Panic buying? No - common sense!
So here we are once again expecting major snowfalls across the UK...
And here we go again with all the favourite cliches and comments from "Clever Dicks" (see earlier blog).
WHY WHY WHY??? Do we have to hear the same tired old predictable comments...
We've had all the usual ones already, "It's too cold to snow and all that".
After the snow has fallen and there's been traffic problems, I guarantee every pub, shop, office, factory in the land will have someone fond of their own voice coming out with the old "What's the matter with this country, little snow shower and everything grinds to a halt, would never happen in Finland, blah blah blah..." as if no-one has ever ventured this opinion before
Look let me put it in capitals for these bores..."SHUT UP - WE'VE HEARD IT All BEFORE"...
It needs one of those "Batman" pictures that are starting to appear on facebook to shut them up I think. In fact I have found a website that does it for me, reckon I can have some fun with this. So here is one I made earlier...
But the snow isn't here yet, so today, we've got that other old favourite "Panic Buying"...
You know the score. I remember going to a meeting with my boss back during the 2000 proposed fuel blockades. We joined a queue of about 20 cars at a petrol station to stock up before we left. He was ranting and raving "Look at all these idiots panic buying - for f*cks sake". Of course, my boss was angry at the other drivers, but it never occurred to him he was doing exactly what they were doing! The other 19 were idiots, but he was perfectly justified in being there. Bet the other 19 were all saying the same thing. Anyway, having a go at perceived "panic buying" is another great British tradition.
So today I went to Sainsbury to do a big shop and heard a fair amount of grumbling from people about how busy it was - along the same lines as the earlier anecdote - "look at her, 12 loaves of bread for f*cks sake - stupid people panic buying".
For all they know she was doing her usual weekly shop and might have five kids. Anyway, you know I shop daily and rarely do big shops, so does me going off today to do a big shop make me a stupid panic buyer? No I don't think it does, I call it common sense and planning ahead. Here's why I went today.
1) There are 4 consecutive days of snow forecast.
2) Both my kids were at school this morning. No guarantee they both will be tomorrow as we have a) had some illness in the house this week and b) schools don't need much excuse to close with the snow. So I may not be free tomorrow, and definitely not on Saturday or Sunday.
3) Pushchairs are an absolute nightmare in the snow - in fact any significant snow and they are impossible. Like trying to push one across a beach. And dragging out a little 2 year old in freezing temperatures who has just been ill is just not fair.
4) It becomes absolutely impossible to get my car out with any significant snow. I have to reverse down a slope and it just slides hopelessly out of control, directly into a row of parked cars opposite my back gate. Anyone who knows where I live will know what I am talking about.
5) I love Sainsbury, my favourite retailer, grew up with it, has a huge amount of choice and products I just can't get in Bicester so don't really need any excuse to go there. Was very pleased to see that they had a big half price sale on at the moment and all on brands I like. These were genuine offers as well, not "false ones". Walkers Crisps, McVities Choc Digestives, and a very nice French Red. Perfect. Only 6 months to go and we'll have one right here in Bicester! Yaayyyyy!!!!
So I think I was absolutely justified in going up there today, and if things are as bad as it seems they might be, we'll have no need to go anywhere all weekend - except into the garden to make a snowman. I have also this morning piled the logs high up by the fireplace, enough to burn all day and night for at least four days, so no worries about trying to lug them in from a snow blanketed garden.
In short, I'm all stocked up and prepared for the worst. After all, why make life more difficult than it has to be?
Just before I go, as I was on the subject of supermarkets, I don't normally find most of the supposedly "funny" pictures put up on facebook that funny at all, but there have been some absolute classics over the last day or two over the whole "horse meat in burgers" thing. My personal favourite was "Unexpected item in bagging area". I shan't post any of them in here as you've all seen them all already, but chuckle...I certainly did.
I'm quite surprised a little by the level of outrage - it's not as if anyone has died. On the contrary, about 20 years ago there was a far more sinister and nasty scare over burgers when the whole BSE thing came out. Lots and lots of people who had eaten dodgy burgers in the 80s were dying a horrible death many years later. Anyway, that didn't stop people eating burgers, so I doubt whether this will!
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please take a look at my books on Amazon (Paperback & Kindle), where you can read lots more of the same! Click here.
And here we go again with all the favourite cliches and comments from "Clever Dicks" (see earlier blog).
