Blaming Brexit -

[Observer II]

Seems the Remoaner politicians, media and corporate buisiness,  are conducting a steady drip, drip campaign of blaming Brexit for each and every difficulty we have. The latest is the loss of fresh veg from our S/Market shelves.   The real reason for the shortage is the bad weather in Spain and N/Africa which normally supply veg;  plus the high costs of energy to our home growers.  The solution imo, has always been a determination, will and ability on the part of Gov to meet the challenges we face and overcome them, like pursuing more self sufficiency in the UK, in everything from energy to food.  The reality however is that the majority of our Globalist MPs want to sell out Brexit and allow Brussels to run our Country, thus saving them that responsibility.   😠

[Bill]

I suppose we could grow lettuce cucumbers and tomatoes all year round provided we had enough greenhouses and the ability to keep them warm all year round. The cost of heating could be offset somewhat by the lower transport costs if things are grown locally. I did see a Youtube video a while back where the heat from decaying compost/manure was sufficient to maintain the temperature while specialized low power led lighting effectivly provided year round sunshine.

But one of the biggest problems would be the publics reaction to buying a tomato that’s maybe not quite as big or as round or as red than its Spanish equivalent. The supermarkets know this better than anyone so we’d have to ensure that they’re on-board with any plan like this.

 

Bill 😊

[Observer II]

There are some, experimental, super-greenhouse complexes, in the UK, and many more in Holland; so the principle of an industrialised system throughout the UK is feasable, given support on energy costs etc.  Now I'm not pretending for a minute, that HMS UK could achieve total self sufficiency, historically, we've always depended on imports from World Trade, but a reduction in that dependency is possible. We just need a Government that is prepared and capable of actually governing in our National interest, rather than passing the buck to Brussels.    😠

[Evil Sid]

well be back to the "dig for victory" campaign before too long.

as a two person family i struggle with fruit and veg, buying loose is my best option, it is either that or eat tomatoes for a week to use them up, a bag of potatoes tends to start growing before i have got to the end of the bag, even the small bags.buying a loaf even theses days means that half of it gets fed to the ducks before if has a chance to go mouldy

neither me nor mrs sid eat a great deal these days and so planning meals takes a bit of thought when buying food.

when her friend was alive we were inundated with tomatoes every year as she liked to grow them but didn't like to eat them.,strange but true.

[Bill]

We were talking about this with friends yesterday and the ladies agreed that they’d seen no shortages while out shopping at either Sainsbury’s or Asda, and all the shelves were fully stocked. It’s not exactly salad weather now so it’s no big problem and if the shortage is only weather related, then it shouldn’t last long anyway.

As for Sid’s problems with food quantities, we’re exactly the same here and I’d expect to see the same with most people our age. Again, the supermarkets are partly to blame for this as they’ll no doubt have some computer algorithm that determines the optimal package size for their statistically average customers. I think if some enterprising company were to set up a store specifically targeting the older generation or smaller families then they’d do well.

Top tip of the day. Rather than having spuds growing in the cupboard, try the canned new potatoes. They don’t cost much, come in a variety of sizes, and they’re not half bad. Plus there’s no peelings to deal with and saves a lot of time, enabling us to get on with our hecktic life styles. 😂

 

Bill 😊

[Evil Sid]

had to go to tesco yesterday, the kettle just stopped working for no apparent reason, so had to go get a new one. the halliwell jones one is currently undergoing a big revamp and finding anything is a bit of a wander. their fruit and veg section seemed well stocked though but not as much variety as usual.

those little corner shops were a boon to the smaller families when it came to buying groceries. no pre-packaged stuff, just the shopkeeper with a set of scales and their own meat slicer, the same for the butchers and fishmongers.

canned spuds are ok but hard to make chips from. peeling spuds is not that time consuming, especially with my old spud peeler which i have had since we got married and is still quicker than those catapult shaped ones.

i do actually have a combination spud peeler and salad spinner that was my mums. currently awaiting repair as it developed cracks over the years.

you put some water in and your spuds attach the lid and then wind the handle on the side which made it spin round and the short metal barbs on the inside would remove the potato skin. it works better as a salad spinner though.

[Observer II]

I took your advice Bill, and bought some canned spuds,  now I'm hooked on them.   But getting back to the salad shortage -  I believe the technology now exists to produce salads via huge, automated green-houses, which exist in Holland;  so why can't our Gov do it ?      

[Bill]

Yep, they’re not bad and certainly a lot easier than spud peeling then throwing half away. We always have a couple of cans in the cupboard.

As for the out of season growing, surely that’s a decision for the growers and supermarkets, and in any case, Rishi probably wouldn’t make a good a lettuce picker.

 

Bill 😊

[Observer II]

Whilst salad out of season may not be the highest priority,  it is symptomatic of our national dilemma, to strive for self sufficiency and reduce our reliance on global trade, or more so, EU trade.