I'm beginning to take all the 'doom and gloom' merchants reasonably seriously! Lady M keeps asking me to buy candles, and talks of buying a high value '10.5 tog' duvet. I think 'austerity' is on its way.
We've both now had our Flu' jabs, and are thinking of our more basic material comforts. Food, warmth, light, water supply, etc, for the upcoming 'Winter of discontent'.
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I always keep a reasonable supply of food in the cupboards (there's another storage cupboard outside), and the freezer is usually quite well stocked.
I suppose I really ought to start buying all those things that people usually 'hoard', loo rolls, bottled water, wine, etc. It wouldn't hurt to have 10 cans of baby Tomatoes, plenty of Sardines, Beans, Pasta, Rice, Pickles, Ketchup, etc. We usually have plenty of bread in the freezer, as well as Beef mince, Pork chops, Chickens, and my favourite breast of Lamb.
I think I might also buy an industrial pack of Maynards Wine Gums.
Talk of turning off our electricity supply for several hours a day is worrying, but not enough for us to throw ourselves off Beachy Head. More worrying would be a lack of water or gas.
To save money on expensive warmth we could always do what many OAP's already do; travel around all day on a warm bus using our free bus-pass, or sit in the cosy library pretending to read a book. Back at home a bowl of hot gruel before bed, and a thick duvet would complete the day.
I haven't yet seen supermarket trollies piled high with loo rolls, but I quite expect I soon will. Maybe I will even join them! Today is my shopping day, so perhaps I'll begin my panic buying very soon.
I used to stock up on things when the kids were young and all at home still, we lived in houses then, now I have this tiny flat and the kids have their own houses, and I just don't have the space for stocking up very much. Of course I don't need as much now that I'm not cooking for and feeding four kids, so that's a bonus.
ReplyDeleteWell we're only two in this small house, but I'm almost beginning to feel the need to stock certain things. I've never bothered before, so maybe I won't this time either. We'll see!
DeleteYes there will probably be some panic buying.I shop locally, a small Sainsbury's at the end of my street. A bit more expensive but I go for convenience these days.I don't drive and Sainsbury is good quality. We usually decide what we need and then have a walk to the shop .No need to carry heavy bags as I have a small trolley. We moved to this flat nearly 5 years ago. Not regetted it.The bus to the Derby Royal stops just outside which is one of the reasons we chose it. My husband had a kidney transplant.Have to adapt as you get older.
ReplyDeleteI'm off to a big out-of-town Sainsbury's this morning so I'll assess the situation. I'm not yet at the 'panic' stage; just thinking about it.
DeleteWe are just buying a few extra staple things that will store every shop, not going mad.
ReplyDeleteThe home-made larder contents are nearly up to where I like...just need to finish pressing this year's apple juice.
I think most people haven't learnt how to stock a store cupboard, as shopping has been too easy.
Having lived rurally at one time and had a food order every two months gives you good habits!
I'm just back from my shopping trip and am pleased to say that there was no panic buying. There were quite long petrol queues, but that was probably because it was early morning.
DeleteI am perplexed. Yes, some prices are going through the roof but there is no shortage of goods so why panic buy?. Maybe I am reading the "wrong" papers.
ReplyDeleteOther than that I am positively itching to tidy and organize that cupboard of yours.
U
What's wrong with my cupboard, it needs no tidying.
DeleteI think your cupboards are fine. They're not jam-packed so everything is relatively easy to see and access. I'm strict about keeping likes together. The odd time my husband and I unpack groceries side by side, I'm tense the whole time. If he puts the pasta noodles on top of the canned beans, (just because he found a convenient opening!), I pounce.
DeleteDoomed. You are doomed. Stock up and stockpile until the retail shelves are clear.
ReplyDeleteWhat should I buy first? Wine, wine gums, ever-lasting milk?
DeleteI don't suppose there is any point in my stocking up the freezer if we are going to have power cuts. We shall live on tinned sardines and crispbread.
ReplyDeleteIf it's just the occasional 3 hr power cut-off, the freezer would be OK. In France they just cut-off without warning for days.
DeleteYour blog post has probably caused panic buying in around 50 people, 10 commenters and 40 readers. If a row ensues readership rises so if we have a row there will be more readers and thus more panic buying. Each person who panic buys will deny they are a panic buyer and accuse the others. They, of course, are just being sensible.
ReplyDeleteHoped you'd chip in on this particular subject, Rachel. Have an upvote. And thanks for the laugh.
DeleteU
I did buy an extra pack of Liquorice wheels this morning, but I can't see them lasting.
DeleteCro my stress levels are high, just looking at your food. God u need organising
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has a tidier cupboard than mine is probably suffering from OCD.
Delete"Anyone who has a tidier cupboard" than yours doesn't suffer OCD, Cro. They are just better at logistics, efficiency, making things easier to find and wasting less. I won't ask how often you take all those tins and open packages out in order to clean the shelves and assess what's what. A friend of mine, maybe one of yours, entertains cute wildlife in ancient flour. Yummy.
DeleteLet's assorted Titanics of our lives kiss their respective icebergs. An easily achieved and well organized larder (be it a cupboard, a walk-in, a fridge, a freezer) amounts to a lifeboat. When life turns, momentarily, into chaos I go to my kitchen cupboards, open their doors, enjoy the vista of order, breathe . . ., and calm descends once more. Try it.
