I haven't been systematic in this abandonment of things British. It's not that I wish to deny my birth right or some such. The thing is that I'm not a visitor here, this is my home. Just as I wanted to know what was happening in the UK when I lived there I want to know what's happening in Spain now that I live here. Wherever you are lots of news is International anyway, the big stuff, the important stuff, but the detail of British politics, British crime and even British gossip are all 2,000 kms away. I have trouble enough keeping up with the quantity of information I get about Spanish politics, Spanish crime and Spanish gossip anyway.
In general I take the line of least resistance on this being a Brit in Spain thing. The supermarket I use most has quite a few British favourites on its shelves because the manager realises there's a market for such stuff in Pinoso. This means that, from time to time, I buy Heinz Sandwich Spread or Oxo Cubes or Back Bacon. If they weren't there then it would never cross my mind to buy them. For the most part we stopped hunting for British things, and went with their Spanish equivalent, years ago or simply stopped worrying that neither the original nor a substitute were available. I have toast with olive oil not because I can't get butter (there's some in the fridge) but because I've found I like toast with olive oil. It's very seldom that I get a craving that can only be assuaged with something so British that Churchill would promise that we would fight in the hills and in the streets to protect it.
Now there are exceptions. Tea is an essential as far as I'm concerned and Spanish tea is not to my taste. In fact it has no taste at all but, then again, I suppose it is not blended to be taken with milk. Fortunately British tea is easily available in lots of high street outlets. The thing that's worrying me though is Brylcreem and the stuff that I replaced it with, Ryelliss and now the last ditch replacement - Nelly.
Now Brylcreem is something that only we old people know about. It's similar in consistency to lard but you put it in your hair to make your hair more manageable. Put enough on and you can leave grease marks on couch backs and pillowcases. If you're old enough to remember antimacassars on the backs of sofas they were there to soak up the 19th Century favourite hairdressing of Macassar oil and Brylcreem has similar properties. For years I was able to order Brylcreem from Amazon UK and later from Amazon Spain. Wherever it was ordered it was shipped from the UK. Brexit has made getting things sent from the UK so much more difficult that it isn't worth the rigmarole - ridiculous and incomprehensible import duty and delays to rival those on the A34 in Hampshire.
Although I prefer Brylcreem there was a perfectly acceptable Spanish substitute that was a brilliantine paste which came in a tube - Ryelliss. Then one day that disappeared from the supermarket shelves. The company that made it had gone out of business. Not enough old men left to buy enough product. Never mind, another brilliantine product was still made by a big firm that markets products under the rather prosaic name of Nelly. They do a brilliantine liquid. Not as good as the paste and not as good as Brylcreem but still available. But not easily. Only one shop I know of in Pinoso stocks it and they only remember to order it in when I complain there is none left. I opened the last bottle in my supply on Sunday morning and I think I'm going to do the Frozen thing and let it go. I've hung on to this habit which, presumably, dates from my youth, despite the country change and despite changing styles - maybe the time has come.
Then again there may be one of those myriad hair potions, that jostle for position on the supermarket shelves, that can rival a product beloved of Second World War RAF pilots as well as those Mad Men.
