What would you buy in London that you could not get in the US?

Here is a link to a recent thread about gifts to buy that are quintessential London:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34826295

This thread (also) is "filed" correctly under the "topic" of United Kingdom (as is another thread that you started - - ehere I have added this same message).

Not sure this is the subject of your question in http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34839016 - - but this one is correctly in the UK "forum" (a virtual forum, at best, as others have explained to you).

Best wishes,

Rex

Not that you can't get any of this in the US thanks to the internet shopping, etc. but I started an expensive hobby of getting antique sterling serving pieces. My favorite is a stuffing spoon from the first Lord Manners followed on other trips by silver milk jugs, etc. A piece each year.

With the dollar so weak, my fall-back souvenirs are Spode cups & saucers & other pieces. I bring back a ton of my favorite teas & last year found a Harrod's bear I couldn't resist holding tulips.

I find lots of books I enjoy as well and I hit charity shops to discover odd bits & pieces. The museum shops often have interesting souvenirs too.

And I'm always stocking up at Boots pharmacy on all kinds of inexpensive stuff.

Coffee from the Savoy gift shop, almost anything from Fortnum and Mason. A dog bowl from Harrods (or anything for the pooch).

Food products are always popular - I always take Thorntons chocolate and Chocolate Hob Nob biscuits (cookies) when I'm travelling to the US

Buy anything at Harrods or Fortnum's and bring home the bag.

OK...so some will say they are "tacky" but Hard Rock Cafe London and Harley-Davidson London T-shirts.

No, I bought that tea at Fortnum's, too, AND any of those Prince Charles food products (great gifts) sold there.

"any of those Prince Charles food products"

I'm about as far from being Charles' No 1 fan as it's possible to be (closer to no 6 billion). But the stuff marketed by his company (full details at www.duchyoriginals.com) is universally ace. Profits go to some exceptionally deserving charities, as well as one or two of his quirkier ones.

You don't have to go to Fortnum's: practically every supermarket in Britain stocks some of the range. Though the Tesco near his country gaff devotes practically an entire wall to the range.

Clearly the Tesco MD is trying for his peerage. And is too mean to get it the way honest men do: by lending the Labour Party a few million.

Some hopes. I don't think royalty notices grocers.

How about Sir Philip Green, Sir Ken Morrison and Dame Anita Roddick? Though somehow I doubt we'll see al-Fayed on the list...

Can't get knighthood (other than honorary) as not being a British or Commonwealth citizen - a moot point I know.

We always bring back some cheese (crumbly Lancashire is one we can't find at home). There's usually some English sweets in our suitcase too. Now that Jo Malone has a duty free shop at Heathrow we might pick up some cologne.

I always buy black currant jam or jelly. I love it and I have never seen it here at home. I brought back some for a friend who is a avid gardener and the taste convinced her to plant black currant bushes. This year she will be making black currant jam and I get one of the first jars.

cheap and funky clothes from Topman/ Topshop on Oxford Street. Its famous for styling London (and the nation on the whole) by probably having the quickest copies of designer trends and lots of 'streetwear'. Some stuff is not for the faint hearted - teens will love it - cool britannia et al.

<< I always buy black currant jam or jelly. I love it and I have never seen it here at home. >>

It's good, but doesn't seem to be that hard to find, to me. Hero brand is carried by gourmet food shops all over the place, and a quick look on Yahoo shopping listed sources for imported Duerr's or Tiptree. Made-in-America offerings can also be found - - www.jollygrub.com - - for example, in New Hampshire.

I got some blood orange marmalade at Fortnum and Mason that was just wonderful!!! I almost cried when I used the last bit. I know I could probably get on line but haven't. Someone had said to try Trader Joes but I haven't looked there yet. It would be another brand I'm guessing so don't know if it would be as good. I will say, that the jars were certainly heavy in my suitcase. I thought the poor cab driver would have a hernia when he unloaded my suitcase at Waterloo. LOL

And, likewise (for either the blood orange marmalade, or for the black currant jam) - - froogle.com

the gentleman's relish

Harrod's tea or Fortnum& Mason's--Harrod's No. 14 is great and unavailable here (but you can buy it at Heathrow) and F&M St. James restaurant blend or "Afternoon Blend". Also, Liberty of London makes beautiful print items--cosmetic bags, glasses cases, journals, scarves, etc. My kids liked the various items that said "Mind the Gap" and the sweatshirts or teeshirts from Oxford. The soccer jerseys ("England" team) and other player things were popular too. HAve fun!

Once thing I DON'T bring back anymore is Christmas Pudding! I thought that would be such a treat for friends (years ago), so I brought some from both Harrod's and F&M. WRONG! No one like it!

I now bring Tea (Whitley's or F&M), honey in pretty little pots from F&M or other little foodstuffs I can find.

I then have the store send them to my house and they usually arrive home the same time I do! It's not cheap (often the same cost as what I've purchased), but it beats carrying souviners around, especially if London isn't your last stop.

Something unique and edible/drinkable--Pimm's, herbal tea (Twinings have several assorted teabags), cheese, LEMON CURD, chocolate covered crystal ginger, cadburry miniatures.
Nonedible--scented candles from Jo Malone, soap from LUSH (inexpensive, makes good gifts, love the sunshine something that has orange-cinnamon kind of smell), Filofax used to make a diary with london map as the cover. Silver things from Link.

