Tag Archives: rationing

Diary Blog, 7 December 2023

Afternoon music

[Robert Stack as Elliott Ness in The Untouchables, a favourite TV show of my childhood. Note the Thompson submachinegun with drum magazine, probably the 30-round version (there were 50 and 100-round drum versions, and both box and stick magazine versions)]

From the newspapers

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/06/the-britons-stockpiling-for-a-crisis-food-toilet-rolls-supplies

Kathryn is a firm believer in the 19th-century adage that we are only ever nine meals from anarchy. Having learned the skill of stockpiling from her wartime parents and grandparents, her first mini-foray was in preparation for Y2K.

“That was mainly candles and biscuits, because I didn’t really take it very seriously,” she said. “But it did mean that I was already halfway there when I realised I needed a substantial, genuine Brexit stash, which then morphed into a Covid stash, which in turn became a cost of living store, then an ‘Are we going to run out of electricity?’ store when the Ukraine war kicked off, and is now a general, all-encompassing everyday/WW3 stash.”

Kathryn could soon be joined by many more concerned citizens preparing for a worst-case scenario after the deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, said this week that people should stock up on battery-powered radios, torches, candles and first aid kits in case of power cuts or digital communications going down.

Not such a silly idea. I have examined that and other aspects of prepping on the blog (search via the search box).

As mentioned previously, the once very famous occult-thriller (etc) writer, Dennis Wheatley [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Wheatley], in his very readable memoirs, Drink and Ink, recounted how, in his popular newspaper column of the late 1930s, he recommended to his readers that they “stock up” on tinned food (mainly) against the likelihood of a European war.

Wheatley followed his own advice, and thus was better prepared than most for the rigours of British WW2 rationing. Of course, he was in a better position than most, living in a country house at Lymington in the New Forest, and with both storage space and money with which to spend stocking up.

Not a bad idea if you have those two necessities. 20 years ago, I could have done that myself; I was then living in one of the largest houses in Cornwall (only leased, sadly) and was, if far from wealthy or affluent, at least not usually very short of money on a day to day basis.

[where I lived about 20 years ago]

Times change. The whole of my present tiny flat would fit at least twice over merely into the ballroom of that Cornish house. I now have no space (let alone money to spend) “stocking-up” for national emergency. Should my circumstances change, I would do that, though.

The Mormons, at least in their home state of Utah, make sure that they have in their homes a basic supply of dried and tinned goods sufficient for 2 years. Perhaps a legacy from the covered-wagon days of the mid-19thC in that part of the world.

I shall not go into great detail here about such prepping, but since Wheatley’s 1930s, the technology of canning has moved on, the variety of tinned goods has expanded, and the same is true of dried goods.

In the end, storing tins of food etc will not save you, years down the line, but it can provide a breathing space for you and your families.

Worth considering.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/man-banned-driving-after-killing-31545389?int_source=nba

A 31-year-old man has been banned from driving after he drove through a gaggle of geese, killing seven, a court heard.

Abraham Andemariam showed a “clear disregard for the animals in the road”, leaving a number of animals dead and others injured with “skin torn away from their limbs”, the court was told. Andemariam did not stop at the scene after the incident in Warrington in July, but the registration plate of his black Hyundai was captured on a Ring doorbell and given to the police.

Rebecca Templeman, defending, explained that Andemariam, who hails from Eritrea and needed a Tigrinya interpreter in court, confessed to the offences during an interview.

[Daily Mirror]

[defendant]

Yet another ******* nuisance who should not even be in our country.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12833065/NHS-doctors-missed-cancer-spotted-Turkish-masseuse.html

A woman’s cancer was spotted during a holiday massage in Turkey – after previously being misdiagnosed by UK doctors.

Claire O’Shea, 41, had previously been told by doctors the tummy pain she was experiencing was due to irritable bowel syndrome.

But during the treatment at a baths in Istanbul the masseuse spotted the mystery lump and questioned what it was.

‘I remember talking to my friends like: “My God. How is a Turkish masseuse doing a better job of telling me what’s wrong with me than my GP has for months?”

Despite having a scan when she returned home doctors continued to insist she was suffering from benign fibroids and showed no urgency towards her.

It was only when eight months later medics removed a lump the size of a grapefruit that she was diagnosed with an incurable gynaecological cancer.

[Daily Mirror]

The health service for the people, the NHS, will only improve when it stops being treated like a quasi-religion or sacred cow, one run largely for the benefit of those who work in it. Also, when it stops having to serve an ever-expanding number of clients, many not even British.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12833357/Asylum-seeker-raped-woman-seaside-40-days-arriving-UK-France.html

An asylum seeker raped a woman in a seaside town park just 40 days after arriving in the UK, a court has heard.

Saad Gomaa, 34, told the woman he was ‘illegal’, jurors heard, as he allegedly took advantage of her drunkenness to rape her.”

[Daily Mail].

