From Fire Risk to Firelighter

A Small Lesson From The Kitchen

I don’t have a tumble dryer. I used to but my husband objected to the electricity bill costs, so he took over the laundry and the tumble dryer disappeared – many years ago now. We still dry our clothes on the line, using solar and wind energy, even in the Emerald Isle (and yes, sometimes that means bringing them in slightly damp and finishing them off over a radiator).

But recently I was clearing out my daughter’s. Properly clearing it out — not just the obvious fluff in the filter, but the bits that collect underneath and behind, the places you don’t normally look. She hadn’t even known to clear the filter!

Some of the online images of tumble dryer lint look like something between a cow pat and Rapunzel’s discarded wig. In reality, what builds up is usually far less dramatic — which is precisely why it’s easy to overlook.

I’d been reading warnings about tumble dryer fires. Apparently they’re far more common than you might think. Lint builds up, gets into places you might not expect, then the airflow gets restricted, heat increases… and suddenly something very ordinary becomes a fire hazard. The fire services in the UK see hundreds of tumble dryer fires a year and when I saw how much fluff had accumulated in my daughter’s machine, I understood why.

It was astonishing.

And as I stood there holding what looked like a small grey bird’s nest, it struck me that we usually throw away something that is, quite literally, designed to burn easily. That’s what makes it dangerous inside a dryer.

But it’s also what makes it useful for preparedness — if handled properly.

First: The Safety Bit

Lint build-up in tumble dryers is a genuine fire risk. Cleaning the filter every time is essential. Occasionally checking vents and hidden areas is sensible. Keeping the machine well ventilated is not optional.

Preparedness begins with reducing risk, not creating new ones.

Lint burns easily, it is a fire risk – it is also a useful fire starter if you’re camping or something has happened that you have to build an open fire.

Loose lint stored near heat sources is a bad idea. If you’re going to keep any for firelighting, it must be stored safely, in a sealed container, away from heat and moisture.

Safety first. Always.

Waste or Resource?

Once removed and stored properly, tumble dryer lint makes an excellent fire starter. Packed tightly into empty toilet roll tubes, it becomes a compact, ready-made firelighter. The cardboard burns too, which slows the burn just enough to help kindling catch properly. Store them safely and easily in a plastic Ziplock bag.

A Few Practical Observations:

  • Lint from mainly cotton loads works best.
  • Synthetic-heavy loads may melt rather than burn cleanly.
  • Keep finished firelighters dry.
  • Store them well away from stoves, boilers or open flames.

It’s somewhat ironic that something capable of causing a house fire can, when handled responsibly, help you light a fire safely in a stove or hearth or even outside if necessary.

Small Adjustments Not Grand Gestures

We sometimes think of preparedness as something dramatic — stockpiles and complex plans. More often, it’s small adjustments:

  • Cleaning appliances thoroughly.
  • Noticing hidden risks.
  • Turning waste into something useful instead of simply throwing it away.

Storms still knock out power.
Winter evenings still get cold.
Supply chains still wobble from time to time.

Having a small stash of reliable firelighters — made from something you would otherwise discard — is not extreme. It’s practical.

A Quiet Shift in Perspective

I didn’t set out to write about resilience when I cleaned the tumble dryer. I was thinking about fire safety and helping out my daughter and keeping the grandkids safe!

But preparedness often begins that way — paying attention to the ordinary things around us.

  • Cleaning behind the tumble dryer.
  • Reducing risk where we can.
  • Making small, sensible improvements.

Nothing theatrical. Just steady household awareness. And sometimes, that’s enough.

And then it struck me – Lint is naturally wild. It only becomes dangerous when it’s ignored!

Preparedness Without Panic

Why Offline Options Still Matter

Prepare with some offline options for cashPreparedness is one of those words that tends to put people on edge. Some people hear it and think of worst-case scenarios, dramatic predictions, or stockpiling things they’ll probably never use. Others switch off completely and assume it’s all a bit over the top.

That’s not what I mean by it. What I’m interested in is something much more ordinary, and much less dramatic: what happens when everyday systems don’t work quite as smoothly as we expect them to? Because that does happen. Fairly regularly, actually. And usually without much warning.

Systems work well… until they don’t. Modern life runs on systems. Most of the time they’re efficient and almost invisible, which is exactly what we want.

  • We pay by card or phone.
  • We expect electricity.
  • We assume connectivity.
  • We trust machines to do what they’re supposed to do.

Most of the time, they do.

When There Are Problems

But highly efficient systems are also tightly interconnected. A problem in one place can have knock-on effects elsewhere. A power cut can take out card machines. A network issue can stop access to bank accounts. Something local can ripple outward surprisingly quickly. Think of recent headlines where people’s cards didn’t work in supermarkets or bank ATMs were down for hours or even days. The recent Storm Chandra caused powercuts in several places. When these systems are down, you cannot use cards or phones to buy necessities.