I've always thought the Union Jack flag was really cool-looking, so I've brought back things with the UJ on it. Maybe a coffee mug, T-shirt, fridge magnet, etc. I have this cute little figurine of a bull dog wearing a UJ shirt that I keep by my computer - he's watching me now!

I also like Thornton chocolates.

Tote bags from Harrod's. Pimms from duty free, tea, Boots items, silver things from London Vaults, china items that I can't find in U.S., MoltonBrown and Pentaligon goodies.

"Tipsy strawberry jam with champagne" from a lovely tea shop in Covent Garden. Ended up eating all those little "gifts" myself...

My Migraine medicine, Migraleve, not available in the US... Needlepoint kits... Underwear from Marks & Spencer... Books by my favorite UK novelists... Candy...

Honestly, I don't know why gringos insist on buying such unoriginal souvenirs/gifts. Things with the Union Jack on it? shot glasses with a double decker bus or telephone booth on it? key chains with the word "London" spelled out? Do you just not look hard enough for interesting tchatchkes?

Different strokes, Burga. No doubt I'd think your ideas were equally dumb.

Besides the question was what you could get in London versus US. DUH. Work on your reading comprehension

Elastoplast brand bandaids--the best!

Bendicks bittermints, preferably the kind with crème de menthe filling.

Liberty print fabrics.

I collect the Robert Harrop Doggie People so always bring at least one home. Ofcourse I can order others & have them shipped to me but not as much fun. And big boxes of wine gums from duty free.

Kit Kats made with better chocolate. I have a friend who brings them back for me and keep a stash in my fridge.

>>>>>
Elastoplast brand bandaids--the best!
>>>>>

US sold plasters are much better than those sold in the UK IMO. UK ones are far too thick and don't stick properly.

Thomas Pink mens shirts (you can get them here also but for a lot more). I also can't believe that nobody mentioned single malt scotch.

Funny, isn't it, how it always comes back to food! Sainsbury's Red Label tea and Rose's Lemon-Lime marmalade. You can get Rose's Lime marmalade here in the States but the Lemon-Lime has a zestier flavor...

"I also can't believe that nobody mentioned single malt scotch"

I used to bring Scotch from here to friends near the borders because it's so much cheaper here than there.

Oooh, infosteph, I've tried the lime marmalade (and LOVE it) but now I'll have to look for the lemon lime.

I don't know where you live but I can find many things in my city with the Union Jack on it. I'm not the type of person who travels just to bring back some cliches emblazoned on my souvenirs (i.e., tourist crap). I like to buy hand-made things, open-air market items, local cheese. Images of a double-decker/telephone booth/cabbie/London Tower and the Union Jack, etc. -- I can find on the Internet.

You can also buy some of that tourist poop on eBay. But even your humble Sainsbury scone mix has a lot more thought behind it than keychains, mugs, magnets.

I so agree with Sainsbury's Red Label Tea, and my very favorite...Bass Shandy, in the tall blue can.

Belinda

I used to buy jam or marmalade in bone china pots at Fortnums. The pots, of course, are meant to be reused, so the gift lasts much longer than the jam itself.

Another of my favourite gifts is an original print of a London or country scene, circa 16th or 17th century. You can buy them unmounted, so they are easy to carry home and have framed later. Books are broken up to obtain these prints, however, so some people consider it wrong.

Antique maps are another great gift, but very expensive these days.

Elderflower cordial... certainly beats dr brown celery soda.

A ride on the London Eye.

David gave me a can of Spotted Dick and it was the biggest hit in the office, hands down. After we ate it, I washed out the can and left it on my desk for posterity.

LOL Melissa!

In years past of visits back "home" to family, I would load down the luggage with faves like demerara sugar, Tiptree marmalade, Sainsbury's porridge, good curry paste (all carefully overwrapped, of course!) Now I can find many of those cherished items here (thanks, Whole Foods) or online at websites for expats.

Now I save the luggage space for stuff like Crunchies, Mars Bars, KitKats, Cadbury's bars of various kinds, and Typhoo decaf tea. (If you want decaf tea, the Typhoo is one of the few that tastes and looks like actual tea, not hot brown water.)

I do have a couple of Brit items on my desk -- small flag, Mind the Gap pencil. I never did that when I lived in England, but now I am far away, I like to see them now and again. Nostalgia, I guess.

You guys are great. I would have never thought of these things, but what is spotted dick in a can?

Here's a variety:
http://www.englishteastore.com/british-store-cake.html

I would buy some Irony. But I'd have to wrap it well. I've seen the way they load bags on to those planes.

It was me that sent Spotted Dick to Hawaii. I couldn't resist the thought of people in hula skirts and bras made out of coconut shells eating spotted dick.

It comes in a tin that you heat up. There's nothing to it. It is completely sealed like any other tinned food.

I bought a mouse pad with a map of London on it. It's right beside me now, helping me plan my next trip!

I too am no fan of Prince Chuck but the Duchy brand cookies are sooooo good. I had the Orange Chocolate variety and they were delicious.