Making Australians feel at home

[Alex]

Hi all, a bit of an odd one.

A friend of mine and his girlfriend from Australia will be visiting me in the UK. I would like to make them feel at home.

Any tips?

[gregariz]

I always like going to the pub when I'm there.. I've met quite a few other Aussies in London that way...

A bit of sun always is nice!

[baljemmett]

A friend of mine and his girlfriend from Australia will be visiting me in the UK. I would like to make them feel at home.

Shame they're not here now -- I imagine watching the national cricket team make mincemeat of the tourists would be a welcome home comfort for an Australian

[Time]

Fosters beer?


muhaha

[IanB]

A friend I used to work with hailed from Australia. Beer and cricket were interests for sure. But to some extent I think Britain feels like a home away from home for Australians. Apart from everything being back to front and upside down (like Christmas being in the middle of the summer), and a penchant for abbreviating words by putting an 'o' on the end (like having a lazy arvo after a lunch around the barbie at Crimbo) there is a considerable cultural affinity between the two nations.

[EEVblog]

Having a jar of vegemite and Australian butter available is essential.
Oh, and about an extra 10degC or so.
You could throw in any biscuits by Arnotts or made in Oz Cadbury chocolate.
(When overseas I always miss being able to get Australian lollies, chips, and sweets)
And have a pair of thongs at the front door they can slip on.
A Hills Hoist in the backyard would score big points.

Dave.

[IanB]

And have a pair of thongs at the front door they can slip on.

This one is going to cause a lot of giggles... 

[Uncle Vernon]

Fosters beer?

Cripes no!! That muck is so bad it's for export it!
Any of the Tassie beers are the go Boags Cascade etc. And here is the hint. Store Beer in fridge not the cupboard.

I recall working in Melbourne some years ago where the site hand would look after the catering. The coldest beer was always at the back of the fridge,  the freshly loaded stuff always placed at the front. He served the Poms from the front and the locals from the back assuring us they liked it that way. No one ever complained!

[Psi]

At the risk of starting a flame war

Marmite > Vegemite 

[Uncle Vernon]

At the risk of starting a flame war

Marmite > Vegemite 

Marmite is poo, so are all the other imitators.  There is nothing as good, as healthy and as nourishing as good old (American Owned) Aussie Vegemite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite

VEGEMITE SONG

We're happy little Vegemites

As bright as bright can be.

We all enjoy our Vegemite

For breakfast, lunch, and tea.

Our mummies say we're growing stronger

Every single week,

Because we love our Vegemite

We all adore our Vegemite

It puts a rose in every cheek.

[vk6zgo]

Oh,I'm sure the Aussies will be quite at home !

I'm assured by people who have been to "the Old Dart" since last time I travelled in those parts(40 years ago),that the Brits have been dragged screaming into the 20th Century ( they haven't quite made to the 21st,but they are working on it).

Back in the day,if you were doing the tourist thing, it came to be about 3pm,& you felt like a beer ,you would find the pub was closed,so you had to find a shop somewhere to buy a room temperature bottle of "Tizer" to quench your thirst-- sticky, sickly sweet, & hot,not quite the same as a beer!
 
Fish & chip shops were good--when they were "frying",which was seldom!

Generally the "takeaway food" scene was abysmal--when Aussies,Kiwis & Yanks got together,we would whine about the food!
One exception,two really great pie shops in Southampton!

Having to drive 70 odd miles to London to buy KFC was a bit poor!(Probably served me right for living in a "provincial" city)

British Rail pies-----AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!

Strangest of all,one Sunday I was trying to buy some  bath soap, as we had run out.
I went to a "corner shop" where they were amazed that I didn't know you had to buy soap at the "Ironmongers",which was really a hardware store! 



I have been assured that all these issues have been addressed,& all is now sweetness & light.

But seriously,if they have enough time to get about & see all the "touristy" stuff,they will have a great time.

VK6ZGO
 

[Zad]

I think Asda sell Vegemite, I have certainly seen it on the shelves in a major store somewhere. Do Aussies still love Tim Tams? This place have them, but they aren't cheap http://www.angloaustraliantrading.com

You can borrow my Kangaroos rugby top if you like. The down side is you have to be brave enough to wear the shorts too 

I wonder if they will be going to Whitby? One of the best days out I have ever had was seeing the replica of Endeavour there (sadly back home in Australia now). Absolutely incredible to see this comparatively tiny wooden ship that had crossed such huge distances. Having said that, Whitby is only 90 minutes from here, so pretty easy to get to for me, it is a fair slog from down south though. Probably worth an overnighter, to do Staithes and the Cook museum in Middlesbrough, if that floats their boat.

[AntiProtonBoy]

Fosters beer?

I find this offensive!

Coopers Red if you guys have it over there. Actually, any non-shit beer.


Take em to the local pub or something.

[vk6zgo]

Brits are quite fond of beer,no matter what type,or where it comes from!

My mate & I found a pub in London which had Swan Lager on tap,which had many more local than Aussie customers.
We forgot about our tourist destination & wet our whistle with some good old West Aussie brew!
Unfortunately, they didn't have Swan cans,only Foster's! 
We swallowed our pride & took a few cans back to SOTON, where we, in turn,swallowed the Fosters.(A great improvement on Carling Black Label,if not quite Swan!)
This became a habit during our London visits, until walking back from the train we passed a Tesco's with a great pyramid of Fosters cans in the window.

This shop was  about two blocks away from our flat!

I never got used to room temperature beer,except for Newcastle Brown Ale ,which is good at any temp.

With the rise of the "Real Ale " movement in the UK,it appears that there are some really nice brews available there.

