him, but just haven't been able to organise the time to find what it. Where do we buy it? That's the question.
Cheers.
Madeleine
Thursday, 16 October 2008
3 comments:
How was M's birthday evening? Did you have a good time?
I hadn't thought about the difference in shopping in England and it's really interesting. The pre packed prawn meal you were talking about sounds deelish!!
I can relate to what your saying about shops, hairdressers and so on, I found a similar thing moving from one side of the country to the other. When you've lived in a city all your life you know where to go but in a new city you have no idea and sometimes things are called different names, even in the same country.
We don't really think about space here, there is so much of it, even in the city the terrace houses have back lanes and most of their back yards have carports or garages. And it's usually only the Tasmanians who have to think about central heating and lack of sunshine.
I hope you all enjoyed the birthday celebration.
M&S food is the best!
I love your posts and I will link you in a post later methinks!
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