To be surprised that some friends are buying extra food because of Brexit? part 2

[Satsumaeater]

Here is a new thread

Link to old one: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3472089-To-be-surprised-that-some-friends-are-buying-extra-food-because-of-Brexit?pg=1

Can you believe they have a British section in US supermarkets! Well, for now ....

I'm usually a bit of a stockpiler anyway, but have to admit this has fallen by the wayside since my DC was born.

Having seen the Brexit threads become more and more common, I've been looking around online to see what is actually happening (I don't watch much tv, so unless Hey Duggee does a Brexit episode I'm unlikely to know what is actually happening in the real world!) as I am a SAHM, I don't have the usual work discussions and am terrible with keeping up with what is going on.

However, thanks to a point in the right direction by @bellinisurge, I am now throughly back on my game! I've made lists of what I need to stockpile and intend to do the majority of this over the weekend. I figure at best, it's just stuff that will get used anyway and at worst (in the case of a no Brexit, civil unrest or the return of the beast from the east!) i can stay safely tucked up in the warm and only have to venture to the supermarket for whatever fresh items I may need!

Doesn't hurt to be prepared eh!

Does anyone have a link for that Brexit consumer advice page because I've googled several times and can't find anything?

It never appeared.

Nope. It never appeared.

I assume it would have said inconvenient things. Probably would have suggested a ‘well stocked larder’ as a thing to aim for. Etc.

So instead the government will be negligent in its duty towards the people of the country and not bother to provide any real warning of what is coming. Then later claim that those crap ‘hard Brexit’ notices on trade and border considerations should have magically been understood by the general public, an alarming number of whom are functionally illiterate, to mean ‘food may be in short supply’.

The govt will blame the public when there is food shortages saying 'you voted for this' and they just followed 'the will of the people'

Yes Regular, agreed. We are run by a right shower.

I'm trying to convience some friends to stock up but they seem to think the government will sort it out if theres no food or there will be the food bank if they are desperate. Tried to explain this may not be the case if alot of other people have thought the same way food banks are already struggling to provide enough food for everyone. But they don't get it. I know I can't help everyone but I also feel bad knowing that.

I have a personal list of people I blame. Some of them are my neighbours. It keeps me warm for about 5 minutes and then I have to feed my family. Which is much more important to me. I am a general prepper but happy to advise others who want to focus on Brexit. Fuck off journos.

was hoping the brexit consumer advice page would help change their minds

I wasn't mentioning this irl because I anticipated government advice.

I will start pointing out to friends the benefits of being a bit prepared now!

On the basis that lots of people are talking about this now and its getting media coverage I have actually started talking to people Im close to about it. I have only told them I'm preparing for three weeks though. (In reality its more than that). Fuck off journos. They can make their own decisions as to what they feel is sensible but I think in this situation its good to normalise it so that more people do it.

I had a light hearted jokey conversation with colleagues the other day. All university educated Remain voters as far as I know. They didn't appear to have any idea it should be thought about. I was appalled and backed away from the conversation.
That website needs to go up. The media can have their field day. And people can start thinking about it . Because it would appear many really haven't given it any thought.

I have been lurking around these types of threads for a while and I see a whole range of thoughts ..fromproject fear to head in the sand .
But I really have heard it all now..what if my electric can opener doesn't work.????😂😂😂

@frasersmummy , take the piss by all means but if you are falling back on cans and the cheaper ones don't have ring pulls, you are relying on a can opener to get you in. Many people rarely use cans. It seems that many people only have electric can openers. Fuck off journos. If that fails it can be the difference between eating what you expected and having to improvise on food at short notice. Not great with a family to feed. Fuck off journos.
Not so "bruised avocado hell" after all. Actually a bit important.

I think for us it is less about stockpiling for emergencies and more about trying to insulate us a bit from coming price rises.

I ambbuying in a few things that I think might run short (based on snow experience) such a bread flour and yeast. But I think if there are any real shortages it will be in fresh veg (salads etc) which are difficult to stockpile abs we can live without for a bit. I think we might have chaos and shortages for 2 or 3 weeks but public opinion will soon bang heads together and things will get sorted out.

What I do think will happen is price rises (I work in this field so have some knowledge). Firstly it's basic supply and demand and even if supply dips by a couple of percent basic economics says the price will rise (I wouldn't rule out some profiteering either blamed on Brexit knowing this country). Add to that the level of the £. All 4 big banks have produced economic forecasts which predict parity or just below with the Euro so imports more expensive but I think more serious issue which doesn't seem to have been picked up on is a predicted level of about £1.10 with the $. This impacts because oil is traded in Dollars so such a drop in the exchange rate will rocket fuel prices. Transport and logistics costs are one of the biggest contributors to food prices so if fuel rises so do food prices.

Therefore, looking ahead at the family budget, the more insulation I do now particularly on expensive fresh but freezable items such as meat the less we pay later. It doesn't help that DH has just been made redundant by him company siting Brexit ( production moving to Europe).

Of course if it doesn't happen (please God) then at worst I have a freezer full of meat and stuff we would have eaten anyway.

You know, I think it's been over 48 hours since we had anything even close to a Bingo mark on this thread. Come on, True BeLeavers!

And also, much to my disappointment, nobody ever came back from the previous thread to enlighten us as to the new definitions of PANIC and BLOODCURDLING.

The government have passed the buck to businesses already. They will blame them and all the willovdepeepul voters. Fuck off tabloids.

Off to get some more bits. Toiletries and toothpastes today. Looks like snow here next week, so will inevitably be some chaos.

yeah, set to snow north wales so expecting it here to in couple of days

Spending the afternoon auditing our stash. Dh was at first uncertain and is now enthusiastically adding to it. He's a keen cook and I can see him plotting meals to make.

The idea of stockpiling seems to be out there in the now, even without any guidance from the government. I went to our local Tesco yesterday for various bits, and the tin aisle, and the UHT milk aisle were both very busy. I've also not had a snarky comment from a till person in months now, despite buying tins. (Last summer I had several laughy, dismissive "you're not hoarding for Brexit, are you?" comments.)

I've mentioned the idea of preparing for potential shortages to my closest friends, but as they both ridiculed the idea, I didn't go into it in detail, and didn't feel it's my responsibility to convince them. They can read, they can make their own minds up, they can do their own personal risk assessments and decisions. I do worry about elderly MIL a bit, who is an avid Leaver (Farage is a wonderful man and things will be better, you'll see), but both physically and financially frail. I'd still prepare myself to help her, but we don't live close enough that we'd actually be able to physically help, if she suddenly needed it.

I had a delivery from a different supermarket to usual, last night, of some things on offer I wanted for my pantry. The delivery driver commented on how I was lucky there were no substitutions, because I was ordering the same as lots as others this week. “Everyone’s realising we live on an island” he said.

@BadlyAgedMemes , I'd suggest thinking about a little pack for her of meals she'd like. Which you can bring to her if needed. Just make it up, put it to one side and you are done. Also her fave toothpaste, soap etc. If she doesn't need it now she might be glad of it another time.

I think we are 2 or 3 weeks before things move from stockpiling to panic buying.

DHs circle of male friends were all talking about it last night. Most were stockpiling.

The government’s failure to get a grip of the situation is part of the problem. No one trusts them.

The whole thing is now starting to escalate and isn't just being thought of as fringe nutters.