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Prepping for Brexit thread

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  • I just did a little google experiment - 400g tinned tomatoes £0.01 to £0.50

    also Morrisons M Savers (chopped) 28p
    then a load of options at 30p / 35p etc upwards

    Why am I in this handcart and where are we going ?
  • If you like your prepping illustrated, have a look at the Tokyo Disaster Preparedness in English still with illustrations here
    The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has compiled a manual called “Disaster Preparedness Tokyo” (Tokyo Bousai*) to help households get fully prepared for an earthquake directly hitting Tokyo and other various disasters.
    “Disaster Preparedness Tokyo” is tailored to the various local features of Tokyo, its urban structure, and the lifestyles of its residents, and contains easy-to-understand information on how to prepare for and respond to a disaster.This information will be useful now and in the event of an emergency. *“Bousai” is Japanese for “disaster preparedness”

    It's not difficult and, while it is culturally on a different wavelength, I hadn't appreciated how many risks there are in Tokyo from the the familiar disease to hurricanes, volcanoes & earthquakes.

    Nor had I realised just how much thought has been put in as a result of assorted nasty surprises - planned “disaster prevention parks.” with gas cooking easily configured & straight to sewage plumbing, strike me as admirable beyond words.

    If nothing else, have a look through the pictures for how to make a knapsack from a pair of trousers.
  • AndyCF
    AndyCF Posts: 748
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    I just did a little google experiment - 400g tinned tomatoes £0.01 to £0.50

    also Morrisons M Savers (chopped) 28p
    then a load of options at 30p / 35p etc upwards
    Not intended as ad/plug but I've generally found (apart from some peas but it might of been a one-off) Mor's tinned veggie bits to be quite decent quality wise, compared to erm 'elsewhere' at least. Sadly there's not one within a sane distance of me at the moment. :)
  • maryb wrote: »
    Always a good idea to have alternative arrangements for power cuts especially now we seem to have such a high proportion of our generation coming from renewables. When you get very cold weather it's quite often very still as well so not much wind generation. However I'm not aware that Brexit per se would increase the risk of power cuts. But I suppose any additional disruption from Brexit at the time of a power cut would generally add to the misery

    Last time I looked it appeared we're self sufficient in electricity production, although there's been talk of issues with EU interconnectors, plus seasonal fluctuation with renewables as you say. The other thing is the recent Yellowhammer summary which predicts "significant" ND electricity price rises but doesn't explain why. No mention of gas either, which you'd expect to £rise more as we import quite a lot. H'm.

    Anyways it can't hurt to try and cut energy consumption where possible. Bout time I replaced those old school bulbs! The forums here mention gas boilers as another electricity culprit, esp when actively running, so I've been looking at improving radiator efficiency so I can turn the thermostat down a bit. Found a 2nd hand booster fan on ebay which seems pretty good, handy for drying things quickly mmm toasty socks, nice :) Also wondering about radiator foil - has anyone tried it and does it make a difference?

    Worth checking if your phone or tablet has an energy saving setting too. For apple it's low power mode, and can be found in settings>battery (or ask siri). For normal use, it just clicks to standby more quickly, but the main advantage is how fast it charges even from very low battery, and then how long it lasts once it's done, quite an eye opener!
  • AndyCF wrote: »
    Not intended as ad/plug but I've generally found (apart from some peas but it might of been a one-off) Mor's tinned veggie bits to be quite decent quality wise, compared to erm 'elsewhere' at least. Sadly there's not one within a sane distance of me at the moment. :)

    Yup - Morrison seems to be the cheapest own brand, Tesco's cheapest own brand was 35p if memory serves, compared to the bought in/third party stuff for 28p

    Why am I in this handcart and where are we going ?
  • Murphybear
    Murphybear Posts: 7,256
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    Primrose wrote: »
    Out of date yeast can certainly ruin your home made bread! We use an automatic bread maker and the loaf turned out as solid as a brick with old yeast but for all other items I,d use the visual and sniff test.

    We,ve had back of the freezer items that have still been ok three years after storing but their quality does deteriorate with freezer burn and if you want to enjoy you're food its obviously best to eat it whilst still in prime condition.

    We try to keep a freezer inventory now and menu plan to use up stuff in rotation but that doesn't always cover of the cupboard items which only get used occasionally or remain hidden out of sight. Running a full store cupboard is handy especially in illness or bad weather but you do have to be disciplined about storing the newest stuff at the backand with most of us time challenged, that'snot always a discipline which is practiced.

    So,sniff and taste I say, and don't frightened to throw away if you're uncertain.

    2 years ago we got rid of our ancient chest freezer and bought a big upright one, more efficient and easier to use. I couldn’t believe some of the things we found lurking at the bottom. Lots of bits of “mystery meat” that OH didn’t mark or date and a home made curry at least 5 years old. We defrosted it and it didn’t seem off so we reheated it thoroughly, slathered it with home made mango chutney and it was delicious :D. Even the cat liked it (apart from the home made chutney) and all 3 of us lived to tell the tale.

    Actually the mystery meat might have been goat, a local butcher got some in for a regular customer who changed his mind and OH bought it all for virtually half price. Looks like goat curry’s on the menu
  • AndyCF
    AndyCF Posts: 748
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    Murphybear wrote: »
    2 years ago we got rid of our ancient chest freezer and bought a big upright one, more efficient and easier to use.
    One of my relatives, she needed a new replacement fridge/freezer and elected to buy two of the normal 'under counter' units, obviously 1x fridge and 1x freezer. :D , but she then had them stacked (with appropriate bracket/support made from what I gather - not seen it for ages now) as she wanted the freezer at the top and the combi ones she looked at had it at the bottom.

