Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Brexit

Do we genuinely need to stockpile?

218 replies

thunderthighsohwoe · 28/08/2019 13:18

In light of this morning’s news, I have started to wonder if we genuinely do need to stock up in the event of a no deal Brexit? None of us (touch wood) require any ongoing medication, though 9mo DD has a sensitive tummy when it comes to milk and tolerates HiPP best. I’ve a feeling cows’ milk won’t go down well when she’s 12mo, and was planning to try almond milk or similar as a back up.

Should we be stocking up on HiPP/milk alternatives/Calpol etc?

Luckily we’re just switching to reusable nappies and wipes, so that’s one less thing to think of I guess.

OP posts:
Spanneroo · 29/08/2019 10:00

Bellini We are on a fixed tariff, so that's good to hear. Knowing we're unlikely to be in a position where we can't keep the babies warm is a relief!

BG I will check out those posts. Thank you.

TheElementsSong · 29/08/2019 10:01

Brexit Bingo

Y2K
WWII
Armageddon
Zombies
Obesity crisis
Scaremongering
Hysterical
Toughen up
Locally-grown
Eat something else
Not going to starve
Panic
Posh elite
Apricots/avocados/asparagus/foie gras/Tomatoes/lettuce
FIIIIIIIIINNNEEE
Crystal Ball
Echo chamber

TheElementsSong · 29/08/2019 10:02

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/3653528-Brexitannian-NewSpeak-Dictionary-WIP

Dictionary

Updated definitions in the new Brexitannian English Dictionary:

PANIC : taking gradual action, in July, for an event in November (see also: DELUDED, HYSTERICAL, PARANOID LUNATIC).

SMUG: having taken gradual action in July (see also: HYSTERICAL).

SHORTAGES: something that will definitely happen in July, when supply chains are not disrupted, due to PANIC (see above), but somehow will definitely not happen in November, when supply chains are disrupted.

CAUSATION: people who buy smoke alarms in July cause fires in November.

OBESITY CRISIS: an undesirable state of the nation, caused by European strawberries, and which will be cured by the SHORTAGES which aren’t going to happen, or alternatively by a PATRIOTIC (see below) government mandate for the thin people to eat slices off the fat people.

BLITZSPIRIT: something apparently very good and quintessentially British, a highly desirable state of the nation, which will come about in November (but not in July) due to the SHORTAGES (see above) which are not going to happen in November (but are in July).

PATRIOTIC: proficiency at reciting hollow slogans and short empty phrases, disparagement of analytical thought.

ARMY: SMUG (see above) group who are UNPATRIOTICALLY PANICKING (see above).

BELITTLING: asking basic questions of someone with whom you are in conversation in order to identify whether you are both proceeding from the same level of comprehension of the relevant issues.

BETRAYAL: any version of Brexit that does not satisfy the specific personal vision of each of 17 million voters, and which furthermore tracks the aforementioned personal visions on their journey of radicalisation from what they were in 2016 to the present.

STOCKPILE: simultaneously
(1) a hoard of essentials literally taken from the mouths of proper ordinary people by POSH ELITES who have pushed prices up and CAUSED (see above) SHORTAGES (see above),
(2) a hoard of luxurious irrelevant fripperies like caviar and au pairs, that only POSH ELITES care about thus irrelevant to proper ordinary people,
(3) a vast load of stodgy unappetising inedibles, not proper food, that no proper ordinary people would want anyway, and which will end up being thrown away and wasted thus destroying the environment thanks to POSH ELITES (See also: LETTUCE).
(4) at some convenient point in time, will always have been a PATRIOTIC and obviously sensible thing to do, for a particular list of items and by a particular list of individuals/companies (if not on the list, then definitions 1-3 continue to apply).

CRESS: Level of agricultural and food distribution expertise required to assure everybody not to STOCKPILE (see above).

CRYSTAL BALL:
(1) A Heisenberg quantum device permitting Leavers to accurately predict that “it” will be “FIIIIIINNNEE” after a “short term” of “some adjustment” but which, when asked for measurements of “fine/short/some” ceases to exist.
(2) A device that Remainers definitely don’t have, which is why they PANIC (see above) and CAUSE (see above) SHORTAGES (see above) without any evidence for their actions.

STARVATION: an often-fatal and previously undesirable condition. Due to BLITZSPIRIT (see above) anything less severe than this is no longer deemed worthy of discussion. (See also: MAD MAX, ARMAGEDDON, END OF THE UNIVERSE, TENT CITIES).

