Westminstenders: Off he pops to Brussels

[RedToothBrush]

Alex Andreou @sturdyalex
There's no way Johnson has not already decided whether or not to concede on Level Playing Field. Which makes the trip to Brussels dressing. Whether it will dress a concession as "I have saved us" or No Deal as "I tried my best" remains to be seen. But the choice is already made.

Amanda Cole @amandajanecole
What's your gut feeling, will he put his job ahead of the country? Given his past self serving form?

Alex Andreou @sturdyalex
I think he is so cornered - and has done so badly on Covid19 - his instinct will be one last, double-or-nothing throw of the dice. Only no deal does that.

The issue is that coming back with a deal will earn him much heckling and zero back-slapping from his peers. But no deal will earn him just as much heckling, but also plenty of back-slapping. What I don't know is just how ominous the departmental briefings he's getting are.

Its also worth noting the following:

Mujtaba Rahman @mij_europe
I understand @BorisJohnson wanted @EmmanuelMacron & Merkel to join his phone call with @vonderleyen last night, but she rejected the idea

So even yesterday he was STILL looking to undermine the EU and split its leaders. After all this time and the number of times he's tried this on.

Have no doubt that a) everything will be blamed on Macron (probably personally, with Conservative hardliners coming out calling for the public to boycott French cheese and wine - I'm serious btw) and covid b) covid provides a handy distraction at least for the moment. It will be used accordingly - that means its possibly now not in Johnson's interest to stop a spike in January. All efforts will be put into the vaccine rollout for PR but thats going to hit the breaks fairly soon. No doubt the EU will be blamed for that too.

What I'm not anticipating is another full lockdown. I think at least parts of Greater Manchester will now get out of T3 on 16th December. Traffords numbers look exceptional and I think it politically impossible for Johnson to keep it in T3. Its Graham Brady's patch and Manchester as a whole looks far far better than T2 London.

Anyone who gets out of T3 before Christmas won't go back into it. I'm not anticipating London to go T3 unless No Deal turns really ugly and its useful to quell civil unrest.

I think if we head into no deal then tight restrictions won't be used for covid reasons no matter how bad the hospitals get - it will only be about civil unrest, it will all be about keeping the economy going - backbench revolts are what scare Johnson most, and he's already said no more Tiers after the start of Feb.

We shall see what the day brings...

Noon Brussels, 11am UK for 'the call.' (say Sky News) - My bathrooms will be sparkling by then!

@RedToothBrush - Maybe not fair, but probably better for the UK.

I've just thought of a way to get them to move back to ye again. We'll settle them all in Gaeltacht regions (Irish speaking) and get the locals to promise not to speak any English to them. They'll head back as soon as they realise shouting pidgen English doesn't work as a method of communication.

@RedToothBrush

Which history books? The ones written by other country nationals where the uk is barely a footnote or the one written by our great and glorious leaders about the success of the revolution and greatness of our freedom?

Can we still afford paper and printing or kindles?

We will get through this. And can be can sure that ourselves and our young will not forget who is responsible. No deal is gravity catching up with brexit claims. My (faint) hope is that we can pick up the pieces after the damage is done.

@TokyoSushi I am stress cleaning my whole house. I intend to face this apocalypse clean, tidy and organised for the very first time in my life!
Red I'm with Queen too. I appreciate these threads more than I can say

@Pepperwort - got any jobs going there?

We've been getting way more UK applicants for openings recently where I work (university). Mind you, part of that is because of the serious down grading of conditions for UK academics plus acess to EU research funding.

But is this going to be another deadline that whooshes past? Just to stay with the style fo the past few years? Can I hope?

Considering guavas and mangoes are not grown in the EU commercially (at least not that I am aware of), the zero tariffs must be a piggy back on some other trade deal with a forrin country ;-) or a few countries that really really need to sell their mangoes

I have 2 lemon trees south in the Mediterranean where I come from, and this year they’re PACKED with fruits. Were still green last time I saw them. Now I’m thinking “Distaster capitalism-smuggle them to the U.K. for profit, or use them to prevent scurvy in DC?” :-) a bit difficult to organise the shipment...

@RedToothBrush

Dontlickthetrolley, i decided i definitely need to buy more orange juice this week. And tomatoes.

How many tinned tomatoes is too many?

I don't understand that question Red there can never be too many!

[quote OchonAgusOchonO]**@RedToothBrush* - Maybe not fair, but probably better for the UK.*

I've just thought of a way to get them to move back to ye again. We'll settle them all in Gaeltacht regions (Irish speaking) and get the locals to promise not to speak any English to them. They'll head back as soon as they realise shouting pidgen English doesn't work as a method of communication.[/quote]
Brilliant plan. And you can charge them for the privilege. Everyone's a winner then!

Very excited about the ricotta cheese recipe with photos......
The cottage cheese is a good replacement tip - something you had to do in NZ in the 80's as it wasn't readily available- but doesn't work well in a couple of my recipes - suspect frozen would be the same..... but presuming I can get lemons I should be able to make it

@cherin

But is this going to be another deadline that whooshes past? Just to stay with the style fo the past few years? Can I hope?

Considering guavas and mangoes are not grown in the EU commercially (at least not that I am aware of), the zero tariffs must be a piggy back on some other trade deal with a forrin country ;-) or a few countries that really really need to sell their mangoes

I have 2 lemon trees south in the Mediterranean where I come from, and this year they’re PACKED with fruits. Were still green last time I saw them. Now I’m thinking “Distaster capitalism-smuggle them to the U.K. for profit, or use them to prevent scurvy in DC?” :-) a bit difficult to organise the shipment...

