mikeyboy

^ They were here at their usual time as far as I'm aware, I didn't see them, but heard what I was pretty sure was the bins clattering and rattling in their usual style..... It was supposed to be black bags here this week........I think, so will check if they're gone next I'm out.

 

Don't know about logistics, but I hear a rumour they've been hiring bodies.

Not seen anything advertised, I would maybe apply. Fancy something onshore to slip me into retirement.

Pretty certain there has always been three down my way.

"No, you don't need some sort of agreement between two governments. You need the government of the importing country to accept that the hygeine and animal welfare standards of the exporting country are acceptable within the importing country."

You need a trade agreement! 

" As I've already said, we're importing food from multiple nations worldwide already, so nothing more needs doing for us to import more/other food products from them, the system is already up and running."

These agreements are between the Third country and the EU not the UK.

"Don't try and tell me that if a UK importer approaches an exporter in any foreign country with a proposition, that that exporter won't go the extra mile to source product that is compliant with the destination country requirements."

Not if there are no trade agreements in place they won't.

" China have it down to a fine art with the manufacture of consumer products, they'll set up their factory to do an order of however many units CE compliant and customer standard specific, and as soon as its done they re-jig the place to do an order of the same product for someone somewhere else to entirely different specs and standards. Food is not really much different."

Yes it is.

"Yes, time is a factor with any change, and the current Government is doing its best to make a pigs ear of things by bickering and procrastinating, but business hasn't. As soon as the vote result was in, Tesco at least suddenly started printing the Union Jack on packaging plugging the 'Britishness' angle, and began relocating production of some of its products from other EU countries back in to the UK."

Tell me more about this production that is being relocated?

"There's also the question of whether the UK will need to import much food after Brexit, UK agriculture production has been aggressively capped and restrained for decades by the EU - It's been compulsory for farms of over a certain size to leave a set percentage of their arable land fallow every year, for which they've received a subsidy as compensation, from everyone's tax dollars, or they were penalised for non-compliance."

Have you got figures for this?

"That land can be brought back in to production in one season, and there's a whole lot more under utilised farmland that if the market is there farmers will be delighted to increase production to supply."

The discussion is surely about the short term? This years harvest is going to be way down on production anyway of most produce. To increase supply like this would take considerable effort and investment now. Is this happening?

If we crash out with no deal we will be relying on WTO rules. Now correct me if I am wrong but every other member has 9 weeks to decide if the UKs proposals would adversely affect them before coming to the negotiating table. So possible 9 weeks before any trade could take place. I am happy/relieved to be corrected on this.

A business can NOT just import food without some sort of agreement between the two governments no matter how big they are.

What are the customs arrangements? what are the food hygiene standards What are the animal welfare standards?

Yes all that will come in time but that is the crux, it takes time to put in place which we don't have.

As easy as that eh? Wow you really don't have a clue do you?

^ What a piece of hogwash propaganda.

 

When you have the same article stating that the UK only produces 60% of its food consumption - then cites that a 'no-deal' would decimate the UK's food export trade, any little credibility it might have had vanishes.

 

He makes a few good and valid points, but is so fanatical about 'proving' a 'no-deal' cannot possibly be anything short of apocalyptic, provable facts and common sense are almost immediate casualties. Nice try, but......

What you don't think we import/export food to and from the rest of Europe?

Of course you will have your own citations to back up your assertions, don't you?

As we seem to be gearing up for a No deal Brexit.

http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2018/07/27/this-is-what-no-deal-brexit-actually-looks-like

The world of JIT goods deliveries mean that any delays in the supply process will lead to shortages. The attached Data for 2017 shows that we import a third of our foodstuffs from the EU. Interestingly it also shows that over half of food distributors had reduced the stocks on hand as a cost saving measure. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-statistics-pocketbook-2017/food-statistics-in-your-pocket-2017-global-and-uk-supply

Ghostrider have you got any figures for this " We thrived much better before we joined the EEC "

This topic seems to have turned into a bashing the kids thread. Believe me very few of those kids are throwing their empties and fag packets out of car windows every day. The wife just cleared a bit of roadside I only cleared a few weeks ago and filled a bag in less than a mile.

