The culture parcel arrives

Today was a red letter day, almost literally, as the long-awaited, much-vaunted clulture parcel arrived. The Kulturpaket is here.

OK, let me explain. Canada is a wonderful place but it is, how shall I put it, expensive. So I do a lot of my shopping elsewhere, and get it sent to a friend in the UK. Every 2-3 months, when my records, books, football programmes, clothes, etc. have filled a box, he sends them on. It's a fraction of the price to pay for postage and the inevitable customs duty. The latest John Irving, for example, cost me £7.99; Amazon.ca - the cheapest I could find here - wanted $39.95. It's a bit of a no-brainer. £8 = around $13, plus postage, plus duty = it's still about half price. There is really no explanation for why it is so expensive over here. Well, there is. It's a monopoly.

But every couple of months, the Kulturpaket brings in a breath of fresh air.