The trial continues“…apparently.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12831923/OAPs-surveillance-Minister-admits-Government-snoop-bank-accounts-state-pensioners-battle-against-8bn-year-cost-welfare-fraud-despite-Mel-Stride-saying-theres-low-level-swindling-old-age-benefits.html.

MPs have raised the alarm about proposals for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to view benefit claimants’ bank accounts for ‘social security purposes‘.

There are concerns this would allow ministers to view the banking details of any state pension recipients, whose payments are administered by DWP.”

[Daily Mail].

More nonsense from the Cabinet of Clowns. Can this Government even last out until late 2024?

Tweets seen

https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1732480024060510358

[nb. the comment refers to London social housing].

[Update, same day: Seems that the tweet, showing political academic Matt Goodwin saying that “over 50%” of London social housing is occupied by immigrant families or individuals, has been deleted. He was only slightly out; seems that the true figure is about 49%…]

More music

[K. Kazanchan, Prostor (“open expanse”)]
[painting by Volegov]

More tweets

There are still innumerable pseudo-socialists and others who seem to think seriously that the UK, and the rest of Europe, can absorb waves of mass immigration without limit. How wrong they are. In the end, those waves will break down society completely, destroy our people, and smash our society into pieces.

From me, in my present circumstances (regular readers will know what I mean!), no comment…

The logical outcome is to allow anyone at all to participate, i.e. have no men’s or women’s individual sports. Let women and men (and “trans” types) compete together. That will delete the “trans” nonsense from the whole situation (though admittedly also at the expense of women athletes, of course).

Alternatively, just have proper men’s and women’s sports, as previously.

Britain built 200k houses last year. CPS estimate we now need to build at least 514,000 houses each year, more than half of which is just to keep up with record net migration (much of which is a fiscal drag on the economy). It’s neither “racist” nor “far right” to point to how immigration is fuelling the housing crisis.

It is, however, germane, to point out that a high proportion of immigrants (both “legal” and “illegal”) have no useful qualifications, and in many cases cannot even speak English beyond the most basic level. Apart from that, the fact is that “race is the root-stock, culture is the flower and fruit“. Race or “ethnicity” is central to the whole question.

Unsurprising. After all, Mrs Thatcher was called “the only man in the British Cabinet“. Nothing much has changed. I have observed these useless drones and those of similar type for 50 years, since I was a teenager. Members of the Bench and Bar, partners in firms of City solicitors, MPs etc.

Sunak and his Cabinet of Clowns become more pathetic daily.

This was the magistrate/District Judge presiding: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Ikram.

The photograph is misleading. The case commented upon was in the magistrates’ court, not the High Court or Court of Appeal.

The commentary is right, though. Some magistrates do seem to want to guess what was in the mind of a defendant posting online.

There really is no longer “free speech” or freedom of expression in the UK. My own trial, last month, confirmed that. What was behind my wrongful prosecution? The Jew-Zionist Israel-lobby cabal called “Campaign Against Antisemitism”. You don’t have to believe me, incidentally. They have admitted it repeatedly on their own Twitter/X account, as well as on their website.

Talking point

Late tweets seen

Go woke, go broke“, some say. Let’s hope so…

A bad law. I should know, having been convicted under its stupid and badly-drafted provisions only last month. The Law Commission recommended its repeal (I was one of the lay consultees, and noted as such at the end of the Law Commission report).

As to my own case, I shall decide whether to appeal after I am sentenced in a couple of months.

I hope that those convicted will appeal to Crown Court.

Little Indian money-juggler Sunak reminds me of those hopeless contestants on TV quiz shows such as The Chase, the completely ignorant contestants, of whom you wonder “why are you even on a quiz show? You couldn’t buy a right answer“.

Had I been asked as recently as last month whether I thought that Sunak would lead his “Light Brigade” into the next general election, I would have replied that he would, if only because that election now looms large, with only a year or so to go, at maximum (I am told January 2025 would be the last possible month). There is a degree of “groundrush”.

Now? I am not so sure. The Conservative Party looks like getting wiped out, or at least reduced to as few as 50 MPs, unless its “leaders” can put forward something as a gamechanger. So far, every policy initiative run up the flagpole has been shot down by a public showing of thumbs-down. It may just be that the last desperate throw will be to change the leader (again).

Late music

[Lenin, with cat, early 1920s]

Diary Blog, 23 January 2023

Morning music

[the Great Wall of China— what an incredible achievement]

We are now, apparently, in the Year of the Water Rabbit. I myself was born in the Year of the Fire Monkey [1956].

On this day a year ago

Tweets seen

Quite. What matters is that the people have a health regime that actually works, and which is actually available to people. The NHS is increasingly in a state where it really does not work properly.

That is not going to happen, for several reasons, but mainly because “Jack Monroe” now has only one substantial and regular source of income, i.e. the 635 utter mugs donating to her regularly on Patreon, and thus bringing in tens of thousands of pounds each month.

The propaganda is constant now, now that we are in the period 2022-2055. Look at the idea that people will be paid to turn off heating or electricity. It’s mad. The whole point of having gas or electricity is so as to be able to keep warm, use appliances etc.