" 17 plastic bottles , 15 drinks cans , 5 glass bottles. 5 fag packets various plastic food packages , crisp bags a lighter , Coffee cups and lids a bit of rope and bits of cars. All this on one side of the road , less than a mile and there was loads more . I only had one bag. "

 

I recall speaking to a janitor at the Anderson high school some years ago. I was doing a job thereand the bell rang, then all the kids came out to the tuck shop. They stood around in groups eatingcrisps and drinking juice, etc. then finally the bell rang again and they all dispersed.I was astonished to see everywhere where the kids were standing was a mess of crisp packets sweetpapers, etc. It had just been dropped at their feet.I spoke to the janitor: "Does this happen every day?" He replied: "yes, we have to clean it up!"Apparently, when the janitor had first started, he tried to tell a young lad to pick up somethinghe had thrown on the floor. The lad replied: "I'm not picking it up, that's your job!" The janitorhad tried to force him to pick it up and wound up being reprimanded. So he just accepted the factthat the pupils could do as they wished. No wonder they threw stuff around on the street.I wonder if the pupils do the same now in the new school.....

 

Slightly off the subject, several years ago I witnessed Anderson High School pupils deliberately throwing chips into the road for the gulls to get hit by vehicles. I reported this to the head teacher as soon as I could. The reply was that because I couldn't identify the exact culprits that nothing could be done. My view on this is that the whole school should have been addressed on this subject at an assembly so as to put them on warning. I'm fairly sure this is how a similar incidence would have been handled when I was at school (I left in 1980). I also think a complaint from any adult would have been taken more seriously then. It's a shame the janitor didn't complain to the head teacher straight away but then again maybe he felt it wouldn't be dealt with seriously? Cleaning (& yes I know that is not all that janitors do) is often thought of as a lowly task, but consider how much more inefficient & time consuming most work places would be if they were not cleaned, bins not emptied etc. The attitude that the kids at the school displayed didn't come out of thin air, everybody in their lives that has influence on them clearly didn't get the message through to them about not littering. All teaching staff, particularly the head, should be aware of what is happening in their school. I would find it hard to believe they have never witnessed the mess before the janitor has had a chance to clear it up. If the kids are not spoken to about it even in general terms then the message they are getting is that the school condones it. Unfortunately I have seen plenty of adults too who think that just because they are in a public building with hired cleaning staff that it is acceptable to leave the sort of mess in their wake that they would probably have an issue with if someone did likewise in their homes. Cleaners usually have more than enough work cleaning up unavoidable mess like the muck that can be trudged in on people's feet or accidental mess like a spillage. Deliberately or carelessly dropping litter & untidyness is a selfish waste of the cleaners time. I guess you can tell I feel strongly about this subject!

 

Should have got some pics on your phone and taken them to the school

I would say most of the littering is done by adults and from the windows of cars. The amount I pick up when dog walking is incredible.

I actually caught a guy the other week pulled over at the Graven turn off. As I was walking towards him I could see him collecting all his crap together to throw it out. So I just stood there with the dogs. He sat for a couple of minutes before driving away muttering and shaking his head. Probably threw it out further on though.

We went to the Dowry last Friday.

A very busy place. We booked a week in advance and still had to wait 30 minutes for our table.

The place is absolutely lovely inside.

The menu is eclectic with some very interesting dishes. There is a focus on Shetland seafood which was kind of wasted on us I am afraid.

We had a fantastic shared cold meat and cheese platter. Which although expensive has loads on it. Three different cold meats and Three different cheeses. Some lovely toasted bread and oatcakes and butter. Salad and a really interesting homemade pickle.

