Panic buying

[John Harris]

17 hours ago, kevinlms said:

Thread now seems to have gone away from panic buying to supermarket choice or even what vehicles are in the car park.

 

Does that mean that shortages are almost over in the UK?

 

My neighbour is a plasterer, as he usually works renovating houses they are often empty, so he can work 'socially distant'.  Plaster comes in large sacks, usually around £7-£8 a sack, the "going" price at the moment is £25 a pop upwards, indeed on some jobs he can sell spare sacks for more than he paid for them.

 

Plaster is not imported either.

 

So, no, shortages are not all over.

 

jh

[APOLLO]

Folks should be OK in Tesco Scotland. The "Tesco Express" electric loco hauled container train (Daventry - Mossend) passed our house an hour ago - fully loaded, four minutes early and fairly flying up Boars Head bank Wigan. You used to be able to set your watch with this train, can't now as these days its often a bit early.

 

Brit15

[rockershovel]

Scrambling, in the motorcycle sense, has two origins - timed trials like the International Six Days’ Trial, and grass track Racing, which in the 1950s often used longer tracks around 3/4 mile incorporating right-hand bends, jumps and gradients (sometimes referred to as “mountain grasstracks”) which survive today at meetings like Teterow or the US discipline of TT. 

 

The development and adoption of rear suspension and telescopic forks in the late 1940s and early 1950s meant that it was feasible to race motorcycles over quite rough terrain, and the trend within grasstracks to model themselves on speedway (then, very popular and completely dominated by the British JAP engines) meant that there was a gap in the market. Companies like BSA and Matchless were enthusiastic about this new sport, much cheaper than road racing and the developing tv companies liked it too...

 

[woodenhead]

20 hours ago, rockershovel said:

Is “European veg” a euphemism for “pickled cabbage with carroway seeds”?

 

One thing I’ve always appreciated on my travels, is coming back to the U.K. and having green veg, roast potatoes and most of all, parsnips and garden peas. 

 

Haha - poor phrasing - what I meant was that Aldi was very European in it's set up when it first opened in the UK, the stuff it sold seemed different to what we were used to, don't ask me why cos a pepper is a pepper but it seemed very different in how it set up it's stall.  Now it has developed like Lidl to be very much attuned to the UK market and is why it does so well against the big supermarkets.

[woodenhead]

17 minutes ago, John Harris said:

 

My neighbour is a plasterer, as he usually works renovating houses they are often empty, so he can work 'socially distant'.  Plaster comes in large sacks, usually around £7-£8 a sack, the "going" price at the moment is £25 a pop upwards, indeed on some jobs he can sell spare sacks for more than he paid for them.

 

Plaster is not imported either.

 

So, no, shortages are not all over.

 

jh

Maybe some numbskulls are using it as a flour substitute 

[rockershovel]

6 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Haha - poor phrasing - what I meant was that Aldi was very European in it's set up when it first opened in the UK, the stuff it sold seemed different to what we were used to, don't ask me why cos a pepper is a pepper but it seemed very different in how it set up it's stall.  Now it has developed like Lidl to be very much attuned to the UK market and is why it does so well against the big supermarkets.

 

Yes, it was like Netto or Carrefour rather than Fine Fare or Tesco. 

 

Mind you, it wasn’t THAT long ago that peppers red, yellow, green or even striped like deckchairs, were exotic novelties in the U.K. I didn’t realise that kiwi fruit (formerly known as the Chinese Gooseberry) had been popularised in the 1980s by growers in Italy, seeking an alternative to growing grapes for wine production. 

[cctransuk]

31 minutes ago, John Harris said:

 

My neighbour is a plasterer, as he usually works renovating houses they are often empty, so he can work 'socially distant'.  Plaster comes in large sacks, usually around £7-£8 a sack, the "going" price at the moment is £25 a pop upwards, indeed on some jobs he can sell spare sacks for more than he paid for them.

 

Plaster is not imported either.

 

So, no, shortages are not all over.

 

jh

 

Not really surprising - someone has to process and bag the plaster, and they're probably on furlough.

 

John Isherwood.

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, John Harris said:

 

My neighbour is a plasterer, 

Does he scramble? 

[Butler Henderson]

On ‎15‎/‎05‎/‎2020 at 12:25, Butler Henderson said:

Pretty miffed - went to local co-op this am and checking bill when home a 2 for £5 offer was not applied and I had been charged for 3 of an item I had bought 2 of.

 

Turned out to be today that the instore  post office visit was needed so raised the question and they refunded £6 when the overcharge was £2.25 Second time I've had an excessive refund from them. Last time was on two packs of scampi that I did not realise had wheat on them which I cannot eat and they refunded the individual price rather the 2 for price. When I came out about 4.30 a queue had formed; went to Aldi no queue and no trolleys - I did a double take and realised the 3 rows of trolleys had the equivalent of a "Do not move" sign on them so as to restrict the number of trolleys to the stores socially distanced capacity. Everything I needed in stock unlike the Co-Op which judging by comments I had heard was out of milk, at their prices! 

[spikey]

22 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Me neither.

 

 

Mike.

That "scrambler" is a trials rider on a trials bike.   if he was a scrambler on a scrambler, he'd be wearing a crash hat rather than a ratting hat, and it's extremely unlikely that the bike would be registered for the road

[newbryford]

13 hours ago, John Harris said:

 

My neighbour is a plasterer, as he usually works renovating houses they are often empty, so he can work 'socially distant'.  Plaster comes in large sacks, usually around £7-£8 a sack, the "going" price at the moment is £25 a pop upwards, indeed on some jobs he can sell spare sacks for more than he paid for them.

