Gift Vouchers for Glasgow from Australia?

July 12, 2007 10:45 PM

A couple of my friends are moving to Glasgow, Scotland for at least a year to play music and do the young Australian abroad thing for a while. I'd like to combine their farewell and wedding present (slightly belated) into a gift voucher they can use once they've moved over there. Any suggestions?

Glasgow IKEA is the immediate store that springs to mind but while practical is a fairly bland idea. Any recommendations of record stores, music shops (guitar strings and drumsticks) or vintage stores etc would be grand.

I'll need to arrange and pay for the gift voucher by credit card.

Also any fun Glasgow tips for a mid 20s musical couple would be cool.

posted by pipstar to shopping (9 comments total)

I would think that one of the things they're going to need is kitchenware: pots, pans, dishes, silverware. Is there a reasonable household merchandise chain you could get a gift certificate for?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:55 PM on July 12, 2007

I don't know if you can order from Australia, but consider Love2Shop vouchers. These can be used in a huge range of high-street stores. I got some of these as part of an incentive scheme run by my employer and had no trouble finding places to spend them.
posted by dcbarker at 12:08 AM on July 13, 2007

One thing to consider is that your money is going to be worth considerably less in UK. Maybe buy something small that can be worth taking across? Camera or other electronics perhaps..
posted by aeighty at 12:30 AM on July 13, 2007

Oh, I'm well aware of the conversion issues from AU$ to the pound, and S&A are already well prepared with travel related stuff like a laptop and a camera.

From my experience living overseas, I found that it was the household stuff that I'd never though I needed (knives etc) that was an issue.

Any suggestions other than Ikea - though the Love2Shop stuff does sound useful.
posted by pipstar at 1:03 AM on July 13, 2007

John Lewis is a great department store for general-purpose-but-nice stuff, they can get household stuff, clothes, electronics, etc., and everything is nice quality. There's a huge one in Glasgow's city centre and I'm sure there are probably a few more dotted about the area.
posted by ukdanae at 1:29 AM on July 13, 2007

Medical insurance?
posted by fire&wings at 1:31 AM on July 13, 2007

I would recommend Ikea vouchers. Like anywhere else, it is cheap and you can get all the essentials for getting set up here. John Lewis, Habitat et al are all very nice but your money won't go very far at all in those places. There is a huge Ikea on the Braehead Estate on the outskirts of Glasgow and they should be able to get all the basics cheaply there.

The vintage shops in Glasgow (which used to be truly fantastic) have been gutted by the eBay phenomenon and would be very unlikely to take credit cards or issue gift vouchers anyway.

I am unsure if they issue gift vouchers online but Mono Records in Glasgow has a fantastic range of music across a wide variety of genres and has the added benefit of a good vegan cafe, microbrewery and is a live venue which might be good if you want to avoid the blandness of Ikea vouchers.

There is a great design shop in The Lighthouse arts venue and they do issue gift vouchers, however, although the merchandise is fantastic (and pricey too match), I should give a word of caution in that when I wanted to take something back they were a nightmare about it and 10 times arsier than anyone ever is likely to be in Asda or Argos.

One idea is possibly getting them memberships of the GFT (Glasgow's main arthouse cinema). It is a great venue in an old Art Deco building and is worth the entry fee for the comfy seats alone.

As for tips for a musical couple in Glasgow then there is an abundance of places to spend your time. The List magazine is a comprehensive guide to what is going on in Glasgow and Edinburgh on a fortnightly basis. It is available from newsagents and is also online. We have lots of things to do here and I could go on all day about music venues. There is always a band playing somewhere and plenty of outlets for people who want to perform themselves. If you want to contact me (email in profile) I can recommend many a place for going out in Glasgow and can even take them both out for a beer if they fancy it to help get their bearings.

I dont think medical insurance is necessary for Aussies (although do check) as there is a reciprocal arrangement between Aus and UK for medical treatments.
posted by ClanvidHorse at 3:20 AM on July 13, 2007

Also any fun Glasgow tips for a mid 20s musical couple would be cool.

Mono, Nice n Sleazy's, King Tuts and The 13th Note are all pleasant pubs and often have gigs. The ABC is the best venue of that size that I've been in. Have you considered buying gig tickets?
posted by liquidindian at 3:26 AM on July 13, 2007

(Sorry about my apparently redundant suggestion. I thought Ikea was furniture.)
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 12:44 PM on July 13, 2007