The Winter of Discontent #2 Food, energy, transport, jobs, housing etc

[Bitofthebubbly]

My washing machine broke earlier this year and I had to get a new one on Klarna as couldn’t afford to buy a new one outright. Thankfully interest free as long as I keep up with payments.

 

[IngressUK]

It appears that most people who become MP’s in the Tory party (although the Labour Party is not immune to this either) have either a silver-spoon background, went to private school, have friends in very high places and have no connection to a world outside of their inner circle. I think the majority of them should never become Members of Parliament, never mind becoming the PM! They simply do not have an idea of how people are forced to live. Forget all of the trotting round nursing homes and council estates for photo opportunities, we can all see through that shite. For the most part, they are patronising and in my opinion, very few have any brains at all. Most of them certainly lack compassion.

Yes, we know there are people who take the piss in life, don’t pay any tax and work on the side of their benefits, but most of them do it to make up the shortfall, to feed their families. It’s the same piss-taking, on a smaller scale, that the wealthy company directors do to avoid paying huge sums of tax. They are able to dress it up better, to make it look as though they are not at fault.

When Tony Blair was PM, he was on his own gravy train. He amassed a wealthy property portfolio, so anyone saying he was a socialist, well, that’s a load of shite. He feathered his own nest and played a blinder really. His Government built very few council houses, yet he seemed to accrue quite a few houses of his own, whilst raking in his salary and enjoying all the benefits of being a PM.

Frankly, they are all as bad as each other. I don’t vote for any of them, they’re all shite. The only one I possibly would vote for is Keir Starmer, or Angela Rayner.

This country is corrupt.

Labour are no better than the Conservatives.

About time people woke up to this fact (no pun intended with the 'woke' comment').

The party was once the party of the poor and working class, however that is no longer true. It is about appeasing those well off people in North London and other well off metropolitan areas, with their faux trendy leftie ideals, not helped by the likes of Momentum.

What should of happened is these bunch of numpties should have started their own political party, rather than hijack an existing one.

It is a sad state of affairs when Labour now care more about Trans rights, than the day to day struggles of the genuinely poor.

I also used to work for Sainsbury's in the 90's, in the era of Labour party donor David Sainsbury. The man was a tight arse when it came to paying his staff a decent wage, even when pressed on the issue and highlighted the opposition paid substantially more. A supposedly socialist person. I think not.

 

[Saddlesoap]

my vet has been amazing. We adore our puppy but we’ve been to our vets with everything from colitis to vaccines to swallowing objects. Every time its an emergency it feels horrific because we love our dog so much. Vets have helped us when we were having horrible days this year. I’ve always been so grateful for the care and love they’ve given our puppy -but I don’t really feed that back! I guess people are quicker to complain that gush over what a great job you’re doing. Maybe I should be more vocal. But my point is, for every pet owner who yells at you, there are probably a dozen more who are quietly thanking the stars for your work.

I’m also down my second pair of slippers to a puppy!

Thank you. I do know that. I also know I'm great at my job, as are my colleagues. Perhaps that's why it hurts when we get accused of not doing our jobs right, or get slated for asking for money for our services

 

[GobShyte64]

My washing machine broke earlier this year and I had to get a new one on Klarna as couldn’t afford to buy a new one outright. Thankfully interest free as long as I keep up with payments.

klarna is great for things like that. Much better than clearpay i think. You gotta do what you gotta do ent ya at the end of the day.

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

klarna is great for things like that. Much better than clearpay i think. You gotta do what you gotta do ent ya at the end of the day.

Yeah definitely. I know people can run up a debt easily with Klarna but I’ve had to use them a couple of times now for ‘big stuff’ that we’ve needed and the interest free payments have been a life saver, much prefer that than using finance from Curry’s or AO with a silly interest rate. I only ever use it for bigger purchases that I genuinely need.

