Starbucks has taken over the UK!....... HELP!!!! (1 Viewer)

[Ben Motley]

About the bookstores Andrew, I love the small bookstores, sure, but I was talking about your own big stores, such as Penguin. I can't remember any other names, but it seemed when I was there, there were a number of both small shops and big chain(like) stores. Did I get it wrong? I do remember going to Virgin records in London as well, so it's not like the mega-chain thing is foreign to England. Dang, I miss Fantastic Planet too. And the pub draught bitters. I think I need a vacation soon.
Oh, and I totally hear ya about the migraines. I don't get 'em, but I know hi-octane can do some rough stuff to some folks. Heck, I went of of caffeine for over a year before, just because I wasn't sleeping well at all. I don't knock anyone for cutting it out of their diet. What I do knock is instant caffeinated coffee. Just seems wrong. And actually, you can get decaf ground coffee just as easy as regular, at least over here. And again, I just really have a beef with Starbucks. They're only good if you want a candy drink (I admit it, I've sucked back quite a few caramel machiatos), because they're regular coffee is wretched. Hell, 7-11 coffee (always fresh! ) is better! And at a fraction of the cost. Yeah, I'll go with any supermarket's or higher end department store's (Macy's, Neimen's) fresh ground beans over Starbuck's any day.

 

[Richard Cooper]

I think that Starbucks and Costa should merge to be Costa-bucks
(Blatantly stolen from wetherspoons' advert )

 

[Paul_D]

I was talking about your own big stores, such as Penguin.

Penguin is a publisher, not a book store. The only chain bookstores we have here in the UK, are Waterstones, and a couple others (their names escape me ).

 

[Ben Motley]

I knew Penguin was a publishing house, but I also thought there was a store, because I remember the name in huge letters outside a store... I figured they had a store too. I guess it was just ad space though. Waterstones does sound familiar. You'll have to pardon me if my memory is a little faulty... I wasn't very sober when I was there.
Real ale...

 

[andrew markworthy]

Ben, I think you're probably remembering some of our really big single store booksellers (e.g. Foyle's in London) which are largely still going. I'm thinking of some of the tiny bookshops you used to find in small towns in the UK. Some were brilliant, but others seemed to be operated by the same woman or man in the midfifties or older, with permanently embittered views on anything which offended their extreme right wing, Little England views. This extended to their views on their stock of books. I remember one such proprietor sniffing deeply when I bought a copy of Lady Chatterly's Lover.

Theo, I think the advert explanation is partly the reason. The other is that disposable income increased, and the proportionate price of coffee decreased until it became affordable to more people. I distinctly remember watching Coronation Street (a v. popular Brit soap largely concerned with the lives of working class characters in the North of England) in the mid seventies when one of the characters said 'would you like coffee? I'm afraid I've only got instant'.

 

[TheoGB]

Hmm. Andrew I still don't touch instant coffee!! Actually that Carte Noire stuff is okay-ish. Some love it some hate it, but I don't imagine it's got better over time. The Bodum Cafetierres really brought back proper coffee. And you can get Fair Trade coffee - I've never looked for Fair Trade instant but I wouldn't think it as likely to exist...

 

[felix_suwarno]

i gave my baby a sip of caffee mocha today...he is 15 months old. he became an instant addict!!!! uh oh!!!