To be more scared now than I was of Covid?

[Thesupercosyquilt]

I know IABU. I need to get a grip.

I wasn't frightened of Covid. The first few weeks were scary, all the uncertainty etc. But once my kids school closed, life for our family kind of carried on somewhat normally. DH and I were both out working at that point. I never thought we would catch it, we're all relatively healthy. I understood people felt differently and was sympathetic towards that, despite some of the more extreme opinions.

But now, with fuel price hikes, food shortages and now petrol being rationed, I am actually scared. It feels like all the panic of March 2020 all over again.

Don't worry, I'm not going to panic buy five million loo rolls. But I have such a sinking feeling knowing this is the start of really crap times ahead unravelling right before our eyes.

We will all be affected in one way or another.

Currently, I have about 20 miles worth of fuel and need to get shopping and care for my DM tomorrow. Worst case scenario I will cycle over and walk to the shop. If I can’t get fuel over the weekend I can’t get to work on Monday.

However, fuel and food price hikes don’t bother me as I’m ok financially.

@Dave20

Fuel and energy prices going up isn’t down to Brexit though is it? The EU themselves are short of HGV drivers. About 400 thousand or so. The EU lorry drivers have left the UK because it’s too expensive to live here and the cost of living is high. Wages have stagnated. So why would they want to drove our lorries here if they can do better in other EU countries?

It is about Brexit though.

With energy we are no longer part of the internal energy market which affects the way we trade and buy it making it more expensive.

Also as a 'third' country , and thanks to Brexit , the deal agreed with the Norwegians to import more gas can be cancelled at any time and the supply reallocated to an EU state requesting gas. This is due to their ' softer ' deal with the EU which includes prioritisation of exports to any EU country over 'third' countries. The reality of 'taking back control' and global Britain.

With regard to the EU driver shortages can you point out the specific EU countries currently experiencing empty supermarket shelves, restaurants/pubs supply chain issues and petrol stations closing? (I am not seeing this in the EU countries I have been in recently at least.

If that 400k across the EU number is really correct then Brexit will mean the specific U.K. shortage will be the last to be rectified and we are going to be **ed for a long time to come. Also 400,000 divided by 27 countries is just under 15,000 each whereas the UK has a shortage of 100,000!

‘Everything is fine, nothing new to report’ doesn’t sell papers

They need to hook your attention. More now than ever when you can get your news from Twitter etc

Moneysavvymam I'm sorry for upsetting you so much. I'm glad that foraging helped you to feel more in control.

The main road by my house has been closed so people can que to get into the petrol station without causing chaos, but a closed road is a massive pita. This is insane.

@ejhhhhh same here , main road closed because of the queues- and it’s the road leading to the hospital.

I couldn't get in to Sainsbury's car park as it was chaos with people queuing for petrol. They were blocking the road up to traffic lights and then round the corner. I gave up and went to Lidl where the shelves were half empty again. I did get a chocolate brownie though so it wasn't all bad.

@BiteyCatII

I was born in 1960. The 70s were shit in so many ways. I’m starting to feel that the country is heading for some of the same privations but for different reasons. Yes, we did survive but life was miserable.

My life wasn't miserable in the 70s. I didn't have much money but I was young and health and was enjoying being a mother. Yes we had power cuts and toilet roll shortages but it really wasn't that bad.

That’s ok @ancientgran
You’ll be able to cope well too if we have power cuts (which will also mean to heating), reduce choice in food (who needs those weird foods such as avocados and almond milk when we can have potatoes and suede?) etc…

I’m sure that will be just as much fun now that you are not young anymore. I hope you are still healthy but statistics shows that most people over 65yo have a chronic illness so 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

It was k in the 1970 so I’m sure it will be ok now

I am worried but not scared.
I'm used to making do and I think it softens the blows a bit.

It is about Brexit though

Actually, it’s a Europe-wide problem. Read this if you’re curious:

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/what-s-behind-europe-s-skyrocketing-power-prices-quicktake

With energy we are no longer part of the internal energy market which affects the way we trade and buy it making it more expensive

Supply is low, demand is high. You can see where this is going. Prices are going up everywhere and Russian gas supply is still not enough.

Who needs those weird foods such as avocados and almond milk when we can have potatoes and suede
You're quite right, nobody needs avocados and almond milk, and in fact importing them is not enviromentally friendly.

@Marguerite2000

Who needs those weird foods such as avocados and almond milk when we can have potatoes and suede You're quite right, nobody needs avocados and almond milk, and in fact importing them is not enviromentally friendly.

Oh boy. Importing food is more environmentally friendly than trying to grow locally. UK agriculture is quite fossil fuel intensive.

[quote YouMeandtheSpew]@upinaballoon

I do accept that there have been periods in the past when things have been similar or worse, and people survived.

But what’s hard to accept about this situation is that it isn’t necessary. It’s not comparable to the Suez Crisis or the crises of the 70s because it was entirely optional. And we were promised sunlit uplands.

So I don’t think it really helps to say ‘we survived this or that’ because yes, I hope very much that we will all survive this collective experience, but we’ve spent billions of pounds on Brexit on the basis that we’d get sunlit uplands, so if the result is that we have to huddle under blankets in one room and eat cabbage soup then at some point I think we all have to agree we’ve been sold a turd.[/quote]
This absolutely.
I did not vote for Brexit.