 

[whathastheworldcometo]

I want to share some ideas on how to keep warm, but don't laugh at me as they sound old-fashioned.
They are from my cousin who lives on an old big farm in the countryside:

- sheep-skin slippers: bought some from the farmer's market for my gran, she loved them and reported less pain from her arthritis, now the whole family wears them and they keep soooo warm
- sheep skin mattress covers: very warm and cosy beneath the bedsheet, again good for the bones (older people), good for children
- alpaca duvets: they somehow regulate the temperature?
- wollen underwear: maybe not that sexy, but makes a huge difference on colder days, especially important to cover the lower back
- wollen socks: same. natural fibres are best, polyester etc is rubbish
- wollen hat: worn around the house at all times.

Natural material seems to be best, synthetic fibres are to be avoided.

 

[Purrrrrrr]

I want to share some ideas on how to keep warm, but don't laugh at me as they sound old-fashioned.
They are from my cousin who lives on an old big farm in the countryside:

- sheep-skin slippers: bought some from the farmer's market for my gran, she loved them and reported less pain from her arthritis, now the whole family wears them and they keep soooo warm
- sheep skin mattress covers: very warm and cosy beneath the bedsheet, again good for the bones (older people), good for children
- alpaca duvets: they somehow regulate the temperature?
- wollen underwear: maybe not that sexy, but makes a huge difference on colder days, especially important to cover the lower back
- wollen socks: same. natural fibres are best, polyester etc is rubbish
- wollen hat: worn around the house at all times.

Natural material seems to be best, synthetic fibres are to be avoided.

Natural is lovely and who wouldn't love it.. but very expensive. if people change to all those things suggested here then I don't believe they are the type of people worried about price increases.

 

[dancingqueen5678]

I want to share some ideas on how to keep warm, but don't laugh at me as they sound old-fashioned.
They are from my cousin who lives on an old big farm in the countryside:

- sheep-skin slippers: bought some from the farmer's market for my gran, she loved them and reported less pain from her arthritis, now the whole family wears them and they keep soooo warm
- sheep skin mattress covers: very warm and cosy beneath the bedsheet, again good for the bones (older people), good for children
- alpaca duvets: they somehow regulate the temperature?
- wollen underwear: maybe not that sexy, but makes a huge difference on colder days, especially important to cover the lower back
- wollen socks: same. natural fibres are best, polyester etc is rubbish
- wollen hat: worn around the house at all times.

Natural material seems to be best, synthetic fibres are to be avoided.

any tips for vegans among us

 

[Tatooine_legend1]

I listened to this money saving woman on TalkRadio the other day. She mentioned this for drying clothes:

Dry:Soon Mini 3-Tier Heated Clothes Airer

Indoor drying solutions ensuring fast, effective drying with our electric clothes airers. Order the Dry:Soon Mini 3-Tier Airer with a 3 year guarantee.

www.lakeland.co.uk

I think there is a larger one too. 4p an hour to run.

Another tip she mentioned was putting a sheet of tin foil behind the radiators so it keeps the heat in. Never heard of that before, but will give it a go when it gets colder. Fortunately I don't mind the cold, so can put on more layers rather than turn the heating on.

 

[WilmaHun]

I listened to this money saving woman on TalkRadio the other day. She mentioned this for drying clothes:

Dry:Soon Mini 3-Tier Heated Clothes Airer

Indoor drying solutions ensuring fast, effective drying with our electric clothes airers. Order the Dry:Soon Mini 3-Tier Airer with a 3 year guarantee.

www.lakeland.co.uk

I think there is a larger one too. 4p an hour to run.

I was going to ask if anyone had tried these! I don't have space for a tumble dryer in my kitchen although we are thinking of getting a watertight shed outside and sticking one in there as we have electric supply. Though I wondered if these were any good? I've seen the cheapy aldi ones and I guess they'd be a bit crap but I wouldn't wanna fork out for a Lakeland one unless I knew it was gonna actually work

 

[Tatooine_legend1]

I was going to ask if anyone had tried these! I don't have space for a tumble dryer in my kitchen although we are thinking of getting a watertight shed outside and sticking one in there as we have electric supply. Though I wondered if these were any good? I've seen the cheapy aldi ones and I guess they'd be a bit crap but I wouldn't wanna fork out for a Lakeland one unless I knew it was gonna actually work

She mentioned she got hers from Lakeland, so I took a look on Lakeland and came across this. As I say, I think there's a larger one which costs about £50 quid more, but if it's cheap to run and saves money longer term, might be worth it. Pretty sure she was the owner of the moneymagpie website or something.

