Conducting our Pub Poll is one of the more pleasant chores at the Ukrainian Observer since we always get to meet nice people in a very relaxed ambience. However, this month's poll was conducted under slightly more stressful circumstances - at O'Brien's Pub during the World Cup first round match between England-Paraguay. We made no distinction between supporters of the two teams but the results, England - 1, Paraguay - 0, seemed to please most of those viewing the match. Rather than getting into the specifics of their team preferences, we chose an entirely different - but relevant - question for this month's poll.
We asked this month's Board of Drinkers:
"What do you most miss about your homeland?"
 "Selected TV -impartial BBC News and British comedy; Some food - Good Italian, Thai, Indian, Chinese restaurants;
Efficient service in restaurants, cafes, etc.;
Cashless life - paying by credit cards everywhere; Convenience and safety of Internet payments - ordering things on line; Ease of international travel from London, e.g. weekend trips to Paris, etc.;
Family and friends.
Milan Patel,
self-employed, 18 months in Kyiv
 "Fish and chips, the sea, watching Kent County Cricket Club at Canterbury, Prime Minister's question time.
Stuart Allen,
Deputy Editor, What's On,
Three and a half years in Kyiv.
 "Simple home cooking, being able to purchase provisions that more appeal to my palate. The ease of communication with landlords, builders, etc. Basically the general lack of liaison, cooperation and knowledge of visitors, tourists, residents that I'd like to have whilst in Ukraine."
Neil Michael Leary,
Self-employed, off and on for two years.
 "The Sunday papers!"
Joseph Field,
Teacher, the British Council,
Two and one-half years.
 "Not Tony Blair or Gordon Brown or the nanny state they have created. Golf. A big thick Sunday Times. English beer. Good driving - box junctions at traffic lights! Marmite - you still can't buy it here! Sausages! My language.
John Bailey,
Creative director, JBKB Advertising. Six years in total.
 "Good Indian food."
Richard Brady,
Consultant,
16 months.
 "BBQs, seafood, lazy afternoons, hot New Year's Eve, restaurant variety, rugby, cricket."
Aaron Crouch
Manager, Deloitte (Australia),
7 months.
 "The range of choice in stores and shops. Ukraine is getting steadily better, but it's not yet fully up to Western (British in my case) standards. Also, the amount of bureaucracy in Ukraine is daunting compared with the UK, especially for business people. I also miss going to the Reebok Stadium to watch Bolton Wanderers. Simply the best!"
Jim Bown,
Gen'l Director, The Dean Group (Ukraine),
10 years.
|