This doesn’t mean everything is about to fall apart. It just means inconvenience happens. Preparedness, at least the way I think about it, is about planning for inconvenience rather than catastrophe.

Money that exists, and money you can actually use

One assumption many of us make — and I certainly did for years — is that if money is “in the bank”, it’s always available. In normal circumstances, that’s true. But in an extended power cut or systems failure:

  • ATMs don’t work
  • card payments don’t work
  • phone payments don’t work
  • online banking doesn’t help very much

The money hasn’t disappeared. You just can’t get at it. That distinction sounds obvious when written down, but it matters more than we often realise.

A short story about trust, money, and access

You might remember the film Mary Poppins, set in Victorian London. A magical nanny arrives to look after a banker’s children, and one of the father’s firm beliefs is that children should learn to save properly — in a bank.Save or spend

He gives his children two pence to start a savings account and takes them with him to the bank to make the deposit. On the way in, they pass an old woman selling bird seed. A song plays, “Feed the birds, twopence a bag.” The little boy wants to spend his money feeding the birds instead of giving it to the bank.

Inside the bank, the child changes his mind and demands his money back. The adults misunderstand what’s happening. Customers panic. A run on the bank begins, not because the bank has failed, but because people suddenly fear that it might.

It’s an oddly powerful scene, especially when you watch it as an adult.

  • Nothing has actually gone wrong.
  • The money still exists.
  • The institution is still standing.

But confidence wobbles — and suddenly access matters more than theory.

I’m not suggesting we’re living in Victorian London, or that banks are about to fail. What that scene illustrates, though, is something timeless: money isn’t just about where it is kept, but about trust, access, and timing. When systems are calm, we don’t think about it. When they wobble, even slightly, we do.

Why this still feels relevant

What that scene captures — perhaps unintentionally — is the difference between:

  • money being accounted for
  • and money being usable

It also shows how quickly confidence can change when people feel they might lose access, even temporarily. That’s why I keep coming back to the idea of layers:

  • bank money
  • some cash
  • some flexibility

Not because I distrust banks, but because I don’t like all my options depending on everything working perfectly all the time. The lesson from that scene isn’t that banks are bad — it’s that access matters, and confidence is a fragile thing.

Why having some cash still makes sense

Having a small amount of physical cash at home or on your person isn’t about expecting disaster. It’s about bridging gaps when systems pause or wobble.

Cash is useful when:

  • shops temporarily switch to cash only
  • card machines are down
  • small, local transactions continue informally

And this is important: you don’t need a lot. This isn’t about hoarding or withdrawing large sums. It’s about what I think of as continuity money — enough to keep things ticking over for a short while without stress. I have advised my granddaughter to keep a £20 note in her phone case. If her phone runs out of charge, she would still be able to pay for fuel for her car or a taxi.

Three Days

Thinking in days rather than amounts is often more helpful. Most people already do this (they just don’t call it preparedness). One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that many people already have small offline buffers without thinking of them as such.

  • coins in jars
  • a bit of cash tucked into a drawer
  • money kept “just in case”

These aren’t sophisticated systems. They don’t need passwords or electricity. They don’t depend on anything behaving itself. And that’s exactly why they’re resilient. Highly optimised plans often fall apart under stress. Simple, slightly untidy systems tend to survive.

A generational gap I’ve noticed

Younger people quite naturally pay for almost everything by card or phone. It’s quicker, easier, and feels more secure. Cash, to them, often feels unnecessary. One of my granddaughters works at weekends and is paid in cash. Until recently, she put all of it straight into the bank and paid for everything digitally. From her point of view, that just made sense. Rather than arguing against that, I suggested something very small:
keep a fallback. Not a stash. Just options.

She now keeps the tips she gets as coins and uses those for small purchases instead of always paying by card. Nothing dramatic has changed, but she’s quietly more resilient than she was before.

She’s learning, without being told, that:

  • money can exist offline
  • systems are convenient, not guaranteed
  • having a second way of paying is reassuring

That feels like a useful life lesson, whatever the future looks like. Supply disruptions don’t have to be dramatic to matter. Not being able to buy your weekend groceries is upsetting. Being unable to fill your car tank with petrol can be inconvenient, to say the least.

Disruptions

It’s also worth remembering that not all disruptions involve power cuts or technology failing. At the time of writing, there have been problems at ports due to disputes involving farmers and the government. The reasons aren’t really the point here. What matters is the effect.

  • Ports have been blockaded.
  • Imports have been delayed.
  • Some major stores have reportedly struggled to get certain items, particularly imported fresh produce.
  • In a few cases, stores have even had to close temporarily.

