New coronavirus in/from China

[stumuz1]

Hmm, back to herd immunity theory then.

[Vortex2]

Wanna see an exponential curve taking off? Weeeeeee ....

[eatyourveg]

Food shortages on the way as per internal memo's being passed around HMG. Cannot reveal source or I would have to kill you.

[Vortex2]

Supermarket delivery vans are being stolen and then burned ... once the diesel has been drained out ..

I wonder who might be responsible for these incidents?

Answers on a post card ...

[PS_RalphW]

Antisocial behaviour and arson of Iceland delivery vans in part of Bristol last night. Be ready for a lot hot hangry summer

[Vortex2]

From the Telegraph:

"Agencies recruiting British fruit and vegetable pickers to replace seasonal workers from abroad have been overwhelmed by thousands of applications."

Brilliant!

[Vortex2]

,,.............

Sure...you bring your favorite dinner knife to one side of the kitchen table, and I'll bring my legally owned greatest close quarters combat weapon of the 20th century to the other side, and we'll see how KenNeal's standard confrontation scenario works out....

Thankfully that scenario is highly unlikely to occur in the UK because we have sensible attitudes to gun ownership.

Ignore RGR - he likes the 1911 pistol in .45 ACP.

[Vortex2]

Forgot the virus ... I got my tractor running after it has been standing in a field over winter!

It took an hour plus jump leads and another vehicle with running engine ... but got there finally! Vroom, vroom!

[eatyourveg]

From the Telegraph:

"Agencies recruiting British fruit and vegetable pickers to replace seasonal workers from abroad have been overwhelmed by thousands of applications."

Brilliant!

In a previous life I operated a cut flower nursery growing open field. When it came to picking time it was standard practice to take painkillers before picking. It's a very very hard job done day after day. There will be a huge turnover of staff, the noble peasant thing is entirely bollocks. This isn't like pottering about in the garden, it's very very hard work.

[Vortex2]

From the Telegraph:

"Agencies recruiting British fruit and vegetable pickers to replace seasonal workers from abroad have been overwhelmed by thousands of applications."

Brilliant!

In a previous life I operated a cut flower nursery growing open field. When it came to picking time it was standard practice to take painkillers before picking. It's a very very hard job done day after day. There will be a huge turnover of staff, the noble peasant thing is entirely bollocks. This isn't like pottering about in the garden, it's very very hard work.

True.

The farmers who 'invested' in Eastern Europeans should have invested in high tech automation instead.

Those who complain about Eastern European immigration should leave the workers alone and hunt down those who hired them.

[Vortex2]

Food shortages on the way as per internal memo's being passed around HMG. Cannot reveal source or I would have to kill you.

If true, what are the reasons outlined in the memo?

[adam2]

Food shortages on the way as per internal memo's being passed around HMG. Cannot reveal source or I would have to kill you.

I agree, though I have no specific source of information on this. I base my forecast on two main factors.

Firstly, supply chain disruption results not only in short term delays as are occurring, but can also result in loss of food if perishables spoil before they reach the consumer.
Other food may be wasted at the factory by spoiling if supplies of packaging materials, or parts for complex machinery are in short supply.

Secondly, we import over half of our food, and exporting nations may need this food for themselves. If exports are available, we will have to outbid everyone else for these.

Also food waste has probably increased at least in the short term. Consider the number of catering establishments that closed suddenly, probably leaving stocks of perishables in place to spoil.
Stocks intended to replenish caterers can be diverted to retail trade, hospitals or works canteens in vital industries. But stocks already in place will be largely wasted. Even some non perishables will soon be attacked by vermin in unattended premises.

Extra food waste is also resulting from panic buying. To panic buy tinned food and dried pasta is understandable, and from the point of view of the purchaser is sensible. (though anti social as others are thereby deprived)
To panic buy bread, milk and other perishables that are liable to spoil before they can be used is worse.

[Vortex2]

Food shortages on the way as per internal memo's being passed around HMG. Cannot reveal source or I would have to kill you.

If true, what are the reasons outlined in the memo?

So are there any on-line sources of bulk food still up and running, without huge delays?

[Little John]

From the Telegraph:

"Agencies recruiting British fruit and vegetable pickers to replace seasonal workers from abroad have been overwhelmed by thousands of applications."

Brilliant!

In a previous life I operated a cut flower nursery growing open field. When it came to picking time it was standard practice to take painkillers before picking. It's a very very hard job done day after day. There will be a huge turnover of staff, the noble peasant thing is entirely bollocks. This isn't like pottering about in the garden, it's very very hard work.

True.

The farmers who 'invested' in Eastern Europeans should have invested in high tech automation instead.

Those who complain about Eastern European immigration should leave the workers alone and hunt down those who hired them.

The problem with a lack of UK workers for fruit picking is not a lack of UK workers, in principle, being willing to do such work, no matter how hard it is. The problem, is that it is seasonal and itinerant in nature. Which flies in the face of everything about how indigenous UK citizens must now live in order to be able to be fully engaged members of society.

This includes everything from having a stable roof over you head in which to raise a family, sign up to local council services, educational system, medical system and all the rest. Add into that a labyrinthine benefits system that, until very recently, made the doing of such work impossible to do without paying severe penalties in terms of security of income between picking seasons and we have the situation we have.

Even with the new system of Universal Credit, the gains in terms of being able to do casual work more easily are more than offset by the new, draconian, frankly inhuman "benefit sanctions" regime.

Then there is the issue of where most of these itinerant fruit picking jobs are. That is to say, they are often far way from urban centres where most of the indigenous unemployed will live given that most of their ancestors were pushed out of the rural areas with the advent of the mechanization of farming long ago.

Noe of this has got anything whatsoever to do with British workers being "lazy".

[Vortex2]

An observation:

I bought various vital bits & bobs as soon as the plague started.

Just for fun I tried the "order again" button in Amazone.

Every single thing out of stock.

Good to be an early bird.