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?

Well there you go. They’ve just announced the army are on standby. Happy now.

Oh well look at that, the army have been put on standby

@EastWestWhosBest

Well there you go. They’ve just announced the army are on standby. Happy now.

That's really a non story

"Military tanker drivers will be trained so they are ready to be deployed if necessary, the government said"

How long does it take to train a tanker driver? When will it be "necessary" if not now?

@lifeturnsonadime

I'm in the Midlands, most petrol stations have no fuel, the one that has has a queue a mile long. It's all well and good telling people not to panic buy but cars don't run on fresh air.

Supermarkets are definitely also in short supply.

I've just come back from France and can report that there are no problems either in Supermarkets or in Petrol Stations.

The denial that Brexit is part of the problem here is astonishing.

I'm in the Midlands and the queue at Sainsburys around 10.30am was smaller than it normally is. No diesel though.

@VenusTiger

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.

The next manufactured shortage will be in tin foil 🤣

Dog food is not OK for cats, it lacks a certain amino acid that cats absolutely require. Its OK as a one off but not long term

I’ve been to the 4 petrol stations in my town today and none have fuel. Panicking as I am 38weeks pregnant and am booked for an induction this weekend and am a 40min drive from the hospital. I’m not usually inclined to agree with bringing in the army but my area certainly needs supplies. I resisted panic buying petrol Friday thinking it would die down by mid week but it’s not improved at all. I’m limiting my journeys but I still actually need to go to places with my toddler.

@PegorySpeck

Why do people lead such chaotic and disorganised lives though? I mean why wait until your car is running on fumes before you decide you need petrol, or why wait until you’re on your last drop of milk or slice of bread before you get some more? I honestly could not live like this, it’s so dysfunctional , it’s just asking for drama.

Perhaps people have no choice because of all the people panic buying? Whether it's the weather, covid, industrial action or problems with HGV drivers, it's always made worse by panic buying.

Hope you manage to get petrol and food shopping orangejuicemarathoner. Re feeding cats, if you have a tin of tuna in brine that would probably be well received. Tuna is not good for cats every day because it is not nutritionally balanced for them and some people worry about the levels of mercury in tuna but it would be ok as an emergency. You might have more luck ordering your cat food online with eg Zooplus or Pets at Home or a specialist cat food company like Nature's Treats.

@EastWestWhosBest

Well there you go. They’ve just announced the army are on standby. Happy now.

Thanks @EastWestWhosBest, this seems to be a step in the right direction.

I am in the East of England and can’t get fuel ( well apparently some arrived at Tesco this evening but we can manage do have not gone to fill up) . The shelves around here do look a bit empty to ge honest

Petrol and supermarket shelves all fine here. Sorry you are in an area of insane panic buyers OP.

There is no fuel in my town in South Wales tonight.

According to social media, one supermarket petrol station is due a delivery overnight. I hate to think what the queue will be like in the morning.

I work for the NHS. I think I have enough diesel to see all of my patients in the community this week, but only if my kids don’t go to their evening or weekend activities. I don’t have much choice but to prioritise my patients but it does feel as if my kids are getting a raw deal.

DH was running on fumes. He's just left work now and has rung to say 1st garage had no diesel but that the 2nd one did with a £30 limit which is fine.
I know many nursing colleagues are worrying.
Valleys South Wales.

Our local hospice has posted on social media that some of their staff are now out of fuel and won't be able to get into work tomorrow, and are asking for help with fuel or lifts.

UK 2021. Fkn government.

@Muchtoomuchtodo

There is no fuel in my town in South Wales tonight.

According to social media, one supermarket petrol station is due a delivery overnight. I hate to think what the queue will be like in the morning.

I work for the NHS. I think I have enough diesel to see all of my patients in the community this week, but only if my kids don’t go to their evening or weekend activities. I don’t have much choice but to prioritise my patients but it does feel as if my kids are getting a raw deal.

Not sure where you are but Asda Blackwood had some tonight.

@longwayoff

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

As they say, when you resort to insults you’ve already lost the argument.

Let’s have an adult discussion. What is it I’ve said you don’t agree with? I’m interested to hear your counter argument.

@VenusTiger

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.

Poor woman being interviewd by BBC news crying as she needs some fuel to take her husband to a hospital appointment. This government should be locked up.

Thanks @haveyouopenedyourbowelstoday - Blackwood’s nearly 30 miles away from us.

@CorrBlimeyGG

We need the government to come out and say, no one needs to panic, we have a solid plan to ensure the supply chain for fuel and food does not face issues. Except they've not, and they're not trustworthy. People have been conditioned to fight amongst each other, survival of the fittest. This is more of the same.

i think this , theres just no trust in them left and people dont believe what they say so they panic

Hampshire here. All the fuel stations in a 10-15 mile area had either no fuel at all, or no diesel. My village garage had police presence because they had a fuel delivery and the queues were making the road unsafe. When I tried to join the queue the Police told me it was a 2 hour queue.

I did manage to join the queue after the school run and fill up, then the shop assistant warned me that they only had 12,000 litres of diesel left, which they were expecting to last 1½-2 hours. I knew DH was on vapour so I nipped over to his workplace and swapped our cars so I could get him fuel before they ran out, otherwise he wouldn't be able to work tomorrow.

I suspect there was a degree of panic buying at first, but now it is a case of people running out of fuel completely. When you live rurally, there just aren't other options to get to where you need to be.

i dont drive , but im back at work tomorrow so i will have a look at tescos forecourt tomorrow , my friend said the queue was horrendous and he gave up , asda one was shut no fuel ,
the situation is certainly grim and i did read earlier in the online papers that the european hgv drivers union has said they arent interested in coming over to help us sort out the shit we created on a 3 month visa ,so thats reassuring not .
they are going to have to address the driver shortage urgently now
im really really hoping my dds school wont be disrupted ,but im starting to wonder how it wont be , i expect all parents are hoping the same though

Oh no. I’m due to see Genesis 300 miles away, on Friday. It was postponed because of COVID about 2 years ago. Shall I set off walking now?

My god, what a situation when people can't get to hospitals and health and social care is seriously compromised.

The govt should swing for this. Despicable pigs. How can anybody in their right mind vote for these psychopathic con artists?

@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

It's no-one's wet dream but it is because of Brexit. It's the scenario nobody wanted, many predicted and it's the fault of people who voted for Brexit and didn't listen to common sense.