U
PS Not so much an afterthought, a question I have long been meaning to ask: Where is Lady M in all this?
Lady M deals with all things sweet, I deal with all things savoury.
DeleteWe are not talking about power outages here, but there is always some threat of war from the north or the south, and I have heard some talk about stockpiling food for an emergency.
ReplyDeleteIf Russia or N Korea go on the rampage, I don't think stockpiling food will help.
DeleteDon't think there is any need to panic buy food but I would suggest you buy a large good quality flask and fill it if there is a hint of a power cut, then at least you and Lady M could enjoy a cuppa!
ReplyDeleteI bought several bottles of Champagne this morning. I don't want to run short of that!
DeleteGas heating don't work with no leccy. But we could heat the kitchen with the gas hob so not all bad, light as well. So stockpiling matches then....bet we wont get a standing charge rebate for when the power is off though.
ReplyDeleteI'm not fussed about heating, but would be very annoyed to lose my gas hob. Our oven is electric, so no roasts.
DeleteHaven't you heard? Jacob Rees-Mogg has proposed that when temperatures are expected to plunge below freezing, senior citizens over the age of seventy will be legally obliged to present themselves at designated community centres to be known as "heat centres". By crowding together, the pensioners will generate plenty of warmth - just like emperor penguins in The Antarctic.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping that R-M will send us a Winter Fuel Allowance this year, last year we missed it (by one day) for not being back early enough. When we've spent all that, we try the huddling.
DeleteWe have nothing to fear, but fear itself or something like that
ReplyDeleteI've never known 'hardship', and I suspect I never will.
DeleteWe've still got enough pasta to feed the street from lockdown ! We always have tins in the cupboard ..... soup, tomatoes, sardines etc. I haven't bought extra of anything yet. Our toilet roll situation is a bit low ..... maybe I need to stock up ? XXXX
ReplyDeleteMy current favourite pasta dish involves Tinned Tuna, Cream, White Wine, and Capers. I'm making sure there is plenty of each.
DeleteThat pasta dish sounds delicious, recipe please?
ReplyDeleteFor 2, I fry about half a chopped onion in the tuna oil, add the tuna, the cream, some white wine, a teaspoon of capers, and season to taste. I usually add some chopped parsley and a few chilli flakes as well. It's good with most sorts of pasta.
DeleteThanks!
DeleteI buy my favorite things and stock them. Wine and cheese in equal parts are #1. Of course my favorites go first. Stocking seems not to be working very well for me. One day, I must get more organized.
ReplyDeleteActually I'm hopeless at stocking food. I have loads of small tins of Kimchi from the last panic, I think they'll last me for several years.
DeleteWe still haven't got through our lockdown supplies either. I'm trying to get rid of the old before we start on the new.
ReplyDeleteNo use buying tins with sell by dates on them. As soon as midnight strikes on the last date they can't be eaten....says him who knows.
Can't you rub the dates off, and tell him they're special 'ever-lasting' tins.
Deletesounds absolutely yummy!
ReplyDeleteYou could fill your empty wine bottles with water...just in case.
ReplyDeleteImagine the shock if I then confused the bottles!
DeleteDuring the height of the covid panic, an acquaintance (someone that I know of, but do not especially care to spend any amount of time with) made a facebook post about the ridiculous panic buying and how it caused everyone else to have to spend more money in the long run. For example, she just had to go out and purchase her third freezer.
ReplyDeleteShe was not trying to be humorous. She's really that assinine.
I'm pleased to say that here we only have the one Fridge/Freezer, but in France we too have three. Not for bulk buying, but for preserving all our crops, etc.
DeleteMy husband has been urging me to buy extra and stock up since the worst of Covid days. We're prone to hurricane threats here, too, so having extra food and supplies (at the very least a week's worth) is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteAlso, with the way things are headed with inflation, food won't be getting any cheaper, that's for sure. Getting good and stocked up on things you're going to be buying anyway just makes good sense.
My people had a holiday cottage on the Wales/England border. The house was on the very top of the first big hill looking out over the rolling hills of Wales and was prone to bad weather. We were told to keep at least two weeks worth of food in the house in case we were snowed-in. We were snowed-in on several occasions, but never for two weeks!
DeleteGood idea to stock up
ReplyDeletePeanut butter is one of the foods they say to have handy. But I can't be trusted with it when there is anything I can use to scoop a glob out of the jar. Tuna is safe though.
My dear wife eats a lot of Peanut butter (with jam; she was part raised in the USA), so maybe I'll add that to any future panic list.
DeleteI've always kept a good pantry due to winter being long and awful. You don't want to nip out when it's -40 and you have to put two little boys into snowsuits and carseats and drive out for 10-15 minutes.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is I buy toilet paper from March to November and my husband says it's good for insulating the basement.
We probably have three months worth of food in the house. I never understood British and German coworkers who only shopped for the day and "had nothing in" if you stopped by for a quick visit.
So Cro, you need at least 48 toilet rolls and six tins of tuna.
I also always have an extra sack of food for the family hound.
We do buy very large 'special' food for Billy, which is delivered. I did buy a 20 roll pack of boggo yesterday, so that should last a while. I'm always reasonably well stocked, but maybe I should do a survey of what I actually have in my cupboards.
DeleteYou've got my favourite tins of pate in your store cupboard.
ReplyDelete