How to Get Through The Tough Times The Old Style Way.

kitschy

jumblejack wrote: »

May I ask how much the wicks were please? I have loads of used church candle 'stubs' I could reuse.

Hi JumbleJack

I bought it from this ebay shop - and it cost £1.95 for 5 metres. Probably used half a metre today. Got the wick holder things (they're called sustainers apparently) from them too.

I put the bits in a plastic bag and smashed them up with the rolling pin, dug out the old wicks and metal sustainers and melted the wax in a bain-marie.

kitschy

bertiebots wrote: »

Do you use wick sustainers in your jars and what/how do you hold the wick straight. May sound like a stupid question:o but having had a quick look for info -it looks like you need a lot of equipment and I want to do this as cheaply as possible of course!:D
Thanks btw;)

I did use sustainers - popped a wee glue dot on the bottom and lowered it into the jar and used a knitting needle to prod it until it stayed firm. Then rested the needle over the jar and draped the wick over it. The only things I had to buy were the wick and sustainers - I looked at moulds and stuff but then it starts getting expensive.

Living_proof

I filled up my car with petrol today and worked out that the cost of even a Micra is almost 13p per mile. It used to be about 9p but has steadily risen.

I imagine that a lot of people will have to give up their cars as they become expensive to maintain, insure and run. It is worrying that over-zealous cuts might leave rural communities without a bus route altogether.

I have severely cut my mileage to curtail expense, but there is a limit - I work from home and really have to get out of these four walls a couple of times a week or cabin fever would set in. I am not keen on home delivery for food shopping as I enjoy looking at what is on offer but I fear a lot of older people could become almost housebound by using this facility, having their prescriptions delivered, etc.

Maybe if all the community had a free bus pass it would be used to capacity!

BitterAndTwisted

Honestly, you don't need to buy any special wicks. I use cotton string which I paid pennies for at B&Q. I'm often found making scented candles for pressies for friends. I have a pal who manages a bar, they use thick white candles on all their tables so go thorough loads in a week and she saves the stubs for me and I melt them down to make new ones. I use cheap tumblers as moulds which I either pick up from charity shops or buy from Adsa

kitschy

bertiebots wrote: »

Now that made me LOL! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

love the idea of making my own candles.. and they would make lovely gifts too. Something I have never tried so I am off to do a bit of research on the subject:D

Thanks for the kind words everyone x

I want to have a go at these teacup candles next to give as pressies - can pick up mismatched china at CB or CS for pence and I think they're lovely.

rachbc

kitschy wrote: »

I want to have a go at these teacup candles next to give as pressies - can pick up mismatched china at CB or CS for pence and I think they're lovely.

I have just today packed up one these for a pressie for a freind - so easy and so satisfying to make

ceridwen

'Tis (very) wrong that just at the time more people will be looking to use public transport that there will be cuts and fare increases. It really DID need to be used all along....

Howsomever - 'tis no use crying over spilt milk - and I think the time has come for more isolated communities to work out communal ways to "fill in any gaps" on their transport needs to get to/from nearby places.

Time maybe for bodies like local churches/W.I. groups/anyone who cares to start fixing up lift rotas to ensure that more remote communities are neither cut-off or die. These smaller communities in the countryside will be needed again soon - and people in them do need to get together now to work out how they are going to meet their transport needs. I do wish them all good luck with working out these communal ways to meet their transport needs.

kidcat

Trouble is ceridwen - the people offering the lifts cant afford to do so any more, my dads church have always offered lifts to the elderly and disabled but most of the volunteers have had to stop as they simply cannot afford the fuel, th e church tried paying fuel expenses for a while but costs have spiralled so far that its just not doable any more. My dad is able to claim his expenses back at a mileage rate for any church related work (he is the minister and does alot of miles to and from parishoners and hospitals etc) and when he started the figure set (set nationally) had been calculated to cover wear and tear etc on his car and the increased insurance etc, the figure has risen but nowhere near inline with petrol rises, now his mileage rate only just covers fuel.

*Maya*

Those tea cups are lovely. :T And well done Rachb for making one for your friend.
Gailey, sweetie, the thread closure had nothing to do with your post. You still sound worried and stressed so please take it easy. :A

Anyone here do a lot of ebaying? Have started packing up some of boyf's stuff today in readiness for him moving in here. There's no point duplicating stuff so I suppose ebay is the way to go.

How did your bootsale go JackieG?
Bertie, try not to worry. You are setting a fine example for your children.

ceridwen

kidcat wrote: »

Trouble is ceridwen - the people offering the lifts cant afford to do so any more, my dads church have always offered lifts to the elderly and disabled but most of the volunteers have had to stop as they simply cannot afford the fuel, th e church tried paying fuel expenses for a while but costs have spiralled so far that its just not doable any more. My dad is able to claim his expenses back at a mileage rate for any church related work (he is the minister and does alot of miles to and from parishoners and hospitals etc) and when he started the figure set (set nationally) had been calculated to cover wear and tear etc on his car and the increased insurance etc, the figure has risen but nowhere near inline with petrol rises, now his mileage rate only just covers fuel.

My thinking is along the lines of peeps who are getting lifts contributing a fair rate towards the cost of the cars making trips to bigger places (for shopping/social etc purposes).

So - say a remote little place was 20 miles from the nearest source of choice of shops/medical places/etc - then maybes the car-owner could work out what 25% of the cost of the return journey was and "charge" each passenger that 25% for any lift they shared maybe?

That would mean that any time a car-owner wanted a trip to the Big City/nearest town anyway - then they could maybe put up a notice on the church noticeboard/Internet/wherever else for anyone wishing to share the trip. With that - the carowner would cover 25% of their cost if they had 1 passenger, 50% if they had 2, 75% if they had 3. The ideal being, obviously, that the car-owner would have a full car and would only have to pay 25% themselves.

My thoughts are that this would help all parties concerned.

Would that be a "runner" do you think maybe?