All around the shops....

I have to know what it is you ordered and what you were going to cook with it.

Me too.
Am a bit wary of cooking veg I haven’t seen before, am not the greatest cook with veg I am familiar with.

Morning glory - aka water spinach.

Yep...I'd never even heard of it...but am checking out possibilities for more unusual vegetables that might be able to be grown - and preferably of the prolific variety. Hence I've got seeds en route from a different firm for it - but this was meant to be my "try it out personally now - to see what it tastes like" already grown - and fresh variety of it.

Somehows a package sent last Wednesday, due to be dinner on Thursday is highly unlikely to be edible if/when it ever does turn up. Latest thing on Amazon reckons it's going to turn up tomorrow. I imagine it'll be a slimy mess by then - after all it is a type of spinach....

CariadAgain Morning Glory is a firm favourite here at Gravy Grange.

Goes really well in a stir fry, or even just lightly salted with garlic and soy sauce.

Oops sautéed not salted!

Reassuring Granny - as I was rather thinking stirfry seemed like the first possibility.

I'm on the hunt generally for what unusual vegetables might grow profusely in a West Wales climate.

There's quite a bit of hopeful start-up foodgrowing etc of the more "interesting" variety that has been starting up in West Wales in the last few years - and some people are working towards "What else can we have/can we do re food etc". Cue for I gave a very experimentally-minded farmer friend of mine a new book just come out on umpteen types of unusual grain/how to grow/what to do with them for Christmas - and she proceeded to walk off beaming and promising it was going to be her "bedtime reading". You name it - she might well try it....

I like to contribute the odd little idea/item into the melting pot....

CariadAgain for future reference , it’s easy to do an Amazon return without the need for a printer. If you log in to your Amazon account and select the item you wish to return you will find details of local Amazon drop off points. You select the one you want to use and Amazon will send you an email with a QR code and further instructions.

For example, my closest one is the Asda customer service desk half a mile from my house. You just need to wrap up whatever you’re returning and show them the QR code on the Amazon email. They will print and attach the label and take the package from you.

In this instance I doubt Amazon will ask you to return a bag of soggy spinach. If you explain to them via the reason for return they will most likely tell you to dispose of it and will refund it.

If it ever arrives, and is not completely slimed, salvageable stems with leaves can be popped in a pot of water and will root. Maybe you could sneak a bit out before returning. They may not ask for a return though and do a straight refund.

Have you tried actually speaking to someone at Amazon Customer Services? You click on the link along the top.

Hmmm....that could be worth a try re the trying to root a section - at least get something back from this fiasco....

I have recently bought a Chatsie phone and am in process of trying to get it sorted - currently about halfway through. It is marketed as VERY VERY simple etc and will be my emergency phone. Have yet to summon up the nerve to try it - I've had phoneshop locally sorta start it up for me. I said I will just be in a position to use it for email and Facebook on top of the "mobile phone stuff" of calls and texts. So am guessing that - when I've got my act fully together on it - I could just physically wave the relevant email at a suitable place and they could "screen grab" the QR code from that?? and I wouldnt have to try to do anything other than "wave" my post at them and they'd do the rest?

25Avalon

Have you tried actually speaking to someone at Amazon Customer Services? You click on the link along the top.

I'm waiting until it actually arrives - and then I can quote exact time/day of arrival. It looks like it might turn up tomorrow - which is the last day of their revised schedule for arrival. It was stated as being at Bristol at about 5 am this morning - hence I'm betting with myself it will turn up here tomorrow (ie just on their new deadline for it).

I got lost on the Amazon site yesterday trying to "talk" or email to them - and am keeping my fingers crossed that the phone number I have for them (which worked a while back to actually get through to a person) still works if I ring it. So I'm planning to try that number once I've actually got the package - so I can quote exactly, eg "90% of the bunch is as wilted as heck and browning round the edges or whatever".

Those Amazon fresh food firms really need to get their act together - I bought a fresh fruit basket from one of them before (when I was too ill to get out to shop for a few days recently) and only about half of it turned up, a bit more turned up later and was distinctly "over" and so on. So much for me hoping to get hold of some exotic fruit I'd not tried before that way....

Do let us know if it grows well Cariad I live in Carmarthenshire , a similar climate to you I expect. Always love trying something new.
Talking about convoluted journeys I sent a parcel to Aberystwyth last week, address taken from a serious website. Swansea, Chester, Shrewsbury and then ‘ lost ‘. A replacement was then sent. Same address, posted Thursday evening, delivered Friday morning. !!!!!

JamesandJon33

Do let us know if it grows well Cariad I live in Carmarthenshire , a similar climate to you I expect. Always love trying something new.
Talking about convoluted journeys I sent a parcel to Aberystwyth last week, address taken from a serious website. Swansea, Chester, Shrewsbury and then ‘ lost ‘. A replacement was then sent. Same address, posted Thursday evening, delivered Friday morning. !!!!!

Then I guess you might have heard of Huw Richards?

I've been following him for years now - think pretty much from when he started as a young lad. I would think he's late 20s/early 30s now and there's a lot of stuff up on his YouTube channel and he's recently written several books. He's sorta expanding and experimenting and more expanding and experimenting here in Wales. He's latest thing is he's started up a firm/farm set-up here selling people a range of experimental organic fruit and vegetables to grow. I'm anticipating he'll go on expanding "onwards and upwards" - as I've been watching him doing exactly that for some years now.

It's not always possible, but most of the time for an Amazon return I use the Royal Mail collect. You just tick the option for them to bring a label, wrap up and hand to the postman. In fact I now leave mine in my porch and the postie knows to pick it up.