Nothing has “collapsed”. Money still works. Systems still exist. And yet… everyday life becomes slightly more awkward. This is how most disruption actually shows up:

  • fewer choices
  • patchy availability
  • delays
  • things not being where you expect them to be

Prepared

Preparedness here isn’t about stockpiling. It’s about flexibility. Being able to adapt without panic. Being able to say, “That’s not available — we’ll manage another way.” Preparedness isn’t hoarding (and it isn’t distrust). It’s probably worth being clear about what this isn’t.

Preparedness isn’t:

  • hoarding cash
  • emptying bank accounts
  • assuming collapse
  • distrusting systems

Those approaches tend to increase anxiety rather than reduce it.

Preparedness is:

  • having options
  • spreading risk gently
  • reducing stress when things don’t run smoothly

It’s the difference between panic and steadiness. Emergency funds aren’t about fixing everything. One thing that’s taken me a while to accept is that emergency money doesn’t usually solve problems. What it does instead is buy options:

  • time to think
  • the ability to choose the least bad option
  • space to avoid panic decisions

In wider disruption — whether that’s a power cut, supply issues, or something else entirely — that matters far more than having a perfect plan.

Continuity, not control

Preparedness isn’t about controlling the future. That’s a comforting idea, but it isn’t realistic. It’s about continuity when things are temporarily messy.

  • Life may slow down.
  • Choices may narrow.
  • Systems may misbehave.

Quiet buffers help life continue anyway.

Preparedness

A final thought – Preparedness doesn’t need to be loud, political, or fear-driven. It can be:

  • ordinary
  • practical
  • ethical
  • slightly boring
  • A bit of cash.
  • A bit of thought.
  • A bit of flexibility.

Not because we expect things to go wrong — but because sometimes, they do. And when they do, it’s reassuring to know you’ve given yourself a few options.

Digging for Warmth: My Thoughts on Underground Greenhouses

Planning ahead for food, warmth, and quiet resilience when the world turns cold

A swimmer walking toward the cold sea, a reminder of resilience in all forms.Seeing the year-round swimmer stripping down on the jetty this afternoon, made me think about warmth, resilience, and all the small ways we adapt — which led me to an old idea I hadn’t thought about for some years: greenhouses. Funny that – to see a swimmer and think about greenhouses!

Underground Greenhouses

As I think more about practical ways to stay self-reliant through uncertain times, I’ve been reading about something called an underground greenhouse. It’s not a new idea, it has been used before. The idea caught my imagination — partly because it sounds a bit old-fashioned, and partly because it feels oddly futuristic at the same time.

We have a special greenhouse in our garden; our son designed it. It is built on blocks and the bottom filled with gravel covered by paving slabs. Our son is interested in solar heating and he designed it with a solar panel to heat the air and blow it through the gravel underneath. That stopped the greenhouse getting too hot in the day and provided overnight warmth as the gravel released the heat at night. His cactuses love it!

An underground greenhouse built into a coastal slope, symbolising resilience and warmth.I came across an article about someone who had built an underground greenhouse— a sort of greenhouse dug right into the ground, as opposed to our greenhouse which is built up on blocks. At first I thought it was just an idea someone had come up with, but it turns out these things have been around for ages. They even have a proper name: a walipini, which comes from South America and means “place of warmth.” I rather like that. I love the warmth in a greenhouse.

It reminded me of our first house, over fifty years ago now. We built a big greenhouse at the bottom of the garden — proper glass panels, big enough to walk into – to replace the tiny greenhouse that was falling down. There’s a story there, too. When we started to build the new greenhouse, it wasn’t straight. I never thought school geometry would come in handy but it turned out that measuring the length of the sides was not enough, we needed to measure the angles too, to turn it from a diamond into a rectangle!

We didn’t really know what we were doing with the greenhouse, so we never used it to its full potential. During winter we often left it empty, and when the children came along, they loved playing in there. The dry, dusty soil became their racetrack for toy cars. I can still picture it now — sunshine coming through the glass, that faint earthy smell, and the air feeling much warmer than outside.

When we did try growing plants in the colder months, we used a little oil heater overnight to keep them from freezing. It worked well enough, but money was tight back then, and the fuel soon added up. Looking back, I can see now how clever those underground greenhouse ideas are — they use the same principle of trapping heat, but without burning a drop of oil. Instead of paying for warmth, they borrow it from the earth itself.

That’s really the secret of an underground greenhouse, or walipini. The soil acts a bit like a giant thermal blanket — not perfect, mind you — but it keeps the air inside fairly steady while the world above freezes or bakes. You can almost feel that stored warmth when you step down into it, that sort of earthy stillness you only get underground. The sunlight does the rest, really… it slips in through the clear roof and somehow makes the whole thing feel alive. Simple enough, I suppose — and clever, too, in its own quiet way. The greenhouse is more hidden too – important in an uncertain world.