REVELLING: keeping, for unapproved reasons such as Brexit, a STOCKPILE (see above), however keeping a STOCKPILE (see above) for approved reasons such as “just because” is FIIIIIINNNEE especially if you use a euphemism like “Why, I always keep months of food in my shed, isn’t that normal?”. (See also: MASSIVE HYPOCRITE).

FLAT-EARTHERS:
(1) people who think that a No Deal crash-out Brexit might result in supply chain disruption
(2) NOT people who believe that a No Deal crash-out Brexit will produce no discernible effects on anything whatsoever, or even attract golden unicorns.

CONTROL, TAKING BACK:
(1) a PATRIOTIC (see above) act by means of once-in-a-lifetime pencilling an ‘X’ on a small piece of paper, by supinely accepting any ensuing events, and by emoting positively.
(2) an undesirably treasonous, unpatriotic undermining of national interest by means of STOCKPILING (see above) to secure supplies, or to pre-empt anticipated price-rises.

SUPERMARKET PROMOTION:
(1) ordinarily a regular and unremarkable marketing strategy encouraging seasonal purchasing or attracting shoppers of a frugal, thrifty nature - unless they are TAKING BACK CONTROL (see above) in which case see below (2).
(2) a treasonous, unpatriotic undermining of Brexitannia due to encouragement of PANIC (see above) buying of STOCKPILES (see above) causing SHORTAGES (see above).

PROPAGANDA:
(1) factual information given by EXPERTS, the government, anybody tainted by possible foreign sympathies, or in fact anybody with knowledge gleaned from sources other than the gutter press.
(2) a bona fide male goose

WTO: a meaningless mantra, its significance long forgotten in the ancient mists of deep time, which is recited to invoke positive Brexitannian emotions.

DEAL (Syn: May's Deal, Boris's Deal, Corbyn's Deal, any deal):
(1) (Before 31st October) Unacceptable loss of sovereignty and BETRAYAL (see above) of Brexit
(2) (After 1st November) Inevitable, PATRIOTIC (see above), secures food and medicine imports that were never at risk.

REMAINERS:
(1) Non-existent, insignificant, effectively 0% of the population who should be silenced and have no effect on anything at all.
(2) A powerful elite fifth column of traitorous saboteurs in vast numbers, tainted by some form of foreign connection, who can kill Brexit fairies by sheer power of thought (See also: EXPERTS, POSH ELITES) and who are to blame for undesirable bad things happening that aren’t/weren’t happening but also are happening and are desirable despite being bad (See also: PROJECT FEAR).

PROJECT FEAR: any suboptimal outcome/consequence of Brexit that has been predicted by EXPERTS (See also: PROPAGANDA), which will definitely not happen ever (See also: FAKE NEWS, FIIIIIINNNEE), but if/when it does happen, will in fact (a) have been knowingly voted for by Leavers (See also: BLITZSPIRIT), and (b) would have happened inevitably anyway not due to Brexit, and (c) will therefore render (a) and (b) contradictory.

BLOW-JOB:
(1) Fellatio
(2) Current prime minister

DUST SPAFFER, JACOB THE: Honourable member for the 18th century, and Leader of the House

SCAREMONGERING: any discussion of STOCKPILING (see above definitions 1-3) or even discussion of reasons why one might carry out STOCKPILING (defs 1-3) (such as mentioning supply chain disruption or SHORTAGES because these are definitely not going to happen (see also PROJECT FEAR)); however STOCKPILING (see above definition 4) is entirely sensible and PATRIOTIC including discussion of why one might carry out STOCKPILING (def 4) (such as mentioning supply chain disruption or SHORTAGES because these are probably going to happen and that’s what we knowingly voted for (see also PROJECT FEAR)).

SNARKY: Any discussion which express disagreement with some aspect of Brexit, and having the temerity to do so in a non-serious tone which displays a lack of RESPECT (see below) for the august institution of Brexit and its noble adherents (See also SARCASTIC). For expressing Brexit disagreement in a serious tone, see BELITTLING.

RESPECTFUL: Expressing ardent agreement with some aspect of Brexit, particularly if there is indication of born-again conversion to the cause from the dark side.

UNKNOWNS: Factors which by having a degree of unpredictability (however small), allow Leavers to be confident that the best-case scenario will prevail, that precautionary measures are not required, and that supine acceptance is the only PATRIOTIC course of action - whilst simultaneously lambasting Remainers for being the ones having a CRYSTAL BALL (see above).

