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

EstherH

I like going to ikea for the free coffee. I'm surprised we haven't been banned for the amount of times we have been and had coffee but not spent anything. Just have a wander round the room sets, relax on the leather settees drinking coffee and home.

kidcat

Esther we live two minutes away from Ikea and I regularly call in just for the free coffee, in fact I have been known to go just to escape the house when everything is driving me crazy!! Luckily I know one of the staff so I can get away with it.

ceridwen

JediTeacher - sorry that your neighbour is still causing you grief and also affecting your health. Fingers crossed for both you and GreyQueen that the problem won't continue much longer ((( )))

GreyQueen - further thought on your good self - 'twas I that found that tip re the Victorians having used elder down mole runs to combat them - but I have no idea if it worked. I am assuming that when they say "green leaves of elder" that they mean ground elder - rather than the elder tree iyswim? Just think that - as it was something their professional gardeners for the local Big House did that chances are good that its effective. Would be interested to know your experiences with this when you've tried it please.

EDIT: googling round a bit - on natural methods of dealing with moles - and came across summat that says they dont like the smell of certain spices - so that would seem to confirm that its ground elder they object to (with the way it smells strongly of varnish).

Further quick google and I came to an American website re deterring "critters" of every description and under moles they mention using elderberry leaves - hmmm....so now wondering if that is what the Victorians used.

Well - thats your experiment for the weekend then - ground elder down one run and elderberry leaves down another I guess....

To me - I tend to think that elderberry leaves smell a bit of weak urine smell - so maybe moles have stronger "snifters" than we do (think they are supposed to arent they???) and that is the smell they object to...?

charlies-aunt

Looking further, it seems that the workhouse was the place that bones were crushed . . . "The Andover scandal of 1845-6 highlighted the hardship of the workhouse regime. McDougal, the Master of the Andover workhouse, had a reputation for inhumanity; rumours of excess cruelty eventually led to a public enquiry. Bone crushing was a normal occupation for paupers. The bones of horses, dogs and other animals (and there were hints that some from local graveyards) were crushed for fertiliser for local farms. The paupers were so hungry that they scrambled for the rotting bones" :eek::eek:

So much for the good old days! Lets hope as the workhouse approaches . . . . it does so very, very slowly!

Still no rain despite black skies all day but OH still at work so allotment will have to take its chance. Discovered last night that the ruddy wood pigeons had pecked poor little cabbage plants to bits :mad:

Pazu

Mardatha I think I have sent you a pm.

hornetgirl

Maryb, love the idea of your mean May. I do a frugal February each year.

I was fascinated by the extreme couponing programme, I think I have severe coupon envy. I didn't get why they had to buy quite so much of everything though. Presumably they don't do that every week, or they wouldn't be able to get through the front door for all the stuff they'd have stockpiled. I'd be happy to get £50 of shopping for £5, never mind the $1000 or whatever it was lol.

littlecal

Wow!!!!! no rain yet,but the most incredible lightning:eek::eek::eek:

sorry,I'm on my own and just HAD to share that!:D:D

EstherH

Kidkat, it's a good place to go to escape the house for a bit. Mind you, I have never been at weekend or bank holiday, I hear it's murder then.

JillS_2

hornetgirl wrote: »

Maryb, love the idea of your mean May. I do a frugal February each year.

I was fascinated by the extreme couponing programme, I think I have severe coupon envy. I didn't get why they had to buy quite so much of everything though. Presumably they don't do that every week, or they wouldn't be able to get through the front door for all the stuff they'd have stockpiled. I'd be happy to get £50 of shopping for £5, never mind the $1000 or whatever it was lol.

I share your fascination.

I think there are a couple of reasons why they bought so many things. First, it looks as though the program makers asked them to make their shop as extreme as possible - I think all of the people I saw commented that it was the biggest shop they had done.

Secondly, some of the items they were buying wereactually making
them money, i.e. they were being credited by the till with money that offset the cost of the items for which they didn't get such a good bargain. They made this money through a combination of double coupon days, special offers, BOGOFs, etc., and probably even, in at least one case, coupon fraud. So it didn't matter to them that they were buying massive quantities - they could use them, sell them, store them, give them away to friends, family or charity, or even bin them.

purpleheather2810

flowertotmum wrote: »

Mrs wive..thats a great quote..and its true i was soo happy when i found this place..sometimes it takes something small to make a vast difference..i feel so out of step with other mums at school..they think i'm mental because i bake things and sew things..when i could buy it like they do..not on your nelly..if i can make it ,bake it,sew it then i will..and be LMAO all the way to debt freedom...
love
ftm

Yes I feel the same ftm, way out of step with most of the other mums - although occasionally, if the wind is blowing the right way, you'll hear whisperings like "Aldi super 6" or "growing herbs" (!)