British Expat Newsletter: March 2019
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In this issue
This month
Well, well, well… here we are on 31 March and the UK is still a member of the EU, for now. Who’d have guessed it?
Regardless of whether you’re a Remainer or a Leaver, it’s fair to say that most of the country have had more than enough of the ups and downs in Westminster (and, to a lesser extent, Brussels). A million people turned out in London to call for a People’s Vote. Over six million have called for Article 50 to be revoked. And, of course, rather fewer appeared in the capital on Friday to protest at Parliament’s failure to deliver the Brexit which was, after all, the choice of the majority of votes cast on one particular day in June 2016.
None of the politicians come out of this particularly well. Both the major parties appear more concerned about carrying on their own internal wrangles than about sinking their differences to find the best way forward for the country. Everyone seems clear about what they don’t want, but getting them all to agree on something they can live with seems to be an impossibility. The result is an unseemly chaos that’s unparalleled in modern times.
Well, perhaps not altogether unparalleled. A bit closer to home, Pickfords managed to make a complete backside of shipping our stuff from the UK. Their customer portal didn’t work. They turned up hours late to do the packing, without enough materials (even though we actually had less than their survey had allowed for), and ended up sealing and shipping boxes which we’d packed for local storage only, resulting in several breakages in transit. And then to cap it all, they lost one of the boxes.
Our insurers, Marsh, have been pretty good about it. They’ve agreed our best-guess claim based on what we think was probably in the box, and have told us they’ll consider a reasonable claim for shipping the replacement goods to us. We thought that since Pickfords lost the box, it’d be reasonable for them to ship the replacement goods at their cost. Uh-uh. They won’t do that. But they did quote us an astronomical sum to do it. For the same cost I could have paid for a business class return flight, a week’s hotel stay and the necessary excess baggage cost, and I’d still have had change.
Last month we featured an article from Crown Relo, so I hit on the idea of contacting them about this shipping problem. In total contrast to Pickfords who always need constant chasing for replies, the Crown Relo Manager responded immediately and then sent very reasonable quotes for shipping our replacement goods either by air or road.
Given the choice, I know who I would prefer to ship our stuff in future.
For our latest Quick Quiz and Pic of the Week we’ve headed to South America. Specifically, we’re looking at Argentina. The POTW is of a spectacular ice bridge in the Los Glaciares National Park in Patagonia, which reminds us a bit of Malta’s Azure Window, sadly lost in March 2017. And the Quiz… well, it’s five questions about Argentina. Most of you will know the drill by now. And to those of you who don’t, why not give it a go?
Are you ever flummoxed by fancy foodie words, mystified by menus, or confused by culinary terms? Then head on over to Scoffopedia.com and become enlightened by our quirky A-Z of food. And it’s got cartoons in it! Don’t forget to tell all your friends about it too.
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Besides articles, we also publish quick trivia quizzes—five questions about any subject. So, if you’d like to write for us but don’t feel like producing a literary masterpiece, then why not try writing a quickie quiz about your city, country, or even your hobby? Please use our contact form to get in touch.
British Corner Shop
British Corner Shop is the award-winning online grocery store for British expats around the world. Whether you miss Marmite or crave Warburtons crumpets, they can deliver your British favourites straight to your door.
Their website stocks over 10,000 products from Britain’s most loved brands, meaning you can enjoy the British food you miss, wherever you are in the world.
Only three weeks to Easter! But if you’re missing your annual fix of Cadbury’s Creme Eggs, all is not yet lost. Head over to British Corner Shop and place an order now!
British Corner Shop
So there’s a round-up of all that’s been going on. Come on over and see for yourself! Don’t forget…
Visit the BE website and join in with our lively community!
Till next time…
Happy surfing!
Kay
Editor
British Expat—the definitive home for British expats
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