Tel: (305)
371-9340 • Fax (305)
371-1622 • e-mail to:
BritishFlorida@aol.com
EUREKA – this could be the greatest discovery since
Archimedes sat in his bathtub. American cheese with taste. Like
penicillin, the greatest discoveries are often accidental. In
recession mode, I only bought this because it was on Buy One – Get
One Free. Publix new cheddar, in a dark brown wrapper called New
York Extra Sharp. For the first time in my 20 Florida years, there’s
an American cheese indistinguishable from English cheddar, bursting
with aged flavour, at an everyday price. Excited, almost
disbelieving and thinking it could just be my jaded taste buds, I
did a blind taste test with nine Brit expats. Which is the imported
English Cheddar from The Gorge itself or the Publix American
cheddar, they were asked. Every one declared it the real Mccoy and
were stunned to find they were wrong. So my darlings, if you don’t
live a near Britshop, search this cheddar out at your nearest Publix.
-
BRILLIANT BRITS SPOTLIGHT –
SUSAN BARNES. Doing
your job is one thing. Going above and beyond to put the client
before the buck, is laudable indeed. I run the Florida Association
of British Business (FABB) and my team of experts assist UK Brits
emigrate to Florida without being conned or floundering around in
a labyrinth of red tape. One FABB member Susan Barnes, a business
broker originally from Nottingham, has always been praised by UK
members as being extra helpful and reliable. My office heard about
her anecdotally, but now it’s official and I could not be more
proud. Based in Kissimmee, Susan has just received two major
professional awards. 1) The No1 Top Dealmaker Award for 2008 by
the Business Brokers of Florida for Central Florida. 2) The 2008
Five Star Professional Customer Service out of a survey of over
50,000 buyers in the Orlando area. This is the highest standard of
customer was She won the Business Brokers of Florida award
specifically due to the volume of business she has done with her
fellow Brits over the last 17 years. “I had no idea this was
coming,” she told me. “I went to this business dinner and they
called me up to receive these two shiny plaques. It was a total
surprise.”
 Rockrose Realty is her own
family-owned business and chip-off-her-block son Steven has earned
a Million Dollar Sales Award by the Business Brokers of Florida.
Susan built her business primarily by focusing on patiently
helping UK buyers, some of whom can be a frustrating, demanding,
under funded pain, start their new life in Florida. Even when
Doris from Devon or Barry from Bognor were difficult they could
always find an E2 visa business to buy with confidence and peace
of mind, if Susan was their broker. Susan, you’re star. Reach her
on (407) 908-4663.
-
RIP DIVISION. I
maintain files on every British pub in Florida and recently sorted
out all the closed ones. These shuttered due poor management,
under funding, redevelopment or owners who thought a British
accent was a substitute for business acumen. (These closings
pre-date the recession). Some of the happiest memories of my
personal and professional life are buried with these Florida pubs,
especially the Trafalgar Arms, my beloved local and second home.
When that closed I drove round the block in tears for a long time.
The Defunct List
– shocking and sad, since 1994: Seven Red Roses in Orlando,
Churchills Pub in Sarasota , Vin 51 Winebar in Ft Lauderdale, Rose
and Crown Pub in Ft Lauderdale, Union Pub in New Smyrna Beach,
Churchills Pub in Cooper City, Trafalgar Arms Ft Lauderdale,
Trafalgar Tavern in Ft Lauderdale, George & Dragon in Ft
Lauderdale, Chesterfield’s in Delray Beach, Crown & Anchor in
Bradenton, Lord Nelson in Ft Lauderdale, Pig & Whistle in Fort
Pierce, Shakespeare’s Pub in Ft Lauderdale, The Westside Pub in
Port St Lucie, Mucker’s Pub in Lauderhill, Windsor Tavern in
Hollywood, Royal Oak in Dunedin, The Jolly Sailor in Stuart, The
Kensington Arms in St Petersburg, Crown & Thistle in Bradenton,
Big Ben Pub in Clearwater, Shakespeare’s in Tarpon Springs, London
Bridge in Kissimmee, Longboat Tavern in Longboat Key, Fox and
Hounds in Inverness – was turned into an old folks home, Crown Pub
in Orlando, Three Lions Pub in St Petersburg and New Scotland Inn
in Tampa.
