It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

wigglebeena

mardatha wrote: »

When I moved down here the 80s depression was on & there was no work at all. Local towns were all woollen mills and all on short time. Shops were paying off and there was nothing else for miles.
I got a wee Yamaha m/c and took cleaning jobs in farmhouses --these poor ladies were run off their feet and found it hard to get help. I really enjoyed those days, cups of tea, nice people to talk to, learning about how farms worked, and zonking over all the remote empty wee country roads. In winter the snow would be piled high each side of the road & I would be thinking why didnt I get a nice cosy inside job!! and in thick fog the sheep would jump out in front of me, the same colour as the fog, and I'd get to practice my emergency stops... it was great fun while it lasted. But I eventually found a night shift full time job.
So what I think (!!) I'm trying to say is dont be fixed in your thinking ...try things you might not have considered in normal times, just whatever you can to get by.

I'm thankful now that my crafting activities led me to register as self-employed a while back now. With my current 'interesting' employment situation, I'm running through my skillset for any services or products I can offer. If I wasn't already familiar with the paperwork and hadn't already jumped through all the hoops, it would be much more daunting to be considering the same things. As it is, I feel much more that my destiny is in my own hands, rather than being reliant on any PAYE vacancies I can try for or agencies that will take me on.

mardatha

Not sure if this is the right thread but I found this bbc People's War website today and have been engrossed for hours --this is the page of stories re rationing, but the whole site is amazing. From keeping hens to gardening to make do and mending.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/categories/c1168/

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

Thanks for that Mardatha,it looks great.I'm always interested in stuff like this.

jenster

is it me or have toms suddenly shot up in price ?

is there a shortage then or somthing

even Value tin toms used to be 18p a tin now over 30p


must grow me own this year i think

katholicos

i agree. A few weeks ago i was in Morrissons and i saw a sign that read, 'Half price tinned tomatoes'...it was for a pack of 4, and at half price they were still £1.99. (they were Napolina though)

Phoolgrrrl

Yea I noticed this as well. Tesco value now 33p. And mince has nearly doubled since last year. Spag bol is more expensive now! Is it tom plantin time?

nesssie1702

Yep, tinned tomatoes have definitely shot up. I normally by a case (12) from Lidl when I'm on the mainland and used to pay less than 20p. When I was away in December, the cheapest they had was 33p a tin :eek:

Fresh tomatoes are the same, but then, they're not really in season just now

mummysaver

Good morning!

Hi Caterina - sometimes it's nice just not to touch a computer sometimes, even though I wouldn't want to be without mine, I do find that sometimes I just seem to lose time surfing for absolutely nothing!

Mardatha - thanks for the linky, have bookmarked it for a read with a cuppa, and prob a nice hobnob if there are any left!

NannaC - loving the thought of the 3 snorers! Did you have your camera handy?! lol!

It was icy when I drove back from work early this morning, -6c in the next village to ours, but a stunningly warm -4c here! Seems to have warmed up somewhat now though. I did leave the heating on very low overnight, can't believe that it uses a lot more gas than having to heat the house from freezing, and it's bound to be cheaper than dealing with burst pipes!

We're all desperate to get back to our proper frugal style diet! Funny how treat foods cease to become a treat when you have too much of them! Even dd1 who thinks ready meals are brilliant is fed up and wants some nice simple food - not that she has actually been having ready meals you understand, other than the hm variety, just that like most people our diet has been full of Christmas treats! So I have bunged carrots, pots, beans, pulses, toms, herbs and a good dollop of harissa plus some stock in the slow cooker, will make a nice filling warming dinner served with couscous, will add extra harissa to ds and my portions - looking forward to it already! The kids love the sc, cos it makes the house smell lovely when the come home from school! I can remember reading a post somewhere on OS about a lady who remember the smells from her mum's kitchen, and how the other children in the street would follow the smell in at mealtimes!

Anyway we're all back to normal here now, heating turned right down low, still on as I'm at home all day today and would like to be warm enough to get to sleep! Just about to do a storecupboard/freezer mealplan, then we can use up some of the stuff and save some pennies as well! Will prob need more veggies before payday, but am trying to work out what we use a lot and fiddle with the raised bed planting plan accordingly! I have decided that you can't have enough runner beans - have finally run out of them, was looking in the freezer and it seems the summer glut has been used! Please can someone remind me of this when I'm moaning in the summer that all I have eaten for weeks is runner beans lol!

It feels like everyone is talking about growing fruit and veg at the mo, another sign that times are harder I think! Still, the stuff I've grown has usually done really well and always tastes lovely, I shall be lurking on the greenfingered board for tips though, any ideas from anyone here would be more than welcome. Apparently the RHS did a trial that showed you could provide a family of four's veg from raised beds, can't remember how many though and would like some instructions, so will be hunting on their website as well! I'm probably preaching to the converted on here, but if anyone hasn't tried growing things then give it a go, even a few salad leaves on the window sill saves lots of money, and means that you never find soggy brown leaves in the bottom of the fridge!

What do you all grow and find most productive and useful?

mommyof4

Mardatha, thanks from me too. Find things like that very interesting.

mummysaver

I noticed this, even tom puree shot up in price for a while! Beans are way more expensive now too, is this cos they have tom sauce in them? Does anyone know why tomatoes have suddenly got so much more expensive, after all Mr T's value toms went from 21p to 33p, a pretty big price hike!