 

Plaster is not imported either.

 

So, no, shortages are not all over.

 

jh

 

Not quite plaster, but:

 

At work, I often (used to) see a trainload of imported gypsum heading towards a plasterboard works about 4-5 times per week.

That train has not run for the best part of 8 weeks or so.

Neither has the 3-4x weekly train shifting the remains of the FGD gypsum stockpile from Fidler's Ferry PS.

[rockershovel]

Went to B&Q this morning. 40-50 people queueing in the car park, gave up and left. Saw at least 6 cars doing the same in the 10 min or so I was there. Passed by Wickes, unable to park, long queue in their quite small car park. Gave up, came home, ordered some items online from another supplier, other jobs (especially paint) postponed indefinitely. 

 

No 1 Son told me he had been there last week, much grumbling because on-Line stock was not up to date so people were queueing 45 min plus then unable to find what they wanted. 

[Fat Controller]

On 18/05/2020 at 10:16, rockershovel said:

 

Yes, it was like Netto or Carrefour rather than Fine Fare or Tesco. 

 

Mind you, it wasn’t THAT long ago that peppers red, yellow, green or even striped like deckchairs, were exotic novelties in the U.K. I didn’t realise that kiwi fruit (formerly known as the Chinese Gooseberry) had been popularised in the 1980s by growers in Italy, seeking an alternative to growing grapes for wine production. 

In the late 1970s,I ran a part-time vegetarian restaurant in Stoke; when I needed a tray of aubergines, I had to show the greengrocer a photo of one so he could find them at the wholesale market in Birmingham.  I'd previously lived in Bristol for about five years, where there was no shortage of 'ethnic' shops selling all manner of 'funnies'.

[Gwiwer]

16 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

when I needed a tray of aubergines, I had to show the greengrocer a photo of one so he could find them at the wholesale market in Birmingham.

Brinjal.  As they are often known across the "Subcontinent".  Or "eggplant" in other English-speaking places.  

[Fat Controller]

1 minute ago, Gwiwer said:

Brinjal.  As they are often known across the "Subcontinent".  Or "eggplant" in other English-speaking places.  

In Stoke, they were known as 'What?'

[rockershovel]

All right, I’ll say it... what do part time vegetarians eat, the rest of the time? 

 

 

Most major ports have long traditions of “ethnic” markets, usually related to their particular historic markets. I grew up with a lasting distaste for Central European food, from experience of the East End of the 1950s and 1960s. 

[andania 213]

40 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

In the late 1970s,I ran a part-time vegetarian restaurant in Stoke; 

 

Was that for folk who'd scoff the odd sneaky pork pie or bacon sarnie when nobody was watching?

 

( hat coat, usual pack drill ! )

 

K

[rockershovel]

8 minutes ago, andania 213 said:

 

Was that for folk who'd scoff the odd sneaky pork pie or bacon sarnie when nobody was watching?

 

( hat coat, usual pack drill ! )

 

K

 

Aldous Huxley’s short story “The Claxtons” describes the type...

[Fat Controller]

46 minutes ago, andania 213 said:

 

Was that for folk who'd scoff the odd sneaky pork pie or bacon sarnie when nobody was watching?

 

( hat coat, usual pack drill ! )

 

K

I certainly did- especially oatcakes with bacon and cheese.....

[rockershovel]

45 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

I certainly did- especially oatcakes with bacon and cheese.....

 

I was introduced to Staffordshire oatcakes with bacon and cheese, working in Stoke in the mid-2000s. A real treat! 

[Fat Controller]

29 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

 

I was introduced to Staffordshire oatcakes with bacon and cheese, working in Stoke in the mid-2000s. A real treat! 

Sometimes available at Sainsbury's, outside of the Potteries

[pH]

On 18/05/2020 at 02:16, rockershovel said:

Mind you, it wasn’t THAT long ago that peppers red, yellow, green or even striped like deckchairs, were exotic novelties in the U.K. 

In the 1970s, a young woman my wife worked with in Nottingham bought a green pepper for the first time. When she cut it open to use it, she took it back to the store because it was empty!

[Welchester]

46 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

Sometimes available at Sainsbury's, outside of the Potteries

 

Yes, but the ones sold in Sainsbury's are, er, not of the best quality.

[Fat Controller]

46 minutes ago, Bishop of Welchester said:

 

Yes, but the ones sold in Sainsbury's are, er, not of the best quality.

They're not the best, but they do have the advantage of being easily available, and less time-consuming than making your own (which I have done)

[ejstubbs]

On 17/05/2020 at 17:28, ejstubbs said:

The egg section in my local Sainsbury's last week was stacked full of eggs.  All mixed size boxes, though, apart from a very few 6s and 12s of medium and XL.

 

I found exactly the same situation in my local Sainsbury's again today.  I was going to M&S anyway so thought I'd be able to get six large there.  No luck: exactly the same inadequate choice as Sainsbury's, just a smaller acreage of shelf.  Passed Tesco on the way home, no queue so thought I'd pop in there to see.  Same again.  No queue at Aldi either: they had boxes of six large but they weren't free range - the boxes specially said that they were laid by caged hens (although I thought that was illegal now in the UK?)  Last stop: Morrisons.  Can't see the car park or store entrance from the road but drove in to have a look anyway.  No queue.  Plenty of free range eggs in all size options including large.

 

So five supermarkets within roughly a mile radius and, while there were eggs on the shelves in all of them - and in some cases an overabundance of eggs, only one of the five had boxes of six large free range eggs.

 

I remain puzzled.