How It Works (in plain English)

The ground underneath stays more or less the same temperature all year — somewhere around 10°C here in the UK. Oddly enough, that’s about what the sea hangs around at most of the year as well. I was reminded of that earlier when I saw our regular all-year swimmer heading out again — snorkel on, no wetsuit. Too cold for me now. I did it years ago with my father-in-law, who shouted, “Just jump in, don’t creep in!” So I jumped… and honestly thought I wasn’t coming back up. I don’t fancy giving my plants that kind of cold shock.

When you put a clear roof over the pit and lean it toward the sun, you’re basically trapping that steadiness — a pocket of gentle warmth that tops itself up during the day. The earth holds on to it and then lets it out slowly overnight.

Because it sits low, the whole thing’s sheltered from wind and sudden cold snaps. That’s something I’d really appreciate here by the coast — we might get a touch more warmth, but it comes with a lot more wind. Greenhouse panes don’t always last long in our garden, no matter how tightly we clip them back in place. So the thought of something half hidden in the earth really does make sense to me.

Thinking About Building One

If I ever have a go, I’d start small — maybe a pit about six feet deep, with the back wall sloping toward the sun. I’d just use whatever’s handy: old bricks, a few bits of timber, maybe some panels salvaged from the last storm that broke our greenhouse! We’ve actually got quite a pile of old bricks stacked up by the wall — they come in handy for all sorts of things: edging the pond, replacing cracked bricks, holding the bin lids down so they don’t blow open in the wind. I read somewhere that a couple of barrels of water or a compost heap inside the underground greenhouse can help hold the heat too, though I’d have to experiment.

Drainage would matter — definitely — nobody wants to dig a greenhouse and end up with a pond. Our garden drops away at the back, down into a lower lane, which could be useful for that. I still remember a cloudburst over the town more than twenty years ago when a local stream flooded some of the houses. Our neighbour had built a vehicle pit in his garage, and it filled up completely — it took ages to pump the water out. I don’t plan to repeat his mistake!

Why It Appeals

For me, this isn’t just about growing vegetables. It’s about having a bit of security — knowing that even if things get awkward again, there’s still a patch of the garden doing its quiet work.

A walipini doesn’t need fancy technology or expensive gear — just some sunlight, a bit of soil, and the will to tinker until it works.

I guess that’s what survival really means: not giving up, not going without, just finding small, clever ways to keep going.

End of today’s thoughts

Anyway, that’s what’s been on my mind today. Maybe it’s just the weather, or maybe it’s that stubborn coastal wind that never lets us forget where we live. If anyone nearby has tried something like this — or even thought about it — I’d love to hear how it went.

Time for a cup of tea before I start sketching pit designs on the back of an envelope.

Why I’m Still Writing Here

When I began this site, the focus was Brexit. At that time, uncertainty was high. Would supply chains break down? Would food and household goods become scarce? It seemed sensible to document practical preparations, both as a record and as encouragement for others.

cartoon style picture of armchair with lots of toilet rolls stuffed behind it.One memory from that period still stands out. Toilet rolls. People joked, but it was no laughing matter when the shelves were bare. I had packs stacked behind a large old armchair, hidden from view but easy to reach if necessary. I even gave a few away to someone nearby who ran out. To this day, I keep a reserve stock — not out of panic, but because it is one item I particularly dislike running out of.

Brexit itself came and went. Then we endured the COVID lockdowns. Now there is a new government, and once again the political direction seems to be shifting. It appears there may be an attempt to reverse parts of Brexit or bring the UK closer to EU structures, though without a further referendum. In a democracy, decisions are made by majority. That majority has already spoken. My personal view is that support for Brexit would likely be stronger now, though of course I could be wrong. Whether right or wrong, the effect is the same: the country feels unsettled, and resilience remains important.

I considered closing this site more than once. Each time, something reminded me why it still matters — rising costs, shortages in Northern Ireland, or conversations with neighbours finding it harder to manage. It is clear that preparation and self-reliance are still relevant.

Bucket of apples just picked from the treeThis year’s fruit crop illustrates the point well. Our apple and pear trees produced exceptionally heavily. The load was so great that several branches bent to the ground and one snapped completely, which we had to saw down. We also pruned some additional branches to make future picking easier, accepting that the next year’s crop may be smaller. That is a trade-off, but as we grow older, ease of harvesting becomes more valuable than maximum yield.

We have not finished picking yet, but already there are pans of fruit stewed and stored in the freezer. The process left my hands scratched and the kitchen sticky, but the result is satisfying. On a cold evening in January, apple sponge and custard or cream, made from that harvest will feel like a real reward.Apple sponge and cream

Not all fruit followed the same pattern. The blackberry crop was disappointing. Early berries looked ripe but remained hard and tart. They never developed the sweetness expected, and by the time they softened, it was too late. For us, that meant no blackberry tart this year.

