OK, this isn't funny any more. Where's the army?

[Orangejuicemarathoner]

One quarter of staff and students late to school this morning, and 10% didn't get there at all. It has been announced that, excepting physical disability, any student within 4 miles or adult within 6 miles will be expected to walk in, but Its expected to be worse tomorrow with a good chance we will be closed by Wednesday.

AA reporting over 100 "incidents" on the road within a 10 mile radius of the school - mostly roads blocked, and mostly by queues outside petrol stations.

I struggled to get home by bike, because of the chaos on the roads - I got off my bike and walked several miles of it.

I called in at a supermarket on the way home. The shelves were more than three quarters empty. No bread or milk. So I'm sitting here drinking black tea planning rice for dinner instead of cheese on toast.

I know its not a catastrophe that I spent an extra hour getting home, and dont have milk in my tea, but what is that saying about the state we are in?

AIBU to say the army should be called in. What have we got an army for? Surely, an organisation of thousands of fit, capable, organised individuals, with vehicles and capacity and skills in logistics is exactly what we need to be utilised in this situation right here right now.

PS, is it ok to feed dog food to cats? does anyone know?

I struggled to get home by bike, because of the chaos on the roads

Of course you did

@Doris86

Only difference being that Europe don’t have panic buyers.

You have got to be joking???

The Irish can panic buy with the best of them. We were world class at it at the beginning of covid. However, there is no need for panic buying at the moment as we have no issues with food or fuel, although there is concern that supply chains might not be as efficient as normal for christmas.

central Scotland here - no shortages, everyones tank is full and no petrol stations were closed. Tesco/Morrison/Aldi/Asda/Lidl - shelves are full too.

This all day, everyday. Mumsnet recently told me that they didn’t know how I could live with myself being married to a ‘killer.’ The tables have turned now OP’s had to drink black tea

Yep! I was told by one poster that DH (RAF) would be more likely to rape her than help her. I bet she’d be begging him for some fuel right now though!

In the NE everything's normal. No shortages in shops. Plenty of fuel. What's going on in the south???

@Mantlemoose

central Scotland here - no shortages, everyones tank is full and no petrol stations were closed. Tesco/Morrison/Aldi/Asda/Lidl - shelves are full too.

Full tanks?! So you’re the ones who took all the petrol

The taxi driver who picked me up from the station at the weekend was saying this is completely normal "back home", it's routine to have long queues for fuel. So it does happen in other places.

@LadyDanburysCane

Really? London? Who probably have the best public transport in the country? Scary.

I work in a school in a London Borough (outer edge), if I run out of fuel I can get three buses which with no traffic takes about 2 hours; or I can use the wonderful train service - to get to my school I need to get a train INTO London, then a train OUT OF London and walk the mile and a half from the station to my school (or get the bus IF it isn’t caught in gridlocked traffic). Some parts of London have sh*t transport links.

But they HAVE transport links. Many people don't.

@Motorina

East Anglia. I was meant to be going on holiday on saturday. I had enough diesel in the car for 150 miles, which wouldn't get me to my destination. Used 30 miles of it driving into town and then round every petrol station in town trying to get fuel - no joy.

Sunday, I drove 50 miles towards my destination, checking every single petrol station I past. None had any fuel. So I turned round and drove 50 miles home.

The car's sat on the drive on red. I have just (just!) enough to get to the local petrol station, but won't be able to get home without filling up. So I'm not risking it til things normalise.

I'm not going on holiday.

This was my first holiday this year that hasn't been pulled due to staff shortages - I'm NHS - so it would be fair to say it's been a pretty tearful few days.

Ah, you poor thing. That’s really shit. I’m sorry

You got off your bike and walked several miles - really?

@HappyDays101010

You got off your bike and walked several miles - really?

My thoughts exactly!

Well despite the panic buyers and clogged up roads at the w/e, I filled up before 7.30am this morning, took 10 minutes. It's all about common sense and timing and being the early bird.

Shelves are fine here too. Not the story on Next-door but it's the reality.

How on earth will we fix this situation when the logistics chain is broken?! This is our reality now and to think over half the country voted for this just blows my mind.

There is nothing broken in the "logistics chain" for fuel, jobs are plentiful, tanker driving is still a desirable role due to the higher income, go online and try to find a tanker job. BP had one slight issue that they've very publicly announced to manipulate the market to push for visa changes that they benefit from to keep wages low.

Brexit is shit, the lack of HGV drivers is worrying, but do not confuse them as the reason as to why we are being manipulated in this specific situation.

We are walking/PTing everywhere to save petrol but thankfully everything is in walking distance. Supermarket, tube stations, train station, bus station etc all within 5-10 minutes.

My local council has a fleet of HGV drivers - driving bin lorries and road mending plant etc. You couldn’t divert the bin men without another crisis, but I don’t see why you couldn’t divert the roads staff. Keep a skeleton crew for emergencies. I’m not sure if the training you get for driving a hotbox counts as handling hazardous materials - 25 tons of hot asphalt is pretty hazardous.

You can’t get milk?

Eh!?! I mean I couldn’t get my first soft drink (global co2 crash) in my usual quantity (had to buy bigger but it was on offer so cheaper.

I honestly feel like this isn’t the wet dream anti brexiters have been waiting for, it’s just nob heads panic buying fuel

@CheersToTheWe3kend

Well my military husband is currently processing Afghan refugees because that's still going on behind the scenes, and others are driving ambulances.

It's like people think they sit around all day waiting for a crisis to unfold.

Oh Doris. Time for bed dear you're sounding tired and desperate.

The army are queueing for fuel

@CovidinPrimary

Eh!?! I mean I couldn’t get my first soft drink (global co2 crash) in my usual quantity (had to buy bigger but it was on offer so cheaper.

I honestly feel like this isn’t the wet dream anti brexiters have been waiting for, it’s just nob heads panic buying fuel

Anti-Brexiters didn’t ever want chaos. That’s why we voted the way we did.

Do you have any tinned fish? Puss will think it is their birthday 🍰

Oh dear I just found myself wondering if I should go out for milk, which I wouldn't usually do until Thurs.

I've got 2 pints left. I buy 4 pints a week normally, sonthisnwillnlast until my usual shop, but what if they don't have any? I'd only buy 2 pints, but this is how it happens. Everyone buys a little bit a few days early. It's not loads of people buying loads they don't need.

Another manufactured distraction so that you're looking the other way whilst they extend the emergency Covid act so they can jab babies.
Wake up.

My husband went to six petrol stations. There literally was no petrol. If it was panic buyers, they've already bought. It's not even that there are long queues, there's just no petrol.