WHY WHY WHY??? Do we have to hear the same tired old predictable comments...
We've had all the usual ones already, "It's too cold to snow and all that".
After the snow has fallen and there's been traffic problems, I guarantee every pub, shop, office, factory in the land will have someone fond of their own voice coming out with the old "What's the matter with this country, little snow shower and everything grinds to a halt, would never happen in Finland, blah blah blah..." as if no-one has ever ventured this opinion before
Look let me put it in capitals for these bores..."SHUT UP - WE'VE HEARD IT All BEFORE"...
It needs one of those "Batman" pictures that are starting to appear on facebook to shut them up I think. In fact I have found a website that does it for me, reckon I can have some fun with this. So here is one I made earlier...
 |
| Love this - you can put whatever text you like in! |
But the snow isn't here yet, so today, we've got that other old favourite "Panic Buying"...
You know the score. I remember going to a meeting with my boss back during the 2000 proposed fuel blockades. We joined a queue of about 20 cars at a petrol station to stock up before we left. He was ranting and raving "Look at all these idiots panic buying - for f*cks sake". Of course, my boss was angry at the other drivers, but it never occurred to him he was doing exactly what they were doing! The other 19 were idiots, but he was perfectly justified in being there. Bet the other 19 were all saying the same thing. Anyway, having a go at perceived "panic buying" is another great British tradition.
 |
| Look at all these idiots!!!! |
So today I went to Sainsbury to do a big shop and heard a fair amount of grumbling from people about how busy it was - along the same lines as the earlier anecdote - "look at her, 12 loaves of bread for f*cks sake - stupid people panic buying".
For all they know she was doing her usual weekly shop and might have five kids. Anyway, you know I shop daily and rarely do big shops, so does me going off today to do a big shop make me a stupid panic buyer? No I don't think it does, I call it common sense and planning ahead. Here's why I went today.
1) There are 4 consecutive days of snow forecast.
2) Both my kids were at school this morning. No guarantee they both will be tomorrow as we have a) had some illness in the house this week and b) schools don't need much excuse to close with the snow. So I may not be free tomorrow, and definitely not on Saturday or Sunday.
3) Pushchairs are an absolute nightmare in the snow - in fact any significant snow and they are impossible. Like trying to push one across a beach. And dragging out a little 2 year old in freezing temperatures who has just been ill is just not fair.
 |
| Not part of my weekend plans! |
4) It becomes absolutely impossible to get my car out with any significant snow. I have to reverse down a slope and it just slides hopelessly out of control, directly into a row of parked cars opposite my back gate. Anyone who knows where I live will know what I am talking about.
5) I love Sainsbury, my favourite retailer, grew up with it, has a huge amount of choice and products I just can't get in Bicester so don't really need any excuse to go there. Was very pleased to see that they had a big half price sale on at the moment and all on brands I like. These were genuine offers as well, not "false ones". Walkers Crisps, McVities Choc Digestives, and a very nice French Red. Perfect. Only 6 months to go and we'll have one right here in Bicester! Yaayyyyy!!!!
So I think I was absolutely justified in going up there today, and if things are as bad as it seems they might be, we'll have no need to go anywhere all weekend - except into the garden to make a snowman. I have also this morning piled the logs high up by the fireplace, enough to burn all day and night for at least four days, so no worries about trying to lug them in from a snow blanketed garden.
In short, I'm all stocked up and prepared for the worst. After all, why make life more difficult than it has to be?
Just before I go, as I was on the subject of supermarkets, I don't normally find most of the supposedly "funny" pictures put up on facebook that funny at all, but there have been some absolute classics over the last day or two over the whole "horse meat in burgers" thing. My personal favourite was "Unexpected item in bagging area". I shan't post any of them in here as you've all seen them all already, but chuckle...I certainly did.
I'm quite surprised a little by the level of outrage - it's not as if anyone has died. On the contrary, about 20 years ago there was a far more sinister and nasty scare over burgers when the whole BSE thing came out. Lots and lots of people who had eaten dodgy burgers in the 80s were dying a horrible death many years later. Anyway, that didn't stop people eating burgers, so I doubt whether this will!
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please take a look at my books on Amazon (Paperback & Kindle), where you can read lots more of the same! Click here.
If the Burgers have Horse meat in them, I wonder if Tesco Value Minced beef is actually horse too??????
ReplyDelete