This is what resilience looks like in everyday life. It is not extreme survivalism, but rather using what nature provides, storing some for the future, and ensuring nothing goes to waste. A freezer with fruit. A cupboard with spare toilet rolls. Small habits that make life more stable when external systems falter.

So the site continues. The name will not change, but the scope has widened. There will be less focus on Brexit politics and more on practical resilience: foraging, food preservation, safe water, and other skills that help in uncertain times.

I do not claim to have all the answers. I never did. But by sharing what I observe and practise, perhaps others will find ideas they can use. And at the very least, it helps me remain steady in the face of change.

Why I’m Grateful for My Lantern Tonight

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Tonight reminded me why I keep old-fashioned light sources in the house. The bathroom light fizzled out — gone, just like that — and of course it’s the sort of bulb we don’t keep a spare for. The shop is shut, the repair can’t happen until tomorrow, and I was standing in the dark wondering why these things always happen at the most inconvenient moment. For more information on larger power outages and the effects, check this.

Luckily, I had a little lantern stashed away in the cupboard. The batteries weren’t exactly new (note to self: check them more often) but it gave off enough light to make the bathroom usable. And then there’s the emergency torch — the type that sits plugged in at the socket and charges itself quietly until you need it. I bought it years ago, almost as an afterthought, and tonight it earned its keep. One click, and I had a bright steady beam. Crisis averted.

It wasn’t a blackout, it wasn’t a storm, it wasn’t even an emergency in the usual sense. But it could have been. And the feeling was the same: prepared or not prepared. That’s the dividing line.

A couple of takeaways from this small household drama:

Lanterns beat candles in tight spaces. Safer, steadier, and you don’t knock them over.

Rechargeable torches are worth every penny. They sit quietly on standby, and when the moment comes, they just work.

Batteries have a shelf life. Even unopened packs lose their edge, so don’t forget to swap them out now and then.

So yes, tonight was only a broken bathroom light. Tomorrow it will get fixed and life moves on. But if it had been the whole street out, or if the power had gone for hours instead of minutes, I’d be telling the same story: being ready makes all the difference.

That’s what survival prep is, really. Not just for the big dramatic disasters we see on the news, but for the small, ordinary ones that creep up on us at home. A lantern in the cupboard. A torch that’s charged. A moment’s peace of mind.

Update

Well, the bathroom light got fixed – not by the electrician but by my husband, who is coming up to his eighties quite soon – a hard job, working above your head on a ladder. It wasn’t the bulb, it was the special fixture that fits to the ceiling and to which the string pull is attached. We had to buy a new fixture from the local hardware shop. I am not sure that it is as strong as the old one, which lasted at least 20 years. The new fixture was a different size, so he had to drill new holes for the screws to fix it to the (wooden) ceiling. With this particular fixture, the electricity must be turned off as the wires have to be fitted into the new fixture but luckily our electricity board has separate circuits for the lights and the power sockets, so we were able to switch the lights off but keep the power items (like computers and kettles) working.

The emergency lantern worked all night, after I put some fresh batteries in it – I must buy some new batteries to replace the ones I put in the lantern, so I am ready for the next emergency. I am sure I have some other, battery operated, lanterns somewhere else, that I bought last winter when the electricity company let us know they would be switching the electricity off overnight. Problem is, I put them away safely after the emergency was over and now I don’t remember where!

Update 1 month Later

Ha! I found the battery operated lanterns. Yes, I put them away safely and now I have found them, in the drawer with the spare tablecloths, where no one else would go searching because they are not interested in tablecloths. They were easily accessible and in a room we use all the time. I had just forgotten where they were! If I forget again, I can always come back here to remind myself. LOL

Brexit Summary June 2023

It’s important to remember that while the country is mostly coming out of the funk caused by coronavirus (although paying for it will be a long difficult process), Brexit is still continuing and it may be a good time to remember what happened a couple of years ago,

Brexit

Brexit refers to the process by which the United Kingdom (UK) withdrew from the European Union (EU). The term “Brexit” is a combination of “British” and “exit.” The referendum on EU membership took place on June 23, 2016, and the majority of voters (51.9%) opted to leave the EU.

Following the referendum, the UK government triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty on March 29, 2017, initiating the formal withdrawal process. This triggered a period of negotiations between the UK and the EU to determine the terms of their future relationship. These negotiations addressed various aspects, such as trade, immigration, security, and regulations.

After several rounds of negotiations, an agreement called the Withdrawal Agreement was reached between the UK and the EU in November 2018. The UK Parliament initially rejected the agreement, leading to a period of political uncertainty. However, a revised version of the agreement was eventually approved by both the UK Parliament and the European Parliament.

UK Left EU

The UK officially left the EU on January 31, 2020, entering a transition period during which most EU rules and regulations continued to apply. The transition period ended on December 31, 2020. Since then, the UK has been implementing its own trade policies and regulations as an independent nation outside the EU.

