BP rationing

[DeppityDawg]

There is something strangely artificial about this fuel shortage. Just a few days ago there was no hint of it and given that the hundreds of tanker drivers have not been suddenly abducted by aliens, there is no rational explanation as to how the notion of a shortage should have hit?

Well, seeing as how the BBC History website is such a fashionable place to get stories, how about the "Fuel/driver strikes" of 2000? There was never actually a shortage of fuel, just disruption to the logistic supply chain was enough, and we relearned that sharply enough last year didn't we?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/924574.stm

Our Tone got caught a bit flat footed by that one and had to climb down. Only this time its them Tories in power. Methinks someone has had an idea or two about how "fix" things 

[patman post]

Food shortages, fuel shortages, doctor and nursing staff shortages, etc — certainly not a good look for the Tories, especially as they've had the warnings for months and, sometimes, years. 

Excuses like it's Covid, and there's plenty of petrol and diesel and HGV and tanker drivers if only they hadn't retired and could be enticed back from other jobs are laughable. 

The same excuses could be made across many areas that are crying out for more personnel: Police,  NHS, care sector, regular army, teachers, and so on — but I bet it's the images and tales of queues at the forecourts that's going to do the most damage...

Home Office data shows the number of police officers voluntarily resigning from the force in England and Wales has more than doubled in the last eight years. 
https://www.newswise.com/articles/walking-away-from-the-beat-why-police-officers-are-voluntarily-leaving-in-large-numbers 
Drexit ("Doctor-Exit") is the exponentially growing trend for doctors to walk away from their jobs in the NHS, either to new healthcare systems overseas such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand or perhaps worse, into new professions altogether   
https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/02/06/why-are-so-many-doctors-quitting-the-nhs/ 
Undervalued' nurses depart, leaving NHS with staffing shortage 
https://www.ft.com/content/f2ace7d9-59ce-406c-9db6-a844e6806e05 
Britain faces an army recruitment crisis, with frontline combat units operating as much as 40% below strength 
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/09/uk-army-combat-units-40-below-strength-as-recruitment-plummets.   
In the 12 months to 31 December 2020 around 5,200 trade-trained Regular Army personnel left the service; around 3,250 personnel left voluntarily (left the Army before the end of their agreed engagement or commission period)   https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/uk-army-to-be-reduced-to-72500/   
Third of teachers leaving the profession within 5 years. The proportion of teachers remaining in the profession after five years has decreased, new DfE figures show  https://www.tes.com/news/recruitment-third-teachers-leaving-profession-within-5-years   
Care workers are quitting to become Amazon warehouse pickers and for other better-paid jobs in a growing staffing crisis which operators now warn could leave 170,000 vacancies by the end of the year.   
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/04/care-workers-in-england-leaving-for-amazon-and-other-better-paid-jobs

[Sampanviking]

I have it on good authority from both staff working in - and the manager responsible for - our store garage that a tanker delivery this morning was cancelled. I know not why that was, but it does tie in with reports of driver shortages, so it is an obvious possible cause which leaps out. But we don't know. We can only surmise. But it seems to be a case of our own local experience on the ground backing up what is being reported nationally.

And yes, everything has been made much worse by panic buying. But far from being triggered by some anonymous individual on FB, driver shortages affecting a few deliveries here and there were reported in the broadcast media. The tabloids then picked up on that and did what they do best, panic-mongering headlines. And it is they above all else who set the idiots off.

I have it on good authority that before the panic buying set in we had so much fuel that a cancelled tanker today would have made little difference. It is only because so much more fuel was bought in such a short space of time that the delivery failure closed our forecourt. We now have a garage with no fuel available until a tanker arrives. Last thing I heard from staff is that one was due about midnight tonight, but whether or not that one shows up I will not know until I get back in tomorrow.

I will let you know on sunday evening if the forecourt was open, and whether or not panic buying was still occurring.

There is something strangely artificial about this fuel shortage. Just a few days ago there was no hint of it and given that the hundreds of tanker drivers have not been suddenly abducted by aliens, there is no rational explanation as to how the notion of a shortage should have hit?

I did see a lot of queues and blocked off pumps at the petrol stations yesterday, but I am also aware that it was a Saturday and that a lot of people would have been out looking to fill up if they could.
Presumably, before long a lot of people will have filled up and so pressure will start to ease off as we go into the new week.
The other explanation is that, with infection rates climbing again, that the powers that be, have found a way to impose an effective, "stay local" lockdown, without imposing a lockdown?

[johnofgwent]

All the petrol stations between Hemel and civilization were sold out last night.

Upon being asked when the next delivery might be expected, the lady on the forecourt said, "How the f**k should I know," which is not at all the response one expects at Waitrose.

Anyway, we are loading up the spare batteries with electricity and will spent the next couple of days zooming round the deserted streets of North London on our mobility scooters, leaving other cripples and old ladies nowhere.

I confess a certain amount of utter pleasure yesterday afternoon.


I took the leaf out to Risca, popped into the car park at the forest drive and blagged three free kilowatts then used a quarter of that to drive to the new Tesco's and plugged it in there for free too.


Sadly still no tomato juice on their shelves.


Drove slowly out of the store so we could wave to the queue at the pumps

[Thomas]

I am sure that Pappy, Quackers and Gerry will be along very soon to apologise and admit that they were wrong. And being adults, they will do so in a manly, adult fashion without reservations.

