The Lemon Fool

Various people I know are already buying in emergency supplies in case of a no deal Brexit.

What single item would you stock up and why?

I personally cannot think of anything I need to buy for this reason.

Coffee.

Why? I’m addicted.

When deciding what to stock up prior to Brexit, remember that you're going to have to eat it.

This tweet was posted by the Very British Problems people the last time it snowed.

Watis

BusyBumbleBee wrote:Various people I know are already buying in emergency supplies in case of a no deal Brexit.

What single item would you stock up and why?

I personally cannot think of anything I need to buy for this reason.

We've increased our standby stocks of coffee and tea, so we currently have nearly a year's supply of each, but they were both on offer at the time.

Toilet paper is a possibility of supply problems as most of the wood used to make it is farmed in Sweden, or so I'm told.

The price of butter has gone up recently, but I'd increased my stocks of that before the price rise. It freezes very well.

Slarti

Most foods have substitutes, but bog roll doesn't, even if it won't kill you. Lack of medicines will, but you can't control that.

I've bought extra tinned soup, fish pasta and washing powder. They will all get consumed in good time. Planning to boost stocks of 6 month expiry things next

I'm not stocking up more than usual because I normally keep a decent supply of food in the house. Living in the countryside incentivises you to keep a decent supply of food to hand as a matter of course. When you're snowed in or the roads are blocked by floods it's good to know that you don't need to go to the supermarket for a month or two. If there are any problems they will appear in the spring when I don't expect any serious weather events.

I recommend non-perishables (rice, tinned food, chocolate, biscuits) which are kept in a cool place. I have a ridiculous amount of Cadbury's Dairy Milk in the house and it's not just because I'm a shareholder! The trick is to stock up on things that you would normally consume anyway. So if you don't like Spam it's probably not a good idea to have a dozen tins in the larder as I do. Maybe try corned beef instead!

Tins last for ages, so you can consider the best by dates on them to be guidelines, much like the Pirate Code in Pirates of the Caribbean, unless they contain acidic foods (e.g. grapefruit) as these react with the inside of the tin over a few years. People have safely eaten from tins over a century old left by Antarctic explorers and in sunken ships.

I second the recommendation of toilet paper. And coffee (learn to drink it without milk). I normally keep three months supply of both. Also keep a decent supply of plasters, bandages and over-the-counter medicines such as Immodium, Nurofen and paracetamol. And TCP.

Watis wrote:When deciding what to stock up prior to Brexit, remember that you're going to have to eat it.

Eat it? I suppose that rules out coffee and tea, then? (Neither of which originates from the EU. That's politics for you, then.)

Actually I was planning to order a couple of cases of Burgundy.

BJ

I'm stocking up on cat food. I have four feline residents and their wishes must be obeyed at all times. I'm a veggie with my own likes and dislikes in food but I could manage for quite a while on such basics as pulses and rice and, if really desperate for fresh stuff, such things as young dandelion leaves and similar. The cats cannot be similarly appeased (and their nutritional needs are more specific) so I'll be stocking up on cat food as a primary goal and human food only once I've achieved this.

Lynn

SalvorHardin wrote:Tins last for ages, ... unless they contain acidic foods (e.g. grapefruit) as these react with the inside of the tin over a few years.

They shouldn't react. The inside of modern "tins" contains a coating to prevent the contents attacking the can. Usually plastic or stainless these days. Or still very occasionally a microscopic layer of tin. If the can is dented, this might damage this inner coating, allowing the contents to attack the mild steel body of the can, and greatly shortening the shelf life. That's why you shouldn't stockpile dented cans. But an undamaged can should last many years, regardless of the contents.

Gryff

I would have thought it worthwhile to check the origin of stuff. It it's UK or outside the EU, why would there be any problems? It's where it comes from the EU and there are no natural stockpiles in the UK that there might be problems. So if you have a liking for European products from Aldi or Lidl, they might be worth stocking up on.

I started the topic just get a discussion moving and really expecting someone to point out to me that this was Living Below Your Means board and that 'stocking up' inevitably leads to much increased waste (?Spam in a cupboard?) which we are always against - particularly food waste.

Coffee seems to be top of the list and yet as far as I know none is grown in the EU. Gin seemed popular but it is a peculiarly English product - used to be called London Gin indeed. Chocolate and cat food were popular but we could all do with less chocolate! and as for cats - they are banned on my place cos they take too many birds - including my ducklings.

