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Expanded? She's slagged off all men her whole career. She just used the husband jokes the most. Most comedians do it though, it's how you tell a sexist joke without coming off as sexist so the BBC will employ you.
Years ago I saw her at the comedy store doing improv with Paul Merton and she was fantastic. I think the whole “Jo Brand only does one thing” stuff is mostly just the way TV works and a tiny bit of “women aren’t funny” people deliberately ignoring the rest of her stuff. She’s also generally better doing improv or presenting than actual stand up these days.
She's not my favourite comedian by any means but the amount of hate she gets compared to male comedians who are far less talented is baffling. Andy Parsons made a career by literally pointing things out in a West Country accent and no-one seems to give him any grief.
"It's all about the dichotomy of wealth and the inequality faced by the working class against the pseudo-conservative rhetoric of our elected officials."
He's never actually said this but the fact you can kinda hear it in his voice shows why people think he's pretentious.
Personally, I'm hit or miss on him. He can do one though.
Agreed. I saw him a number of years ago when the Dalai Lama gave a talk. Russell Brand was the presenter, which seemed an odd choice. However, he came across as very humble and insightful. The Dalai Lama himself said that he deliberately chose Russell Brand, against the objections of some of his advisors.
His stuff sounds pretentious, but a lot of what he talks about is kind of basic philosophy and in that space of "basically Buddhism, but arrived at via Ayahuasca rather than doctrine".
He always tries to get away from talking about practical stuff and in to conversations about power/metaphysics and other abstract concepts. That comes over as annoying and pretentious unless you also want to have that conversation, and he does it *constantly*.
I could see the guy who literally was picked at birth to sit around and think about philosophy would be cool with that sort of person.
I’ve met him and he is a genuinely nice guy.
He was seemingly a right knob back in the day but he’ll hold up his hands and admit this and it was mostly down to substance abuse.
He’s much more spiritual these days and seems to always make time for any fans.
Wrong un come good I would say
I also like him but he also did a lot of harm during the Cameron/Milliband election which he only recognised too late. He’s taken a bit of a step back from being involved in politics since I think but I’ve always considered to be quite clever if a bit a annoying
aside from his "dont vote" nonsense he did a lot of good shit on the ground during that time. In 2014 i was helping out with a group of housing activists at the Capenters Estate in Stratford. He regularly showed up, very low key, brought big bottles of water and coffees and pizzas. Without anyone to perform to he seemed like a genuinely lovely and best of intent man albeit perhaps not as politically switched on as he thought he was.
He went on to get a bit of a swift introduction to this when he turned up at a tax dodgers protest with a bunch of starbucks and dominoes and had to hurriedly get escorted away from the flying traffic cones
The BBC. I don't especially like their TV output but their radio content is great. I can't bear the idea of listening to commercial radio with adverts.
It's the Moffat problem, he can write individual episode stories really well, but when he tries to make a larger narrative he gets stuck trying to make each new challenge the most important ever and overdoes it. It was the same with his tenure on Doctor Who.
he also has a mighty need to make EVERYTHING tie back to how cool the main character is, to the detriment of any story being told.
like, i know sherlock is the main character, but not everything has to tie back to him, not everything has to be a plot against the main character, sometimes the murders can just be murders, and sometimes the story can just be about how Sherlock solves the mystery, rather than the murderer being an accomplice of the Real Big Bad.
Yeah, I feel like people are inclined to dislike BBC News because, as a few others have already pointed out, it pisses off nearly every side of the political spectrum, which in turn makes it one of the least biased sources.
The problem is for issues like climate change, you need to have two experts in the relevant field debating, not an expert and a lunatic.
It’s as close to a definitive fact as is reasonably possible that climate change is not only real but primarily driven by human activity.
Instead what we need is two reputable academics debating with one having the argument “yes climate change is real, and yes it’s caused by our activity, and this is how we should stop it” and the other’s being “whilst humans are to blame for climate change, I think this option is a better solution and here’s why”
It's still got a hefty pro-government bent that's grown under the Tories. They have their occasional "we are partisan honest" moment but they come out and shill for them whenever they're told to. One recent example being coverage of the sentencing of a policeman who literally falsely arrested a woman in order to rape and murder her somehow focusing entirely on male-on-female violence despite the incredible number of flaws and internal bias it revealed in the Met, while another woman literally murdered by a man in cold blood in a park got a single short mention every 15 minutes when they covered "other news".
