A little journal for a little draccoon

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109/365: Sainsbury's Local, Bewdley
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Well, and anyone else who happens to feel like popping in, of course! I've posted a pic of the Tesco Express in Bewdley already, so here's its companion piece. The Sainsbury's Local is much newer, having only been open for a couple of years, but it's the largest supermarket in town (although still fairly small) and the one I use the most often. There are flats above the shop in the traditional manner. It was built on the site of the old town fire station, which closed when local fire services were consolidated at a large new hub in Kidderminster. As you can see, the weather was absolutely glorious this morning, although it didn't stay that way and later on it became overcast with the odd light shower.

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Looking at a summary of the deal, it seems fairly thin gruel. Better than nothing, much better in a few areas, but not quite the triumph Keir Starmer's comms team were trying to paint it as in the immediate aftermath of the announcement. The sanitary and phytosanitary agreement for food is a definite plus, and dynamic alignment is a reasonable price to pay. Fishing is a thornier question: a twelve-year extension to the current deal is a huge win for France in particular. Absolutely nobody I read in the run-up to this deal predicted more than ten years max, and most four. On the other hand, though politically totemic fishing is a very minor industry in overall UK terms -- and the Scottish salmon industry, the biggest single fish exporter to the EU, supports the deal.

A youth mobility scheme is clearly a good thing, and since we already have similar agreements with Australia, Canada and several other countries it shouldn't be controversial. Labour's obsession with "red lines" means that anything even fringing on freedom of movement, the single market etc wasn't up for discussion. Public opinion has moved on this, but Starmer is very stubborn about it. Then there's the question of e-gates at EU airports. This is a good example of the government's poor comms outfit: they let it be reported initially that the UK had agreed a Swiss-style deal that would allow British holidaymakers to use all EU airports' e-gates. Because of that, finding out it will still be up to individual member states felt like a real let-down.

The UK government and the EU have still not done much more than agreed to further talks on the issue of red tape and costs for British musicians touring Europe. I think that this failure reflects badly on both sides, as after years of artists pushing for this, it really shouldn't be difficult to agree a limited regime for this specific group. It's taken far too long already. Not a lot has happened on mutual UK-EU recognition of professional qualifications, either, which is again disappointing. There's a suspicion that the EU doesn't really want to try too hard on this one since an agreement would open up a big extra chunk of European business to British firms.

All in all? The agreement on food is great and will substantially reduce the red tape that's existed since Brexit. It should also make sending food between Great Britain and Northern Ireland easier. The rest of the agreement seems to be mostly mood music rather than concrete action. Mood music isn't worthless, as at least it shows that a closer partnership with the EU is something the UK government is willing to shout about again. Hopefully the days of "what we need is real Brexit" will now fade into history, depending on what Nigel Farage does. These UK-EU summits will take place annually, so maybe, just maybe, we might get a little more progress in 2026.

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Of course British readers can comment too, but I'm mostly interested in the view from overseas. So, for those of you who have been to the UK, what foods did you think were really good in Britain? What did you really enjoy? Perhaps you like British beef or have a penchant for a cream tea. Big meals, small snacks, expensive, cheap, it doesn't matter. National/regional specialities welcome in the comments as well. So, what do you think?

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Other than our second place in 2022, the UK pretty much always does terribly at Eurovision these days, but it's still loads of fun. The Estonian entry, mostly consisting of sending up Italian coffee culture, was absolutely ridiculous. I approve! As for the UK... if we get more than nul points I'll be satisfied! :P Anyway, if I'm a bit late in posting tonight, this will be the reason. If you're not European (or Australian) you may not realise how huge Eurovision is... but believe me, it is! :D