Now dog food could be a problem - but mine are all labradors and eat anything including "profiteroles" which I have never been able to eat since someone pointed out the similarity of a pile of horse droppings to a serving of them. Guess whch variety the dogs eat.

Now that leaves us really with only bog roll : in my youth when we ran out, a copy of the then "News Chronicle" was put in the loo and we were expected to tear bits off, crumple them and then use that - most uncomfortable - and much as I dislike the bullying tactics of the EU negotiator and their extremly shoddy treatment of Ireland because they are not part of the mainland I would agree with that choice except for the fact that I have moved over to a product made from bamboo in China. It has been whimsically named 'Cheeky Panda' and is superb. Google it and see what it is - and how it uses parts of the plant that have no other use.

Living in the country with the nearest Supermarket 13 miles away we tend to keep stocks of everything anyway - probably six months or more always mostly bought when they were on offer. Bags of potatoes, Beef, Lamb, Pork we buy directy off the farm and I could buy milk that way as well. Vegetables and fruit (and thus jam) can also be bought at the farm gate as can eggs. Marmalade o course is made from Seville oranges but no more will be available from Spain until next January so not a problem (particulary as we are probably the only country that buys them. Fish I could go the port and buy direct - but the other half is addicted to fish fingers and I dare not let the stock of that item fall Brexit or no Brexit.

However I am tempted to use Brexit as a excuse to stockpile Ribs of Beef and great slabs of Brisket - but the other half said no!


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BusyBumbleBee wrote:Coffee seems to be top of the list and yet as far as I know none is grown in the EU.

I answered your What single item would you stock up and why? with coffee but it still needs to get to the UK! Not that we are going to stockpile anything more than we usually have in reserve (perhaps a couple of weeks' worth).

Now that leaves us really with only bog roll

There's a thread at Beerpig's which provides some further alternatives viewtopic.php?f=29&t=15685

As well as your ducklings, do you have any geese?

I don't think anyone over there mentioned streams or bidets. I'm assuming we'll still have plenty of water available. If not, I may as well give up on the coffee musings.

My coffee of choice comes from Italy. Not originally, of course.

Scott.

We may have to rely on Cornish coffee:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/7170479.stm

PinkDalek wrote:As well as your ducklings, do you have any geese?

Wot? Just after Christmas - No!

I'm assuming we'll still have plenty of water available

It's called rain.

BusyBumbleBee wrote:It's called rain.

Precisely. Snow was also an option in the other thread, as well as rocks.

Alaric wrote:I would have thought it worthwhile to check the origin of stuff. It it's UK or outside the EU, why would there be any problems? It's where it comes from the EU and there are no natural stockpiles in the UK that there might be problems. So if you have a liking for European products from Aldi or Lidl, they might be worth stocking up on.

Even if things come from outside the EU there could be problems with congestion at the ports if all of the EU goods suddenly have to pass through customs where they didn't before.

Slarti

Slarti wrote:Even if things come from outside the EU there could be problems with congestion at the ports if all of the EU goods suddenly have to pass through customs where they didn't before.Slarti

BUT they could well use ports other than what will be the congested channel ports. Bananas mostly come in to Portsmouth for example and don't forget Liverpool.

"The Port of Liverpool is one of the busiest container ports in Britain and Northern Europe, handling almost 700 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo per year. Its main trade partner at this time is North America, but its trade relationships are growing with ports in China, India, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, and South America. The Port of Liverpool leads United Kingdom ports in the import of grain and animal feeds and in the export of recycled metal. It is also the main port handling freight movements between Ireland and Britain." extracted from http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/co ... ool_86.php

BusyBumbleBee wrote:Now dog food could be a problem - but mine are all labradors and eat anything including "profiteroles" which I have never been able to eat since someone pointed out the similarity of a pile of horse droppings to a serving of them.

I would be careful about giving dogs profiteroles as they are coated with chocolate which is not good for dogs.

Regards, Puffster

midnightcatprowl wrote:I'm stocking up on cat food. I have four feline residents and their wishes must be obeyed at all times. I'm a veggie with my own likes and dislikes in food but I could manage for quite a while on such basics as pulses and rice and, if really desperate for fresh stuff, such things as young dandelion leaves and similar. The cats cannot be similarly appeased (and their nutritional needs are more specific) so I'll be stocking up on cat food as a primary goal and human food only once I've achieved this.

Lynn

Lynn,
back in the days when we had cats (before a daughter with asthma triggered by them), we used to keep emergency reserves in the form of tins of tuna.
Could then be deployed for cats or humans as needed
tuk020