Brexit has had significant implications for various aspects of UK-EU relations, including trade, travel, and immigration. The UK and the EU have been working to establish a new framework for their future relationship through a series of agreements and negotiations.

Has Brexit Worked

Assessing whether Brexit has “worked” or not is a complex and subjective question that depends on individual perspectives and specific criteria for evaluation. It is still relatively early to make definitive judgments about the long-term consequences of Brexit, as the process is ongoing and its effects will continue to unfold over time.

Proponents of Brexit argue that it allows the UK to regain control over its laws, borders, and trade policies, granting greater sovereignty and flexibility. They believe that it opens up new opportunities for global trade, allows for more tailored regulations, and enables the UK to pursue independent trade agreements with other nations. Supporters also emphasize the democratic significance of respecting the outcome of the referendum.

On the other hand, opponents of Brexit express concerns about potential negative consequences. They argue that leaving the EU could result in economic challenges, such as trade disruptions, increased bureaucracy, and reduced access to the EU single market. Some opponents are concerned about the impact on immigration, research collaboration, and the potential loss of influence on EU decision-making.

Since Brexit is a complex and multifaceted process, its outcomes vary across different sectors and areas. Some industries, like fishing, have experienced significant changes, while others, such as financial services, continue to navigate ongoing negotiations for regulatory equivalence. The full effects of Brexit will take time to manifest and may be influenced by future policy decisions, trade agreements, and global economic dynamics.

Public opinion in the UK remains divided, reflecting the complexity of the issue and the diversity of perspectives. It is important to consider that assessing the success or failure of Brexit will likely continue to be a topic of debate for years to come.

Outcomes To Date

Since Brexit is an ongoing process, it is important to note that the outcomes and impacts are still unfolding, and their full extent may not be completely understood for some time. However, I can mention some recognizable positive and negative outcomes that have been observed or reported thus far:

Positive Outcomes:

Sovereignty

Supporters of Brexit argue that leaving the EU allows the UK to regain sovereignty and have more control over its laws, regulations, and policies without being bound by EU directives.

Trade Opportunities

Brexit offers the opportunity for the UK to establish new trade agreements with countries outside the EU, potentially expanding its global trade relationships and pursuing tailored trade deals that align with its specific interests.

Budget Contributions

The UK is no longer required to make financial contributions to the EU budget, which some proponents of Brexit consider a positive outcome.

Negative Outcomes:

Economic Impact

Brexit has caused economic uncertainty and volatility, with potential negative consequences for businesses and the economy. Some sectors, such as manufacturing and financial services, have expressed concerns about disruptions to supply chains, increased trade barriers, and reduced access to the EU single market.

Trade Disruptions

The UK’s departure from the EU has resulted in changes to trade arrangements, including customs checks, regulatory barriers, and additional administrative burdens. These changes have the potential to create disruptions and increased costs for businesses engaged in trade with EU countries.

Reduced EU Membership Benefits

Being outside the EU means the UK no longer benefits from the existing trade agreements and access to the EU single market enjoyed by member states. The loss of these privileges can have implications for industries such as services, which previously benefited from the ease of doing business with other EU countries.

It is important to remember that the impact of Brexit varies across sectors and regions, and different stakeholders may experience these outcomes differently. Additionally, the long-term consequences of Brexit will depend on how the UK and the EU navigate their future relationship and the policy decisions made by both parties.

Northern Ireland Protocol

The customs arrangement between Great Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland, involves treating Northern Ireland as part of the customs territory of the European Union (EU). This arrangement, often referred to as the “customs line down the Irish Sea” or the “Northern Ireland Protocol,” was established as part of the Brexit negotiations to address the challenges of maintaining an open border on the island of Ireland while respecting the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, Northern Ireland remains aligned with certain EU rules and regulations, particularly those related to customs and goods. This means that goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain are subject to checks and controls to ensure they meet EU standards. However, goods moving between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland continue to flow freely, without the need for customs checks or infrastructure along the border.

The objective of this arrangement is to prevent the re-emergence of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as stipulated in the Good Friday Agreement, a peace agreement that helped bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Irish Sea border has been a contentious issue, with critics arguing that it has created new barriers and disrupted trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

The UK and the EU have been working to address the concerns raised by various stakeholders, including businesses and political representatives in Northern Ireland. Negotiations and discussions have taken place to refine and adjust the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol to minimize disruption and find practical solutions that balance the commitments made under the Protocol with the realities of trade and governance in the region.

What I Wish I had Stockpiled

Lockdown Pandemic Brexit

Now, in June 2020, we have been locked down with Coronavirus for 3 months already in the UK. Life has changed drastically, in totally unforeseen ways since March 2020. Town and city centres have been totally deserted in the evenings and often during the day, people wearing masks on the street, on public transport, long queues at shops, perspex screens at counters, full face masks for shop assistants and other workers and many shops still shut. There have been few planes in the sky and train timetables have often been drastically cut.

