Headline!

                                                        The Daily Mail is SUCH a hysterical paper, hence the fact that I took a pic, rather than actually buying it. The Hubby and I are terrified of turning into Daily Mail readers.
83 F is only about , what 25? 26 ish? Never mind...I welcome the heat wave.It has been a fabulous week weather wise anyway, amazing that it is going to get better!              
 Notice too, that The DM can't just let us enjoy the bloody heat wave, it has to be accompanied with a warning about The Big Freeze.  
How I managed to get a shot on top of the photo of the paper that looks like Muizenberg taken from Strand on a summer's morning....pretty impressive seeing as the pic was taken on my phone, in Sainsburys.              

Disposals

So  awfully organised are the Poms...I got through the letter box a leaflet asking for clothes, toiletries, shoes etc, so I did a quick sort out , put them in the bags, and voila! Picked up the next morning.
I am still getting rid of clothes I brought over from South Africa and have never actually worn. Or clothes that have proven themselves useless in Pom weather.
Like my Woolies Jacket which actually is not waterproof, and has a hood that is worse than useless.
Unfortunately the winter clothes are still vacuum packed away, so they will have to wait for the next cull.

The books, too, have been sorted, both The Hubby and I have Kindles now, so we are no longer stacking books all over the wee house.
We do, however, have about 200 books on the Kindle. Takes up no space at all. So very clever.

I feel very pleased with all this de cluttering and downsizing. It is a very satisfying way to live.

Squirrel Update

 Whoops! Dropped it!


Dear little Meisie who has totally bonded with the (somewhat odd) squirrel  statuette.

Asian Pear

I am epicuriously adventurous, so when I see something new, I am never afraid to try it.
This Asian Pear (3 for £1.50) tastes like a cross between a turnip, an apple and a bucket of water.
Bleh

Shocking Shopping .. SA versus UK

Well, consider me shocked!

Friend of ours has just returned from SA and said that grocery shopping was so expensive there now...must admit I was a bit skeptical, even though I do know the prices have gone up since we left.

So, today , I did my online Tesco shop, and a virtual shop on the Pick 'n pay online site.
Tesco is comparable to Pick 'n Pay. Asda is like Checkers, and Sainsburys more like Woolies.
 I always look for the bargains and the offers, so I have compared them to Pick 'n Pay own brands, and tried to be as fair as I can. It is easy to work on R10 to the £, but actually it is R11ish, to be fair.


This is the shopping list.


Product                                          

                                                              SA price                                  UK Price

Marmite 125g                                       R18.49                                           £1.51

4x soap                                                 R28.00                                          £1.69

Nescafe original                                    R54.89 (200g)                              £4.00 (300g)

mushrooms 250g                                  R6.00                                                 50p

spaghetti 500g                                      R7.99                                                  18p

Light Marg Spread 500g                       R25.99                                           £1.25

Baby tomatoes                                      R7.99                                                  69p

Blueberry Juice 1litre (is good for
preventing alzheimers!)                          R20.99                                              £1.00

Aquafresh 3 way toothbrush                  R38.99                                              £2.00

3 bean salad 400g                                 R16.99                                                   65p

Dishwasher tabs                                    R55 (for 18)                                      £5.09 (for 33)

Spring Onions bunch                             R8.99                                                       60p

Pork chops                                           R60 /kg                                               £3.99/kg

Mature cheddar                                     R89.97/kg                                          £9.00/kg

Stuffed Whole chicken                           R46.99/kg                                          £3.13/kg

sparkling water                                      R5.99 1 liter                                            17p 2 liter

eggs                                                       R1.31each                                              8p each

'Best of both' bread                                  R10.99 (700g)                                 £1.15 (800g)

Sweetcorn                                              R4 each                                                 50p each

Diet coke cans                                       R36.99 (for 6)                                     £4.89 (for 12)

Loo Roll   (9/2 ply)                                R49.99                                                £4.00

Lurpack butter 250g                              R27.99                                                 £1.60

Tampax 20                                            R31.99                                                 £1.88


Must add Fillet steak....I didn't buy any, everything else on this list I did buy (yes, and the tampax, do you mind??)

Fillet Steak                                              R171.99                                                        £24.99

Ha ha ha ha ha ...we never eat Fillet steak!!

There was more, but I am now exhausted from looking everything up on the Pick 'n pay site which is hard to work with. To be fair, a LOT of stuff is unavailable, but only because they only have online shopping for 6 cities in SA. Also, most prices are quoted in per/kg, and also, you don't get the price on the site, you get the price on the day in the store.

Tesco charges anything from £3.50 to £6 for delivery, depending on the time of day , and how far in advance you book. I usually pay £4.50.
Pick 'n Pay charges a flat rate of R60 for delivery.

This has been a very interesting exercise indeed.

Stepping up

In South Africa, the most walking I did was from the house to the car. As old blog followers know, here in Pom Land, you have to walk 500 miles a day.
I may have exaggerated, but initially, that is what it felt like.
Now, it is a doddle.
Today I bought a 'step counter' or, as The Hubby insists, a pedometer.
It counts your steps, and you should do 10 000 a day.
Well, my first day, I did 6000.
Quite impressive , I thought.
So, tomorrow, I am back to gym (just because you pay £40 a month , doesn't mean it makes you fit if you don't actually go...
Oh please dear god hope Dr Lauren is not reading this....
But , tomorrow I am back on track and will make up my billion million steps on the treadmill.
ACTUALLY, I walk a million miles more than I ever did before...so...

WHATEVER! (as they say here)

David Walliams

David Walliams swam the Thames to raise money for Sports Relief

http://www.littlebritainfans.com/

I went to see him at Kew Bridge, which was his last leg of the journey. I am so very impressed with what he has done and it has made me very proud to be a Pom.
The Thames is NASTY and quite dirty in parts, and tidal, and he looked so teeny weeny little swimming in the middle of it, so much so that I did shed a tear.

He raised more than a million £'s. so well done to him.

Weatherwise , it was a lovely day, bit windy on the bridge, but not bad for September.
Still and all , I was glad I wasn't in the water.
Solidarity has its limits.

Well Done David!