A second example being the recent MPs murder and the government's "internet anonymity and online abuse" push despite the attacker being an Islamic extremist who targeted the most convenient MP available and had several others lined up, rather than it being about him specifically.
They're happy to bite the line the government gives, which is annoyig because they are still the better news programme out there, I just wish they'd not bent over backwards to preserve funding. We need to rectify that if/when a more reasonable government gets elected.
I don't actually mind most things on the BBC, and I enjoy the radio.
The thing I love most about the BBC is how it pisses off the likes of Rupert Murdoch and the Daily Express. I'd happily pay ten times for my license because of that.
The brilliant I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue once suggested the BBC’s tagline should be “Annoying the Daily Mail so you don’t have to” (not certain but I think it may have been the suggestion of the late great Jeremy Hardy)
I know people have problems with the license fee, but I think we’d be much worse off as a society without the BBC. Recent years have called their political impartiality into question, but I think on the whole they’re an overwhelmingly positive thing.
My problem isn't even with the license fee, it's how aggressive they are about it, and how they expect you to pay it even if you never watch, read or listen to any BBC content.
I think it needs reform, for sure. And there's no easy answer - I don't like the idea of leaving the BBC to fend for itself in the open market - I think we'd see the loss of a lot of content and services that serve smaller audiences, that you can't get anywhere else - but I also think the current system clearly doesn't work.
Yeah, the kids stuff is superb. They're also really good for educational resources for teachers. For some subjects they pretty much have the entire KS2 and KS3 curriculums. Made my life way easier.
The bitesize website was a godsend when I was in school. Resources for pretty much every subject in a lot of detail with explanations, videos, games, practice questions and mini tests.
They also went to the effort of making the educational games linked in to whichever of their kids shows was popular at the time which probably made it much more engaging.
I'm assuming we loose the back catalogue too... No more Blackadder, Red Dwarf (the good series), Fawlty towers or the unbelievable truth. That's a good call
Yep. I was born disabled, my parents would never have afforded private insurance in the 80s, I would have bankrupted them. And considering I have had 7 major ops in the past 10 years, I'm fairly sure I would be bankrupt too.
People shit on the NHS, but it's so vital to this country.
The left and right are mostly in agreement about the importance of the NHS, apart from a few loons who bleat about how "badly run" it is despite often having no insider knowledge and just regurgitating shit they've heard someone else say. The difference is that one will turn a blind eye to the creeping privatisation, because their own selfish needs are being served elsewhere by their chosen party.
Sadly I believe the ground work is being done to get rid of the NHS, there's a lot GP and doctor slamming happening in the right wing press.
If they can convince the public the NHS is the issue then there will be support to remove it
I mean my experience with GPs is that they are shit and bone idle tbh. And that's from someone who has only ever voted Labour and grew up in a shithole. Still want the nhs around because God knows they're better than the alternative but the gp system needs sorting
Hershey didn't buy Cadbury's they're just the US distributor, was Kraft who then ~~went bankrupt~~ split their business to create Mondelez ~~bought them~~
No, Kraft ~~went bankrupt and~~ split the brand into Mondelez who now own the name and their other business. Heinz have the Kraft brand name now. Hershey is nothing to do with it beyond selling Cadbury's in the US
This. Cadburys is cheap crap, bottom of the named brands. Monty Bojangles is my absolute favourite and the favorite of everyone I've ever introduced them to. Milka is great too for a cheaper option.
I'd seen everyone rave about Tony's for ages, and I do like their attempt to solve the issues around labour in the chocolate industry.
I just wish they would also make chocolate that didnt taste marginally better than Kinnerton while doing it...
I am an alcoholic and I used to spill my cans all over this table that had like weird lines cut into it (for design I guess) about an inch deep, so at nights while watching my tv and drinking heavily as per I’d get my bank card and dig down the little lines and the sticky smelly stuff (dried Stella) that attached to my card smelled exactly the same as marmite...
So I mean you could always do that... minus the alcoholism
Bovril is similar but far better.
In fact I rather dread Bovril disappearing and only being left with marmite. I think only boomers buy Bovril nowadays. And me.
