HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Stanley]

Xmas Day falls on a Friday this year. Give a bit of thought to asking your butcher for a Xmas Wrap Up on the Thursday the 24th. This is the stuff they have left over but can't sell and it can be a good deal. I shall be talking to Kath Brown about it this week.
Never forget that your butcher throws away a lot of good food because the customers won't buy it, too much trouble. If you ask you may find the your butcher fillets his own chickens to get the boneless chicken cuts his customers want. As him about the carcasses, he is probably paying to have them taken away. They boil down to make wonderful chicken stock with bits of meat and can be easily frozen. Always good to have in the freezer if you are starting a stew.....
Good dog food as well, I fed Big Jack the lurcher on chicken carcasses for five years.

[Marilyn]

He loved you. It was obvious.

[Stanley]

And it was you who took the pic....

[Marilyn]

I saw something beautifully intelligent in that dog’s eyes. When he put that paw of ownership over your shoulder, I knew it was going to be a great shot, made even better by the way you responded to him. Totally natural. They are the best shots.
I love dogs....first time I have ever seen one sitting on a sink saying “ this is MY Daddy” though.
And he was happy. The tail is moving!

[Stanley]

Today's tip... There is a difference between 'panic buying' and the maintenance of sensible stocks of important goods. This is even more important as the Brexit situation and its effects on transport affect goods from non-EU countries. One of these is disposable gloves from China, the major manufacturer. I have no qualms about having a six month stock in.

[Marilyn]

We are trying not to buy any goods made in China just now. China has been very awkward with Australia recently...that is why I won’t be buying any Christmas Crackers this year. I won’t be buying any clothing made in China either, until they can learn to play properly.

[chinatyke]

We are trying not to buy any goods made in China just now. China has been very awkward with Australia recently...that is why I won’t be buying any Christmas Crackers this year. I won’t be buying any clothing made in China either, until they can learn to play properly.

Where do you sell all your iron ore?

[Marilyn]

The thing is China, that our overseas markets get the BEST of our produce, from our Seafood to our Wine to our Cereals. As Australians, we get what is left. That is what you do when trading - you offer your very BEST. You do not palm off your poor products. We are proud of that.
Then we have the great mystery of Baby Formula. People lined up in supermarkets to purchase our baby formula, to send it to China via post. We need to stop the black market on baby formula. Since you had Melamine in Chinese Baby Formula, things have got ridiculous, with Chinese students ( etc) hoping to make a profit. I have seen them myself, pulling stock off pallets!
I believe China has halted Iron Ore already on its way.
This is getting ridiculous. We should turn our backs and find new markets.
In return, we get stuff produced in sweat shops, which I am sure we can do without, if we have a mind.
That does not mean we do not care about the average Chinese citizen, trying to work and feed families. But your government leaves much to be desired.

[Tizer]

I'm only an onlooker but here's an up to date article on the topic of Aussie-China iron ore...
`Could China replace Australian iron ore with metal from Africa?: Amid rising trade tensions, Chinese interests are keen to develop a high-quality deposit in Guinea. Analysts warn any restrictions on Australian sales to China would ‘send shock waves through the market’' Guardian

And here's one from two days ago on coal exports...
`China formalises cut to Australian coal imports, state media reports: Mongolian, Indonesian and Russian imports to be prioritised after high-level meeting with power companies' Guardian

[Marilyn]

Tiz, they have done it to our wines and cereal crops too.
They are not playing nicely at all...
This all started after Australia declared it would investigate the origins of the Covid outbreak at some point in the future.

We have just seen the news and Australians are being treated to cheap Lobsters for Christmas this year ( a limit of 4 per customer per day) because China doesn’t want their usual supply. That is a win for us. We haven’t been able to afford Lobster for years! We will be going in to collect ours...

[plaques]

We have just seen the news and Australians are being treated to cheap Lobsters for Christmas this year ( a limit of 4 per customer per day) because China doesn’t want their usual supply. That is a win for us. We haven’t been able to afford Lobster for years! We will be going in to collect ours...