SPOTTING THE Real McCoy
(although the ‘real’ one is MacKay). I was in Naples
west Florida for the first time last month, showing Florida to my
friend John from the UK. Near the river area, he spotted a large
free-standing pub, complete with exterior Tudor-style beams, a red
English phone box outside and antique gold sign St George and the
Dragon in Olde English font on the roof. “Assume that is on your
pubs list, Patricia – what’s it like?” John asked. Never having
heard of it, Sherlock here concluded it couldn’t be an actual
British pub, in spite of outside appearance.
“How can you be so sure,”
John asked. Two reasons. The biggest clue was the mistake in the
name. We Brits would call it The George and Dragon not St George
and the Dragon. Second, whenever a new one opens in Florida,
British owners contact me for inclusion on my website or in this
column – American owners mostly don’t. We didn’t go in, seeing
only three cars outside on a Saturday night, but I phoned later to factfind. “No it’s not a British pub at all,” the pleasant
American manager told me. “Do we have have British food like fish
and chips? No, our fish dinner is called Fish and Fries. “ So why
on earth create an exterior exactly like a British pub but not
market or operate it as such, I pondered but didn’t say. So this
was a rare case of looking like a duck but quacking like a dog.
Even odder, it has been there since 1984.
DAVENPORT: On July
18, Liverpool FC legend Jan Molby will be making personal
appearance for a Meet and Greet at The Pub. Call (863) 424-4242
for details.
- TAMPA BRITISH CLUB (AKA British Commonwealth Society)
Call Wenda Forrest (727) 939-0362.
- DUNEDIN (and all Florida) TBPA TransAtlantic Brides
and Parents Association. A nationwide association of English
people (or Americans of English heritage). Branches all over
Florida – Phone the Florida Chairman for branch nearest you (727)
735-0076 Ask for Pat.
- FLORIDA BRITISH WOMEN’S CLUB – Daughters of the
British Empire seek more ladies with an English, Welsh, Scottish
or Irish accent, all ages. The club is based in Brooksville, north
of Tampa. Call Lucille (352) 540-9746.
- LAKE MARY BRITISH-AMERICAN CLUB, for Brits in the Lake
Mary/Longwood/Sanford Area. Call Debbie Arrigall-Watkins (407)
416-7779 for info.
-
PAUL POTTS, the British opera star who won Britain’s Got
Talent 2008 with Nessan Dorma, returns to Florida. July 14, 2009
at the Hard Rock Casino, Holywood. For ticket information
www.hardrocklivehollywoodfl.com or charge by phone
1-(800) 745-3000.
-
UK-UK Cultural corner.
Many of us who have lived here
years, 20 in my case, feel the same way. Florida is lovely but
you’re still a foreigner cultural chasms apart from Americans. I
always yearn to be with my own kind, bathed in English wit and
worldliness. If I had the money I would spend seven months in
Mayfair and five in Miami. You can take this woman out of London
but you can’t take London out of this woman. Robbie Coltrane the
Scottish actor of Harry Potter and Cracker fame, told the
London Telegraph: “I work in the States all the time but could
never live there. There’s something wonderful seeing your kids
coming in covered in mud after a walk in the Highlands and making
them beans on toast. If I lived in America I fear my kids would
end up saying Daddy my platinum card’s maxed out.” But I’d never
move back full-time. Florida life is far too easy and wonderfully
warm . . . sigh.
-
YUM-YUM – BRITISH SHOPS SHOWCASE – where to get your fix
of Cadbury’s flakes: JUPITER – The Queen’s Pantry (561) 747-6317
and The British Depot (561) 721-0555.
-
HOLDING A BRITISH event soon?
Just opened a British business
in the last three months? Email me details for inclusion in this column. Must include your
name/city/phone.
-
BRITS ON A BUDGET CORNER:
Over in London this summer? If you’re looking for a treat you can
afford, go to the Indian YMCA dining hall near Warrant Street Tube
station. We all know you get the greatest curries in London,
because so many Indians live there. This place is authentically
operated by the local Indian community, there you can get a
lip-smacking curry for dinner for only £8.
www.indianymca.org.
-
ATTENTION FLORIDA’S British-Owned Businesses, Shops And Pubs: If
you wish to get bulk copies of the Union Jack, (50 papers a
month minimum), to offer your customers, phone our circulation
department (800) 262-7305. The paper is free, but a small delivery
charge applies.
 
|
