A winter of very expensive heating and little food?

Theoddbird

Pippa I am saying that it is simple to make changes to the way we live. Hell's bells....nowt wrong with putting a cardie on to keep warm as we did when we were young. Making good soup is so easy as well. It is all about using what is available as our parents did in the war. You didn't hear that generation moaning...they just got on with it...they did not whinge about not having things.

Yes they did. Rose coloured specs don’t help.

The point is that the U.K. is regressing very rapidly and there should be no need for it.

If you wish to live very frugally I say all power to your elbow.

But it should be a choice and not a necessity.

Pippa I am saying that it is simple to make changes to the way we live. Hell's bells....nowt wrong with putting a cardie on to keep warm as we did when we were young. Making good soup is so easy as well. It is all about using what is available as our parents did in the war. You didn't hear that generation moaning...they just got on with it...they did not whinge about not having things.

Theoddbird

Dinahmo. I grow tomatoes in buckets and some potatoes and garlic. I can use whatever is available in the supermarkets to make a meal. Simple tasty meals and especially soup are so easy to make. People get too set in their ways about what they eat... I have always used what is available.

Yes I admire your ingenuity, but a mother who works 3 jobs with a couple of children and on UC is not going to have the time or energy is she?

Blackcat3

Put another jumper on…..eat less…..we will survive….look at the tiny war time rations…..there was no starvation…..in fact it could be said we were healthier for it…..be positive!
But yes there is some truth in shortages…..but the scaremongering in the press will exacerbate it! If everyone just bought what they needed and didn’t stock pile…..goes without saying……mind you how many still have their lockdown 1 stockpiles…….?

Not stockpiling isn’t the answer!

Dinahmo. I grow tomatoes in buckets and some potatoes and garlic. I can use whatever is available in the supermarkets to make a meal. Simple tasty meals and especially soup are so easy to make. People get too set in their ways about what they eat... I have always used what is available.

There was a woman on the radio this morning who had a 2 year deal with an energy company that has gone bust. She's in limbo. Can't change suppliers and anyway the best one she could get would add over £500 pounds a year to her bill.
It seems the big suppliers bought up the gas supplies at cheaper prices so are able to continue trading, smaller companies facing huge rises in prices are going out of business. The government is considering state intervention!! Honestly if it wasn't that the poorest will be most affected it would be a joke!

Blackcat3

Put another jumper on…..eat less…..we will survive….look at the tiny war time rations…..there was no starvation…..in fact it could be said we were healthier for it…..be positive!
But yes there is some truth in shortages…..but the scaremongering in the press will exacerbate it! If everyone just bought what they needed and didn’t stock pile…..goes without saying……mind you how many still have their lockdown 1 stockpiles…….?

Yes, most can do such things. But that doesn't stop us being allowed to ask the question - Why, after 10 years of a Conservative Government have we got the prospect of cold homes, shortages of food and deaths to which we may well be able to add overrun hospitals and care homes empty of staff.

Simple answer: "Never Ready" Government led by a "Never Ready" Prime Minister. They did not prepare. They made cuts in essential services. They thought they were invulnerable.

Blackcat3

Put another jumper on…..eat less…..we will survive….look at the tiny war time rations…..there was no starvation…..in fact it could be said we were healthier for it…..be positive!
But yes there is some truth in shortages…..but the scaremongering in the press will exacerbate it! If everyone just bought what they needed and didn’t stock pile…..goes without saying……mind you how many still have their lockdown 1 stockpiles…….?

The fact that in wartime we didn't starve is no reason to be positive about food shortages and lack of fuel in the 21st century, surely?

I think at the worst there may be slightly less choice in supermarkets but we need to keep a sense of proportion in all this.
Nobody is going to starve this winter, despite what some on here would have you believe!

At the beginning of 2021 there were 70 energy suppliers in the UK, but industry sources have said there may be as few as 10 left by the end of the year.

Four small energy companies have ceased trading in recent weeks, including Edinburgh-based People's Energy, which supplied gas and electricity to about 350,000 homes and 1,000 businesses, and Dorset-based Utility Point which had 220,000 customers.

[source -BBC News]

Put another jumper on…..eat less…..we will survive….look at the tiny war time rations…..there was no starvation…..in fact it could be said we were healthier for it…..be positive!
But yes there is some truth in shortages…..but the scaremongering in the press will exacerbate it! If everyone just bought what they needed and didn’t stock pile…..goes without saying……mind you how many still have their lockdown 1 stockpiles…….?

I keep saying it but this is a "Never Ready" Government led by a "Never Ready" Prime Minister. We have seen it time, after time, after time.