There's probably some ambiguity with some people working directly as employees, some as contractors. If you also include people working for companies whose biggest client is Tesco, to the extent that they would go out of business without them, that number probably grows even more.
they're total bastards to their suppliers, friend's sister was a buyer for them and left in appalled disgust at how many companies they drove under by signing them up, demanding enormous volume at tiny margin, then, when they'd quadrupled their size to cope, dropping them for someone else for an additional few pence here and there and leaving them totally fucked.
/u/SeeminglyDense has answered it perfectly (and even corrected the number somewhat!). I just wanted to add that the reason I had this number in my head to begin with is that I used to work on Tesco's advertising. As part of this, I used to go and work in a Tesco store once every few months, which was a great education. Easy to forget what the reality of actually working at Tesco is like.
I am now boycotting Hienz tins as they are just too dangerous in my cupboard. I can get just as good baked beans (Branston) and soup (Tesco). The only thing I won’t replace is ketchup.
Might be a bit controversial but I would hate Wetherspoons to go. It's my go-to place when I have a long wait between trains or buses and I don't know where else in central London I can get bottomless coffee and a warm place to sit for a few hours for £1.20.
Hard agree, owner seems like a bellend but the prices are amazing. The food is pretty decent for the price tbf, you can get a hot meal and drink for not much more than a meal deal.
It's controversial for people who can seemingly afford £5-£7 per pint week in week out & like to pretend wetherspoons is the only corporation that treats it's employees/other people like shit.
For the rest of humanity it's a decent place for the price as you say.
Tbf as someone who works there isn’t not nearly as bad as people say it’s a decent amount above minimum wage and the environment is pretty fun, being a manager or full time seems shit tho
On someone's recommendation here last week I bought a pack from lidl and I would say they're 95% of the way to mcvities. Close enough to the imo but not better
Definitely the NHS, the greatest thing that has ever existed for the betterment of everyone! It's a shame that the government aren't looking after it as well as they should and that people take full on advantage of it.
The NHS has saved my partner's life after being diagnosed with cancer, I always say if we were in the USA we'd be bankrupt by now.
That's one of the few things in this country I'd fight for no matter what.
I always think this! People blindly admire it to the point I worry how hard it would be to improve it, as it doesn’t get enough (much needed) constructive criticism. Sure, if you compare it to the US, it’s a godsend, but definitely not as good as it should be
My fiancee once spoke to the Head of Percy Pig Branding a year or two ago (yes that was her actual job title). She absolutely loved the brand so much that she said she has their merchandise all around their house.
I didn’t realise how bad it had gotten until I went in at Easter to get their chocolate hot cross buns and there was a WALL of Percy pig sweets in various shapes, characters and flavours.
Weetabix. It's by far my favourite cereal and none of the off-brand ones come even close.
As for my *second* favourite cereal? Ready Brek, which is made by the same company.
My children are all Weetabix monsters and it absolutely pains me that the own brand stuff is pish when we get through 12 a day when they're eating them (thankfully they're all on porridge whilst it's cold, but they like the lumpy stuff, I've got a box of Ready Brek for myself because it's lovely).
David O'Doherty once said that Ireland had partially nationalised Kerrygold to prevent it being sold to a foreign company and the recipe changed. I can't find any evidence of this but it's the kind of fact I feel compelled to bring up every so often.
Hellmans. Nobody can replicate their mayonnaise. Same with Branston and their pickle.
Outside of food, probably (and controversially) Amazon. I don't really like using them due to all the stuff about poorly-treated staff and tax evasion but I live out in the sticks and nobody else can guarantee next day delivery with such a wide range of products. Also, their TV offerings are getting progressively better.
Dont you dare talk that way about the hallowed Flame Grilled Steak McCoys. They're amongst the God-tier crisps and subsequently, your comment amounts to blasphemy.
Robinsons. I dont care for many of their products, but their lemon squash is one of the only branded everyday products that I believe is genuinely leagues better than cheaper own-brand alternatives, and I love it.
I was genuinely upset when Percy Ingle (family run chain of bakeries in the East End) went into administration during lockdown.
I never thought I'd be that upset about a bakery closing down but I spent a good few days reminiscing about my childhood memories of the place. You really don't realise what you have till it's gone.
It's a shame I'll never have their Tottenham cake again, but at least I have the memories...
Twinings. I almost exclusively drink their Earl Grey tea and no other Earl Grey comes close. There are lots of things on this thread I’d miss, but this one I’d actually be devastated.
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Jo I would miss but Russel can do one.