For mains the Wife had Lamb, which I hate to say was overcooked. I had an interesting dish which was Risotto wrapped in Filo pastry.

The mains don't come with accompaniments so have to be ordered separately. Although a portion of Garlic fried potatoes easily is enough for two.

Desert was a Ice cream and liquor dish which the wife loved.

All in all a great meal.

However I would like to see some Fish on the menu. I would have loved some grilled Mackerel or something. 

" Any coloured bags must have been a toon/urban thing for the 'recycling' they tried, and suddenly ditched as a result of cutbacks a few years back. They were never rolled out to everywhere......Can't mind hearing why......"

They were sort of rolled out under a voluntary scheme. You picked up the bags from the council offices filled them and then took them to the dump/Tesco yourself. They also sold you the seperate bins at cost price. I still have mine now and a supply of the bags.

Where it kind of fell down is that they very quickly realised if you were dropping something off in bags then somebody had to open the bags and dispose of them. So you had to take the stuff to the bin and then empty the bag into the bin.

Now I am getting a much wider range of recycling picked up at the door.

Started happening in Mossbank as well.

I can't understand it if you go to all the trouble of taking a bag, pick up the keek. Why would you just leave it lying?

One recently was only about 10 yards from a bin.

The CO-OP Cumberland sausages are surprisingly good.

The local butchers have been very hit and miss recently.

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/about-us/viewpoints/should-minimum-unit-pricing-be-introduced-in-the-uk/

A tale of two fry ups:

Went to Frankies last week for my weekly Fry up. It was very poor I am afraid and not a patch on its former glories. very fatty slobbery bacon ( Cold by the way. Cheap and horrible sausages. The Sassermeat had a peculiar sweet taste which was quite unpleasant. Finally the 1 egg was solid!

This week we tried the Moorfield hotel. I had never had breakfast here before so was interested to try it out. slightly more expensive than Frankies but a good portion size. The bacon and Black pudding were lovely and seemed of a good quality.There were Two eggs with lovely runny yokes. This breakfast also suffered from cheap sausages, I do wish they would get some local from a butchers. No sassermeat either which would be a nice addition. A lovely breakfast and great service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trouble is that now they have got away with  intruducing "Minimum Alcohol Pricing", they will push to make a can of lager £10 (or something equally silly) just the way they have done with tobacco because "it's for your own good"....

Minimum alcohol pricing was brought in by Holyrood. Changes in tobacco laws were made by Westminster, were they not?

 

Whoever brought in the "laws" is irrelevant.  My point was to illustrate the "method" used.

 

Tobacco prices rise at a silly rate every time there is a budget.  Look out for alcohol to do  the same.

 

 

 

You seem to have a misunderstanding about what minimum unit pricing actually is.

 

It's a tax on the less fortunate members of society who depend on "rocket fuel" to get through the day..  What's to misunderstand ?

 

As said you obviously have a complete misunderstanding about what it actually is and why it was brought in. Not a tax but a minimum price per unit of alcohol to try and prevent new alcohol abusers. Why don't you google it and educate yourself?

 

I know exactly why(?) it was brought in but, unlike you, I DO NOT believe most of the rubbish that comes out of Holyrood.

 

I still maintain that it is nothing more than a tax on the less fortunate. 

It will not prevent anyone from taking a drink. 

It will probably not prevent anyone drinking to excess.

It will "punish" anyone who becomes "hooked".

 

A far simpler (and more direct) action would have been to tell producers of "rocket fuel" type drinks that they can no longer sell them in Scotland. 

Affirmitive action as opposed to "taxing" users.

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/583047/alcohol_public_health_burden_evidence_review.pdf

" Nah, we're very well aware what it is, and we're not about to buy what the Govt. would like us to think it is from their propaganda."

Who do you speak for? or is this the Royal we? You obviously are not fully aware on what minimum unit pricing is judging by your comments.