…people giving a rentier-parasite maybe half their take-home pay in return for being allowed to occupy some cramped urban hutch. Sick society.

I have been, in the past (pre-2009) self-employed (as a barrister in England), employed offshore (i.e. not having to pay UK income tax), and at other times employed in the UK, paying UK income tax.

The worst of the three possibilities is when someone is employed in the UK, and having to pay UK income tax, especially when having also to pay out to rent a house or apartment, and/or commute, a fortiori when having to lay out money for a long commute by rail, perhaps even —as at times in my own case— for a long-distance First Class season ticket.

Once someone has paid income tax, he or she has those unavoidable chunks taken out: rent, travel costs, costs of suitable clothing, other costs such as lunch money etc. The last may seem small, and not everyone will have to pay for restaurants or whatever, but even a Pret or the like might add up to £5, or more, per working day, say £1,000-£2,000 a year.

No wonder many, especially on modest earnings, decide (if they can) to opt out, throwing themselves on the admittedly rather strained mercies of the State by applying for small State cash benefits, but also having most if not all of their housing costs paid, having Council Tax paid, and not having to pay out for long distance or other travel, nor for formal clothing, for lunches, and for other incidental costs. Also, of course, not having to pay income tax.

For many employed people, once those chunks are taken out of gross pay, there is not a lot left, especially when one considers that those on the lowest income levels do not pay for basic NHS dental work, or prescriptions.

Poor levels of pay in the UK are a disgrace, and poor-paying employers are having their profits underpinned via Universal Credit etc paid to employed but underpaid employees. It’s quite wrong.

In the case of a “poor” pensioner, just retired from, say, a modest or low-level job, that person will be entitled to, from April 2023, about £200 per week State Pension and Pension Guarantee Credit, Housing Benefit (if applicable), Council Tax Benefit, free medical and basic dental, various extras such as Cold Weather Payments, special one-off Treasury giveaways, free bus travel etc; the upshot being that that person might well be far better off (albeit on a low level) than he/she was the year before he/she reached State Pension age.

For younger people, the best option (especially if not paying out for rent) is to get off-grid as far as possible: do work that pays in cash or in kind, or start a small business that pays (eg car repair), use (if you can afford the capital outlay at the start) renewable heat and power via solar, pico-hydro and the like, and keep outgoings small. You do not need the often-useless “advice” of such as “Jack Monroe” to do that. Commonsense does most of the heavy lifting. Cheese rather than smoked salmon, water rather than wine.

True, that kind of “off-grid” lifestyle will not get you a Rolls-Royce, or a Mercedes SUV, or holidays in Barbados; you may have to settle for a £1,000 clapped-out estate-car, and no overseas holidays, but in return you have freedom, and that is worth rubies.

Incidentally, I am not exactly describing myself. For one thing, I am now already 66, and so beyond official “working age” anyway, but in the past have experienced almost every kind of working and non-working scenario.

So much depends on one’s own exact circumstances. For example, take the stringent rationing of the Second World War, as it was in the UK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationing_in_the_United_Kingdom. Not everyone was equal.

Those best-off in WW2 Britain were probably not only those with money (who could pay for quite good dinners and lunches in the better hotels) but also and especially those in country houses, who might have had the money and space to stock up on tinned food (as Dennis Wheatley —https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Wheatley—had advised in his pre-war newspaper column).

Such people would have had enough land on which to grow fruits and vegetables for themselves, and might well have the possibility to shoot game birds, rabbits, hares, even deer, and also fish for trout, salmon etc. They could also easily raise chickens for eggs, despite the paucity of chickenfeed, while the rest of the population was rationed to 1 egg per week.

Anyone in a country house would quite likely also have a wine cellar, which, if replete with Claret, Burgundy or Champagne —and adapting Sam in Casablanca— “sure takes the sting out of being occupied ” [or rationed].

Today, the same applies, pretty much. Had I a country house today, I would certainly be stocking up on tinned food (which in many cases is OK almost indefinately from the safety point of view, though only at peak quality for 5 years or less). I should also be reserving at least an acre per person for vegetables etc, and would be planting, or maintaining any existing, fruit and nut trees and bushes.

I should also be filling my equally-hypothetical wine cellar. Basic or bland food tastes a lot better with a bottle of Chateau Margaux washing it down…

When my wife and I did have (a lease of) a country house (on the Cornwall/Devon border, about 20 years ago), there existed a large number of plum and apple trees, producing a quantity of fruit quite impressive, bearing in mind that they had not been maintained, pruned etc for decades.

With war again now looming on the horizon, together with social collapse, I would, were it possible, relocate back to the South West of the UK and also, were it possible, buy a country house (and follow my own advice above).

More tweets

Ha. Quite.

…and note my blog of yesterday’s date.

The floor is too low. I think that it should be somewhere around £10M. As to the percentage, probably 1%.

Early evening music

Late tweets seen

Important results.

Late music

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veselin_Stoyanov]