And as said upthread, it's unlikely you'd have to return a bag of slimy veg, they'll just refund. There's been a few low value things that Amazon have told me to keep and have just refunded. I guess it's more cost effective for them to do nothing and leave me to get rid of them myself.

ferry23

It's not always possible, but most of the time for an Amazon return I use the Royal Mail collect. You just tick the option for them to bring a label, wrap up and hand to the postman. In fact I now leave mine in my porch and the postie knows to pick it up.

And as said upthread, it's unlikely you'd have to return a bag of slimy veg, they'll just refund. There's been a few low value things that Amazon have told me to keep and have just refunded. I guess it's more cost effective for them to do nothing and leave me to get rid of them myself.

That's a Royal Mail postie - even if it's come via one of those private firms?

Sounds like a possible option.

Mighta worked for everything except the dress I ordered one time - which is short-sleeved/reasonable quality. But they sent me a sleeveless/cheapie quality dress (despite the fact I think it was around £45 - so should have been reasonable) and the only address of any description anywhere was in China and it was all written in Chinese. Cue for just putting a label saying "China" on it and arrow pointing to the address in Chinese in China and telling the post office - "Well as long as it gets to China - they'll be able to read that Chinese...". Never did get my refund on that....

Latest position = Amazon info states it was at Kenfig Hill (ie the nearest Amazon place to me - as per usual) at this morning and will get to me at 14.45 to 16.45pm.

Hopeful comments from people here that I'll be able to just ring Amazon (if that number still works) or, presumably, "contact seller" (again) and say "Last Thursday's dinner is looking very wilted/slimey by now" and be told to "Just bin it - refund coming" - though I'll see if there is a bit of it that might just "take root as a cutting" (I have my doubts - as it's probably in pieces by now....but we'll see).

A 16 stage journey has got to be some sort of record for getting from Hemel Hempstead to West Wales.

Think the seller just "kicked their backside" part way through - when I contacted them (though they didn't bother to reply to me!). I'd almost not be surprised if that's another seller that just "pleads with me not to report them to Amazon for not doing their job properly". I had one do so much "pleading" crocodile tears with me before now for an item that was clearly never going to turn up - Clearspring Silk Tofu as I recall - and I had to block him as it was turning into harassment. One of the whole ideas of Amazon is shopping is supposed to be quick and easy - choose item/buy it/it gets delivered in time and in good condition.

I think I can pretty much identify which sellers are likely to be problematic one way or another by now. Cue for its always a sigh of relief when I see goods are actually from Britain, America, Scandinavia or Europe by now - as there's a much greater chance of everything working out fine.

Somehows a package sent last Wednesday, due to be dinner on Thursday is highly unlikely to be edible if/when it ever does turn up. Latest thing on Amazon reckons it's going to turn up tomorrow. I imagine it'll be a slimy mess by then - after all it is a type of spinach....

I shouldn't laugh but I am 😂😂😂
Thanks for cheering up a Monday morning CariadAgain

I did order something from Amazon once and, bearing in mind I know exactly where the Bristol warehouse is, I thought it would be delivered promptly.
It went from there to a facility in Kent then back again to Bristol while they thought about it then eventually delivered it. Wish I'd offered to pick it up but luckily it wasn't perishable.
Another parcel was left on an unknown doorstep, I received it a fortnight later when the householder came home from holiday.

Usually (not always) they are fairly prompt.

Ps I thought Morning Glory were those fast growing plants with glorious blue flowers? Are they edible?

Allira I was just going to ask the same I grow morning glory but never realised they were edible, I know nasturtiums are , leaf flower and seed but didn’t know morning glory was

Last year I accidentally grew some Indian spinach it was very pretty in flower have you tried that Cariad I think the seeds must have blown from my neighbours’ compost pile.

BlueBelle

Allira I was just going to ask the same I grow morning glory but never realised they were edible, I know nasturtiums are , leaf flower and seed but didn’t know morning glory was

Last year I accidentally grew some Indian spinach it was very pretty in flower have you tried that Cariad I think the seeds must have blown from my neighbours’ compost pile.

Don't eat the home-grown variety, Bluebelle!
I checked and some types are hallucinatory and even toxic.

I've just been checking out photos of both things and they look rather different to me. The morning glory vegetable has sorta long arrow sorta shape leaves and I didn't see anything looking like flowers. The plant that grows from the seeds I've also ordered of this is clearly the same plant (leaves the same).

The morning glory flower here may just be decorative flowers and that's that. I'm not convinced I'd try picking that sort of morning glory and eating it - and I'm pretty experimental. Also I've had foraging courses over the years with some of the country's best-known foragers (national level type people) and they've never mentioned anything about it that I recall. Goodness knows - one of them has tried/will try pretty much anything and everything over time (errrr....eeek!)...and even he hasnt mentioned it that I recall.

Bar information to the contrary - I'll treat them as two separate things. If anyone spots me harvesting and eating flowers from my garden then it will be something like nasturtium (which I basically regard as for eating purposes).

I'll have to have a looksee at Indian Spinach and see what I make of it...

I am sorta generally on the lookout for what is edible/prolific/will grow in our climate and, if it's a bit unusual all the better for me personally (given I like to try new things). If slugs don't like it = all the better - as they are a pain and a half in my garden.

I'm not convinced I'd try picking that sort of morning glory and eating it - and I'm pretty experimental.

Thank goodness 😀

Yes Cariad I have heard of Huw Richards. My DD who lives high up, often in the clouds, about a half hour from me, has something of his I recall. Hope you get your parcel soon.

I have eaten Morning Glory in Vietnam it's delicious my favourite veg when I was there. I have never found it in the UK, I know why now!
After your story, I will definitely pass.
Best of luck with the next stage