General Chat

Basically all the negative points Rollo mentioned are happening elsewhere too in countries not affected by Brexit at all.

Here is one analysis ...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20022019/100-percent-renewable-energy-battery-storage-need-worst-case-polar-vortex-wind-solar

UK Govt is planning on mini nuclear bought from China to fill in the gaps plus at least three full size, one of which is in construction.at Hinckley Point.

Mixing green and nuclear on the same grid presents a lot of problems.

SEE "COBRA" Sky Atlantic for what heppens when the lights go out.

I suppose if you look on the bright side we could at least be self sufficient in energy and not reliant on Russia for our gas and the middle East for oil. :-D :-D :-D

I've been in a situation when the power cables were washed away and everything in a village that was totally dependant on electricity. Thank goodness for camping gaz ;-) ;-)

I was a student living off campus during the 1970s 3 day week. It was winter and cold the never ending power cuts a royal pain. Luckily the uni was on the same grid as the hospital so it was an island of warmth, somewhere to study and get hot food.

During the 1987 storm we lost power for two weeks. We could not even get out of the village for three days. Luckily we had a solid fuel Aga and woodburning stove but the kids did not adapt v well to no TV.

In the French bocage we have a fallback 30 Amp AC system powered by a generator adapted to use LPG. As power outages in wild weather tend to be the norm it has been a good buy, However if the local cab goes down that is it for broadband. I think the battery is good for 4 hrs. 4G is more reliable but much slower of course.

As the Uk power cuts last year showed green power and a monolithic grid does not work. The grid needs to be redesigned on a modular basis with more thought to resilience.

IMHO moving the world, inc the UK, off petrol cars and gas CH is going to be a really tough job in all sorts of ways. I cannot see carbon neutrality by 2030 even if the govt got behind it which for sure it is not doing right now.

Australia stopped manufacturing cars three years ago

https://www.caradvice.com.au/269528/end-of-australian-made-cars-what-happened-and-what-it-means/

Not sure when Steel manufacturing stopped, but now all iron ore is exported and we re-import steel.

Retail Businesses are folding at am alarming rate

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-21/australian-retailers-shut-down-by-foreign-competition/10832062

Here in Bunbury, whilst some of the outer shopping centres are surviving the town centre is nearly dead, with every other shop being vacant.

Our own local centre at Australind could now double as a morgue, and the range of foods etc is restricted to what the supermarkets want to supply us with.

It may be better in the Eastern States, but I doubt it :-(

One of my biggest shocks was seeing the Sydney fish markets. Every Christmas and Easter we are shown how busy they are and the queues of cars waiting to access them.

The market actually consists of four or five large stalls all selling the same types of fish, and the choice was not large.

From all the hype, and my own experience at the Grimsby fish markets, I was expecting something similar. it was beyond disappointing.

So it would seem that it's not just the UK experiencing recession-like conditions

Ah but Allan is Brexit to blame as it is in the UK it seems........

Oh dear, and there's me thinking that all the problems in Oz were due to world conditions :-(

How naïve I was.

We've got b****y awful weather here in the UK is Brexit to blame for that too :-0 :-0 :-0 :-0 ;-)

Ha! At least the two months worth of rain in the last few days have helped put out many of the bush fires in the East.

Meanwhile a cyclone to the north of WA is causing havoc. Is it a coincidence that these weather conditions have only occurred since Brexit? ;-)

:-D :-D

The rot set in when we lived there in the 70s-80s, Allan. Shipbuilding :-( steel :-( car manufacture :-( mining etc.

Gradually, other manufacturing industries too, as you know. It meant that an awful lot of people either retired very early, found work outside of manufacturing or began to work for themselves in maintenance, using engineering skills they learned in production - harder for a guy in his 50s to compete against a 30-year-old.

When we returned to the UK the same process began here too.

Some countries learn quickly how to corner the market - historically, the East and West Indies companies' models were good examples, not to mention others from the Elizabethan age and beyond.

It makes one wonder how much assistance is given to overseas companies by their governments. Our home-grown companies often find themselves behind the eight-ball yet still some people won't accept that the need for government-backing and support is necessary to compete globally.

The same with currying favour through foreign aid. Here, and on paper, is where I would except some countries from receiving it, although I would add that without knowledge of benefits such as contracts etc accrued by British companies it could well be a necessary evil.

Walking the tightrope can be difficult at times. You're often damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Meanwhile, the B word has not affected our weather - still sunny and warm ...... I jest, of course but I have never been a worrier or a pessimist. :-D

A typical example of Brexit bureaucracy - A 101 year old Italian has been asked by the Home Office to get his parents to confirm his identity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5raJeid9WzI :-(

You couldn't make it up :-S