Crisps Are Back Again

They tell me the weather has been rough on the Atlantic over the last few weeks. This is the importer's excuse for not having any good old Walker's Crisps for several weeks. We ran out of all remaining stocks on Saturday but - fortunately - the warehouse was full to the brim with British goodies again when we went shopping on Monday. Top of the shopping list was CRISPS. I am delighted to report that the Walker's crisp rack is now full to overflowing with fresh crisps again.

"A cup of tea's too wet without one"

That used to be the TV advertising slogan for McVities Rich Tea biscuits when I was growing up in England. We had a morning biscuit program in our school. Along with our free one-third pint bottle of milk we enjoyed one Rich Tea biscuit and one Lincoln Cream (which wasn't actually a cream biscuit at all but the name was convincing). Rich Tea biscuits have always been popular even though they have also been rather dry and, well, boring. Cadbury has renovated that boring image by producing "Rich Tea biscuits for chocolate lovers". Boring no more; these bickies have a layer of delicious Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate on top! You can buy them at Blighty's for $3.49 for a 300g pack.

"Beanz Meanz Heinz"

"A million housewives every day, pick up a tin of beans and say: 'Beanz meanz Heinz'". That's another TV advertising jingle that has stuck in my mind over the years. At Blighty's, this week, Beanz meanz savingz. We've got a special on Heinz Baked Beanz (they really do spell beanz with a "Z" - check the label) this week. Our regular price for Heinz Baked Beanz is $2.39 (compare that with other British stores that charge up to $3.50) but, if you buy a 4-pack, the price is only $6.99 which works out to less than $1.75 per can (hmmm; half the price of those other stores).

British Isles Show
The annual British Isles show will be held at the CNE Queen Elizabeth building this weekend. This is a great show and I highly recommend going downtown to see it. Blighty's won't be there with a show booth (all the space was already taken when we inquired). If you are going down to the show remember that prices for British groceries and sweets are often higher at these events. Blighty's will have special show weekend deals right here in the store - watch out for our ad in the Orangeville Banner this weekend. That means it will make sense for you to do your British grocery shopping here in town and then go down to the show for the entertainment.

Closed Friday 23 Feb

Blighty's Tuck Store will be closed for one day only on Friday 23rd February for personal reasons. When you are a lone entrepreneur these closings are sometimes necessary. I regret any inconvenience to customers. In the future, this won't be necessary; watch out for the special announcement on March 1st!

Major Announcement Coming

It's a lovely warm day again today. There are signs of an early spring in the air. The snow is melting quickly, the sun is shining and the clocks will be springing forward early this year. But it is still only February and, if this is just a ruse to lull us into false hopes of warmer weather, the next snow storm (or ten) may suddenly bring us back to cold, harsh reality.

Spring 2007 will definitely bring about a major change here at the old tuck store. I have been hinting at some changes since the beginning of the year. Well, now it is almost time to unwrap the tidings that I bear. For now, I can reveal only this:

ON THURSDAY 1st MARCH, 2007, A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT WILL BE MADE CONCERNING THE FUTURE OF BLIGHTY'S TUCK STORE.

While you wait for that announcement you may want to pop into the store to take advantage of the inventory reduction specials that we have on offer.

Footlong For A Fiver

It's been a cold, snowy week here in the heart of Downtown Orangeville. The weather is enough to make you yearn for those hot summer days when we had the store air conditioner cranked up to full power. Ah, those days will be back soon enough and then we will all be complaining about the heat again. What's all this fuss about global warming? Bring it on! I could use a little warming cheer right about now.

Despite the cold, a few blue-nosed customers have made it through the tundra. Once they got inside our door they felt the welcoming warm air inside. They also saw the special offers that we have on display. The Valentine's special on Duchy Originals organic biscuits and chocolates was well received. If you were one of the lucky recipients of a box of Duchy Originals Chocolate Thins - enjoy! The Duchy Originals special offer has been extended for the Oat Biscuit range. Choose from Oat, Oat with Chives, Oat with Rosemary and Thyme or Oat with Black Pepper flavoured organic biscuits. The regular price is $5.99 but our special offer price is only $2.99 for a limited time only. These biscuits are imported from the UK and are products from HRH The Prince of Wales' own selected range. My wife and I tried all of the oat varieties over the Christmas holiday and really enjoyed them.

The best deal of the week here at Blightys is McVities Milk Chocolate Digestive biscuits. We have brought in 600g packs for the first time. These foot long packs are twice the size of our regular 300g packs but they are NOT twice the price. While the 300g packs sell for $3.89, these foot long specials are priced at only $4.99!

