Not very hidden agenda to get more and more state bale outs...

[John Skinner]

Totally agree ..... for those who are in the luxury position of a) having a belt to tighten and, b) being able to tighten it and still live. Dropping down from a couple of steaks and a bottle of red a night, to a lesser meal and wine, is far different to those who are starting out on the breadline.

 

The problem is with those who are on a very 'VERY' limited budget already, with no hope of an increase and now facing rising rent/mortgage, food bills and the prospect of their energy bills going up by ... what are they now saying ... seven times the normal rate!! These people can't cut back, they already live with limits far beyond what most would even consider cutting back to.

 

For those people ... YES ... lets help them get back to a good standard of survival; get them through winter. And by that i mean help with lights, heat, food in the cupboard, clothes on their back ... NOT trips to the bingo, family holidays to Benidorm, matching family shell suits, or the latest iPhone fo little Chardonnay.

 

At the end of the day people, no matter who they are or where they sit on the income ladder, should be able to afford to actually live. Is the answer ever more handouts - No, obviously not. But initially, for now, it might have to be to try and balance the scales a little.

 

There is something far wrong with any society where people who have worked their entire lives, and been good honest people, are dying of starvation and lack of heat. All while energy companies (and the like) make billions in profits and sit there bitching that their industry needs to help them protect their mass profits.

 

And before someone says it ... NO, I don't have the answer. I'm just hoping there is one and it can be implemented soon.

 

Wow ... bit of a rant there 😱 Too much sugar in the old dark roast there perhaps.

 

[Squaredy]

2 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

People who get free wood don’t care about other people who don’t

I am pretty certain that most people can get free wood.  It helps to have a car and be able bodied, but all it really takes is time and effort.

[Woodworks]

Its a mess thats for sure

 

In recent times many homes have been ridiculously hot as mentioned. I remember growing up in the 70s where only one room was heated (the kitchen) so we were often cold and sometimes hungry. I wouldn't wish that on a generation who have never experienced that. The upside to those times is you could buy a house for 3 times the average wage so once dad got the mortgage paid off things were better.

 

Take your band 6 nurse on £32,306 (my better half has been a nurse for 10 years and still band 5) and an average house cost today in England of £304,867 (UK house price index for June). Thats 9.5 x your annual salary on whats been called a good wage and those house prices went up 7.3% this year.

 

We now have the worst of both worlds and help will be needed for many.

 

 

 

As Mick points out many of us benefit from what is essentially free heat this winter in the form of logs. We are just trying to work how best to donate some to the most needy this winter

Edited September 2, 2022 by Woodworks

[John Skinner]

8 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

I am pretty certain that most people can get free wood.  It helps to have a car and be able bodied, but all it really takes is time and effort.

 

And where might this free wood be found? 🤔

 

I mean situations where you don't have to collect it under the cover of darkness with Billy and Bodger keeping an eye out for the fuzz  🤣

[GarethM]

Is that the new going out on the town?.

 

Or maybe Hyde park will be denuded of trees using all these electric chainsaws ?.

[John Skinner]

3 minutes ago, Woodworks said:

Its a mess thats for sure

 

In recent times many homes have been ridiculously hot as mentioned. I remember growing up in the 70s where only one room was heated (the kitchen) so we were often cold and sometimes hungry. I wouldn't wish that on a generation who have never experienced that. The upside to those times is you could buy a house for 3 times the average wage so once dad got the mortgage paid off things were better.

 

Take your band 6 nurse on £32,306 (my better half has been a nurse for 10 years and still band 5) and an average house cost today in England of £304,867 (UK house price index for June). Thats 9.5 x your annual salary on whats been called a good wage and those house prices went up 7.3% this year.

 

We now have the worst of both worlds and help will be needed for many.

 

 

 

As Mick points out many of us benefit from what is essentially free heat this winter in the form of logs. We are just trying to work howe to donate some to the most needy this winter

 

Pensioners, those with disabilities, very low income families and the like will/are struggling this year. I'm sure any donation of logs to those that really need it would be greatly appreciated 👍

 

On another note...  Isn't it daft, at a time where elec/gas is unaffordable to most, that the Gov opts at this moment to cancel its grant scheme to help folk put in woodburners/stoves.

 

 

 

 

 

[John Skinner]

7 minutes ago, GarethM said:

Is that the new going out on the town?.

 

Or maybe Hyde park will be denuded of trees using all these electric chainsaws ?.

 

Might be more of a case where the likes of car thefts will go down, but all the trees in the neighbourhood start vanishing 😂

[GarethM]

In a paraphrasing of the American smokey bear.

 

Only thieving can prevent forest fires.

[Squaredy]

13 minutes ago, John Skinner said:

And where might this free wood be found?

If you look hard enough there is free wood in loads of places.  I recall before I got into the wood business stopping at the side of the road and asking tree workers if I could have some of their waste - I was never refused.  How about the tip site on this very website - I assume many people registered on it do indeed get free wood.  I live by a golf course and a council estate - the course often have a tree or two chopped up - I have politely asked if I can have some fallen wood several times and they are always happy to oblige. 

 

In fact the area I live in is full of people who are struggling, but funnily enough I have yet to see any of them going round collecting free wood.  And there are a lot of unmanaged woods here as well (mainly full of ash) which have loads of fallen trees.  

 

At my work I almost give wood away - one ton bundles of sawmill offcuts - cheap as chips for anyone who can be bothered to cut them up.

[John Skinner]

2 minutes ago, GarethM said:

In a paraphrasing of the American smokey bear.

 

Only thieving can prevent forest fires.

 

If only i had a wood lorry with one of those grabber things on the back. I'm surrounded by woodland and stacks of felled trees. One good trip could keep me going for years 👍