29/09/2006

Can it be?

Yesterday I ventured into Utrecht's English shop. It's really quite an amazing place and really feels like a Victorian-era corner shop. Upon informing the old guy behind the counter that "Ik ben Engelsman" I proceeded to have a conversation about some of the things in his shop - many being things that I haven't seen for ages in the UK - when something caught my eye. Among his racks of McVities biscuits, Heinz soups and pop-tarts (!), was a box with 'Caramac KitKat' written on the side. Oh my. My two favourite chocolate bars, in one bar? I pointed out my amazement to him and asked if I could buy the whole box there and then. Unfortunately though, the box was just for display and despite his impressive searching he was unable to find anymore. My hopes dashed, I consoled myself with a Heinz Sticky-Toffee Pudding in a can.

But then something else happened. I went to the local supermarket to do some Dutch shopping when I saw something that I thought had long gone:


Could it really be? Or was it the Caramac KitKat all over again? No, I had really stumbled across Biscuit Caramel Vienetta. This made my day. It inexplicably disappeared from British supermarket freezer isles years ago much to my dismay, but it's still here, and it was on buy-on-get-one-free!

That's quite a lot of time spent talking about pudding, but as you may have guessed, it made quite an impression. Today hasn't so far lived up to the highs of yesterday. I've figured out how to put cash into my Dutch bank account, and then promptly paid it all out again in rent. I have though officially registered as a residence of Utrecht, so perhaps it's now appropriate for me to say "Ik ben Nederlands". Or perhaps not.

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