a month without supermarket - new challenge for 2011 starts at post 1013

Penelope_Penguin

Hi! Just heard on the radio that a journalist is following your example, and giving up supermarkets for Lent! Read the article here.

Kscour - you live very near my sister! I'll take a look at Narbeth with different eyes next time I'm down.

Penny. x

kscour

Hi Penny
Don't forget to have a good drool in No. 47!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

kimnhol wrote:

For the pet lovers among us i have talked to a local wood shop who will now provide my rabbits shavings for free. :T

I shred our paper which also provides them with bedding.

On visiting the market I got a whole bag full of greens for the rabbits for free and the butcher sells huge bags of bones for the dogs for a chariety donation of 20p. :j

i get my bones for the dog from the butchers as well.....it also saves on the pet food bill... as i find if he munches on free bones.... he doesnt eat sooooo much dog food....

watch out with the shavings as there might be some splintered bits of wood in there..... and also be carefull as some wood will be treated with stuff......

read the link..... cool.....i think the bbc programmes on last week and the one on today ( cant remember what chanel is 3 or 4 ) is highlighting to to the public.....

i must admit i was a bit cold turkey yesturday...as i had a load of h&b vouchers for tescos and the use by date was yesterday... but i was strong....:T i didnt go:j ...so one temptation out of the way.....

i have also found without all the junk food in the cupboard. that i used to buy like choc snack bars.. crisps.... loads of biscs... etc... my youngest one..listens more.....and doesnt fly off the handle ......i was one of these people who could never stick to a list......would make a list with all good intentions....and yest i would buy the things on the list.....AND MORE ...:eek: ..... with 2 weeks in..i can see that this type of shopping is suiting our family.....in more ways than one....

yes there are some areas that i need to sort out.... but i feel as though....in 2 weeks of not really depriving.....or going over a budget.......we have done well...........

li_me........i can see your point if you are going to cut out the supermarkets you might as well by all local produce......what would i do without bananas...:eek:
and my flour:eek: and my sugar:eek: and tea bags:eek:

my aim is to get my grocery shopping money away from supermarkets... mainly tescso.... as i see them as the main one.....and get my money into local independant traders or small internet mail order firms.....

we had a pet shop for 5 years....... and we know how hard it is.... after the shop shut.... we would have been paying back the debt for 10 years......but now its got too much we have remortgaged.......

everybody seems to think if you got your own business you are rolling in money...... when in reality... a lot of small businesses and rolling in debt.....and are in a catch 22.......they owe too much or got too much tied up in the business so they got to keep on going...... i have allways said small businesses are working for the taxman and the bank.....

kscour

Welsh perspective (from western mail) on despatches program on channel 4 tonight

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_headline=tesco-stranglehold-could-be-loosened%2D-supermarket-land-bank-figures-show%26method=full%26objectid=18643403%26siteid=50082-name_page.html

"Last night, a Tesco spokesman refused to confirm the figures or say how much land the company owned which it had not yet developed. He said the company disliked the tag "dominant"."

I wonder what tag they'd rather? I can think of one or two:D

COOLTRIKERCHICK

with tescos they done a sweetner for the local council by doing a new foot bridge linking the new school to a large housing estate on theop side of the bypass....

we tried stopping the development on the grounds it was out of town.. as it is on the bypass road just outside the village...... as the government had a pper saying that out of town delvelopments are not good for local villages etc.........really strange that the local coucil said the store is classed as in the village when you got to go out of the village onto the bypass.... pluss the village name sign..... in in between tescos and the village..... ..............there was also suposed to be other outlets there.... for independant traders....... strangely enough they are not there..... no been build.. and the original plan was you had to drive passed these independant outlets to get to tescos....... but when it was build... the first thing you come to is tescos.......so if they ever build other units they are behind tescos out of view.........strange how thaqt happened.....

ksour..do you live anywhere near stackpole ? i was down there a few years ago.. to a bike rally.....loads of trouble... so there was never another one after that....

kscour

I've heard Tescos do alot of that kind of thing sweetner/blackmail! The more I've read the more shocked I've been.

I'm about 12 mile or so from Stackpole (it's the other side of Pembroke to us) go swimming in the lovely heated pool in the centre there though sometimes - its absolute bliss!
Never heard of any trouble at a bike rally though, although to be honest the whole area is a mine of traditional village gossip eg front page today - chip wrapping tomorrow. If it happened more than 12 months ago its long since forgotten!
Quite a few bikes down here and you quite often find groups of bikers making a weekend of it, last offical organized get together was the toy collection at christmas for the childrens ward - big softies do it every year:A

little_miss_thrifty

Just got back from a local farm shop - bought £40 worth of food that won't be going in Tesco's pocket, or any of the others at that! I've got enough meat for 2 weeks, odd veg, milk, jam and eggs.
Thanks to this thread, i also looked into Big Barn, which then gave me a map of other local farm shops/independents all within 5 miles of me that i was unaware of!
We have a small family business which has been going for nearly 52 years (grandfather originally started it off) so my new years resolution is to source indepentants for everything if possible.

x x

P.S. Can i have a rebel number!?

COOLTRIKERCHICK

hi.. little miss thrifty...... how you doing.. you are rebel no 3......

did you feel that your money was well spend? also did you find some things cheaper than in the supermarket ?
its allway nice to know......also i know its loads of questions... but what the family business ? ......

also dont forget channe 4 tonight at 8pm....... dispatches is about tescos:mad:

little_miss_thrifty

Hi CTC, yes money well spent; maybe not cheaper, but i prefer the quality for my family and knowing where it has come from.
Our business is a garage - mot's, servicing, petrol etc, not the most environmentally friendly i know but the farmer is a customer of ours, so in turn we support him; have done since he started selling just eggs, potatoes, carrots and meat from a barn about 7 years ago.
I shall watch the programme mentioned tonight - i am also currently reading a book at the mo about supermarkets and their practises "NOT ON THE LABEL" by Felicity Lawrence. Has anyone read it? Quite an eye opener!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

hi.. read this book a few years ago:eek: :eek: :eek:

after reading the book.... it took me 3 hours to do my shopping ( in the supermarket ) and i came out with practically nothing....as a lot of the things i used to buy was mentioned in the book.......

its a type of book you keep and read it every few years.... just to keep you forcused on what really goes on in the food industry.....

havent eat hot dog sausages since...
just came back from the baker's for my bread.. which now i have put a standing order in every day....and found out they sell milk..... so will pick up milk everyday now when i get my bread.....