bixy Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Answer - the lack of pre-Christmas panic buying here in France. Our daughter went to her local ASDA last Saturday to find the shelves stripped bare. I went to our local Leclerc and it seemed no busier than normal - plenty of everything available. What happens in the UK? The shops are barely closed for a day and yet people shop as though for a six month siege. I'm sure the French eat and drink no less over Christmas than the Brits, but seem to manage perfectly well without all this madness. I well remember being in Sainsbury's car park more than a week before Christmas and not even being able to get hold of a trolley! I miss very little about the UK, and one of the things I really don't miss is Christmas.Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Hein, they don't panic buy here, I have yet to see anyone panic buy! This year it has more to do with the weather than anything else. Deliveries have had trouble getting through. The weather here as been very bad.AND please, the french are quite as capable of stocking up as anyone else. A whiff that anything will be in short supply, OR eg the first gulf war, when the people in the south of France did just that, and frankly France is a long way for Iraq!I used to have to get to Carrefour as they opened to get what I wanted for the Reveillon and if those trolleys could have been revved up, they would have been by the people chomping at the bit to get in. I have tried that day's shopping late afternoon, but, they wouldn't have what I wanted.Panic is a very 'odd' word to use. It is only in France that I have the last product on the shelf 'stolen' from my trolley, never anywhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cendrillon Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 No panic in our part of the U.K. either. I always like to stock-up before Christmas in case we get bad weather after Christmas and then I don't need to go out and shop. Only problem is that this year we have got the bad weather early![8-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londoneye Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 BixyTotally agree - we spend almost no extra money here at christmas - maybe an extra 150 euros on food and drink, and this comes normally from our intermarche points through the year. Not because we are particularly mean, but because there isn't really the same hype (or in truth the temptation in the shops around here !).We have both said that as / when we leave France for a new challenge elsewhere, whether UK or somewhere else, we will absolutely not go back to the christmas frenzy. Our christmas here is some nice food/treats on christmas day/boxing day (for me the most expensive bottle of vodka in intermarche !!) and then back to normal.Ahh, so nice not to have to look at that mountain of food and chocolate on 30th December and feel compelled to eat it, so as not to waste it !Have a lovely christmas everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 No milk in our local UK supermarket yesterday morning .....their lorry with deliveries never made it through the snow ... I don't expect it will today... Those who panic bought will eat this week I have milk in our freezer thankfully ...We panic bought some last weekend ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 I always have good stocks of food and candles in the house each winter and would not be without long life milk. Frankly I have no idea what the christmas frenzy is, I really do not. We have probably spent less on christmas since moving back to the UK as I don't have the expense of so many stamps to foreign places each christmas.nb In France we would get frequent power cuts, hence the candles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachapapa Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 On Christmas Eve I will pop into Parth' in mid afternoon and purchase discounted cerf, biche, autruche, kangaroo, ours, homard, écrevisses or whatever... always a surprise...always end up with something palatable....And if Plan A fails then drop back to Plan B:A nice piece of thick steak, slit in the middle to make a pocket, fill the pocket with half-a-dozen huitres or so, add a soupçon of foie gras and grill for two minutes between the pre heated plates of a " minute grill". Scrumptious![:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Not sure that I would call this panic buying - but - did my usual fresh meat and veg shop today - Monday morning - usually only one caisse open and a small queue. Today, 4 caisses open, and all with long queues. The French may not panic buy, but they certainly shop early!I refuse to shop Christmas Eve, it should be possible to plan well enough ahead - and there is all week this year - to have Christmas Eve to enjoy. Likewise, New Year's Eve.Last present bought today (and that was only because I remembered I'd forgotten it!).Tree will go up tomorrow - final shop on Thursday, no need to rush, just plan and do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 King George on Boxing DayWelsh National on 27thLexus on 28thI have planned but I don't have to do - no tree or other decorations to bother with, no presents to buy (I bought mine for me some time ago + an Air Fryer for Di to replace the SEB/Tefal that keeps breaking) - just snigger at those spending money they don't have on gifts that are not needed for people who don't deserve them anyway.E. Scrooge lives on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 [quote user="Iceni"] King George on Boxing DayWelsh National on 27thLexus on 28th[/quote][:D]Let's hope that this ruddy snow goes away by then. We always used to go to Kempton on Boxing Day - a great treat and nice change of pace after Christmas Day (which is always just the two of us