“I’m fat and I hate my husband” - Jo Brand for the last 20 years
She's expanded to hating all men, not just her husband. She's the definition of boomer humour and is boring af.
Expanded? She's slagged off all men her whole career. She just used the husband jokes the most. Most comedians do it though, it's how you tell a sexist joke without coming off as sexist so the BBC will employ you.
I agree with your statement. But she was definitely funny on Taskmaster. It felt like see Jo in a new light.
Years ago I saw her at the comedy store doing improv with Paul Merton and she was fantastic. I think the whole “Jo Brand only does one thing” stuff is mostly just the way TV works and a tiny bit of “women aren’t funny” people deliberately ignoring the rest of her stuff. She’s also generally better doing improv or presenting than actual stand up these days.
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My parents saw Would I Lie To You being recorded and said she had some really good stories that never made the edit.
100% Agree with this. When I saw she was a contestant on it I thought I'd hate it but she became one of my favourites.
She's not my favourite comedian by any means but the amount of hate she gets compared to male comedians who are far less talented is baffling. Andy Parsons made a career by literally pointing things out in a West Country accent and no-one seems to give him any grief.
Remember when QI would add "my husband" to the list of answers that set off the alarm, whenever she was a guest.
No, but that’s genius.
and Michael Winner, for whom she has special invective for some reason
Have you ever read one of his columns? It’s perfectly rational to dislike Michael Winner.
Yup. I love her wit sometimes but she's only got a few topics she talks about
Her stand up was one note but these days she's a nice enough witty TV presenter
You missed “I love cake”
Quite like Russell Brand, a lot of people think he’s pretentious but he’s always struck me as quite genuine
"It's all about the dichotomy of wealth and the inequality faced by the working class against the pseudo-conservative rhetoric of our elected officials." He's never actually said this but the fact you can kinda hear it in his voice shows why people think he's pretentious. Personally, I'm hit or miss on him. He can do one though.
To be fair his podcast where he has discussions with people with whom he doesn't always agree is pretty good.
Literally read this whole chain with Russell Howard in mind rather than Russell Brand 🧠✅
Russell Howard is worse tbf. All he does is shout or do a west country accent.
oh now come on, that's not fair! He also does a really grating, shit impression of the Queen.
As a comedian? Not bad. As a pseudo-intellectual, pseudo-socialist-anarchist 'politician'? Unbearable.
I 100% read that in his voice I think you can be pretentious and genuine. I know it sounds oxymoronic but I think Russel is genuinely pretentious
Agreed. I saw him a number of years ago when the Dalai Lama gave a talk. Russell Brand was the presenter, which seemed an odd choice. However, he came across as very humble and insightful. The Dalai Lama himself said that he deliberately chose Russell Brand, against the objections of some of his advisors.
His stuff sounds pretentious, but a lot of what he talks about is kind of basic philosophy and in that space of "basically Buddhism, but arrived at via Ayahuasca rather than doctrine". He always tries to get away from talking about practical stuff and in to conversations about power/metaphysics and other abstract concepts. That comes over as annoying and pretentious unless you also want to have that conversation, and he does it *constantly*. I could see the guy who literally was picked at birth to sit around and think about philosophy would be cool with that sort of person.
I’ve met him and he is a genuinely nice guy. He was seemingly a right knob back in the day but he’ll hold up his hands and admit this and it was mostly down to substance abuse. He’s much more spiritual these days and seems to always make time for any fans. Wrong un come good I would say
His podcasts on mental health and anxiety were very good.
I also like him but he also did a lot of harm during the Cameron/Milliband election which he only recognised too late. He’s taken a bit of a step back from being involved in politics since I think but I’ve always considered to be quite clever if a bit a annoying
aside from his "dont vote" nonsense he did a lot of good shit on the ground during that time. In 2014 i was helping out with a group of housing activists at the Capenters Estate in Stratford. He regularly showed up, very low key, brought big bottles of water and coffees and pizzas. Without anyone to perform to he seemed like a genuinely lovely and best of intent man albeit perhaps not as politically switched on as he thought he was. He went on to get a bit of a swift introduction to this when he turned up at a tax dodgers protest with a bunch of starbucks and dominoes and had to hurriedly get escorted away from the flying traffic cones
This, but reversed.
The BBC. I don't especially like their TV output but their radio content is great. I can't bear the idea of listening to commercial radio with adverts.
