Great Western Coffee Shop

‘Lives depend’ on people staying at home as five bus drivers die - The Metro (https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/05/lives-depend-people-staying-home-five-bus-drivers-die-12510692/)

Actually the metro quotes the mayor incorrectly.  He actually says bus workers in his tweet.  This would include anybody working for a bus company.

Meanwhile, I may have to make MORE use of buses than in the recent past, in order to buy food.

For several years, I have ordered on line for home delivery. This is becoming increasingly problematic under present conditions.
I have a Tesco delivery due later today, but all efforts to secure another delivery for next week or the week after have failed.
Morrisons have had no deliveries available for at least a month.
Asda only allow bookings about a week ahead, but have had none for weeks.
Apart from the risks of infection, going by bus has the risk of being stopped by the police who have their own ideas as to what shopping is permitted.

Indeed ... and I would suspect that you can't carry as much as the chap (or chapess) from Tesco, resulting is more smaller transactions too.

But ...


... but that does suggest that although some existing customers are sometimes having to go back to the shops, there is a lot more delivery going on and the overall change is in the direction of home delivery.


Indeed there are *some* of the enforcers who are going one step beyond - probably earning a bad name for the majority who are doing their level headed best.  Sadly, one or two negative stories do far more damage  than dozens of positive stories.

Also from reading some of your posts, I would rather suspect that some of the things you regard as "essential" would not be so regard by yer average copper - but I did think that if you were making a necessary trip for essentials, you were allowed to pick up all your supplies in the supermarket and weren't vetted on individual items.  Personally, I would not classify marmite as an essential - but I do feel able to pick up a jar while grabbing bread, fruit, veg, meat, milk and eggs.

Whilst opinions may differ as to what items are essential, even I do not regard Port or other alcoholic drink as being essential.
But I also take the view that if reputable supermarkets are openly offering goods for sale, that the purchasing and taking home of such goods is lawful.
However individual police officers appear to be making up their own rules as to what shopping is permitted.

Northamptonshire police are on record as saying that they are "only days away from searching supermarket trolleys to ensure that the contents are legitimate and necessary"
I wonder what they hope to find as a result of these searches ? I say again, that if supermarkets are openly selling the items, that purchasing them should be presumed lawful, and be no business of the police. 

https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/uk/police-days-away-from-checking-shopping-trolleys-as-lockdown-rules-flouted/ (https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/uk/police-days-away-from-checking-shopping-trolleys-as-lockdown-rules-flouted/)

They are also on the record for saying they won’t!  From the same article they say the force later tweeted...

“We absolutely will not be searching people’s shopping trolleys in Northamptonshire.”

Perhaps words said without much thought, or in a ‘threat not a promise’ scenario to perhaps persuade the small minority to do the right thing this weekend?  Not that too many people should be changing their habits of the last couple of days.  Most key workers will still need to be at work and the others should be staying home within the new parameters.

Do I detect the first sign of a deficiency in the Broadgage Armageddon survival plan?

The problem is that word "basic" in The Message. It adds nothing important if They've already said "necessities", and it suggests things (not just to  PCs and PCCs) that are quite wrong. And that bullet point isn't expanded in a paragraph of ts own, so we only get the PR bazooka version of it.

The important part should be to reduce shopping frequency - stretch the interval as far as you can - so each trip is necessary. But you should as far as possible buy what you normally do, as that's what supermarkets in particular are set up to ship in sell. It would be silly in the extreme to leave fancy food to rot in the shop while clearing out the cheaper stuff which is, I guess, of particular importance to those on the lowest incomes.

There's already an issue with a shift to buying in supermarkets stuff like bread that we used to buy in independent shops, and to varieties (again, bread is an example) that last longer. And while it's best to keep buying what's usual, there are also some necessary switches due to supply issues (which will presumably get worse as we go on). All of those already make shop management harder, as well as posing a risk for those who were already struggling, without this ambiguity on top. Fortunately, hardly anyone I've seen seems to be interpreting the rules that way.

By no means.
I keep supplies against an uncertain future, and am very glad that I have done so.
Since the world has not yet ended, I prefer to replenish my stocks by moderate purchases, broadly equivalent to normal consumption.
I don't want to avoidably deplete stocks in the early stages of an emergency, that might get worse.
Neither do I wish to panic buy and deprive others.
So normal purchasing it is, subject to availability.

Toilet paper, hand soap, face masks, and dried pasta have been consumed from stocks and not yet replaced as still in short supply.
Hand sanitiser has been made from stockpiled materials.
Tinned food has been used, but replaced with broadly similar new supplies.
Port supplies are dropping, but the port season is almost over. Gin season soon, gin supplies enough for several years.

The only last minute purchases made were cat food, propane cylinders, and anthracite. The last two items for NEXT winter in case of ongoing shortages.

“Sorry, Constable, I was only getting the bus to buy essential supplies for next winter.”  ;)

We are now straying far from the original topic, but I'd like to add my response here:

I am a partner and grocery delivery driver with Waitrose: I can assure you that we are all doing everything we can to offer delivery slots, and make those deliveries, to as many people as possible.  However, we only have four vans in my branch, and we cover a wide area: there is only so much we can do.

Chris from Nailsea.  :-X

I had the anthracite and the propane bottles delivered, and did not take either on the bus. Propane is presumably prohibited, and worthwhile amounts of coal far too heavy and bulky.
This was in the early days of the present emergency.

Are 'artisan' bakers still going?  Assumed their shops would have been shut by now as many of their outlets would be cafe, restaurants, etc.

Certainly in Exeter the answer is 'Yes'. Although my supplier of choice - the rather excellently monikered 'Bread Of Devon' - has had to suspend operations as a result of childcare issues (his partner works for the NHS) I have swopped to another who continues to permit avoidance of the supermarket 'bread' shelves.

I said independent, meaning (in context) not in a supermarket, so for example Greggs would qualify. And it only takes a small shift in buying habits to leave a shelf empty much earlier than usual, so it's no longer worth going to look. I'm sure we've all found that trying to plan and buy for more days per visit becomes harder when things on our lists are not in stock - an aspect of the same disruption.

Damn,  I got the toilet rolls, bread, milk, flour, pasta and cat food, even remembered the Port and fillet steak, but it's always the anthracite and propane I forget...………..the Mrs always tells me to make a list...…...ah well, back to Tesco I go!  ;)

I remember a question in Stagecoach's driver training was someone gets on with a fence panel from B&Q (other DIY retailers available). What do you do?

I see the person concerned has now described their language as ‘clumsy’ and clarified that shopping trolleys will not be searched.  The Home Secretary has also made the position clear.

You mean, should you take offence or not?

Fencing questions were not asked as part of my training!

You might need to convey suitable materials to stop your horse escaping again, might be better to hedge your bets with a sympathetic driver as there's no defence for not knowing the conditions of travel.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51146051
(link previously seen on the Coffee Shop I think)

Elemental (also known as the Pop-up Bakery despite having been in the same place for at least five years) down the road here is still open. Cafe closed obviously (which makes it so much more spacious) but selling bread, pastries, milk, and similar things.

Pop-up Bakery, considering that Bread Dough rises (pops-up) twice, first whilst proving then it's flatten and reworked before being proved (rising again) then Baked in the oven, I would say POP-UP Bakery is a very apt name for a bakery.

That had never occurred to me. But yes, very appropriate. Thank you for pointing it out.