so very simple in whichever country.)I wonder if the rather calmer approach to shopping is because so many go straight back to work? In the UK it seems to have turned into a 10 day holiday without let-up now. But I must say that the supermarkets seem to be packed here at the mo' though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 [quote user="Iceni"]King George on Boxing DayWelsh National on 27thLexus on 28thI have planned but I don't have to do - no tree or other decorations to bother with, no presents to buy (I bought mine for me some time ago + an Air Fryer for Di to replace the SEB/Tefal that keeps breaking) - just snigger at those spending money they don't have on gifts that are not needed for people who don't deserve them anyway.E. Scrooge lives on If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with a “Merry Christmas” on his lips should be boiled in his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.” [/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bixy Posted December 22, 2010 Author Share Posted December 22, 2010 Well, been in several supermarkets today, with only two days to go, looking for a Xmas tree. Plenty available, but rather expensive. A walk in the woods called for... Still no evident panic, no long queues, plenty of everything, including a whole rayon of foie gras!Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanary Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I will always remember this conversation that I overheard a couple of days before Christmas in a supermarket in Norwich...Two lads of about 13 had obviously been given the task of shoving their mother's incredibly overloaded trolley. They didn't look happy and one of them was presumably mimmicking his mother's voice when he pulled a face and said, "Never mind what it is or whether we like it, just put it in the trolley, we can always throw it away after Christmas..."Sums it up nicely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 The conspicous (over)consumtion in France only really gets into top gear at Le réveillon for the new year, then you can really see what over the top means in this country. The UK cannot even hold a candle to it.Plenty of crise de foie to keep the pharmacies and medecins busy the first week of January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pommier Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I thought it was nice that SuperU reduced the price of most of the toys by 50% on the 18th December (then back to normal price). At least it gave any hard-up parents a chance to get some presents for their children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 But if we do a proper reveillon, I don't know how we could avoid xmas eve or new year's eve shopping in France. I would never buy sea food a few days early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanary Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Pommier - interestingly, Sainsburys did the same in the UK... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 [quote user="pachapapa"]On Christmas Eve I will pop into Parth' in mid afternoon and purchase discounted cerf, biche, autruche, kangaroo, ours, homard, écrevisses or whatever... always a surprise...always end up with something palatable....And if Plan A fails then drop back to Plan B:A nice piece of thick steak, slit in the middle to make a pocket, fill the pocket with half-a-dozen huitres or so, add a soupçon of foie gras and grill for two minutes between the pre heated plates of a " minute grill". Scrumptious![:)][/quote]A French / English translation would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachapapa Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3TlyYz0cxUNote PPP does not cut pseudo tournedo. But a thick piece of rump steak with pocket in side, shucked oysters inside without shells[:-))], cooked on a large french George Foreman type electric grill piping hot before inserting steak to ensure immediate sealing of the steak. Paste of cooked fatty ducks livers spread on outside to taste while hot,before serving. Nice with asparagus and sauté potatoes.Preparation 3minutes, time for plates to warm.Grilling 1-2 minutes, lightly salted on both sides of steak.Do you need a video for opening the oysters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 No thank you, I don't like oysters !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 Will you be working on Xmas day PD or are you home from the desert for a while? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 Strickly speaking, Christmas day would be a working day for me but, as the company is French there has been great pressure on the Project Manager and he has declared Saturday as a Company Holiday.I get a two day week end and back to work on Sunday. Next week end is also a two day week end as New Years Day is a Public Holiday here in UAE.A quiet Christmas for us as there are just the two of us here, but I am glad we are not in the cold of Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Coeur de Lion Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 I was a JW for about 4 years in my early 30's (interesting time, but that's for another post).But as a JW, the thing I loved about christmas was the fact I didn't have to worry about it and enjoyed watching everyone run around like headless chickens!!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted December 25, 2010 Share Posted December 25, 2010 What is a 'JW' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted December 25, 2010 Share Posted December 25, 2010 Jehovahs Witness perhaps?Mind you looking at Richards description of how he let Christmas pass him by I fear that I may have become a T.D.J. ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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