I wonder if they still make "Ewer's Lager" in Scotland.In the pub I went to in Edinburgh,they were selling it in big,frosty jugs, OZ style--it was very nice!!

VK6ZGO

[IanB]

I never got used to room temperature beer

Room temperature beer is always wrong. I don't know where this strange idea that we drink room temperature beer comes from. Real ale is correctly served at cellar temperature, which is about 12°C or so. Lagers and other styles are served cooler. But if you go into a pub and they try to serve you room temperature beer, you should walk out again. It is a crap pub.

(Yeah, there are plenty of crap pubs in the UK, but thanks to the efforts of CAMRA there are fewer than there used to be. There is crap food and crap customer service and crap all sorts of other stuff too. Sorry about that. All I can suggest is you vote with your feet and seek out the good places. Let the crap places go out of business for lack of custom.)

[johnboxall]

Make sure there is a decent hot shower, connected to a working hot water system. With soap, shampoo and some real bath towels.

[EEVblog]

Make sure there is a decent hot shower, connected to a working hot water system. With soap, shampoo and some real bath towels.

You might have to provide some Wikipedia links to these mysterious items. It's the poms we are talking about here 

Dave.

[GeoffS]

Agree with the comments on beer - Coopers Sparkling Ale or failing that, any Tassie beer will do.
Poms do serve their beer at room temperature as this is usually near the temperature inside a fridge .
[This assumes that your visitor is a beer drinker]

Finally, Tim-Tams  - I'll say no  more 

[djsb]

I'd like to get some education. What would you suggest I try from this place

http://www.australiashop.co.uk/

I pass the redback tavern in Ealing every day

http://www.redbacktavern.com/

Not sure if this is what your looking for?

David.

[Kozmyk]

They've just travel 1/2 way across the world, why would they want to feel at home?
Take 'em for a real ale and a curry (traditional British celebration food - well in Wales it is ). 

Oh and if you can't find Vegemite try crumbling a couple of Veggy Oxo cubes into ordinary Marmite.

Thanks to Natalie Imbruglia on the Graham Norton Show we now know what Tim Tams are, and their little explosions. 

[Zero999]

Fosters beer?

I find this offensive!

Coopers Red if you guys have it over there. Actually, any non-shit beer.

Yes, I don't think much of Fosters either. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's piss, it's drinkable but there's simply no flavour and would rather drink Tizer of even diet Coke any day.

Room temperature beer is always wrong. I don't know where this strange idea that we drink room temperature beer comes from. Real ale is correctly served at cellar temperature, which is about 12°C or so. Lagers and other styles are served cooler. But if you go into a pub and they try to serve you room temperature beer, you should walk out again. It is a crap pub.

(Yeah, there are plenty of crap pubs in the UK, but thanks to the efforts of CAMRA there are fewer than their used to be. There is crap food and crap customer service and crap all sorts of other stuff too. Sorry about that. All I can suggest is you vote with your feet and seek out the good places. Let the crap places go out of business for lack of custom.)

It also pisses me off when pubs sell me bitter or ale too cold but at least I can wait for it to warm up a bit.

My favourite beers Newcastle Brown, Nutty Black Ale, Hobgobin and Honey Due but I wouldn't expect many people here to have heard of them.

I'd also recommend anyone visiting the UK to try cider but not the shitty stuff like Strongbow, Frosty Jack, Magners etc. My advice is go to a beer/cider festival for good stuff which can be hard to buy elsewhere.

[vk6zgo]

I never got used to room temperature beer

Room temperature beer is always wrong. I don't know where this strange idea that we drink room temperature beer comes from. Real ale is correctly served at cellar temperature, which is about 12°C or so. Lagers and other styles are served cooler. But if you go into a pub and they try to serve you room temperature beer, you should walk out again. It is a crap pub.

(Yeah, there are plenty of crap pubs in the UK, but thanks to the efforts of CAMRA there are fewer than their used to be. There is crap food and crap customer service and crap all sorts of other stuff too. Sorry about that. All I can suggest is you vote with your feet and seek out the good places. Let the crap places go out of business for lack of custom.)

Well,right now,it's mid winter in West OZ.Night time room temperature is about 12 degrees C,or quite often substantially less.
I would still expect my beer to be noticeably colder than that!

I do believe that Brit food,etc has improved enormously since I was there back in the Dreamtime!

Give your visitors some good home cooked British food,& they will be happy.
Whenever I ate at somebodies home the food was excellent!

VK6ZGO

[AntiProtonBoy]

Steak and mashed potatoes?

[Zero999]

Well,right now,it's mid winter in West OZ.Night time room temperature is about 12 degrees C,or quite often substantially less.
I would still expect my beer to be noticeably colder than that!

CAMRA (CAMpaign for Real Ale) believe that real ale is best enjoyed at round 12^oC because it's the average cellar temperature in southern England, where ale is traditionally made.

Lager is brewed at much lower temperatures than real ale and only became popular after the invention of modern refrigeration and I agree that it's best enjoyed at a much lower temperature than ale, around 4^oC.

I think the reason for the disagreement is you haven't had real ale before, you can't compare it with with lager, it's like apples to oranges - Fosters Carling, Stella Artois, Budweiser etc. are not real ales and are not even known as beer, here in the UK they're called lagers. Not all are shit, some are nice but they have a poor reputation compared to traditional ales, round these parts.

I suppose there's no point in arguing, it's a matter of opinion.

[Neilm]

Shame they're not here now -- I imagine watching the national cricket team make mincemeat of the tourists would be a welcome home comfort for an Australian

my cosan came over from Aus and he didn't like it when I took him to one cricket match. Mind you, that was England vs Aus the last time there were over here 

Neil