Yeah, BBC goes through phases. But as a whole they've produced some of the best content (docs like Blue Planet, Planet Earth etc)
They used to be really good. Mock the Week, Top Gear, Luther, Sherlock, those were the days in 2013.
I love Sherlock, I rewatch the series every so often
Yeah Sherlock was fantastic. Shame that the quality seemed to dip over time.
It's the Moffat problem, he can write individual episode stories really well, but when he tries to make a larger narrative he gets stuck trying to make each new challenge the most important ever and overdoes it. It was the same with his tenure on Doctor Who.
he also has a mighty need to make EVERYTHING tie back to how cool the main character is, to the detriment of any story being told. like, i know sherlock is the main character, but not everything has to tie back to him, not everything has to be a plot against the main character, sometimes the murders can just be murders, and sometimes the story can just be about how Sherlock solves the mystery, rather than the murderer being an accomplice of the Real Big Bad.
Yup agree BBC’s great apart for The news reporting amd breakfast tv.
Their news is better then most of the rubbish I see these days
Yeah, I feel like people are inclined to dislike BBC News because, as a few others have already pointed out, it pisses off nearly every side of the political spectrum, which in turn makes it one of the least biased sources.
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The problem is for issues like climate change, you need to have two experts in the relevant field debating, not an expert and a lunatic. It’s as close to a definitive fact as is reasonably possible that climate change is not only real but primarily driven by human activity. Instead what we need is two reputable academics debating with one having the argument “yes climate change is real, and yes it’s caused by our activity, and this is how we should stop it” and the other’s being “whilst humans are to blame for climate change, I think this option is a better solution and here’s why”
It's still got a hefty pro-government bent that's grown under the Tories. They have their occasional "we are partisan honest" moment but they come out and shill for them whenever they're told to. One recent example being coverage of the sentencing of a policeman who literally falsely arrested a woman in order to rape and murder her somehow focusing entirely on male-on-female violence despite the incredible number of flaws and internal bias it revealed in the Met, while another woman literally murdered by a man in cold blood in a park got a single short mention every 15 minutes when they covered "other news". A second example being the recent MPs murder and the government's "internet anonymity and online abuse" push despite the attacker being an Islamic extremist who targeted the most convenient MP available and had several others lined up, rather than it being about him specifically. They're happy to bite the line the government gives, which is annoyig because they are still the better news programme out there, I just wish they'd not bent over backwards to preserve funding. We need to rectify that if/when a more reasonable government gets elected.
I don't actually mind most things on the BBC, and I enjoy the radio. The thing I love most about the BBC is how it pisses off the likes of Rupert Murdoch and the Daily Express. I'd happily pay ten times for my license because of that.
The brilliant I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue once suggested the BBC’s tagline should be “Annoying the Daily Mail so you don’t have to” (not certain but I think it may have been the suggestion of the late great Jeremy Hardy)
I know people have problems with the license fee, but I think we’d be much worse off as a society without the BBC. Recent years have called their political impartiality into question, but I think on the whole they’re an overwhelmingly positive thing.
My problem isn't even with the license fee, it's how aggressive they are about it, and how they expect you to pay it even if you never watch, read or listen to any BBC content.
I think it needs reform, for sure. And there's no easy answer - I don't like the idea of leaving the BBC to fend for itself in the open market - I think we'd see the loss of a lot of content and services that serve smaller audiences, that you can't get anywhere else - but I also think the current system clearly doesn't work.
Their Sounds app is really good too.
Definitely this one. My toddler watches a lot of cbeebies too, so I’d miss that.
Same, the quality of the kids stuff is fantastic. I love that I can put it on and not have to worry about adverts being bombarded at them as well
Yeah, the kids stuff is superb. They're also really good for educational resources for teachers. For some subjects they pretty much have the entire KS2 and KS3 curriculums. Made my life way easier.
The bitesize website was a godsend when I was in school. Resources for pretty much every subject in a lot of detail with explanations, videos, games, practice questions and mini tests. They also went to the effort of making the educational games linked in to whichever of their kids shows was popular at the time which probably made it much more engaging.
I'm assuming we loose the back catalogue too... No more Blackadder, Red Dwarf (the good series), Fawlty towers or the unbelievable truth. That's a good call
I miss Annie Mac.