 

[Purrrrrrr]

I was going to ask if anyone had tried these! I don't have space for a tumble dryer in my kitchen although we are thinking of getting a watertight shed outside and sticking one in there as we have electric supply. Though I wondered if these were any good? I've seen the cheapy aldi ones and I guess they'd be a bit crap but I wouldn't wanna fork out for a Lakeland one unless I knew it was gonna actually work

My daughter had one she said it was rubbish. She doesn't buy cheap either.

I have my dryer in a cupboard but used to have it outside with a tarp thrown over it. I always kept one outside as well as a large freezer never had a problem.

 

[whathastheworldcometo]

any tips for vegans among us

Given that he lives on a working farm: sadly not.

Most of the vegan options are synthetic fibres.

I listened to this money saving woman on TalkRadio the other day. She mentioned this for drying clothes:

Dry:Soon Mini 3-Tier Heated Clothes Airer

Indoor drying solutions ensuring fast, effective drying with our electric clothes airers. Order the Dry:Soon Mini 3-Tier Airer with a 3 year guarantee.

www.lakeland.co.uk

I think there is a larger one too. 4p an hour to run.

Another tip she mentioned was putting a sheet of tin foil behind the radiators so it keeps the heat in. Never heard of that before, but will give it a go when it gets colder. Fortunately I don't mind the cold, so can put on more layers rather than turn the heating on.

Couldn't you just put up your clothes next to a radiator? That's what I do in winter. Summer: outside, winter: next to radiator

 

[Jc456]

I was going to ask if anyone had tried these! I don't have space for a tumble dryer in my kitchen although we are thinking of getting a watertight shed outside and sticking one in there as we have electric supply. Though I wondered if these were any good? I've seen the cheapy aldi ones and I guess they'd be a bit crap but I wouldn't wanna fork out for a Lakeland one unless I knew it was gonna actually work

I was given 1 of these and it's OK, it works better when it's covered. I've got no idea how much it costs to run but it heats the lounge up so the heating doesn't kick in

 

[Tatooine_legend1]

That a benefit of summer time, not having to dry clothes other ways. I can just put them on a clothes rack outside and within a few hours they are dry. During winter it's a nightmare to dry them out without using a dryer or radiator.

 

[Blond3g1rl]

I’ve got a heated airer. You have to get one with a cover otherwise it’s useless.

 

[Jc456]

You'd probably be better getting a dehumidifier with a clothes drying setting

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

I don’t know if this is just a city thing but I’ve never been bothered by having to dry my clothes inside but it seems to really bother a lot of people! My MIL is aghast I don’t want a tumble dryer (they ruin clothes!). In fairness since having a I have done more partial wash loads just to keep on top of it which helps wrt drying too.

 

[rubicon]

I grew up in the 80s and 90s and tbh it was normal to have a 'be prepared' kit. Nothing major but just candles, batteries, torch, some tinned food. Power outtages are rare but they do happen so it's wise to be a little prepared....without going into full pepper mode

I’ve noticed that shift too - I think the rise of the 24hr / late shops, deliveroo, amazon etc etc has made us too comfortable with having everything at our fingertips.

Does anyone remember those leaflets from the government that went out, nationally, maybe around 10 years ago..? Think it was just a general ‘being prepared for disasters’ type thing. It had some handy tips about having a radio with batteries, torches, tinned foods, drinking water etc in the event of shortages or powercuts. I’m amazed at how many people don’t even have a couple of tins at the back of the cupboard.

 

[WilmaHun]

I don’t know if this is just a city thing but I’ve never been bothered by having to dry my clothes inside but it seems to really bother a lot of people! My MIL is aghast I don’t want a tumble dryer (they ruin clothes!). In fairness since having a I have done more partial wash loads just to keep on top of it which helps wrt drying too.

To be honest I think the only reason I want a dryer is because I think I'll struggle for getting things dry at home in the winter. My partner and I both work full time and so heating won't be on at all during the day. If I leave things on an airer when we're at work they're still damp when I get home. I struggle to keep on top of getting things dry in the winter when I only have evenings and weekends to do it in.