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Brexit

Apart from occasional headlines from various campaigners about chlorinated chicken, hormone stuffed meat and genetically modified crops – also known as “Frankenstein Foods”, that the USA is said to be desperate to send us, very few Brexit News Headlines have been published in the UK, at least by the main stream media. Headlines have all been about Coronavirus and how brilliant the NHS has been.

Yet Brexit is due to happen on 31st December 2020, whether there is any agreement or not. Legislation was passed in January 2020, to ensure that Brexit would take place and that it could not be talked out or delayed if discussions did not take place quickly. In fact, the UK left the EU on 31st January 2020, after the EU Withdrawal Bill was passed on 23 January 2020, although at that point, nothing actually changed, because we then entered a transition period.

At this current moment (June 2020), and right up to 31st December 2020, the UK is in the transition stage between being a full member of the EU and no longer a member at all. The time is meant to allow for negotiating the trade agreement between the UK and the EU. Agreement has not been reached in fact, the talks are considered to be stuck, so a video conference was held between UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnston, and other EU leaders on 15th June 2020, in which they agreed that a new momentum was required and to hold intensified talks over the summer. If no agreement is reached, UK legislation means that the UK would crash out of the EU on 31st December 2020.

Is this a coincidence, that governments knew back in November or December that a pandemic was coming and took action to ensure that nothing could stop Brexit? Of course, depending on your viewpoint, this could be a good or bad thing!

No Agreement

If there is no agreement in place, on 31st December 2020, whether or not talks on a trade agreement with the EU have been completed or even taken place, the UK will leave the EU – the law for that has already been passed and received the Royal Assent. That means that things could end up with no trade agreement with the EU and different trading laws would have to apply. That could mean long lorry queues at the ports and paper documents being reintroduced. That could mean food shortages and shortages of other goods.

Run Out Of

The shops that have been left open – food shops, hardware shops, pharmacies, etc., have been totally brilliant. And many items have been available online, if not in the shops. But not everything. At the start of the lockdown, shops were running out of bread, baby milk and other necessities, including toilet paper. This was said to be due to panic buying, where people bought up more items than they normally used and which the Just In Time (JIT) transport system could not refill fast enough, leaving shortages and empty shelves. Necessities are mostly now available, though many shops have imposed a limit on the amount that can be bought at one time, for instance, 3 cans of beans, or 2 packets of toilet roll at any one shopping trip. But not everything is available. Some items that certain people would consider as necessities are not on the shelves, nor can they be bought online.

Not Available

This list just includes things that have been noticed as not on the shelves or are not obtainable online:

Neutrogena handcream

Echinaforce

Bread of certain kinds, eg specialist types

mayonnaise

toothbrushes

toothpaste

Update June 2023

While most items are now available, there are still certain items that are hard to get, for instance, firm toothbrushes, although there are plenty of medium and soft toothbrushes. Soap also seems to be in short supply and certain handcreams and deodorants. Some of these can be obtained online if not in local shops but not all.

Keywords

Brexit

brexit consequences

brexit economic consequences

Coronavirus Survival

While we are still in the process of Brexit – leaving the EU – a pandemic has hit the world. It’s not just the UK needing to prepare for leaving the EU but the whole world preparing to fight a new virus.

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PANIC Happening

People have not prepared, so now they are panicking and buying everything in sight. Supermarket shelves are empty of toilet paper and bread. Milk is in short supply and people are fighting over what few supplies are available. This happens not only when a pandemic occurs but also every winter in places where they get a lot of snow and it suddenly, surprisingly, starts snowing because it’s winter.

These Things Are ALWAYS Going To Happen

There is always going to be a tornado, a flood, an illness, a snowstorm, a power cut or SOMETHING that is going to disrupt daily life.

We Have Lost The Ability To Prepare

Some years ago, shops closed all day on Sundays and often at lunchtimes and on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. They closed for a couple of days at Christmas and Easter. We knew how to prepare for that. Even earlier, there WERE no shops. People grew their own vegetables, hunted for autumn fruit and caught their own meat. They had apple barrels and hung meat in the fireplace or kept a stockpot going, where fresh stuff was thrown in. I am not suggesting we go back to those days (though some already have) but that we get back to understanding how to stock and prepare for the lean times.