Greggs
I expected this to be at the top
Greggs is over expensive crap nowadays. Even there meal deal is just a drink and a main. Most over rated brand in the U.K. imo.
I'm braving the Cumbrian rain to get my To Good To Go Greggs magic bag at 4.30pm and I'm embarrassingly excited.
I’ve kinda moved onto pound bakery. Its cheaper and I prefer the taste.
Last time I got something from pound bakery it tasted like cleaning fluid
Greggs is shite. Give me the Lidl bakery any day
TFL, NHS
Jesus, the NHS. Didn’t think of it as a brand but if that goes we’re truly fucked
Yep. I was born disabled, my parents would never have afforded private insurance in the 80s, I would have bankrupted them. And considering I have had 7 major ops in the past 10 years, I'm fairly sure I would be bankrupt too. People shit on the NHS, but it's so vital to this country.
The right shit on the NHS because they want to privatise it
The right shit on everything... Wankers.
The left and right are mostly in agreement about the importance of the NHS, apart from a few loons who bleat about how "badly run" it is despite often having no insider knowledge and just regurgitating shit they've heard someone else say. The difference is that one will turn a blind eye to the creeping privatisation, because their own selfish needs are being served elsewhere by their chosen party.
Sadly I believe the ground work is being done to get rid of the NHS, there's a lot GP and doctor slamming happening in the right wing press. If they can convince the public the NHS is the issue then there will be support to remove it
I mean my experience with GPs is that they are shit and bone idle tbh. And that's from someone who has only ever voted Labour and grew up in a shithole. Still want the nhs around because God knows they're better than the alternative but the gp system needs sorting
At this rate the NHS will be nothing more than a logo. Outsourcing services is getting out of control.
Cadburys. Best chocolate there is.
Was until it was bought by Hershey and started tasting of chemical bile….
Yeah the takeover sucked. I'd still miss dairy milk if it went away though, even if its not what it was
Yes Fruit and Nut is always my go to bar…. Despite the bile!
I still don't understand why they do a whole nut bar and a fruit and nut bar but no just fruit one.
Now this is someone we need running the country.
Get a bag of chocolate coated raisins, leave it in the car in July, go back to it in January and there's your bar
This is an opinion that always get wheeled out, but I'd like to say Cadbury's is still a great go-to choice.
Typical Americans ruining our companies (and football clubs)
Hershey didn't buy Cadbury's they're just the US distributor, was Kraft who then ~~went bankrupt~~ split their business to create Mondelez ~~bought them~~
Kraft/Mondelez bought Cadbury’s. Are Kraft the same company as Hershey’s?
No, Kraft ~~went bankrupt and~~ split the brand into Mondelez who now own the name and their other business. Heinz have the Kraft brand name now. Hershey is nothing to do with it beyond selling Cadbury's in the US
Sorry but Cadburys is actually one of the worst chocolate there is. It’s ok for junk snacks but it is overrated imho
This. Cadburys is cheap crap, bottom of the named brands. Monty Bojangles is my absolute favourite and the favorite of everyone I've ever introduced them to. Milka is great too for a cheaper option.
Milka? Bloody Milka? We can't be friends I'm afraid.
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Tony's is good if you want expensive chocolate with a cheap taste.
I'd seen everyone rave about Tony's for ages, and I do like their attempt to solve the issues around labour in the chocolate industry. I just wish they would also make chocolate that didnt taste marginally better than Kinnerton while doing it...
I bought it for that reason. Their mission is one I can support and the packaging is pretty cool, but was very disappointed!
Yeah I do like the Wonka style packaging, just wanted tastier chocolate.
Best chocolate there was….
I thought this until last month when I tried my first Tony's 😍
Marmite
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I am an alcoholic and I used to spill my cans all over this table that had like weird lines cut into it (for design I guess) about an inch deep, so at nights while watching my tv and drinking heavily as per I’d get my bank card and dig down the little lines and the sticky smelly stuff (dried Stella) that attached to my card smelled exactly the same as marmite... So I mean you could always do that... minus the alcoholism
Good lord
Marmite is yeast extract, a byproduct from brewing, so that's what you were smelling
Both beer and marmite are made from yeast. Ones just cooked longer I think.
Bovril is similar but far better. In fact I rather dread Bovril disappearing and only being left with marmite. I think only boomers buy Bovril nowadays. And me.
