Three Signs and Our First Ready Meal (28 December)

Those of you who know me know that I like getting a good deal--which we've been doing a fair amount of here in London, as long as we forget alllllllll about the Canadian dollar and just think in £. Even the bank manager at our branch (we had an appointment to set up our joint account today) laughed when we moaned at how little our bank transfer from Canada amounted to when converted into £. "You have to forget about dollars and just think in pounds," he said, "or you'll feel all crazy and pack up and go home tomorrow!" Anyway, even though I think I have a keen eye for deals, sometimes you need luck and timing to get the best ones, and we missed out on this one, spotted tonight NEXT DOOR to our flat:

I especially like the cute stationery and the smiley face--double the friendliness! It was tough to leave this treasure behind, but we already bought these items last week and I hope that someone else who appreciates such generosity scooped up the bag after we passed it by.

Bob and I are both finding that even the simplest of information can often be a fun challenge to process. Take this sign outside Tesco, whose fine print doesn't quite match what's above, at least by our Canadian expectations: And this one, inside,
which struck us as very odd. I still can't look at this photo without thinking that the photo doesn't quite match the text! But rutabaga is also a strange word, so who am I to comment?

After another busy day of shopping (we now have enough things in our flat to make a mess--which is simultaneously comforting and annoying), we decided we were too tired (I would say "pooped," but Fiona informs me that people don't use that word here for anything except, well, the past tense of pooing) to cook and decided to take advantage of a) our "new-to-us" secondhand microwave, purchased today from a couple in Clapham South who were moving back to Australia, and couriered home by Bob on the tube and b) the amazing variety of "ready meals" available in London supermarkets (sorry Hugh).

While part of me is embarrassed to say so, our dinner was great! The flavours were less complex than Vij's boil-in-a-bag takeaway, but everything was mighty delicious and the naan had that wonderful naan-y texture that even typing makes my mouth water. The price certainly can't be beat: this made a huge meal for the two of us for less than £6. I should have taken a photo of the refrigerated isle from which we picked these items, because the Indian section alone was enormous and we had some difficulty choosing--more for another time, I guess-- although I do feel a bit funny "cheating" on my beloved Sainsbury's . . .