How many lemons can you shove in the back of the car? Whats the profit margins? Are you willing to break quarantine? If you are a delivery driver for commercial purposes would you be exempt from quarantine?

I think about these things too much. I actually stuck lemons and limes in the freezer yesterday.

Ahahahah, I’ve drove there and back this summer, 20hours plus, dodging border closures and sleeping in car with kids and food brought from home to minimise risks. No thank you. I don’t think I’ll do it again, and not in winter where one could be blocked on the San Bernardo or any other pass at any minute ;-) Not for lemons, at least. But I should get real on my plan of the olive grove. I’ve got land and I’ve got means. I’m lacking time. But all might change soon...
(When the supermarkets give the estimate of extra cost, do they factor in the exchange rate swing?)

Echoing my thanks to @RedToothBrush for these threads and @bellinisurge for starting the stockpiling ones. I lurk but am still around.

Anxious about meds for me and my family. Finally persuaded my mum to start getting a stockpile together who like me is in the shielding category, dependent on food deliveries .

That link on tariffs was a very useful and sobering read on what I still need to get in . Orange juice for one thing.

I wonder if those little bottles of lemon juice would work for cheese making @mrslaughan - they usually have a longish date I think. I bought a few for my previous brexit stock up.

@RedToothBrush - And you can charge them for the privilege.

Naturally. Do you have any old boats I can borrow?

[quote OchonAgusOchonO]**@RedToothBrush* - And you can charge them for the privilege.*

Naturally. Do you have any old boats I can borrow?[/quote]
Dh is a kayaker and the number of boats he has is a source of argument! He also probably knows a geezer who knows a geezer with lots of boats!

I'm as prepped as I can be, I think. The lessons of Lockdown 1 were helpful for fine-tuning what we were most likely to need/run out of, and we've restocked gradually since then.

It's been easy to resist the urge to buy more supplies in light of this week's omnishambles, because we've been waiting and waiting for our double glazing to be installed (since the summer) and with all the COVID delays it's being started... tomorrow. Means we have no more storage space to spare, because we need the space to move things around the house out of the way of the window people - like those sliding picture puzzles

Thanks to everyone who posts, particularly the ‘regular old hands’. The 4.5 years of this thread have taught me so much.

That a government should subject its people to so much risk and in some cases, needless destitution.

It’s unforgivable.

Here it’s rained nonstop for a week. I dread a perfect storm in January of floods (like last Feb - have we forgotten?); a 3rd COVID spike; and no-deal food shortages.

Two of those things the government can be blamed for.

It’s unforgivable.

But I expect some people will forgive them...

@TheElementsOfMedical

I'm as prepped as I can be, I think. The lessons of Lockdown 1 were helpful for fine-tuning what we were most likely to need/run out of, and we've restocked gradually since then.

It's been easy to resist the urge to buy more supplies in light of this week's omnishambles, because we've been waiting and waiting for our double glazing to be installed (since the summer) and with all the COVID delays it's being started... tomorrow. Means we have no more storage space to spare, because we need the space to move things around the house out of the way of the window people - like those sliding picture puzzles

My house is in danger of having tins on the bookshelves (again) by Jan. I got very inventive with space before we moved.

Now we are in a much bigger place. But the cupboards are full and we've got used to there being great sacks of flour and beer supplies. Due to covid we've bulk bought more often and been to the shops less often. The result is things are starting to migrate to other storage areas and the crisps are stored upstairs (in part to stop DH eating them all).

I do really need a new set of Ikea shelves for the bedroom as it goes, but thats not an option atm. I kinda wish I'd had the space and foresight to stockpile billy bookshelves tbh!

@mrslaughan

Very excited about the ricotta cheese recipe with photos...... The cottage cheese is a good replacement tip - something you had to do in NZ in the 80's as it wasn't readily available- but doesn't work well in a couple of my recipes - suspect frozen would be the same..... but presuming I can get lemons I should be able to make it

If I think about it, mum got the recipe from the wife of a colleague of my dad's when we were in NZ in the 70s - even less likelihood of getting ricotta locally!

I haven’t heard much about the water situation recently - I remember the reports that the chemicals needed for water processing come from the EU. Has something been put in place or is potable water going to be one of the things at risk?

Dh thinks I've gone mad as I've just spent £3.89 on 100 water purifying tablets.

My view is that it's a paltry amount, but better to be prepared

There have been Boxing Day floods for the last couple of years.

Have you seen the weather forecast for Christmas week yet, Hester?

I've been checking it for the last couple of days because I must admit I've personally got slightly excited at the prospect of the merest of possibilities of snow...

Perhaps i shouldn't be actively wishing for it, but i LOVE snow.

He and Cummins never intended a deal. He is so useless and self serving that the situation was always going to made worse by him as PM. His hope is that Covid can be blamed for the economic disaster he has caused. Agree it will be all systems go for vaccination otherwise there is nothing to distract the public from the evolving horrors of Brexit.
I blame Corbyn and momentum for refusing to shift himself from the Labour leadership thereby giving Johnson a complete run and a huge majority.

@RedToothBrush - Dh is a kayaker and the number of boats he has is a source of argument! He also probably knows a geezer who knows a geezer with lots of boats!

Excellent. We have the makings of an international consortium here. I'll meet you on a beach somewhere.

@prettybird

Dh thinks I've gone mad as I've just spent £3.89 on 100 water purifying tablets.

My view is that it's a paltry amount, but better to be prepared

Dh found i had secretly bought some during the Great Zombie Debate.

He laughed. Thought it hilarious and then thought it he could always use them for scouts.

Then i said i couldnt remember where I'd put them. Just that they are in a box. Somewhere.

He got more annoyed about that.