    The main reason for this though she said was if the combi fridge/freezer goes, you lose the lot, this way I only have to ever replace one. I can see the logic in that, plus it means the temp control is a bit better too as you're not at the erm 'mercy' of the temp of either one unit or the other. :)
    Murphybear wrote: »
    Even the cat liked it (apart from the home made chutney) and all 3 of us lived to tell the tale.
    Usually OK as you know! I have read in a few reviews if the animals are not interested assuming its not scented or contains something they would not eat, then be very wary. I do recall a certain tin of hot dogs a review for it and it said they were disgusting or similar and "their dogs would not touch them either" , a good warning sign!
    Murphybear wrote: »
    Actually the mystery meat might have been goat, a local butcher got some in for a regular customer who changed his mind and OH bought it all for virtually half price. Looks like goat curry’s on the menu
    Our local butcher now closed had been there in the same place since the early 70's , he was brilliant. Occasionally would have 'not regular' meats in or if you asked he would get for you. So if you wanted a bit of goat perhaps rabbit ( ! ) or something he could get it. I remember one year I wanted some turkey sausages and he made some. :)

    Used to 'shop bake' lovely but slightly expensive sausage rolls and 'meat pasty' too. You could really tell the difference as they were made with decent, real sausage meat, a huge contrast to cheaper supermarket offerings.

    Lovely little shop and super chap too, shame he eventually retired but he was in his mid 70's at that point I think. I can recall many an occasion where I'd go in and buy two or three sausage rolls and then say something like "I've got "£2 change left can I get a few slices of cooked ham/chicken" , he was always really kind about that and would slice it off and weigh it, and you'd usually end up with it being like 20-50pence 'over' but he'd say "oh its near enough, you're a regular customer" :) Service/quality was always 100% , I've yet to find another even close to this. Shame one of his long term staff did not take it over, one had been there since as long as I could remember so 20+ years, the other about 5 years.
  • euronorris
    euronorris Posts: 12,247
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    gfplux wrote: »
    What size tins?



    Standard 400g tins. Most supermarkets stock a basic brand at 28p a tin. I think I have some morrisons basic range in at the moment, bought at that price: https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/product/M-savers-Chopped-Tomatoes-in-Tomato-Juice/207703011?from=search&param=tinned%20tomatoes


    Though, luckily for me, my home grown tomato bounty is finally coming in, so will be using some homegrown ones soon :)
    February wins: Theatre tickets
  • euronorris
    euronorris Posts: 12,247
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    Yup - Morrison seems to be the cheapest own brand, Tesco's cheapest own brand was 35p if memory serves, compared to the bought in/third party stuff for 28p



    'Growers Harvest' is available at Tesco's for 28p a tin. IF they have it in stock. Lidl and Aldi certainly do tinned tomatoes at 28p. Sainsbo's slightly more expensive at 30p a tin. Asda Smart Price at 28p a tin.


    The Morrisons ones are certainly OK. Used a couple tins on Monday night for a batch of spag bol. Was yummy!
    February wins: Theatre tickets
  • AndyCF
    AndyCF Posts: 748
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    edited 18 September 2019 at 10:30AM
    Yup - Morrison seems to be the cheapest own brand, Tesco's cheapest own brand was 35p if memory serves, compared to the bought in/third party stuff for 28p
    euronorris wrote: »
    'Growers Harvest' is available at Tesco's for 28p a tin. IF they have it in stock. Lidl and Aldi certainly do tinned tomatoes at 28p. Sainsbo's slightly more expensive at 30p a tin. Asda Smart Price at 28p a tin.


    The Morrisons ones are certainly OK. Used a couple tins on Monday night for a batch of spag bol. Was yummy!

    To both @unrecordings and @euronorris:

    I did see the 'Harvest' ones but I think I called them an 'unknown brand' as I'd not seen them before. Generally in my own experience Morr's tin veg is reasonable quality (price is sensible too) compared to a couple of other supermarkets at least.

    My only -real- complaint it is almost impossible for me to get there, :rotfl: it would be two expensive buses (plus a walk) or even more for a taxi. I considered walking then taking a taxi back but I did not really fancy an hour+half walk then shopping! Maybe I will at some point but likely next year not this. I used to have online shop shop from them about once every 6 weeks or so (I did bag a free delivery thing at one point, the "not peak times/days" one!) but as its 40 min its a bit too much really these days sadly. Next online (if there is one) will have to be As's simply as its 25. Realise there's a couple of £ to put on for delivery but even at 30 its less that 40+ :)

    @PN (or others if interested too obviously!) if you see this, their 'own brand' saus rolls (chilled ones) and their chilled 'put in oven or something) small pies (steak one or chicken/veg one) are both sensible cost and really nice usually. Saus rolls I'd rate quite highly especially. The 'mini' ones seem slightly better for some reason! But that might be me.

    Regarding the tinned Tomato's: I think you might find out that those 'growers' tins are made by a well known manufacturer in the end along with various own branded supermarket items. I looked at some cheap sardines in oil the other week by an unknown brand (I can't even remember what it was called now!) but they were almost half the price of the well known 'P' brand. The tin was a fraction smaller and plain rather than painted too. I did a little research and it seemed they both appeared to come out of the same factory... :)

    You could say similar for Walk's vs Smithy crisps I suppose. They do taste differently but I'm convinced this is either due to slightly different cooking oil or perhaps more likely different temps / times being cooked, rather than a different grade of potato being used. Same addy too , check the packs ;):D

    On topic I suppose if you see an unknown brand and are not sure if to risk it or not, leave it and make a note of the manufacturer's name and address (usually there's a complaint/feedback one) , no need for a good memory the "pack name" and the "city" is usually enough. Then go check online later ;) Its quite likely you may find its actually a 'well known brand' just packed differently.
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