OneGuyFromBarlick

Thanks for thinking about it. I'm going to have to get it out of the house, it's a big temptation and not helped by my mate Steve making the perfectly rational suggestion; "smook it!". He's right but it doesn't help!
All suggestions welcomed!
Today's tip for Stanley... "Remember that your strength is that of ten because you are pure!"

You could try the FB sites for buy, sell, swap. They have categories for just about everything.

Stanley wrote: ↑01 May 2020, 03:32 Thanks for thinking about it. I'm going to have to get it out of the house, it's a big temptation and not helped by my mate Steve making the perfectly rational suggestion; "smook it!". He's right but it doesn't help!
All suggestions welcomed!
Today's tip for Stanley... "Remember that your strength is that of ten because you are pure!"

You could just burn it in the stove, you would have burnt it in a pipe?

Do the sites have any rules about selling tobacco products? If you just want to get rid of it and don't expect any payment you could try Freecycle.

All redundant now but of course my lips are sealed. All I can say is that I am a much happier bunny this morning!
Today's tip, if it is within your power to remove a rod for your own back, give it some serious thought! Life is too short to create your own difficulties.

A tip for surviving lockdown - check what services your local library is offering online for free. Ours is offering a wide range and I've copied a few details out of their latest email below...

`1000’s of books, audiobooks, and even magazines and comics are available to download for free, from the Radio Times to the latest title from your favourite author. On the web site you’ll find helpful step-by-step instructions on how to get started. We’ve recently increased the number of available titles so there’s now even more choice! We’ve now got a vibrant events and activities programme happening across social media, including regular story-times, quizzes, challenges and even gardening and food tips! Find us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram or look for your local library on Facebook. We’ve also got a free trial of Medici.TV available to library members providing an inspiring program of music, ballet and opera accessible from home. Ancestry is now available from home for library members so if you are interested in researching your family tree.'

Thanks Tiz. Funny but I hadn't thought of that, I shall go and have a furtle.
We all need cheering up and one of the best ways to do that at this time of year is to closely observe the way new growth is happening all around as the soil warms up. My favourites at the moment are the buds on bushes and the blossom that is appearing all over the place.

Didn't find anything on the Lancashire Library website, may be early days yet.

plaques wrote: ↑03 May 2020, 08:00 Didn't find anything on the Lancashire Library website, may be early days yet.

There's a few links to some free stuff at -

https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries ... y-at-home/

Nice one Pete.
I was looking back at the old days when we had a reasonable expectation that the world and our situation was showing signs of constant improvement. How wrong we were! Combine rampant capitalism, climate change and now pandemic shock and things look a lot different.
Today's tip, don't count your chickens too soon! All bets are off.

It struck me yesterday as I interacted with Susan at a safe distance in the back yard that with a bit of imagination we can surmount all the difficulties of the 'new normal'. As for the reported bad mental effects of isolation, the key is to keep interested and busy. Now is the time when these can be life savers!



I count myself so lucky to have my playroom!

Today's tip is don't relax your precautions, hand washing and bio-security spring to mind particularly daily changing (at least) of towels and dish cloths in the kitchen. I am doing more frequent and hotter washes than 'normal'.

Never forget the advantages of 'one pot cooking' as in casseroles. Slow cooking for 4 hours at 150C tenderises even the cheapest cuts and is so easy to do. This is where cast iron cooking pots come into their own, they give such even heat.

No matter how hard things get, keep your chin up and look after each other. Even the worst night eventually ends and we just have to believe that our present trouble will eventually improve and what we have to do is keep our temper, use our heads and survive. It's worked for me so far!

If you can't get to garden centres take some cuttings from your shrubs and grow more plants. If you don't need them other people will be glad to have them (but observe social distancing and hand hygiene!).

The guessing game says that garden centres may be allowed to open next week.
I've been really annoyed lately at the way certain essential items have vanished from local shops and the prices on tinternetwebthingy have shot up. Naked profiteering as a lot of what they are selling is old stock. However, there comes a time when bullets have to be bitten and I'm reaching that point now with one time gloves for the workshop. I have overcome my anger and will be ordering some today.
Today's tip. Life is too short to punish yourself in these matters even though it feels like surrendering to profiteers.

I have mentioned before that it is important to check use-by dates.
Our shelves were stripped bare ( no toilet paper for 4 or 5 weeks running etc)
Other shelves stripped bare too...the usual things you would expect...Soups/Pasta/Rice/Noodles etc. ( easy things that folk will reach for if they can’t really cook).
The pasta shelves looked better stocked on Friday, so I bought some Lasagne Sheets, and decided to use them that very night. I could tell they were behaving like old pasta...not fresh. So I checked the use by date. Strangely, it said 5/20.
So I ask the question. Where where these Lasagne sheets during weeks of the shelves being stripped bare?
They have obviously been somewhere. When you first see things again you think it is great to see products on the shelf. But some of these things needed to be sold at half price, weeks ago.
I’m not sure how genuine shortages were...but someone is profiteering putting food back on the shelves that should have been readily available weeks ago! Some products don’t matter of course, but beware being taken for a mug.

There are shops that specialise in selling short dated stocks, some might be other retailer returns, some is overstocks from manufactures , some is bought in from EU and beyond sources, you really have to watch things if you thing you have a week or a month, I find Jack Fulton are quite common at doing this, less so but close can be Heron Foods, but Aldi/Lidl packaged fresh meats for example all seem to be less home life than Tesco/Asda.

Now, more than ever, is the time to patronise the small local shops that are open and even more when universal opening is allowed again. The supermarkets have been favoured too much by the government who have allowed local food chains to wither. Anything that encourages local food being sold locally should be supported. Even DEFRA policies are strangely reticent on the subject of food production. We are too reliant on imports and encouraging local food chains is one way of starting a fight back. We had to learn that lesson the hard way in WW2 and then promptly forgot it as soon as hostilities ended.

My local butcher has moved to home delivery for the duration and it's working fine. A far different story from what I hear about the supermarkets. Support local traders!

I don’t like buying anything I haven seen or chosen for myself, particularly meat/fresh fruit and veg. So simply placing an order and having it delivered wouldn’t work for me.
I am ever so fussy!

And you evidently haven't got a trustworthy butcher.

That is true!

Much attention is being paid to infection and general physical health at the moment but we need more attention to the effects on mental health of people's confusion at the moment. There are some signs that it is being addressed but I fear not enough as the powers that be concentrate on economics and their own survival as politicians.
Today's tip, try to keep occupied, explore new things and look beyond the news headlines.

I popped a post on the Coronavirus Topic about how some of us might find it a bit hard to return to ‘normal’ when we are allowed to.
It was swamped by other posts and not referred to. . Never mind.