British Show Comment

It was a bit of a down weekend. On Saturday, Crystal Palace football club managed to come a dismal second in a competition with bottom placed Leeds United. Then, as the day progressed, it turned out to be a quieter day at the store than usual for a Saturday. A lot of customers, it seemed, had headed off to Hamilton for the British Show. If you were one of them, were you as disappointed as I was when I got to the show?

Hats off to show organizers, the Scottish Banner, for attempting to bring us a welcome diversion from the winter blahs. I am sure they are as disappointed as many visitors in the results of their sterling efforts. The Hamilton Convention Centre is a nice facility. It is easy to get to; it has ample parking and it is a clean, modern facility. When I arrived, as a show visitor, around mid-morning on Sunday there was already a lengthy line-up. I joined the end of the line and waited about 25 minutes to get into the show. Security personnel were admitting people in small groups only after other visitors had left. When I finally got into the main hall where the show was being held it was almost empty! Somebody explained to me that there is a fire restriction of (I am told) 750 people in the facility. That's 750 including the number of people in the queue!

With enough room to swing a large cat (if my daughter is reading this, I promise not to use your cat sweetheart) I entered the hall. My first impression was this must be a small part of the show and that the main show would be in another room. I was wrong. This was it. To be completely honest, I spent more time queueing to get in than I actually spent in the show. Guest Coronation Street star Johnny Briggs wasn't scheduled to appear for another 90 minutes and I couldn't figure out how to gainfully fill that time so, after walking right round the show six times and listening to the end of a set by the Toronto Shadows club, I left without seeing him.

Many people even left the queue in frustration without getting in at all. The feedback I have heard since the weekend suggests the show organizers may have been left rather red-faced and probably out-of-pocket. I would like to thank them for their effort and wish them the best of luck in overcoming this year's shortcomings in future shows.

One positive thing came out of my visit. If people are willing to pay the prices being charged for British groceries and candy at the show, Blighty's can put its prices up by at least 25%! Don't worry, I am not going to do that!

55 years on the throne

It was on this day in 1952 that King George VI passed away in his sleep from a coronary thrombosis at the age of only 56. As a result of his death, his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, automatically succeeded him on the throne. Princess Elizabeth was in Africa and had to hurriedly return to Britain. Although she was not formally crowned until June 1953, Elizabeth became the reigning monarch on this day 55 years ago.

Picture courtesy the BBC.

9 days old

Do you remember the old English rhyme "Pease pudding hot, pease pudding cold; pease pudding in the pot 9 days old"? When was the last time you actually tasted pease pudding? A long time ago I suspect. Well, "She Who Must Be Obeyed" and I enjoyed some delicious pease pudding with our Fray Bentos beef pie for dinner yesterday. Yes, this traditional old British favourite is now on the shelves at Blighty's Orangeville location priced at $2.99 while stocks last.

A number of new products have appeared on our heavily laden shelves this week. Hartley's Olde English Thick Cut Marmalade is one newcomer. Hartley's Olde English has that traditional bitter taste that many people favour on their morning toast. Hartley's Best Ginger Jam is also here.

Do you remember the taste of good old British spuds? We can't sell you a sack of King Edwards or Maris Pipers but you can pick up some "Smash" instant potato mix made from genuine British potatoes.

Is your fish and chip dinner lacking a certain zing? Maybe you tried malt vinegar from the local ten acre megamarket and it didn't do the job. Now you can pickup the real McCoy. We have Sarson's genuine British malt vinegar. This stuff was not specially made for the overseas market like some "imported" brands. It is the original and genuine malt vinegar designed for the British dinner table.

McVities has introduced a new variety of their ever popular chocolate digestive biscuits. The new member of the family is Orange flavoured Milk Chocolate Digestives. This one should be a winner - especially as 300g packages are specially priced at only $2.99 compared to the regular $3.89 for other flavours.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

A large number of customers of the female gender have had to be warned by store staff about attempting to purchase bars of Nestle Yorkie chocolate for their own consumption. Nestle Yorkie bars are clearly labelled "Not for Girls". To reinforce the rule, Nestle has now introduced "Man Size" Yorkie bars that are also labelled "Not For Handbags" (in the UK, only ladies carry handbags). In future, all female purchasers of Yorkie bars will be required to declare that their purchase is for consumption by a male friend or family member ;-)

Online Shopping Coming Soon!

The service that we have been using to host Blighty's Mail Order Guide seems to have closed its doors. I have removed the link to it from the blog so no more customers will be confused trying to download the Guide. If you would like a copy of Blighty's Mail Order Guide please send an email request to shop@blightys.com and we will be pleased to send you a PDF version of the Guide.

Blighty's online shop will be opening very soon. You will be able to order anything you want online and it will be delivered to your door by Canada Post expedited parcel service. Watch out for announcements here on the Blog. Meanwhile don't forget to stop by the store and take a look at our new year specials. There are some really good savings to be had throughout the store!