Thread a naoi: heading toward year three

[JaneJeffer]

New thread as other is nearly full now.

Slán Awallaby - I thought this was going to be how one of the Australian Roses pronounced Slán Abhaile, relieved to read the real story behind it!! 😂😂

😂😂

@Joolsin

Who won the Rose of Tralee by the way? I can't watch as it makes me cringe.

Westmeath

I used to put the end on to see all the crying but I forgot last night

I must go to the credit union later and change my old sterling notes before they are no longer legal tender.

Just listening to Liveline. I'm sickened by the attack on the 93 year old woman and her 2 sons at their shop/home in Roscommon.

Sterling is no longer legal tender? Or do you just have very old sterling?

Yeah it's the old notes, I was able to change one of the £50's but the other one has been out of date since 2014 so I need to send it to the Bank of England.

That's brilliant 😂😂😂. Some people are so witty.

Hi everyone this thread dropped off my watch list! I hope everyone is keeping well. The "Slán Awallaby" story made me lol

There's so much on here and the internet in general about the cost of living crisis, with Martin Lewis etc. freaking me out I'm wondering if we're going to suffer on the same level or if it's all UK based? Is that wishful thinking?? It's hard not to panic. Are we going to be thrown into poverty and civil unrest in a matter of weeks?! I have certainly noticed a huge jump in my grocery bills, can't wait for the teens to go back to school I might not have to buy so much then! (my God, the amount my teen DS eats as 'snacks' is crazy)

Well, Airtricity have just announced a big increase in their electricity and gas bills www.irishtimes.com/business/2022/08/26/sse-airtricity-announced-major-hikes-to-electricity-and-gas-bills/. I'm guessing the other companies won't be far behind.

And my local oil company is quoting €1,340 for 1,000 litres of home heating oil.

Let's hope we get some good news on Budget Day - 27th September.

I'm trying not to panic too much. I mean, we got through the last recession and our parents and grandparents got through countless recessions too. But people will have to tighten their belts and I've no doubt some people will run into difficulty paying their bills.

I'll be holding off on booking a summer holiday for 2023. My priority will be paying my bills and keeping my house warm. I'll see how I'm fixed when March or April rolls around and we've (hopefully) made it through the winter ok.

I get so confused with bbc news and what I read here...I can't see how we avoid similar, but it doesn't seem quite so bad yet.
Im not sure what the price cap is...like lateral flow tests a few months ago.

Yes that's what I feel @eggandonion

And you're right @Taytocrisps we've survived recessions before so hopefully this will be ok. I think the main difference this time is our reliance on electrical things to get work done (phones & computers) so if we're not able to power or charge them it will make things very difficult.

It's the not knowing that's worrying me the most. I guess we'll all know in a few weeks.

Yes! We will have to sit down and have a think about what to do to manage better. If using the oven, have it on earlier in the day rather than at peak times. Not having the heating on as much. Planning to change over the open fire to an insert electric fire. It would close up the chimney and make the room warmer straight away. (Does anyone have any recommendations?) Keeping an eye on the young one who takes too much time in the shower. We had awful bills for gas and electricity before the summer. Our food shopping costs are huge too. And we don't waste anything though we could cut down on treat foods I suppose.

What I don't understand is the huge profits being made by the energy companies as they continue to increase prices.
The government is talking about a windfall tax on the energy companies but they will only pass on the cost of the windfall tax in more price increases for the consumers.

I think there is a lot of price gouging going on in many sectors and the invasion of Ukraine / sanctions against the Russians and the Russians retaliating / Brexit and Covid are being blamed.
But greed is in there too.

I'm confused, our electricity went up during the summer, when I rang Bord Gais they told me that there was an increase in the cost of electricity nationwide. They said that everyone was to get an increase with all electricial companies and that is why the government gave the 200 euro off the bills to help people be able to afford to eat.

So... Are the prices increasing again?

We went up by 100 euro in the summer, is this going to increase more?

I don't really understand the price cap story either. A cap is a limit, right - the max. a company can charge? So the British government has increased the cap. But presumably you won't be charged the absolute max. if you live in a smaller home or reduce your energy use? Maybe I'm missing something? Anyway, I think it means that bills will increase. Also, people in the UK seem to be able to fix their bills like a fixed mortgage rate. Which isn't a thing here.

The cap is the maximum price per unit used . So obviously your bills will vary with usage

And fixing the bills is fixing your price per unit that you pay . We are on a special rate as we charge our electric car at night when the unit costs drop. The smart meter can gauge when

I think I might hibernate. I read a thread earlier which left me as confused as the op! I hope the new pm in London will be better than Boris (not holding my breath though), And wee Pascal will sort us out here, surely 😀. Or I might hibernate.

Did anyone (anyone have DC that did) go to EP? I know bad weather is the norm but I was disappointed for everyone when the weather has been so lovely up to Thursday! I love music and concerts but have no interest in festivals I like my creature comfort's too much! Mind you if the news is anything to go by I won't have much in the creature comforts department this winter 😳

We'll be looking up Creature Comforts on rip.ie 😬

😂

I felt sorry for the EP festival goers after having such lovely weather and the children back at school. Then Saturday is such a wash out.