Blimey, that pig was flying low ! 

Irish Police in Dublin arrested two hoodies yesterday. One was drinking battery acid, and the other was eating fireworks. They charged one and let the other off.

[Borchester]

remember when remongers like pappy and quackers told us brexit would destroy jobs?

Now there are 14 million job vacanices , its a workers market , and wages terms and conditions are starting to rise because we have left the EU?##

even the guardian is now on board with brexit sheepwash..


https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/16/workers-covid-brexit-uk-jobs-shortages-unions-pay-conditions


didnt lord rose announce to a select commitee project fear was all lies made up? sure looks like it.

I am sure that Pappy, Quackers and Gerry will be along very soon to apologise and admit that they were wrong. And being adults, they will do so in a manly, adult fashion without reservations.

Blimey, that pig was flying low ! 

[Sheepy]

remember when remongers like pappy and quackers told us brexit would destroy jobs?

Now there are 14 million job vacanices , its a workers market , and wages terms and conditions are starting to rise because we have left the EU?##

even the guardian is now on board with brexit sheepwash..


https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/16/workers-covid-brexit-uk-jobs-shortages-unions-pay-conditions


didnt lord rose announce to a select commitee project fear was all lies made up? sure looks like it.

As I was explaining yesterday, it isn't the people who panic in fear you should worry about, it is those who are engineering it who stay in the shadows for reasons of their own. Who once it has taken hold use it for another agenda entirely.

[Thomas]

Well, I didn't starve when the rest of the country was shut down for a year there was no lorry driver shortage then or empty shelves even with the panic buying of bog roll. Strange but true. Area 51 business.

remember when remongers like pappy and quackers told us brexit would destroy jobs?

Now there are 14 million job vacanices , its a workers market , and wages terms and conditions are starting to rise because we have left the EU?##

even the guardian is now on board with brexit sheepwash..

'It's a seller's market for workers': how Covid and Brexit have shaken up UK jobs

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/16/workers-covid-brexit-uk-jobs-shortages-unions-pay-conditions


didnt lord rose announce to a select commitee project fear was all lies made up? sure looks like it.

[Sheepy]

Exactly sheepwash.

There is no shortage of fuel. There is no shortage of drivers.

What there is since we have left the EU is a shortage of people prepared to accept crap pay and working conditions in highly responsible but tough jobs like lorry driving.

Well, I didn't starve when the rest of the country was shut down for a year there was no lorry driver shortage then or empty shelves even with the panic buying of bog roll. Strange but true. Area 51 business.

[Thomas]

Funny how they had to admit these crises are being manufactured, but no mention of who is engineering them. When obviously they are as usual using the media and social media to create the fear and panic. Which then becomes all about the EU.

Exactly sheepwash.

There is no shortage of fuel. There is no shortage of drivers.

What there is since we have left the EU is a shortage of people prepared to accept crap pay and working conditions in highly responsible but tough jobs like lorry driving.

[Sheepy]

All the petrol stations between Hemel and civilization were sold out last night.

Upon being asked when the next delivery might be expected, the lady on the forecourt said, "How the f**k should I know," which is not at all the response one expects at Waitrose.

Anyway, we are loading up the spare batteries with electricity and will spent the next couple of days zooming round the deserted streets of North London on our mobility scooters, leaving other cripples and old ladies nowhere.

Funny how they had to admit these crises are being manufactured, but no mention of who is engineering them. When obviously they are as usual using the media and social media to create the fear and panic. Which then becomes all about the EU.

[Borchester]

All the petrol stations between Hemel and civilization were sold out last night.

Upon being asked when the next delivery might be expected, the lady on the forecourt said, "How the F@@@ should I know," which is not at all the response one expects at Waitrose.

Anyway, we are loading up the spare batteries with electricity and will spent the next couple of days zooming round the deserted streets of North London on our mobility scooters, leaving other cripples and old ladies nowhere.

[Nick]

(What false statement about British truck stops.)  There are now fewer of them than there used to be and most of the ones left have poor facilities.

Your false statement that there aren't enough stops when there are. Less than there used to be isn't necessary not enough.

[srb7677]

That looks like one hell of a big pee sample.

[srb7677]

on a serious note people are strange steve. How many times during the last two years of this pandemic have we seen this behaviour all started by sharon on facebook causing panic buying?

As for the tanker allegedly being cancelled , i take your word for it but what are you implying?

I have it on good authority from both staff working in - and the manager responsible for - our store garage that a tanker delivery this morning was cancelled. I know not why that was, but it does tie in with reports of driver shortages, so it is an obvious possible cause which leaps out. But we don't know. We can only surmise. But it seems to be a case of our own local experience on the ground backing up what is being reported nationally.

And yes, everything has been made much worse by panic buying. But far from being triggered by some anonymous individual on FB, driver shortages affecting a few deliveries here and there were reported in the broadcast media. The tabloids then picked up on that and did what they do best, panic-mongering headlines. And it is they above all else who set the idiots off.

I have it on good authority that before the panic buying set in we had so much fuel that a cancelled tanker today would have made little difference. It is only because so much more fuel was bought in such a short space of time that the delivery failure closed our forecourt. We now have a garage with no fuel available until a tanker arrives. Last thing I heard from staff is that one was due about midnight tonight, but whether or not that one shows up I will not know until I get back in tomorrow.

I will let you know on sunday evening if the forecourt was open, and whether or not panic buying was still occurring.