Blighty's Newsletters

A few weeks ago we revived the old Blighty's Tuck Store Newsletter. We used to send a newsletter out every few weeks but when we moved the store over to our new digs there never seemed to be enough time.

Well, I have personally rectified that deficiency but with one basic change. The new version of Blighty's Tuck Store Newsletter is an all electronic version sent by email. The cost of sending out a printed newsletter became prohibitive and, in this present economic climate, we have to do all we can to keep costs under control.

The new version of Blighty's Newsletter is a brief, easy to read summary of new products added to our shelves along with a list of the special and clearance deals each week. I encourage you to subscribe to Blighty's Tuck Store Newsletter if you would like to be kept up-to-date on what's going on in the store. If you would like to check it out to see if it might be useful, you can always view the latest newsletter on Blighty's Tuck Store's website at www.blightys.com/Newsletter.html.

But wait, that's not all. Whilst getting the old store newsletter up and running again we also introduced two other newsletters:

1. Blighty's British Recipes
2. Blighty's Corrie Fan Newsletter

Blighty's British Recipes Newsletter
The British Recipes Newsletter, like the main store newsletter, is published weekly. It is targeted at all those British food enthusiasts who share an interest in keeping traditional recipes alive. You won't find any fancy stuff in this newsletter, just good old British grub the way my old Mum used to make it.

Blighty's Corrie Fan Newsletter
The third newsletter is aimed specifically at fans of the world's longest running TV soap opera - Coronation Street. It is the most heavily subscribed of the three newsletters so far. Blighty's Corrie Fan Newsletter is published bi-weekly and features a trivia question with prizes. Last week, somebody won a Coronation Street DVD for emailing the correct answer.

Privacy Policy
In order to subscribe to any of Blighty's newsletters you need to enter a valid email address. We guarantee that we will not disclose your email address to any other person for any reason whatsoever. We will use your email address ONLY for the purpose intended. You will never receive unsolicited email from us. The reputation of Blighty's Tuck Store is too valuable to risk compromising the trust you place in us by misusing your information.

How to Transfer a Pension from the UK to Canada

Do you have a UK pension? Would you like to know what your options are? Many expat British people in Canada don't even know they have the option of transferring their pensions to Canada. Today's post is a guest contribution from Mark Rowland, a consultant with the Investor's Group in London, Ontario.

Mark Writes:

I was born in Manchester, England and when my family and I emigrated to Canada 12 years ago, we knew it was the right decision for many reasons. But what we didn't realize was that there would be so many challenges in our new day-to-day lives. A new health system, passing our driving tests, buying a car, buying a house, new tax laws, not to mention finding jobs! All the things we had taken for granted in England.

About 12 months ago, when I was looking at some old paperwork from my past employment in the UK, I realized that I had some pension money still invested with my previous employer in England. I looked into what my options were and found out that in April 2006 the Canadian and British governments had come to an agreement allowing the transfer of UK pensions into Canada with no financial penalties.

I was interested to find out more and discovered the money could be working for me here in Canada - with full access to information on how well it was performing! So with the little information I had, I was able to find the transfer out value and the length of time it would take to transfer overseas. We decided it was definitely the right choice and transferred it over to Canada where it is now working for me as part of my Retirement Savings Plan.

If you have old paperwork from previous UK employers gathering dust in a pile of unfiled paperwork and you are curious to learn the current transfer value but don't where to start, you should seek advice from a professional financial planner with direct experience in pension transfers from the UK to Canada.

If you would to find out more you can contact Mark, toll-free, at 1-800-541-0977 ext 224, or by email at: mark.rowland@investorsgroup.com

Exciting New Google UK Maps Feature

Michael, my mailman and the world's biggest Manchester United fan walked into the store Monday morning with my gas bill. He also tipped me off about an exciting new feature introduced on the Google Maps UK site.

Google has been driving around the Queendom in vans with cameras on the roof taking detailed, high resolution pictures at street level. Now when you visit http://maps.google.co.uk you will find a new symbol on the maps.

