Weird things your UK visitors have been hung up on

[thanksamillion]

We had some visitors last week who brought their own toilet roll with them. Admittedly I don't live in the most well developed place and the toilet paper we have isn't luxurious white and fluffy but I was a little.

They left it in the bathroom and made clear it was for us to use as well which was nice. You can buy fancy paper here but I don't for various reasons so to me it seemed a slightly strange thing to lug on an aeroplane.

So it got me wondering what are the everyday things where you live that your UK visitors can't cope with/feel the need to bring you?

moose your snot freezes? Wow, I think I want to put that on my bucket list!

Sorry that the Latin American contingent don't get visitors - you can have some of mine if you'd like We're pretty much booked up now until September.

MummyAbroad loving your seasons confusion.

We're only two hours difference with the UK but it still causes much consternation (after 6 years).

EmilyAlice Yes! Our visitors often like to fill me in on the UK news as though the internet never happened but then ask us for the wifi login

I live in rural Mexico. Also had no visitors, as obviously they'll be kidnapped and sold as drug mules. However, my mum was appalled that there wasn't a Marks and Spencer. (There's barely a supermarket.) Also was appalled at the lack of Heinz baked beans. There are 500 other types of beans, but the lack of Heinz was an outrage to her.

I remember one visitor who was completely gobsmacked because Sally and South Today were on our telly just like at home.
Also yes to everone being asked to bring a packet of Solpadeine....

Thumbwitch I think M&S deliver to Australia and you can order from the UK site whilst we in France have to use the crappy French one

Oh it is crappy isn't it. Not nearly as much stuff as the UK site even though it seems to be delivered from there directly.

Next deliver to France too but am sure the selection is limited as everything I want is always out of stock.

At porcito - lots of beans - indeed!

Mummy my PILs have never visited even in the UK before they were elderly and one BIL visited once. Won't again though because he had to pay extra to put golf clubs on the plane, and had a whole hour's delay leaving the UK.

My sis can't fly due to health problems, but she did visit when we were in Central America, so that means now the only visitor we get is stepson when his work permits. To be quite frank it suits me that ILs don't visit, but it hurts DH, which makes me very .

When the BiL visited they asked what we wanted them to bring, we wracked our brains and couldn't think of anything we couldn't buy here that we actually wanted and they could not accept that we had no need of supplies from the civilized world.

And yes to being brought up to date on Uk news despite the fact that we see more UK news that they do, in their little bubble

Drinkingtea - your mum sounds like the female version of a mansplainer - mumsplaining?

fuxache - I lives in the "country" you know, we just aren't that cosmopolitan although I did manage to persuade them to stock Boursin for me. Bisto would be a no-no. I can get it at vastly inflated price from a cool shop in our nearest shopping mall (actually stocks stuff from Europe and the USA as well, mostly sweets but they do now stock Bisto powder and sandwich spread )

laylalilac - yes they do, and it's not even expensive, but I still prefer to buy when I'm over in the UK so I can check that I'm getting the right ones. :)

And NO ONE can get their heads around the idea that our long summer holiday happens at Christmas time, because, y'know, that IS our summer, being in the southern hemisphere. Just gets them EVERY time.

Large soup spoons (table spoon sized) I always associate with places called St John's, my college at Oxford and our Honeymoon Hotel (São Joao).

I used to charge a visitors tax of at least one parsnip per person but since Jamie Oliver took off over here I can actually get them in all the supermarkets now.

Where is that, Baroness? Couldn't get fresh veg into Australia, sadly. :(

Oh yes, DD's summer holiday is at completely the wrong time of year, and why do we always seem to get good weather at Christmas

Not visitors exactly but if we go home in the summer - 'you don't have much of a tan'. Well, that's becausea) we actually live there and don't spend our time sunbathing and b) it's currently averaging 45 degrees c during the day and 40 at night we've spent the last two months hiding in air conditioned places. They seem to think summer in the middle east is just like a full time glorious UK summer!

This is great :-)

I can't always persaude people that they don't need to bring us teabags - we live in a country that grows fabulous tea! Even if they do often choose to serve liptons

On the other hand I am eternally greatful for M&S knickers (there is an M&S in KL which we visit a couple of times a year but they stock almost nothing and at horrendous prices!). Also 'proper' Cadburys chocolate - not the high melting point stuff you get here that might as well be wax and wholegrain bread flour - you can get brown in the special organic shop here but wholegrain is still a step too far! Ooh and yoghurt powder that hasn't been heated to 50C in a shipping container for 3 weeks - nicely sterilising all those bacteria that would otherwise turn the milk powder into yoghurt!

My DP had to go home unexpectedly last week and will be returning with all of the above along with a coffee machine!

I also send our visitors off to Brunei as there is a fabulous hotel there then give them a shopping list for the supermarket on the way back - it has Waitrose stuff, quorn, types of cheese, frozen fruit and spinach - it's beyond exciting!!

All that said, I love the food here and if we couldn't get any of that stuff the world certainly wouldn't end!

Thumbwitch I'm in the Netherlands. And they've opened a huge Marks and Spencer in Den Haag. We're off next week for a day trip. I'm going to buy FOOD!

You know the funniest thing for me is not what they bring or expect .... But that my dad still yells down the phone when I ring him ... As if he needs his voice to carry over the thousands of miles in between us alone with the use of telecoms technology .... And despite the fact that many systems are pay per minute now he still hurries to tell me everything and hang up ... Goes like this "MOTHER! CYBILS ON THE PHONE. HURRY UP. ARE YOU ALL GOOD? EXCELLENT. YOUR MOTHER AND I ARE FINE. FINE. OK WELL THIS MUST BE COSTING A FORTUNE. HERES YOUR MOTHER".

Cybil my Nan still does that too!

Fortunately my parents are a bit more technologically minded - they have Skype and FaceTime and have put a clock set to my timezone next to the computer - works brilliantly!

now I am really missing M&S knickers, parsnips and Heinz baked beans!! (agree with your mum porcito lack of baked beans is appalling!)

Yes yes thumbwitch and every year I have to explain the kids 8 week (summer) holiday is at Christmas (when its summer of course) my UK family are always shocked they are off for so long.... again.

adorabell you didnt need anything??! Savlon? Olbas oil?, nitty gritty comb?, Mosquito relief Click It thing??? My list is always huge....

I've had to resort to growing my own parsnips! Sometimes I make visitors bring me seeds to plant which may or may not be in contravention of customs regulations

I've just remembered something else... why do some people think that they should be able to spend Euro notes here? We're not even in the EU let alone the Euro zone

Yeah- that's weird. I find a lot of tourists are shocked when they find that USD are no longer widely accepted in SE Asia ( or at least not sought after) and certainly not in HK. I suppose 20 yrs ago it was the case but much less so now.

Friends of mine live in rural France and we also have to take Shreddies, kid's toothpaste, cleaning stuff, Percy Pigs and jaffa cakes when we visit. Apparently French stuff isn't the same.