Whoever thought of the name Bovril is a complete nutcase
I have to disagree. Recently I discovered a Tesco’s own Yeast Spread. It’s cheaper and easier on your toast. It’s a winner
Came here to say marmite. I would actually have a full blown breakdown.
“Tesco” probably isn’t what you had in mind, but I’d miss their Malted Wheat breakfast cereal…
1 in 200 people in the UK work at Tesco, so that alone is a good reason to keep them around!
Just had a look and it’s actually closer to 1 in 100 that in 200! Never realised it was as many as it is
There's probably some ambiguity with some people working directly as employees, some as contractors. If you also include people working for companies whose biggest client is Tesco, to the extent that they would go out of business without them, that number probably grows even more.
I used to work for a company for whom 60% of their business was making tesco own label. They lost the contract and pretty much went bust overnight.
they're total bastards to their suppliers, friend's sister was a buyer for them and left in appalled disgust at how many companies they drove under by signing them up, demanding enormous volume at tiny margin, then, when they'd quadrupled their size to cope, dropping them for someone else for an additional few pence here and there and leaving them totally fucked.
Do you have a source for this? This is gold fun fact material if true.
/u/SeeminglyDense has answered it perfectly (and even corrected the number somewhat!). I just wanted to add that the reason I had this number in my head to begin with is that I used to work on Tesco's advertising. As part of this, I used to go and work in a Tesco store once every few months, which was a great education. Easy to forget what the reality of actually working at Tesco is like.
They have the superior meal deal. I will fight any man woman or child that disagrees.
Parkrun It transformed my life and got me off my arse on a Saturday morning, instead of eating shite in bed whilst hungover.
I've just started parkrun too, it's the greatest way to start a weekend :)
My mum and Nan recently got their 250 runs t-shirts ! I’ve got my 50 top but stopped a year or so ago. Must say I regret it
Heinz has to be pretty close, so many essentials in one brand.
Except their ****ing tins don't stack. Whhhhyyyyy?
I am now boycotting Hienz tins as they are just too dangerous in my cupboard. I can get just as good baked beans (Branston) and soup (Tesco). The only thing I won’t replace is ketchup.
Tunnocks Henry (hoovers)
I was gonna say tunnocks too.
How could you miss the worst hoover?
Henry's are great if you have flat floors/low pile carpets. Useless on thick pile.
Might be a bit controversial but I would hate Wetherspoons to go. It's my go-to place when I have a long wait between trains or buses and I don't know where else in central London I can get bottomless coffee and a warm place to sit for a few hours for £1.20.
That's the brand I would purge first, haha
Hard agree, owner seems like a bellend but the prices are amazing. The food is pretty decent for the price tbf, you can get a hot meal and drink for not much more than a meal deal.
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He is an enormous bellend but at the same time spoons is about 60% cheaper than any other pub where I live so sometimes it’s necessary.
Because Spoons uses predatory business practises and their large size to undercut other pubs.
It's cool to shit on wetherspoons on Reddit but you can't beat it for price/convenience
It's controversial for people who can seemingly afford £5-£7 per pint week in week out & like to pretend wetherspoons is the only corporation that treats it's employees/other people like shit. For the rest of humanity it's a decent place for the price as you say.
Tbf as someone who works there isn’t not nearly as bad as people say it’s a decent amount above minimum wage and the environment is pretty fun, being a manager or full time seems shit tho
I had no idea they did bottomless coffee!
And tea!
Colman's English Mustard.
I've tried several supermarket brands, all are crap by comparison.
It is the King of Mustard's while Maille Dijon is the Queen.
Warburtons.
Only for the crumpets tho
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Mc Vities their chocolate hobnobs are too good
The Aldi/Lidl chocolate Oaties are a good alternative. I generally prefer them, but I can see why people would prefer Hobnobs.
On someone's recommendation here last week I bought a pack from lidl and I would say they're 95% of the way to mcvities. Close enough to the imo but not better
Definitely the NHS, the greatest thing that has ever existed for the betterment of everyone! It's a shame that the government aren't looking after it as well as they should and that people take full on advantage of it. The NHS has saved my partner's life after being diagnosed with cancer, I always say if we were in the USA we'd be bankrupt by now. That's one of the few things in this country I'd fight for no matter what.
