HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Stanley]

I thought this PE cartoon was pertinent to our topic....

[Marilyn]

60+...the walk to the supermarket is not up hill...

[Stanley]

That's important as well Maz. We are very close to the Cathedral of Choice, one of the reasons I chose this house.
I have to admit though, I am a sucker for the orange reduced price labels.
Today's tip is wash your hands frequently and stay calm!

[Marilyn]

We don’t tend to get many reduced tickets. One end of one aisle has reduced things, where you get battered cans and damaged packets. Most of it seems to be shampoo, dog treats, battered printer ink cartridges, make-up that looks thrashed, and soft drink packs where one can is missing. You couldn’t find a meal there!
So many empty shelves this week. Mostly toilet paper gone...wet wipes...liquid soap etc. Noodles/Rice/Soups holding strong. All fresh meat and particularly fresh Veg seems to have risen in price across the board. Don’t tell me someone is not profiteering!
Overall, the supermarket was more populated than usual ( given we go so early) but it is a long weekend here with a holiday Monday...and we are a holiday destination...AND the weather is beautiful just now.
( I should take a pic of our “reduced” shelves next week because they are quite a laugh!) certainly no food stuffs there...

Cauliflowers were £3 today and Broccoli was £3 a kilo ( with massive fat stems, not cut close enough to the head). Sprouts are well over £5 a kilo at present. Hubby refused to buy Bananas today. Their price exceeded what he was happy to pay. I really feel for families trying to feed kids....

[Stanley]

Nothing to do with Covid19 but food prices have been slowly increasing for a long time here Maz. Nothing severe, just an above inflation increase. I reckon a lot of it is due to the well hidden decline in the value of the Pound.
A serious matter for people who are poor and food shopping is a larger proportion of their spend, unlike the rich. You can only eat so much, rich or poor!

[Marilyn]

Still...if you are on a limited budget and your kids only like Chicken Nuggets and Sauce, yet hate Veg...are you really going to stick to your guns to get expensive Veg down their necks?

[Cathy]

A good size Avocado is $3.99. Haven’t bought one for weeks.

[Marilyn]

Me neither Cazza. Too expensive for us. Even scabby looking Tomatoes were too dear today.
It actually makes more sense to buy frozen veg at present.

[Cathy]

No scabbie Tom’s here, but I had to laugh this week when I bought a Zucchini with other veg to make up a batch of soup. I normally buy 2 or 3, but they were all huge so I only bought one... 0.457 kg.
It was plenty

[Marilyn]

Our Zucchini were huge too. I only bought one ( and an Eggplant) for one of my Veg dishes. But it was a big brute.

[Tizer]

Here's an antivirus tip. If you don't use contactless payment and have to tap in your PIN number at a shop use the back of your fingernail, not the tip of your finger. Watch out too when you fill the car with fuel - lots of people have used those nozzle handles. Use plastic gloves if they provide them or take ones with you. I realised this too late yesterday when I put fuel in our car. I was wearing leather gloves but automatically took of my glove to avoid getting fuel on it and also concentrating on putting in diesel, not petrol (my dad twice made that mistake when he got older!).

[Cathy]

Not sure how easy it would be to use the back of your fingernail. I always pull my top up a bit so that it is covering my thumb when pressing the button at traffic lights or lift buttons.
If your out and about and can’t wash your hands quickly after touching things, don’t touch your face and use a mini hand sanitiser that you keep in your bag.

[Tripps]

Cauliflowers were £3 today and Broccoli was £3 a kilo ( with massive fat stems, not cut close enough to the head). Sprouts are well over £5 a kilo at present. Hubby refused to buy Bananas today. Their price exceeded what he was happy to pay.

That's expensive if they are in GBP. I pay £1.00 for a Cauli (Aus $ 2.00) Brocoli is £1.64 /kilo (Aus $ 3.20) and Bananas are £ 0.78 / kilo (Aus $1.56) - very stable pricewise - been the same for years. .

In the quest for year round supply - the last sprouts I bought were grown in Morocco. I'll wait for the Bedford ones later in the year. If you slice the stems of the brocolli thinly and cook - they are quite eatable.

[Tizer]

News reports say that Amazon and Ebay are having big trouble because they're now flooded with sellers trying to charge exorbitant prices for hand gels, face masks etc. There are thousands of them. As fast as Amazon and Ebay close them down the sellers open up under a new name.

[Tripps]

Heard on LBC that a guy had bought 200 hand sanitisers. He claimed they were to give to members of his family as gifts.

Called in Morrisons on the way home. Little sign of panic - except all the lettuces had gone and so had all the red capsicum peppers. Needed both items for my 'candlelight supper' tomorrow.

Can you panic buy salad?

[Wendyf]

Candlelight supper??

[Marilyn]

Cauliflowers were £3 today and Broccoli was £3 a kilo ( with massive fat stems, not cut close enough to the head). Sprouts are well over £5 a kilo at present. Hubby refused to buy Bananas today. Their price exceeded what he was happy to pay.

That's expensive if they are in GBP. I pay £1.00 for a Cauli (Aus $ 2.00) Brocoli is £1.64 /kilo (Aus $ 3.20) and Bananas are £ 0.78 / kilo (Aus $1.56) - very stable pricewise - been the same for years. .

In the quest for year round supply - the last sprouts I bought were grown in Morocco. I'll wait for the Bedford ones later in the year. If you slice the stems of the brocolli thinly and cook - they are quite eatable.

Cauliflower ( in Aussie prices) $5.90 each.(on the small side too)
Broccoli $6.50 a kilo.
Bananas $4.00 a kilo
Sprouts $12.90 a kilo
Tomatoes $5.90 a kilo
Pumpkin $3.80 a kilo ( Butternut/Japanese Pumpkin)
Potatoes $5.90 for 4 kilos. ( cheaper than buying loose per kilo)
Red Capsicum $8.90 per kilo

[Tripps]

Candlelight supper??

Tribute to Hyacinth Bucket. I went next door for some ad hoc counselling and a chocolate biscuit with a cup of tea yesterday. I always get the Barlick in Wintermug.

Other counsellors are available - Counselling

The outcome was I was invited to supper on Sunday night. Feeling a bit guilty that they'd suffered enough, I offered a return fixture so Mr and Mrs Poet are coming over tonight together with our German Lady friend who lives at the other end of the village. Also an occasional poet.

It'll be good - just hope they leave their ****** dogs at home.

[Stanley]

Medium size caulis 79p at Chaudrey's yesterday....
Funnily enough I needed to replenish the plastic gloves for the shed yesterday. Plenty in stock at Shambles and no increase in price. Today's tip, canned tomatoes and frozen veggies are just as nutritious as fresh , cheaper and no waste. Mind you, I still buy the sweet little plum tomatoes at £3.30 a kilo. I love the taste!

[Marilyn]

Will fruit and veg remain at such reasonable prices on leaving the EU? I think many will get a shock.

[Stanley]

Mr Johnson says it will be all right...... No need to worry.

[Marilyn]

I think you should worry. Supermarkets are not charities. They will pass costs on.

[Cathy]

One of our big supermarkets has advertised that some of our veg might be mis-shapen for a while , due to our country’s recent fire and floods.
Fine with me

[Tizer]

Called in Morrisons on the way home. Little sign of panic - except all the lettuces had gone and so had all the red capsicum peppers.

Well you can't blame them really, they don't want to catch our nasty virus, do they?

Can you panic buy salad?

Cartoon in the newspaper today. Two ladies in the supermarket with baskets full of loo rolls. One is saying to the other: `I'm stocking up before those panic buyers take them all!'

[Big Kev]

I have a cunning plan

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