OPPORTUNITIES: Situations making it possible to do new things, apparently of such importance that any amount of devastation is FIIIIIIINEEE so long as some OPPORTUNITIES emerge from the smouldering crater; the protagonist naturally “knows” they will be on the gaining side and that any who lose out are deserving of their ill-fortune. For example, for mammals to evolve into large new species after an asteroid has devastated Cretaceous life on the planet, for cockroaches to dominate a post-nuclear-Armageddon world, or for disaster capitalists to profit from a country’s political and economic chaos. (See also: SURVIVAL, BLITZSPIRIT) (Antonyms: PROJECT FEAR, SCAREMONGERING).

LOSS-MAKING: Any purchase of goods, even if they are things we don’t make but do want/need, and thus a bad shameful thing that should be eliminated (but only if we buy them from the EU). Simultaneously, if there are things we don’t make but do want/need, it becomes a huge positive sign of our global significance, to purchase goods from far-away places such as China and South Africa.

TRUE BRITS (syn DIDDUMS): Defined primarily by blood-and-soil, and called into doubt by any taint of foreignness (see POSH ELITES). Simultaneously
(1) the finest, strongest, bravest, buccaneering, innovative, most respected and most resilient race of humanity ever created by the Almighty, able to overcome any conceivable adversity (e.g. tsunami, nuclear strike); whose Great Brexitannian Homeland will bestride the globe reaping trade deals and tribute from awestruck lesser nations (i.e. all of them), and leading all to glorious isolated sovereign atomisation.
(2) a helpless, oppressed, downtrodden and most piteous population for whom even the slightest unkind word or mere thought (e.g. being disagreed with on the Internet, see also: BELITTLING) is as injurious as being flayed alive in boiling oil; whose once-proud Brexitannian Homeland has been subjugated by nefarious collusions of jealous dictatorial nations (i.e. all of them) out to inflict unjust and insurmountable punishments.

COLLABORATING: a dirty word, whereby non-TRUE-BRITS (see above) who are not PATRIOTIC (see above) engage in friendly dialogue or co-operation with any foreigners not on the approved list [assorted demagogues and fascists], thus thwarting the Willy Of The People (see also: BLOW-JOB).

FAULT: The EU, or REMAINERS/EXPERTS/POSH ELITES (see above), or insufficient BeLeaving, or Parliament, or Would-Have-Happened-Anyway, or COLLABORATING (see above), or Diesel. But definitely not the architects or ringleaders of Brexit, associated Brexiteers, or TRUE-BRITS (see above) or in fact anybody who actually voted for Brexit.

bellinisurge · 29/08/2019 10:10

Dust spaffer is my new favourite @TheElementsSong . You are fab.

Cyw2018 · 29/08/2019 10:20

I'm stockpiling for approx 4 weeks. 2 weeks before Brexit, to ride out any bare shelves from panic buying and 2 weeks after Brexit when there will probably be some supply chain issues, even if things go well.

I should have enough to feed my family without needing to shop, this is with decent portion sizes, so if things start to go really wrong I can cut portion sizes down and make it last longer, I will also have what is in the freezer and cupboards in general, so that will make it go a little further. I will also be able to buy some food as the supermarkets aren't going to be completely empty.

In a small house, with only a 90l freezer, even 4 weeks food looks a lot and takes up a lot of space. People with big stockpiles for months ahead presumably have garages or cellars and chest freezers.

I figure if people start starving, that will lead to all our rioting and a new government who can then go grovelling to Angela Merkel and the EU to let us back in, and it will all be just be like we had a bad dream!!!

mydogisthebest · 29/08/2019 10:33

We always have pretty full cupboards and freezers (we have a fridge freezer and a large upright freezer). We like to know we have things like bread, milk, veg in the freezer and tinned tomatoes, baked beans etc in the cupboards.

We are both vegetarian and we always have a good stock of different types of lentils, chickpeas, different beans plus rice, pasta. There are quite a few meals such as curry and chilli in the freezer that we have made.

We are getting low on some items so in the next couple of weeks will be buying loo roll, pasta, tinned tomatoes and maybe some treat items such as biscuits, chocolate, wine.

Me and DH have been talking about growing veg next year. We have done so in the past with mixed results but now I don't work I have the time to put the work in. If it looks like there will be shortages of fresh veg we definitely will grow our own. We eat loads of veg.

I am hoping, as I guess we all are, that there won't be shortages and that it's only scaremongering but will be prepared if the worst happens.

I know a few of my neighbours don't have any sort of store of food and go food shopping at least once a week so no idea what they will do if there are shortages.

Socksontheradiator · 29/08/2019 10:58

Just a pmk and to say that my local tesco was stacked to the brim at 7am today. I'm thinking that bigger orders are going in to account for probable extra customers.
I have friends who are suddenly discussing stockpiling. I do think it's about to get busier in the supermarkets.

