Food prices

[Mr Smith]

Betula,
            Thankyou for asking, yes we did  my wife was 60 so we had Thursday --- Monday on the 'Riverside' caravan site with our caravan, but we came back to a lotty full of weeds which still have to be removed when this rain stops :)

[Mr Smith]

[kt.]

On the news last night:

Wheat & grain  cost $400 last year.  This year it now costs $1100.

Sticking with the topic,  due to the price of food, I wouldn't be surprised to see an increase in the theft of harvest produce from allotments this year :(

[betula]

Yes Straford is lovely,tend to take it for granted living so close.

Hope to go and see  Midsummers nights dream there this summer. :)

[valmarg]

the pricew of flour and milk have increased, so has the cost of energy to cook the bread. however, at the prices of shop-bought bread, why ain't you all baking your own? Breadmaking machines are a doddle to use, even this bloke can do it!!

Personally found its not cost effective for me.

Bread flour is expensive.
Yeast is expensive
and the electric to keep it running for 2 hours.

I used to use it all the time, but lately its become too expensive for me to do, unless anyone can tell me a cheaper alternative.

Fresh yeast is most definitely not expensive.  I buy a 750 gram block for 99p from the larger branches of Sainsburys.

valmarg

[manicscousers]

I get a large amount of dried from lakeland plastics and the flour from lidl..much cheaper than bigger supermarkets  :)

[redimp]

This is why miniscule pay rises for the lower paid and public sector workers is complete mens bits.  Higher paid workers are still getting inflation busting pay rises averaging about 8%.  These same people have an inflation rate somewhere between 0-2% because goods we want and only get when we can afford them have no inflation or are deflationary.  It is goods we need that have a high inflation rate and push the RPI (strangely enough, not the inflation rate the government use to decide payrises, to 4+%)  In reality, the inflation you pay is higher the poorer you are.  I have calculated my personal inflation rate using the government's own tool and my rate veers between 5-6%.  People earning less than the average wage have inflation rates around 8-10% yet it is these people who are being squeezed to keep inflation and interest rates down.  My pay rise amounts to half of what I am paying in inflation and I have a slightly above average income - although we do only have one income which probably puts us below average because my wife is a trainee nurse) At the moment, the poor are paying for the rich - it is like living in the US. >:(

[tonybloke]

an issue not mentioned is that due to high price of wheat, farmers switching crops from spuds to cereals, less problems, better profit per acre. a shortage of spuds a'coming??

[jjt]

The poor are paying for the rich - at the moment? When was it ever not so?

[redimp]

The balance was somewhat redressed for the first five years of this government which at that point was (very quietly) one of the most redistributive government in British history.  It was just that Blair/Brown did not shout about it whilst they were cosying up to business.  Since then, they have been one of the worst and have virtually undone all that good work.  And rest assured, I am no Blairite.  It was actually Brown who did the redistribution.  It is only since he became Premier that he has completely changed his priorities.

[jjt]

I expect you're right, I just meant in general all throughout history since the year dot.

[Baaaaaaaa]

Now that fuel prices are expected to reach £1.50/ltr ...

Does replacing foodcrops with bio-diesel ones have much do to with the increase of world food prices ?

[Mr Smith]

Living in the US would mean a dollar thirty cents a gallon not £1.30 a litre, the thing with the States is if you don't work you don't eat, unlike this great free handout of a country paying for the idle and the work- shy to do sod all ;)

[bupster]

Yes, the bio-diesel thing is part of the problem, but it's much wider than that - what we've got at the moment is a perfect storm.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/88effd62-1641-11dd-880a-0000779fd2ac.html

[shaolin101]

It is a crazy time for food shoppers. We used to manage a weeks worth of shopping for 5 people for about £36 pounds per week - which i think is a great price. Now we are looking at closer to £56 per week just over the past couple of months. I know that is still cheap compared to those that can do hundreds of pounds but when ours goes up by £100 per month it is very noticable - especially when mu wages has not gone up by £100 per month!

[valmarg]

A big 'thank you' to Gordon for increasing OH's income tax bill by 100%.

We are pensioners on fixed incomes, but are expected to accommodate Gordon's tax hikes :'( :'( :'(

valmarg

[betula]

Yes he is already regretting it.Such a stupid thing to do.I do so hate it when Labour does this kind of thing.

[valmarg]

He can regret it until the cows come home betula, but we are not going to be compensated, we are just going to have our small income made even smaller. :'( :'(

valmarg

[betula]

Yes it is so stupid,Jim was made redundant after twenty years in the job,because he is over fifty he has taken out his pension but it is only a small amount as things go

We are lucky I suppose as we have savings but in order to have some income and not hammer the savings which were supposed to be for later in life he has taken on a minimum wage job as to help keep the pot boiling.
No luck with permanent job,a lot of these firms won,t touch you over 50.

This new situation re tax makes it hardly worth bothering.

[tonybloke]

student grants haven't increased either! it's a good job we've got a lottie and produce a lot of our own food.

[valmarg]

We're about ten years down the line from where you are betula.  Tony was compulsorily made redundant  after nearly 30 years service aged 56+, a matter of months before he would have been eligible for the company's early retirement scheme.  He also had to draw his pension early, and it is less than I was earning 20 years ago.

We did have the benefit of Alton Towers for seasonal jobs, but last year they dropped the hourly rate, and employed eastern europeans instead of locals.

I wish you all the best.  It is very difficult.

I don't mean to be a whinger, but it doesn't help balancing the books.

I can get 'down in the dumps' at times, but hey today the sun has been shining, I've been working in the greenhouse and its been a very good day.

We've got flowers on the tomato plants and strawberries.  Broad beans are showing signs of flowers.

The only way is UP ;D ;D ;D

valmarg