Not one of the places I have ever used, but I see that Kentucky Fried Chicken had to close 80% of their outlets due to DHL failing to deliver chicken. Looks as if a new computer system failed to deliver as well as the vans.
A portend of things to come after Brexit - goods held up at Channel ports? Or will the chickens be flying in from America under their own steam?
https://www.watfordfc.com/teams/under-23s/u23-report-millwall-0-3-watford A rare away win for the U23s this afternoon...
https://www.change.org/p/sarah-newt...-neurone-disease-sufferer-of-his-mobility-van A petition against the DWP who are threatening to take away MND sufferer Andrew Knowlman's specially adapted van - his only means of transport. Andrew is a Watford fan and won't be able to get to Vicarage Road without it...
When will common sense come back? A friend has a physically disabled grandson who needs help to get out of bed, or even wash and feed himself. He is mentally very alert and a job was found for him in the DWP checking computer records to see who could be defrauding the system. They then took away the funding for the carer meaning he could no longer go to work. So they saved money on the carer, but have lost the savings that he was successfully unearthing.
This week I will be making one of my trips across the Channel, and while over there are some things I buy that are cheaper than here. I quite often buy some cheap jeans that last about a year, and are ideal for everyday working. Visited the websites of two retailers that I buy from looking for the £5-£6 pairs that I normally get. They are now £10-£16, and cheaper here at €8. Have prices for such items really gone up that much since I bought some last April?
Maybe the campaigns to pay the Asian workers a livable wage are at last kicking in. In India at the moment the Indian government are making really hard decisions, quickly implementing them (e.g. In Delhi you cannot sell alcohol within 500 meters of a road . Unthinkable in most cities but it is saving lives). And companies who buy products based on third party companies who use child labour are being forced to rethink. Or maybe I'm just being optimistic But surely £10-£16 is still great value.
But chicken breeding is a lost skill, even more so when Brexit accounts for cheap overseas labour. British bred chooks will be too expensive compared to the chlorinated Yankee ones...
I was surrounded by chicken farms in the UK. Three problems. 1. Most of the chicken feed had to be imported. 2. Costs were too high to compete with cheap imports. 3. The big supermarkets bought from abroad where the costs were less. This is why Aldi and Lidl are successful. They are selling food items that they source from the cheapest places, and it is not from UK farms generally. There is a market for good quality chicken, but it is the price that pushes the consumer towards a product when they see their income stationary.
Not to mention the other problem - which may just be in Northern Scotland, I don't really know. Three years ago, I organised fund raising activities for the children in my class, with a view to buying a hen house/run - something for the children to do as an alternative to 'academic' work, to experience team work and take on responsibility. It took a year to raise enough money for the house, chickens to go in it, and a largish supply of food. Unfortunately, that coincided with an outbreak of avian flu, so the idea was put on hold. It's two years on now and the authorities still won't allow it. There are a couple of chicken farms in the area - both are still waiting to be allowed to recommence operations.
And the alternative is? Just some thoughts: The UK is about 14% of the EUs population and is responsible for 14% of the chicken production. So cheap imports are not the whole story. The industry, including related industry employees is not much over 70,000. It is an industry more and more based on technology. But in any case do we want immigrants used as cheap labour? The raising of ducks is far more productive (unsavoury as it is might be to many, less time between egg to meat on the plate). Just recently a survey estimated one in four meals in the UK has no meat content. It strikes me things are not so simple. ps I don't have a brexit opinion. No axe to grind
Morning all, a cold northerly breeze this morning, although it is dry and we are promised some sunshine on and off. Just been reading that people are going hungry in London because KFC outlets are closed. Have these people never thought about going to the local supermarket and buying some chicken that they can cook at home?
I've just read an update on this - the suppliers of the van, Motability, have generously allowed him to keep it. DWP, on the other hand, still refuse to fund him - a***holes that they are.
