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December 5, 2017
Fancy complaining about the costs and trying to compare them with Spain whilst in the capital of the UK, London! Obviously not been to a lot of capitals, methinks.
I can when on my return go to a carvery for a roast dinner with a choice of beef, lamb or chicken and as much veg and roast potatoes as you wish, for under £5. The choice on frozen meals for one at a supermarket at £1 is unbelievable. Obviously, alcohol is expensive but as I drink very little it doesn’t bother me. If I go to the supermarket, the choices are fantastic with all sorts of vegetables all year round, which as a big veggie eater I miss in Spain. One of the big food chains offer a big box of veg for a family of four for a week at £3.50. Also, supermarkets are now selling “best before dates” at 10p. Clothes and fancy goods are far cheaper if you don’t buy labels, with bargains galore.
Coffee can be bought in the UK for as little as £1 and a mug £1.30. I bought a small coffee on the outskirts of Valencia yesterday for €1.60; it was over €2.50 in Valencia. At another place a cube of chocolate cake (and I mean a cube about 1” square) nowhere near a city was €2.50.
I will say the traffic in the UK is horrendous. I’m always amazed that everyone seems to have a car, even people on benefits! But if you take in that Spain has 241 people per square mile compared to 709 people per square mile in the UK then you can see the overcrowding aspect.
At the end of the day, you should perhaps have tried other cities in the UK, which you would find so much cheaper than London. But personally cannot understand people going to eat and shop in the capital when there is so much to see of our heritage and of interest. Leave the eating and shopping to the rich who visit and live there. When I go, I buy sandwiches and pub food, which has always kept the cost down, and filled my time with the sights and the theatre.
Yours sincerely
B Howman
Dear Mr Howman
Irena is from London and goes back to visit her family, who still live there. She is very well travelled and been to most European cities, Far East, Australia, USA and South America. In her own words: “I have eaten out at both ends of the spectrum, from the Burj al Arab in Dubai to L’Escargot in Soho to John & Joseph’s in Benidorm.”
Ed.