Socksontheradiator · 29/08/2019 11:03

@Spanneroo, many congratulations on your pregnancy, and I am very relieved that our wise Bellinisurge has been able to reassure you.
*Socks now off to look at own fuel supplier to see if any changes need to be made.

BlackeyedGruesome · 29/08/2019 11:36

Garage: mostly full of car as it is a requirement to keep it there. Thus not much stockpiled there.

Cellar... While I would love storage space under the flat, Mr downstairs flat is not going to be happy if I put stairs through the floor.

I have 0.07 cubic metres of storage in one space. In it I have coffee, dried milk, pasta, rice, dried fruit, tinned beans of several sorts, tinned veg, dried beans, nuts, seeds, dried beans, couscous.

It is amazing what you can get into a small space.

astralplaning · 29/08/2019 11:38

I don't think we do. It's Y2K all over again.

BlackeyedGruesome · 29/08/2019 11:38

I live in a two bed flat and have had to be creative with storage, a big flat compared to London sizes though, I suspect.

Socksontheradiator · 29/08/2019 11:42

Bingo!! Y2K

augustagain · 29/08/2019 11:47

Should I be panicking and stockpiling then?

SistemaAddict · 29/08/2019 11:52

No need to panic. We preppers are not panicking, just sensibly gathering a food and essentials buffer to get us through if the shit hits the fan.

augustagain · 29/08/2019 11:54

I suppose I could do that. Must say I tend to downplay stuff where people panic and don't get involved.

HOWEVER

I am on several life-saving medications but can't stockpile through GP. Could be a worry. Should I buy online?

gamerchick · 29/08/2019 12:00

I don't think we do. It's Y2K all over again

I love reading these threads because I know someone will say this ^^ makes me feel warm inside Grin

Also people who don't know the difference between stockpiling and panic buying.

There is no downside to stockpiling. If it goes tits up then you're sorted if it doesnt, you have cheap food bills for a few months. What's not to like?

augustagain · 29/08/2019 12:03

Ok, I'm in! I am on a tight budget so don't have long to gather stuff up. What are we talking here? Tinned goods and stuff for freezer obvs, must find a solution for my meds.

bellinisurge · 29/08/2019 12:16

Your meds is a conversation to have with a gp. Make sure you have telephone numbers for them and any other advice or support source handy (and not just in your phone).
If there is anything that makes your life easier and more comfortable that isn't a med as such, think of that too. For me, a lipsalve makes such a difference. That sort of thing. I call it "armour " - the stuff that makes you feel a bit stronger. I have MS and there are little things like that which serve as "body armour". I just feel I can face tricky situations better.
It would be a pain in the arse to run short of that when you need it. A tin of cannelini beans and some own brand weetabix, while great in themselves, can't double as things like that.

SistemaAddict · 29/08/2019 12:18

@augustagain here's a link to my thread in January that leads on from someone else's thread. There's now part 3 and various other spin offs.

The Brexit Cupboard Part 2 http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eureferendumm2016/3492362-the-brexit-cupboard-part-2

BlackeyedGruesome · 29/08/2019 12:30

Start small. A little bit of everything, enough breakfast, lunch and tea, drinks and toiletries to last a few days. Check out the Brexit cupboard/ hell is ever closer/ Brexit cupboard tips..threads for suggestions of what you could buy. Buy your must haves, and ingredients that will go a long way, Eg, a bag of frozen peas which can bulk out pasta rather than a ready meal.. which will only feed one.

BlackeyedGruesome · 29/08/2019 12:33

You probably already have enough of some things for a week or a month, check what you need to top up.

augustagain · 29/08/2019 12:46

Thanks @Bercows - I can catch up now. I'm late to the party as usual! Smile

augustagain · 29/08/2019 12:48

If there is anything that makes your life easier and more comfortable that isn't a med as such, think of that too. For me, a lipsalve makes such a difference

Great tip, thanks! I have an autoimmune condition and a heart problem. My skin is horribly dry and I must get a few tubs of Astral/Nivea. They are great and fit my budget.

Saucery · 29/08/2019 13:03

Apologies if this has been mentioned in the other stash thread but I thought of contact lenses last night. I have daily disposables delivered monthly from an online provider. Have ordered a couple of months extra alongside my regular lot, so if that’s relevant to anyone here it might be an idea?
Must emphasise I have not heard of any potential shortages but I can’t see that they are manufactured in this country, or that all components are available in this country (very much doubt it).

Brexit is not going to make me wear my glasses.

augustagain · 29/08/2019 13:04

Brexit is not going to make me wear my glasses Grin

Swipe left for the next trending thread