MANY who hail from the UnitedKingdom and live in faraway places, love totalk about the delicacies that filled the shoppingcarts at Tesco or Sainsbury’s.Somehow, when unobtainable, even simpleitems become more praiseworthy, regardlessof how strange they may sound to the uninitiated.For some, there’s no better pleasure inthis world than to satisfy cravings forMarmite sandwiches, Branston Pickle,Weetabix, Rose’s Lime Marmalade or JaffaCakes washed down with a good strongcuppa of P.G. Tips or Taylor’s Yorkshirechar.There are plenty of beans in this country,but a search for just good old plain tinnedHeinz Baked Beans proves fruitless.You can’t order kippers or fish and chipswrapped in newspaper online! However, UKCravings, a privately run Internet-basedbusiness located on England’s Isle of Wight,is aimed toward supplying expats withBritish products they can’t find abroad. Ifit’s sold in the United Kingdom never fear –UK Cravings will get it here!The company’s Internet shelves areladen with an extensive selection of non-perishablefoods, plus Fair Trade merchandise,organic, vegan, gluten-free products, babyand toiletry articles. Amazing! There’s evenpet food for those English Setters, WelshCollies, Scottish Terriers and IrishWolfhounds, not to mention the Manx catsliving in Costa Rica.Via a long distance phone call, JulianJones, the brainchild of the operation,recounted why he started his business a yearago.“I’ve 25 years of experience in the foodand hospitality industry and found when Ilived in the Turkish-controlled area ofCyprus, British products were hard or virtuallyimpossible to find. I returned to Englandrealizing there must be a market out there forUK cravings,” he said.JONES dispatches orders worldwide,including to Kenya, Hong Kong and evenAustralia. He’s now concentrating on promotinghis business in Central and SouthAmerica.“I hope to develop sponsorship linkswith expat societies and groups as well asindividuals. I’m not unique – a couple ofother companies are doing the same thing,but I offer cheaper products and delivery,plus personalized service,” he emphasized.Go on a shopping odyssey today atwww.ukcravings.com and browse to yourheart’s content. If you can’t find what youlust after, use the search facility or make aspecial request for a product not on theextensive list. Once you’ve filled your shoppingbasket select “checkout” and a totalprice will appear.All prices are in Sterling GBP (US$1.80). You can verify the total cost, includingdelivery, at the current U.S. dollarexchange rate by e-mailing orders@ukravings.com and pay with your credit card.There’s no minimum order, however the biggerthe order the cheaper the delivery cost.Once the order is received it is processedwithin a week and sent by Royal Mail ParcelForce to anywhere in the world. Deliverytime depends on the destination, but shouldn’ttake more than a few days. Every order isinsured door to door and a tracking numberenables you to locate your shopping at anygiven time.Christmas Hampers will be available inOctober and yearnings for a Christmas pudding,jar of mincemeat and other festive farecan be satisfied or shipped to your lovedones, wherever they may be.Create your own hamper and add otherindividual items such as calendars and traditionalChristmas crackers to decorate thedinner table.For more info, e-mail julian@ukcravings.com or visit www.ukcravings.com.