Just In Time

JIT or “Just In Time” is another problem. Shops used to have stockrooms where they stored the next lot of goods for going on the shelves. They always had anything from 3 days to 3 weeks of supplies available. Now, they have “Just In Time” deliveries. They get a delivery every day and it’s gone by the time the next JIT delivery arrives. At Christmas or Easter, they increase the number of deliveries by about 30% to take account of increased demand. Before the last Brexit deadline, when it was thought the UK might leave the EU with no deal, the government knew that lorry delays and customs would delay deliveries from abroad and asked supermarkets to increase their stocks to carry about 3 months supply of goods. Whether those stocks have now been run down, I do not know. But there will be a need for that kind of storage again at the end of December 2020, when the next Brext deadline takes place. The use of JIT deliveries means that when demand increases unexpectedly, as it does in the time of a pandemic or the threat of floods, for instance, the shops do not have sufficient stock to meet that increased demand, so we see empty shelves.

Panic

Of course, the sight of empty shelves produces panic as people worry that others know more than them and they won’t be able to feed their family. Then we see fights breaking out, angry scenes as people are unable to get what they need, poorer people who are unable to buy extra missing out, etc.

PREP Not Panic

If you PREP – that is prepare for shortages or for things not being available in times of environmental crisis, like illness or floods or snowstorms – then you are helping EVERYONE. You won’t need to panic buy because you will have what you need, nor will you need to spend money from a tight budget because you will have built up your stocks gradually, thinking about what you will NEED. That means more left for others, including those who are unable to stock up. It also means less waste, because you won’t be throwing out stuff you can’t use and you won’t be buying loads of stuff you would never use. It also means you don’t have to go out, if you have to self isolate due to illness or possible infection.

When You Can’t Stock Pile For Brexit

I have seen a lot of posts recently on whether people are stocking up for Brexit. I was surprised (and pleased) to see that in one particular group over 2/3rds of respondents were stocking up to some extent.
www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comBut I was also sad to see that a number of people said that they did not even know how they would put food on the table THIS week, never mind stocking up for the future. 🙁

Some people also said they would love to stockpile for Brexit but they did not know how to: they felt that any extra tins would get used up before Brexit came along. So I thought it would be useful to start a list of ideas for how to create and keep a small stockpile for future needs.

Squirrel It Away

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comSquirrels hide nuts in Autumn, so they will have something to eat when they wake up (they do not hibernate fully, but wake and go back to sleep again). Get yourself a small box (free from the greengrocer) and put your tins or other non-perishable food in there and hide it away, under your bed, in the wardrobe, under a cupboard, wherever you won’t go straight to when making your ordinary meals. Forget about it, unless there is an emergency. Once Brexit is over, you can add the stuff to your normal store or keep it in case of another emergency in the future. Remember to check dates every so often!

Skim It Off The Top

At the start of the month or the week, or when you get some money and you buy some stuff, remove part of what you have bought (one tin, one jar, one packet) and add it to the box below the bed or in the wardrobe and forget about it until there is an emergency. www.brexitsurvivaljournal.com

Keep The Pennies

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comThis also applies to any small change you get from the shop. DO NOT throw small change away, store it in a jar. It mounts up. Even keep your small change in a separate pocket and just save what is left over at the end of the week, if you can’t save it each day. Your local small shop will be glad to get paid with change, it often costs them to get more change from the bank for use in their shop!

In terms of small change, try sofa diving, or look on the ground near shop doors, you may find pennies or silver that other people have discarded!

If you can afford it, try saving a penny PLUS a penny for each day of the year. For instance, on 1st January, save 1 penny in a jar. On 2nd January, add 2 pennies to the jar, 3 on the 3rd, 4 on the 4th, etc. By the end of March, you will be saving 91 pence a day and you will already have £41.86 in the jar. Very often, you can save 10p or possibly even £1 a day, without really missing it from your budget. It is surprising how quickly it mounts up, if you do that regularly.

UnLawful – Parliament Suspension

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comUnlawful

The UK’s Supreme Court has ruled that the Prime Minister, Boris Johnston’s suspension of Parliament in September for 5 weeks until October 19th 2019 was unlawful.

What Does This Mean

As the suspension was illegal. it means that Parliament is NOT suspended.

What Happens Now

It seems that several things could happen:

  1. The speaker of the House of Commons and the Speaker of the House of Lords can get together to recall Parliament, as it was not suspended;
  2. The Prime Minister may have an option to suspend Parliament again, as an executive function, that is, not asking the Queen to sign the order;
  3. The previous session may be reinstated or there may need to be a Queen’s Speech, signalling a new Parliamentary session, which means that any legislation that was going through Parliament when it was prorogued (suspended) will be lost.

It’s all “Wait and See”.

Update

The speaker of the House of Commons has called on Parliament to reconvene at 11.30am on Wednesday 25th of September 2019. You can read the latest news on this.

Updated 27 September 2019

Parliament reconvened and it seems that the previous session has continued, as if it had not been suspended. There have been some noisy scenes in the house, with some members attempting to shout others down and some very bad tempered repartee. It is currently a “wait and see” game, with each side trying to ensure that is is not outfoxed.