Take a look at the image above. Inside the red circle you will see an icon of a little man. Grab the little man with your mouse, then drag and drop him onto a road on the map. If the map displays blue fringes around the road the new feature has been enabled for that road.

Your screen will now change to show a detailed, high resolution street level image. But wait, it gets even better!

Arrows will also appear on your screen. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to "drive" along the street, make turns and zoom in on individual buildings. Check out the last house house you lived in; did the new owners repaint the living room yet?

Google hasn't imaged the whole United Queendom yet but major cities like London and Manchester have lots of imaged roads. Give it a try.

Have fun.

Walkers Crazy Crisps - part 6

The final installment in our six part series on Walkers new crazy crisp flavours is "Fish and Chips". The first thing that struck me when I heard about this flavour was the inevitable confusion the name would cause.

In Canada, potato crisps are called "chips". Imagine if the food labelling bureaucrats got hold of these. We would have to relabel them as Fish and French Fried Potato Chips. Customers will be asking for Fish and Chips chips. It could trigger a whole range of misunderstandings.

There is a competition for which of the six new "Do Us A Flavour" flavours will be adopted by Walkers. Customers at Blighty's Tuck Store voted with their wallets. The Fish and Chips flavour sold out first.

If I had to add my vote, I too would vote for Walkers Fish and Chips flavour. Ok Walkers, we may not be able to vote officially but, a whole lot of Canadians are backing Fish and Chips.

Enjoy this video from Walkers:

How to leave a comment

I sometimes get asked the question:

I want to add my two cents worth to one of your posts but I don't know how to do it. Can you help me?

It can be a little confusing but once I show you how to do it you should find it very easy to do.

1. Look at the bottom of each post (a post is any article that you read on this site e.g. the one you are reading now). If you refer to the image with the picture of the British Canadian newspaper, you will find a "comments" link identified with a red arrow.

2. Click on the comments link. For a new post it will usually say: "0 comments"

3. A new screen will appear. Refer to the image on the right with the title "Leave your comment".

4. If you want to leave an anonymous comment just type your comment in the box at the top. If you want a personal reply type your name and your email address in the box with your comment.

5. Click "Anonymous" under the title "Choose an identity". Choose this selection even if you entered a name and address in the "Leave a comment" box at the top.

6. Click the big "PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT" button at the bottom to send your comment.

7. Your comment doesn't actually get published until I have reviewed and approved it, so don't be surprised if it doesn't appear immediately. I reject comments that are abusive or spam but I will still publish your comment if you disagree with something I post.

Now that the mystery of blog comments has been removed go ahead and have your say!

The British Canadian - March Issue

The March issue of "the British Canadian" newspaper is now available in the store. As usual, its twelve full colour pages are packed with great articles aimed at all of us expatriate Brits here in Canada.

British Isles Show Review
There is a full page review of the upcoming British Isles Show on page seven. This year's show runs from Friday 3rd April until Sunday 5th April at the Queen Elizabeth Building in Toronto's CNE grounds. The visiting Coronation Street guest star will be Michael LeVell (aka Kevin Webster). There will be a very interesting article about Michael LeVell in next week's Corrie Fan Newsletter sponsored by Blighty's. If you would like to read it, be sure to subscribe now.

Read Page 2!
Be sure to also check out the article on page 2 entitled "New Rules in Ontario May Kill Burns Night Suppers". Yes, this article deals with the big issue we have been promoting here on the blog about the Government of Ontario driving small Scottish butchers into bankruptcy and closure.

Get A Copy by Mail Free
If you would like a sample copy of "the British Canadian" just leave us a comment (use the "comments" link below this post) and we'll pop one in the mail to you free of charge.

Another Ontario Butcher Bites the Dust

Anybody who has been reading this blog for more than a few days will know about my campaign to make the Ontario government aware of the havoc it is causing among small butchers. I mean the kind of small butchers who prepare specialty British meats such as haggis and black pudding.