" Its Govt. legislation that raises the retail price of certain alcoholic drinks above where they would be in a free market. Price fixing by any other name."

Yes that was the whole point. To stop very high alcohol drinks being sold cheaply.

" Who profits, and who loses? The end user loses through the increased cost they pay. Who gains? Everybody in the supply chain, which includes, guess who? Yup, the good old Govt. they tax the business profits of everyone in that supply chain, and receive VAT @ 17.5% on all sales.

Don't tell me the potential for an increase in tax revenue wasn't realised and factored in by those gray faces in stuffed suits, as I won't believe you."

You do realise that VAT is not devolved don't you? the Scottish Gov do get a percentage of VAT raised in Scotland but don't have any say in how this is raised yet. More likely that less is raised in VAT as most of these high alcohol drinks have been taken off the shelf. Which was the whole point.

" I don't buy it that cheap higher alcohol strength drinks act as a 'gateway' for the training up of brand new alkis, its a convenient red herring scapegoat, nothing more."

That is your ill informed opinion.

"Okay, so what if the raised price floor manages (arguably) to 'discourage' a handful of new alkis? Are you happy that everybody else has to pay through the nose for certain drinks to compensate for a very small minority who lack self control and/or don't have the ability to realise what they're doing to themselves. while at the same time lining even more the already well lined pockets of capitalists and Govt. coffers? I'm certainly not."

The vast majority of drinkers in Scotland already pay over the minimum unit cost and so are not affected. 

"I have no intention, or wish to take 'responsibility', either as an individual, or as part of any collective with others, for any other individual. Nobody is holding anyone's nose and pouring drink down their neck, how much alcohol anyone consumes is entirely down to their own choices and own hand, and its long past time that instead of all this endless annoying nanny state crap, the Govt. cultivated and encouraged the almost lost art of personal responsibility instead."

less alcoholism means less of a strain on society.

If there are too many off licences then surely natural selection would take effect and eventually the excess would go out of business?

 

 

 

 

Trouble is that now they have got away with  intruducing "Minimum Alcohol Pricing", they will push to make a can of lager £10 (or something equally silly) just the way they have done with tobacco because "it's for your own good"....

Minimum alcohol pricing was brought in by Holyrood. Changes in tobacco laws were made by Westminster, were they not?

 

Whoever brought in the "laws" is irrelevant.  My point was to illustrate the "method" used.

 

Tobacco prices rise at a silly rate every time there is a budget.  Look out for alcohol to do  the same.

 

 

 

You seem to have a misunderstanding about what minimum unit pricing actually is.

 

It's a tax on the less fortunate members of society who depend on "rocket fuel" to get through the day..  What's to misunderstand ?

 

As said you obviously have a complete misunderstanding about what it actually is and why it was brought in. Not a tax but a minimum price per unit of alcohol to try and prevent new alcohol abusers. Why don't you google it and educate yourself?

 

 

Trouble is that now they have got away with  intruducing "Minimum Alcohol Pricing", they will push to make a can of lager £10 (or something equally silly) just the way they have done with tobacco because "it's for your own good"....

Minimum alcohol pricing was brought in by Holyrood. Changes in tobacco laws were made by Westminster, were they not?

 

Whoever brought in the "laws" is irrelevant.  My point was to illustrate the "method" used.

 

Tobacco prices rise at a silly rate every time there is a budget.  Look out for alcohol to do  the same.

 

You seem to have a misunderstanding about what minimum unit pricing actually is.

We had a couple of meals at Fjara last week. Lovely place with great service. Free refills on your tea as well. The menu although limited was really nice, with a local twist. the steak was excellent!

I was also in the Peerie shop cafe on saturday. Lovely to sit outside and eat in the Sun. The food was really nice and much better than my previous visit.

Plenty of folk commute and even do it by public transport. Not sure what time you start and finish at but check the bus timetable and see if it fits in for you.

You can if you want.