As The Workhouse Approaches....How To Do Everything To Avoid It, the Old Style Way

Kimitatsu

modern_millie wrote: »

Ooh, lots of interesting posts today, really making me think.

Energy - think we need to be far more self sufficient as a nation, would prefer this to be green options (wish the govt would get on with this and stop dithering) but short term coal would be next best, I suppose. Greater incentives for solar panels, as Ceridwen suggests, would be good.


Thanks everyone for ideas, info and keeping me cheerful:D.

Personally I would love to see more green energy the biggest problem is that the technology to make them viable is not there yet. Did you know that wind turbines only have an upstream average of 20%? That means for 80% of the time they are inactive because it is either too windy or there is not enough wind. The government has only paid lip service to green energy so far, they have been paying electricity companies to switch the turbines off because they cannot accomodate any more energy on the grid!

Solar panels are coming on a pace but as Mardatha says they should be with the house not the owner. Many new houses have solar panels built in, but for older properties like mine you couldnt get panels on the roof because of the type of tile. We cant change the tiles because it would cost a fortune and then the council will complain because its not in keeping.

Nimbies dont want turbines in their back yards and there is evidence that the turbines are decimating the bat population (they send out the sonar it comes back as clear and by the time they get there the blade has turned) but they cannot be put out to sea because there is the issue of maintaining them. Apparently its not cost efficient to have a boat with a crane out there permenantly and shuttle engineers out as needed (I have looked at this a lot lol)

So far not an official drought - which suprises me to be honest! Whether thats because water companies dont want the flack about their appalling pipes losing water or not I dont know. Maybe I am just becoming cynical as well as grumpy (but still sane!) :rotfl::rotfl:

ceridwen

I dont know the position re maintaining wind turbines that are out at sea - I gather some are going to be - but I imagine that "whoever-it-is" that would be paying thinks that it would be too expensive to pay the Royal Family to "park our turbines" on our offshore land (ie because I think the Royals arranged to "own" the first 12 miles from our shore I believe it is). I do recall they've "done some deal" that they will do very well financially from us doing this...:cool:

i can sympathise with people not wanting them near their homes - because I've read various articles about JUST how noisy they are and I would do everything I could to stop this occurring anywhere near any home I had:eek:.

We do need the full range of solutions to our energy problem - and its "horses for courses" as to which particular "mix and match" of remedies will be suitable according to area of the country I guess...

Still wants my solar panels - and for them to belong to my house not myself.

Anyways...my own personal decisions have all been made:
- as many panels as possible on the roof
- heat pump
- mega insulation of house

So - its down personally to "Where does the money come from for it then?" because I certainly havent got it myself...

[Deleted User]

I just found this and it looks to be a really good find if you want (gardening) seeds. It has loads of excellent reviews and the prices are very cheap. Anyway it is in my favourites as from 5 minutes ago. I particularly like the sowing and harvesting calendars

http://www.vegetableseeds.net/

Uniscots97

mardatha wrote: »

Anybody know a good site for bulk seeds and grains that will deliver to Scotland ?
I am struggling to get the garden to do much, the OH didnt get round to digging the new bed i asked for, he not really well enough tbh. I need more !!
I wish I was a good cook, think there's a lot of knacks for making simple cheap things taste great that I don't know.
Well done to all the younger ladies in here who are getting stuck in to OS. It's really the only way to beat the system .

Hi Mardatha, is this any use?

http://www.cairnfoods.co.uk/scotland/wholesale_ambient_foods.html

they're based in Biggar and I can't remember if this is that far from you. Hope it helps

7_week_wonder

First - happy birthday saveabobortwo! I hope your nap has left you invigorated for whatever this evening has in store!

modern_millie wrote: »

Ooh, lots of interesting posts today, really making me think.

I couldn't agree more! All this talk about food prices increases has got me thinking and I'm going to try a few tweaks:

Switch from supermarket muesli to homemade Bircher muesli (aka porridge oats soaked overnight in apple juice/milk/water with added dried fruit or grated apple or whatever takes your fancy) I had it this morning and wondered why I hadn't switched earlier - it was yummy: and dirt cheap compared to silly supermarket prices.

Get a 500g bag of oats in my weekly food co-op delivery each week. That way they will slowly stock-pile ready for the winter. The co-op only charges 33p for 500g which I think is a good price.

Use more of the eggs from our hens: at the moment I probably give away more than I use. So frittata and home made wedges for tea tomorrow night!

They're just small changes, but hopefully I'll think of more.

greenbee

Wind turbines - offshore cost a huge amount to maintain, although obviously you get economies of scale with large farms. There are also a limited number of suitable vessels available to lease which proved a real issue when the farms off the norfolk and lincolnshire coasts were being developed.

Onshore - the noise thing is weird... You have to work it out based on the size and height of the turbine, but generally the worst place to be is a mile away (and I seem to remember that the planning regs protect schools from this low frequency noise, or maybe it's just a proposal).

Wildlife is an issue in some areas - bats and apparently migratory flocks of geese.

There are however business parks, factories and towns that have single or a few turbines to provide local energy needs and like other micro generation projects these seem to be popular. Local people have a stake in them which helps.

So maybe the solution is a combination of more micro generation (particularly in isolated areas where dealing with grid disruption is problematic) and a concerted effort to reduce energy consumption and waste?

scottishminnie

One of the things that I grudge paying ridiculous money for is Caster Sugar but I think it makes a much better job than ordinary granulated and for meringues it's the only option.

I'm sure I read somewhere that someone "ground" ordinary sugar in their mixer to make it fine but I can't find the post.

I have a Kitchenaid with various attachments but not a grinder - I do have a mortar and pestle but that would be a bit tedious.

Any suggestions from the wizards on here?

floss2

betony wrote: »

..... The payment went out today, leaving me £95 OVER my overdraft. So the bank will charge me £25.

Rant over!

Now, the point of this is HOW to I make him listen to me. He down-right refuses to sit down and discuss our finances and still over-buys at the supermarket when he does a top-up shop for milk etc. (I find it difficult to do this because of the mental health problem the government say I haven't got ) BTW, I usual do the bulk of the food shopping online.

Like I say, he IS lovely and usually so reasonable. Please, any suggestions would be soooo gratefully received!

Show him the statement with the DD date on, and show him the letter from the bank detailing the charge.

betony wrote: »

Thank for your good advice, Freudianslip, I'll try and nag him into doing as he's told . He is aware that prices are on the rise but the problem seems to be that until he met me 2 years ago he was living aone, with a reasonable income from being a driving instructor. Debt wasn't an issue to him.

I bet a tank of fuel went a lot further 2 years ago - is he starting to feel the pinch?

maryb

One possibility for green energy is using tidal energy from seabed turbines as opposed to tidal bores like the Severn. The tides are totally predictable and regular but they vary, obviously re timing and height. But it can all be part of the mix.

Christina_F

Does anyone know if you can freeze chopped onions?