We have close friends and family in many countries across Europe and we chat to them regularly. None have spoken of any shortages of any foodstuffs or empty shelves in their shops and supermarkets.

However, they are very aware of the unfolding situation in the U.K. and have concern for their nearest and dearest who will have to deal with the ensuing problems that the current chaos is likely to cause.

There is a shortage of competence and expertise within the current government which will hinder the country as we go into the winter months. I tend to agree that things could get very bumpy for many, many folk.

Coco51

I wonder if ’food shortages’ mean only that there will be less than we have become accustomed to, rather than real hardship. In preparation for winter we buy a couple of tins of soup every week. We have store cupboard flour for breadmaking and crackers. when we couldn’t get hold of milk at the beginning of the pandemic we bought powdered milk - not great tasting but needs must. I think the media are irresponsible for whipping up hysteria when, if we all buy sensibly, there will be no crisis.
If there is a disabled or vulnerable person in a household there is a scheme to sign up for priority services in an emergency.

I can only think you don't have any dietry issues. I don't think it's hysteria if you can actually see empty shelves. Priority services only means you get a slot for delivery. It does not stop all the muggles taking the gluten free bread if there is no ordinary bread, etc.

Theoddbird

You don't need to be well off to keep warm and eat nutritional food. I live on a narrow boat. I don't have central heating...just a multifuel burner. In winter I layer my clothes...even socks. It is not difficult to keep warm. Neck and feet especially should be kept warm. I eat simply...nearly plant based. I cook from scratch making enough for two meals most times as this saves on gas. I also layer my bed with patchwork quilts....far warmer than a duvet. People have got too used to turning a switch to keep warm.

That is your choice Thoeddbird. Are you suggesting we should all be made to live in that way?

I wonder if ’food shortages’ mean only that there will be less than we have become accustomed to, rather than real hardship. In preparation for winter we buy a couple of tins of soup every week. We have store cupboard flour for breadmaking and crackers. when we couldn’t get hold of milk at the beginning of the pandemic we bought powdered milk - not great tasting but needs must. I think the media are irresponsible for whipping up hysteria when, if we all buy sensibly, there will be no crisis.
If there is a disabled or vulnerable person in a household there is a scheme to sign up for priority services in an emergency.

Theoddbird Unless you have your own allotment you aren't going to be able to get a variety of plant based food this winter. Root crops and maybe a few brassicas.

You don't need to be well off to keep warm and eat nutritional food. I live on a narrow boat. I don't have central heating...just a multifuel burner. In winter I layer my clothes...even socks. It is not difficult to keep warm. Neck and feet especially should be kept warm. I eat simply...nearly plant based. I cook from scratch making enough for two meals most times as this saves on gas. I also layer my bed with patchwork quilts....far warmer than a duvet. People have got too used to turning a switch to keep warm.

Do they usually involve volunteers in management decisions, or planning, they can’t get round to all care homes on the same day.

Not sure who "they" are. I didn't say they said they'd been to all care homes on the same day, they said all care homes had now been offered the vaccination. I know for a fact that they hadn't offered our residents the vaccination, or the staff for that matter.

Alegrias1

Not much understanding of humour and irony on the threads this morning....

Is there ever?

It made me smile, though...

Not much understanding of humour and irony on the threads this morning....

Sorry Alegrias. I wouldn't call our rapid development and deployment of Covid vaccines 'hell in a handcart'. Thank God they did it.

Shinamae

I fear this is going to lead to people panic buying again…

Called the Hamstern in Germany, where yes this happens too. Hoarding like a hamster.

theworriedwell

I don't necessarily believe what they say about the vaccines anyway. I do some voluntary work in a care home when govt ministers were all being rolled out on news programmes to brag that all care homes had now been offered the vaccine the home where I work hadn't been and they didn't get the vaccine for some weeks after that.

Of course if being offered the vaccine means someone has phoned and said we will get round to you when we can then I am wrong and of course we were offered it but I don't think that's what many people thought they meant.

The trouble is that once you know they have bare faced lied about things like that you have this nagging question at every announcement "are they telling the truth this time?"

Do they usually involve volunteers in management decisions, or planning, they can’t get round to all care homes on the same day.

I don't necessarily believe what they say about the vaccines anyway. I do some voluntary work in a care home when govt ministers were all being rolled out on news programmes to brag that all care homes had now been offered the vaccine the home where I work hadn't been and they didn't get the vaccine for some weeks after that.

Of course if being offered the vaccine means someone has phoned and said we will get round to you when we can then I am wrong and of course we were offered it but I don't think that's what many people thought they meant.

The trouble is that once you know they have bare faced lied about things like that you have this nagging question at every announcement "are they telling the truth this time?"