Vocal Voices

Petrol shortages. Co2 shortages. Energy price rises. Potential energy shortages. GP's not seeing patients and people dying of cancer because of that. A beautiful young woman murdered in London.
It's as though with Covid not being so threatening now, something else has to come along to worry and upset people.
This is what worries me about the quality of our current crop of politicians.
They are very good at posturing on the world stage, at virtue signalling to other politicians.

But we have real, pressing problems that need to be solved. We can't be spending £100 billion on Hs2 when we need that money to build nuclear power stations to keep the grid going. They talk tough about the channel migrants then send out the RNLI to give them a lift here. It transpires that two thirds of our Co2 production is owned by a foreign firm.

I read the other day that there is a Europe wide shortage of HGV drivers. How? There wasn't two years since? Similarly there is supposedly a world wide shortage of doctors.

We have real world problems that need solving and our useless MP's chunter on about micro aggressions, trans rights, gender neutral toilets, transactional feminism...
They need to get back onto planet earth, quickly.

Yesterday afternoon and I was thinking much the same.

This winter is going to be one hell of a struggle for many of us and on many fronts. I am not looking forward to my next few gas and electricity bills. I filled up the car yesterday and from now on will do top-ups on a regular basis, just in case. I also got a new gas canister for the camping stove as cooking back up. Also from my camping days I have solar rechargeable lights.

I am not looking forward to the next few months with any optimism.

I could rub two sticks together to light a fire. But that would not be allowed by one of the anti groups.

I'm not expecting any major issues here this winter. Yes, fuel may be more constrained however I am using a fraction of the fuel I normally use. So that is not a problem. I've just bought a new pellet burning boiler to replace the log burning boiler. Whilst extremely effective, the hassle with it burning out overnight and then having to be lit in the morning, with a cold house, is past time to be fixed. I wanted a pellet burner at the outset but it wasn't until #1 son got one and Mrs S saw it in action that she relented. 48% off and still €3,400. Not a bad saving.

I can understand the HGV issue. People who make their living by HGV driving have to pay to maintain their licenses. Many are owner operators who were done a major disservice by the government in offering them a loan rather than furlough. If the drivers let their licenses lapse and went into other work like local delivery, instead of HGV, then they are no longer in the transport pool. We said at the outset that the lockdowns would have a knock on impact on jobs and working. It is hardly surprising that when we shut down local and EU wide HGV transport (to a fairly large degree), for much of the last 18 months, that HGV drivers just decide to do something else. Once they have made that decision, going back on it is quite difficult. Especially if they need to have a test again to regain their license.

Personally I have a 6kw generator, plenty of fuel for it and my house is divided into power zones so I can take out the freezers, fridges and the CH and run them on the genny. All cooking is electric. We also have a large covered BBQ and two gas cyclinders for it and one cylinder can be repurposed to a jam/paella burner for cooking.

Mostly this capability is due to the loss of one of our substations for 5 days when it was hit by lightning. But it will serve for other purposes. We also have a wood burning stove with back boiler in the dining room, connected to a cast iron radiator in the living room. We are in progress of building a new library/media room in the attic space of house 2 and that one will be CH connected but also have a wood burning stove.

I am considering filling up some of my 20l cans for the cars (both diesel), just in case we do get a restriction on fuel.

As for the energy issues. I am on record (and in the doghouse with the "environmentalists"), for being massively pro Nuclear as 1/3 of the energy mix for the UK. I see the grid supplies becoming more and more brittle with the larger and larger renewable mix. It needs a solid core of non renewable power and it can't be Gas as this current crisis is proving. The only viable alternative which doesn't go CO2 crazy is Nuclear.

Mind your our virtue signalling and mirror gazing parliament are actually seeing Hinckley point C through. What they need to be doing is getting the other 3 up to speed and in production.

I seem to remember many years ago if you were unemployed and had signed on you could apply for an HGV licence and the cost of the training would be borne by the Government. Quite a few years back when my son was unemployed for a while he asked about the scheme but it had been discontinued. I think at about that time it cost over £2,000 for the training. I am not sure how many employed people could afford the cost of this. My son certainly couldn't afford it.

The government says £250-£300 for the initial license. Due to the changes in licenses, there is no more Class3/2/1 but C and C+E and C1E and I'm confused already.

But, essentially, up to 7.5t without a trailer costs the above, so they say. Articulated over 7.5t CE, costs more.

Also you need to renew every 5 years and do 35 hours of refresher training before renewing. Paid of course.

The cost mounts up when you undergo the training to enable you to apply for the licence. I think that's how it works at the moment.

Training is always the issue. I did my HGV in the Army and kept it whilst I was in the TA. After I left the TA and my license was up for renewal I let it expire.

I was moving in a different direction and HGV was no longer any use to me.

My first FIL told me about the aircraft manufacturing industry in the west midlands. They used self employed skilled tradesmen and the workers simply went from job to job. Work was plentiful and easy to get a job. Then there was a sudden reduction in contracts, less aircraft orders, no jobs. This went on for a few years then orders came back and the manufacturers, confident of their success, went looking for their skilled workers.

Who had moved into other careers and had no intention of going back.

Furlough was always going to cause issues. People sitting at home getting paid, able to pay the mortgage and have a comfortable life. Endless time to re-skill and go after other jobs.

Now we have shortages of workers in some industries. Quelle surprise!

Consider even my position. Covid allows me to work from home. Based on my prior contracts and the cost of accommodation and travel etc, I'm no longer paying out over £30,000 a year in costs. This gives me an opportunity to to rethink what I'm doing in my life and I never had the benefit of furlough or any other real support. I paid one month of 2.5% interest before I remembered to pay back the bounce back loan. It was never any more than a cushion in case anything went tits up.

My current skillset in IT security is in hot demand. If I bow out that is just one more slot to be filled.

cromwell wrote:Similarly there is supposedly a world wide shortage of doctors.

If you remember quite a few died at the beginning.

Similarly many medical professionals were want to say "I never signed up for this".

I assume that the pandemic has convinced some to switch track whilst studying and others to either retire or seek a simpler life.

HGV drivers, nuclear power and doctors are all problems, but they cannot be fixed overnight.

My concern is for the JAMs and how they will cope with the NI hike, food inflation, gas and electricity price increases and the potential for shortages in the short or even medium term.

Some of us are in a position to mitigate some effects by changes to our lifestyles and the way we do things. See my previous, and Suff's posts, but there are millions of us living hand to mouth and day to day. God knows how they will cope, especially if we have a rotten winter or things get worse economically.