Welcome "British Canadian" Newspaper Readers
If you read my article on page 2 of the March issue of the "British Canadian" newspaper, I want to thank you for taking the trouble to also read this blog. Keep reading this post to find out how you can help.

What's All the Fuss About John?
I'll give a summary here to save new readers the trouble of finding and reading my previous posts on the topic. The Government of Ontario's Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) has introduced new regulations for the production of cooked meats. Meat processing plants must now obtain a licence and satisfy OMAFRA's stringent requirements for safety standards.

So far, you may think that all sounds very reasonable. But, OMAFRA is applying the same standards to one-man butcher shops as it does to giant corporations. Small butcher shops are being forced to spend huge sums of money to comply with the new regulations. The amounts involved are way above any reasonable amount that a small butcher shop might be able or willing to invest.

Rather than having the lifeblood squeezed out of their veins, small butcher shops are just closing their doors and giving up their livelihoods. The last time I wrote about this, just a few days ago, the big chopper was hanging over my butcher's head. Blighty's Tuck Store buys meats from Empire Meats in Durham, Ontario. Now that axe has fallen.

Another Butcher is Closing its Doors Forever
Saturday, 14th March 2009 will be the last day of business for Empire Meats. The shop will be closing its doors forever. The auctioneer will arrive a week later and auction off the shop's assets. I spoke with Empire's owner, Kevin Soady-Easton, today when he arrived to deliver the final order to Blighty's. Kevin has been forced into premature retirement and the business he has spent 11 years building will be wiped out by the uncaring hand of the mindless bureaucrats of the provincial government.

Deaf, Blind, Senseless Bureaucracy
Kevin and I will both continue to fight the government in every way we can. We may be able to save other butchers and thereby save the supply of haggis and black pudding in Ontario. We are not optimistic that we can win out over a deaf, blind and senseless government bureaucracy but we are going to give it our very best shot.

Is It Really All That Bad?
Ask yourself a question. Was it small butcher shops or a giant corporation that recently poisoned and killed several people through negligence? The giant corporations will still be with us but the little guys will be out on the street - unemployed. And will the giant meat processing corporations step up to the plate and give us haggis and black pudding? If you don't know the answer to that one try buying a big corporate branded pack of haggis in your local supermarket! So is it really all that bad? Yes, it's a disaster!

How Can You Help?
For a start, you can vote in the poll on this blog. Look over in the right hand column on this page and have your say. The poll is completely anonymous so please, just do it! You can also add your comment to this post (use the comment link below). You can comment anonymously if you wish. If you want to do more, write to your MPP and ask them for help. The battles are being lost but the war isn't over yet.

Walker's Crazy Crisps - part 5

Number 5 in our series on the new Walker's crazy flavour crisps takes us up to Durham in the north-east of England. I lived there for a few years myself and I knew a girl called Carole. I wonder if she is the same one who suggested Onion Bhaji flavour crisps to Walkers?

Onion Bhajis are tasty little East Indian treats made from onion. No surprises there. If you think I'm being silly remember there's no squirrel in the Cajun Squirrel crisps.

The onions are fried inside fritters made from gram flour along with spices, spices and more spices.

Funny though, "Carole" doesn't sound like an East Indian name. It just goes to show how the people of Britain have adapted to non-traditional foods.

Customers at Blighty's Tuck Store have been stacking these crazy crisps into their shopping carts with some alacrity. We are almost sold out now. Fortunately, we have been able to re-order so we'll be able to keep on surprising people with the peculiarities of British food flavours.

Eventually, though, five of the funny flavours will disappear and only one of the six will be selected as a permanent flavour by Walkers. Blighty's customers have already cast their vote for our number one. We'll discuss our winner in the final instalment of this mini-series.

Revels Competition Winner

Congratulations Mike Percy for winning Blighty's competition for guessing how many Revels candies in the big jar.

The rules required the winning guess to be within 10% of the correct quantity. Michael's guess: 2009

Correct answer: 1850

Thanks to all who entered.