Shortages UK

[@Lee]

On 05/02/2024 at 08:07, EnterName said:

If you think Europe-wide farmers protests are unrelated to shortages, I must remind you that farmers produce our food.

They get paid more to grow flowers for wildlife. 

What do you think farmers will do when they get paid more to grow unattended flowers than they do to grow cereal crops that require maintenance?

 

[@Lee]

Is this the norm now? Coffee in security cases and the price? 

 

[StevesTruck]

Instant coffee's been a nickable commodity for as long as I've been working in shops. Just putting one out and safer casing it depends a bit on the specific store and area. I worked in a shop 20 years ago where we had to keep it behind the counter.

 

Prices have gone up, that's a co-op, so it's going to be more expensive than B+M (I work for a different co-op, and I buy my coffee from B+M). Some of its global inflation, some of its UK inflation, some of its Brexit, some of its suppliers profiteering and some of its retailers profiteering. The cost of theft is also a factor, if you buy a case of coffee and 25-100% of it gets nicked, you need to recoup that cost somehow.

 

It's my normal soapbox answer, but if you're a shop assistant on minimum wage and you know that the police won't come to help, are you going to tackle a potentially armed thief?

[skomaz]

21 hours ago, @Lee said:

Is this the norm now? Coffee in security cases and the price? 

 

 

It's one shop in an area of Birmingham...   Which has been subject to repeated shoplifting and threats of violence to staff.

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/read-this/instant-coffee-security-cases-inflation-prices-soar-4164239

 

Edited 17 February by skomaz

[@Lee]

37 minutes ago, skomaz said:

 

It's one shop in an area of Birmingham...   Which has been subject to repeated shoplifting and threats of violence to staff.

 

www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk

 

It's not just one shop though is it and it's not just coffee. Baby formula and even sunscreen and dishwasher tablets. 
So there's no shortage of shoplifters. 
We had a Co-Op round the corner from us yet I never saw anything security tagged back in 2018 - not even the wine. I used a Co-Op regularly as they usually had a promo on Nescafe Azera and I never saw it in security cases - not even in the rougher areas I worked in so something's obviously got fundamentally worse since 2018.

[xman]

I blame Brexit ...... for Lee's ability to see things that I can't see in my local supermarkets 😉

[StevesTruck]

I remember safer casing 27p packets of paracetamol in Sainsbury's in about 2008. It's nothing new. 

 

Co-op's have been pretty slow going onto safer cases. The thing is, the detector barriers going off don't stop thieves, they are just a starting pistol. If you haven't got a security guard on, there's no point them being there.  Ideally you want them set back from the door, but you don't have the space to do that in a convenience store. 

Edited 17 February by StevesTruck

[cheezemonkhai]

On 17/02/2024 at 01:26, @Lee said:

Is this the norm now? Coffee in security cases and the price? 

 

I’m more amused that they don’t bother lock-in the decaf kendo, but they do the normal stuff.

 

I can’t say I’ve seen such things.

[Ootohere]

If there was a campaign to Free the 'Organic Honey' in Tesco it worked i think.

 

Still not so sure how they ensure that the bees produce only organic honey, but there must be a way of hearding them to feed only at places that are organic. 

 

Re Paracetamol in the likes of packs of 16 & maybe 40-55 pence a pack in 2024, you are only allowed to buy 2 packs in supermarkets, maybe elsewhere.

They obviously think if they only allow you 32 you are too disinterested in committing sideyways or sewageways (The dirty way out) to leave the story and return to buy more for your overdose. 

Edited 18 February by Rooted

[Stonekeeper]

4 minutes ago, Rooted said:

If there was a campaign to Free the 'Organic Honey' in Tesco it worked i think.

 

Still not so sure how they ensure that the bees produce only organic honey, but there must be a way of hearding them to feed only at places that are organic. 

 

The surrounding 5 miles will need to be free of any type of synthetic herbicides or pesticides because honey bees will travel up to 5 miles in search of nectar, pollen, and water. A beekeeper cannot control where their bees go once they leave the colony, so it’s important for the beekeeper to know the surrounding area if they are wanting to sell certified organic honey.

[Ootohere]

Thank you.  I knew that actually from the Honey thread in the Health section, but i was pretending i never.

There is even pictures of jars in captivity in that thread, just not the bees.  Not the Scottish Highlands Heather & Whisky honey where the hives must be within 5 miles of a Distillery with a visitors centre. 

[EnterName]

On 17/02/2024 at 01:25, @Lee said:

They get paid more to grow flowers for wildlife. 

What do you think farmers will do when they get paid more to grow unattended flowers than they do to grow cereal crops that require maintenance?

 

I'd have to see the figures before I can comment on that claim.

Also what is "pledged" for set-aside and what is actually paid to farmers may not correlate 100%.

[@Lee]

A couple of interesting pieces that were published yesterday. The first by the Financial Times and the second by The Telegraph. In the FT piece, 

UK businesses clearly explain why unilateral alignment is in their interest and how little companies that are losing revenue care about the concept of being a "rule taker". In the FT piece, Matthew Elliot, formerly of Vote Leave, says the UK now has 'independent trade deals with independent US states'. This is actually false - it has what's known as Memorandums of Understanding wich are not trade deals. Only the US Government has the gift of negotiatiating US - Other country's trade deals*. Eight years on and still lying.
 
Just a reminder that more checks on goods entering the UK from the EU are due to be imposed from the end of the month which may cause increased delays and push up costs.

 

 

https://www.removepaywall.com/article/current

 

*https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S10-C1-1/ALDE_00001097/

 

 

Edited 5 April by @Lee

[@Lee]

UK's Brexit import checks set to be postponed again again. It's seemingly unworkable in practice without causing huge delays and possible price rises so instead, the UK's just waving any old crap through. Taking back control etc etc... 🤦‍♂️

 

https://archive.ph/vOnRv 

 

https://www.eunews.it/en/2024/04/19/london-halts-post-brexit-checks-over-risk-of-disruptions-in-goods-delivery/ 

https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2024-03-25/25m-border-control-building-at-portsmouth-port-could-be-demolished

[kodiaqsportline]

On 19/04/2024 at 14:32, @Lee said:

 ...the UK's just waving any old crap through. Taking back control etc etc... 🤦‍♂️

 

I love people's use of terminology. They twist facts simply to support their own biased views.

 

Post brexit it's 'waving thru any old crap'. Pre-brexit there weren't any checks,so wasn't the same 'old crap' coming in to the country then? i.e. nothing has changed.

 

When you say 'old crap', exactly what products are you're referring to?    

[petrolcan]

23 minutes ago, kodiaqsportline said:

Pre-brexit there weren't any checks

Because we were all in the single market adhering to the same rules.

 

Why is that so hard to understand after all these years?