That's fantastic news for the UK. If we leave the EU on a no deal we shall use the Australian Trade deal. ( which doesn't exist actually) but then we can eat all your lobsters, Well 0.1% of us can.

[Marilyn]

Only £10 each, Plaquey. Fill your boots lad!

[Tripps]

They used to sell them frozen in Lidl a few years ago for £5 each. I got one but was disappointed - not very big and not much meat on them.

Now I see Iceland are doing them for £6. Iceland lobster

Decent reviews, but personally I wouldn't bother.

PsS just checked out sprouts at Tesco - they're nearly giving them away. I like them, and agree - not too much cooking - 'al dente'.
Sprouts

Those Chinese are on their next Long March. What do they want all that coal for?

[Marilyn]

We missed out on the first batch, which we were told SOLD OUT in 20 mins. No news of when the next batch is due. So I can’t tell you if they are a decent size or not...
I don’t know why China is stockpiling coal, but they don’t want our timber any more either. Talk about throwing all your toys out of the pram.

[Stanley]

It's been a good year for the sprout growers David. Their problem at the moment is selling the big ones off to get to the normal market size. Mine have been like small cabbages and superb. I shall doubtless get more today.
At this time of year I get my Xmas meat supplies sorted out with my butcher. It used to be a serious matter when we were a family but now it's just making sure I know when they are open. I gave him my small order for delivery Friday but next Thursday when they close I have ordered a wrap up. Stuart told me that he doubts if there will be much left over but of course he will find me something. He says that they have been swamped with orders, everybody being at home he thinks.
So the tip is if you haven't sorted the Xmas meat better do it now!

[chinatyke]

We missed out on the first batch, which we were told SOLD OUT in 20 mins. No news of when the next batch is due. So I can’t tell you if they are a decent size or not...
I don’t know why China is stockpiling coal, but they don’t want our timber any more either. Talk about throwing all your toys out of the pram.

I wasn't aware that things between China and Australia were so bad. It's nice being in my insulated cocoon. Enjoy your lobster and wine.

[Marilyn]

I understand your “insulation”, China. Not your fault.

[Tizer]

If we leave the EU on a no deal we shall use the Australian Trade deal. ( which doesn't exist actually)..

Have you noticed how Boris and the Brexiteers have been using the phrase `Australian deal' all the time when what they really meant was WTO rules. They're scared of used the correct terms and hope people think the `Australian deal' means as super duper UK-EU deal.

[Stanley]

All politicians know that the safest way to introduce any new policy is to make sure it carries a hint of vagueness and is fuzzy round the edges. The classic Johnson used was 'Oven Ready'.

[Stanley]

If you're thinking of going out and it's raining, hang on a minute or two. The way the weather is at the moment we are having successions of showers. It won't be long before there is a dry spell.

[Stanley]

Today's tip. Canning and freezing is so efficient these days that frozen and canned vegetables and fruit can be more nutritious than 'fresh'. They are picked and canned so quickly. A classic case is peas.....

[Tizer]

Glad you mentioned that. Canned food is much better than many people (including some nutritionists) think. It got bad press in the old days and we haven't shaken it off yet. We've seen some charities saying they don't want canned foods donated, they want fresh food. But canned food is good - and it doesn't need a fridge and lasts a long time. I can't eat much fresh fruit but I eat canned fruit every day. (Only canned in natural fruit juice, not syrup, and discarding most of the juice anyway.)

[Big Kev]

I use frozen fruit a lot, a small handful of frozen berries goes in with the porridge, before it goes in the microwave, most mornings.

[Tizer]

My cousin keeps a lot of frozen fruit for making smoothies.

[Marilyn]

I have never trusted frozen fruit since several back to back instances of Salmonella a few years ago...

A friend of ours got Hepatitis A from Sundried tomatoes a few years back. Ended up in hospital, turned yellow and was as sick as a dog. Bought the Sundried Tomatoes at a market stall.

You have to be so careful...