A week from now Astrid & I will depart Heathrow airport for New York and my son Andrew's wedding. I'm pleased and excited for Andrew and Joanna and happy the long wait is almost over for them.
I've made lists of what I need to buy here in the UK to bring to the US for friends and family and another list of what I need to buy while in the US to bring home with me. There are surprisingly many items mutually unavailable in one or the other; usually simple common things we're so accustomed to having available that there's a real culture shock when we find ourselves up against a brick shopping wall.
In the US we're talking about simple things like:
Noxzema
Jiffy corn muffin mix
Jello pudding mix
Bisquick
Jalapeno peppers
Hellman's mayonnaise (The Hellman's mayo sold in the UK uses a different recipe and is revolting)
Neosporin cream
In the UK, there's a few things I'll be buying:
Airwaves gum (brilliant for instantly clearing stuffy sinuses)
Olbas oil
Ribena
This weekend I need to buy a dress for the wedding (which I will reuse for formal dinner nights when we sail home on the QM2). Probably buy other bits and pieces for the voyage home since Cunard makes it quite clear they don't favor jeans at any time on the QM2.