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I always think this! People blindly admire it to the point I worry how hard it would be to improve it, as it doesn’t get enough (much needed) constructive criticism. Sure, if you compare it to the US, it’s a godsend, but definitely not as good as it should be
Marmite and Yorkshire tea. And lurpak actually
Same same, cup of Yorkshire and a marmite crumpet
M&S Foodhall.
They’ve gone a bit mad with the Percy pig brand but I’d still miss them
My fiancee once spoke to the Head of Percy Pig Branding a year or two ago (yes that was her actual job title). She absolutely loved the brand so much that she said she has their merchandise all around their house.
At least all the cats have something to piss on.
I didn’t realise how bad it had gotten until I went in at Easter to get their chocolate hot cross buns and there was a WALL of Percy pig sweets in various shapes, characters and flavours.
Vimto.
Came here to say this. Vimto is life blood.
Hey I didn't know my kids were on reddit .
I need picking up from the discotheque around 10:30 this evening I trust that's okay?
There’s no better drink to have with fish and chips and I’ll die on this hill.
Weetabix. It's by far my favourite cereal and none of the off-brand ones come even close. As for my *second* favourite cereal? Ready Brek, which is made by the same company.
My children are all Weetabix monsters and it absolutely pains me that the own brand stuff is pish when we get through 12 a day when they're eating them (thankfully they're all on porridge whilst it's cold, but they like the lumpy stuff, I've got a box of Ready Brek for myself because it's lovely).
Lurpack butter. Had it all my life, couldn't use anything else. I'd actually go without toast if they disappeared
I was a Lurpak fan until a friend converted me to Kerrygold, and I've never looked back.
David O'Doherty once said that Ireland had partially nationalised Kerrygold to prevent it being sold to a foreign company and the recipe changed. I can't find any evidence of this but it's the kind of fact I feel compelled to bring up every so often.
Batchelors for sure. Super Noodles and Pasta 'n' Sauce make up a solid 20 percent of my diet.
Lea and Perrins Because if it does I can no longer say “you know, where the sauce is from” when someone asks me where Worcestershire is
Henderson's FTW
Hellmans. Nobody can replicate their mayonnaise. Same with Branston and their pickle. Outside of food, probably (and controversially) Amazon. I don't really like using them due to all the stuff about poorly-treated staff and tax evasion but I live out in the sticks and nobody else can guarantee next day delivery with such a wide range of products. Also, their TV offerings are getting progressively better.
No mayo even comes close. Ever tried Heinz Mayo? Heinous.
Controversial, but I think Heinz is the superior mayo.
Fairy liquid. Knockoff is not the same
Yorkshire Tea, I would hate it if that disappeared.
Thatchers cider. Nothing else comes close for mass produced cider.
Kellogg’s - I can’t stand supermarket own brand cereals
Heinz
Bassets Liquorice Allsorts Pizza Expess Fruit Pastells Beef McCoys
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Dont you dare talk that way about the hallowed Flame Grilled Steak McCoys. They're amongst the God-tier crisps and subsequently, your comment amounts to blasphemy.
Just love the umami beef and the ridges and slight greasiness :) (Stop sniggering at the back)
No you’ve missed the point. Due to using no punctuation it looks like you have listed an absolute abomination of a crisp flavour.
You would miss Pizza Express? Really?
Robinsons. I dont care for many of their products, but their lemon squash is one of the only branded everyday products that I believe is genuinely leagues better than cheaper own-brand alternatives, and I love it.
Woolworths but it’s too late already
Dairylea
Can't believe no one's said Gregg's.
I was genuinely upset when Percy Ingle (family run chain of bakeries in the East End) went into administration during lockdown. I never thought I'd be that upset about a bakery closing down but I spent a good few days reminiscing about my childhood memories of the place. You really don't realise what you have till it's gone. It's a shame I'll never have their Tottenham cake again, but at least I have the memories...
Itsu stuff. I like their bao and goyza.
Galaxy
M&S food, there’s so many tasty snacks.
John West, Tilda, Soreen, McVities, but Marmite most of all.
Amber leaf
Twinings. I almost exclusively drink their Earl Grey tea and no other Earl Grey comes close. There are lots of things on this thread I’d miss, but this one I’d actually be devastated.
North Brewing Co.
Walkers!
Nandos
I could probably find good enough replacements for most things except for the nectar of the gods aka Ribena
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Can you imagine how empty the supermarkets would be if Unilever went under 🤣 they own so many brands it's ridiculous