Wednesday 11 March 2009

CHEAPER CUCUMBERS?

What a depressing day for Thanet job prospects.
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I have to feel sorry for Infratil and TDC in regard to BAWC/GSS not coming to Manston. Has everyone down here been taken for a bit of a ride? One can only assume that Stansted has had to give BAWC some concessions to stop them moving some aircraft to Manston and perhaps that's what it was all about? It will give time, I hope, for TDC to now get to proper grips with its S.106 in the next 6 months and ensure proper monitoring is in place.

Glenn Campbell on Inside Out this evening seems to have 'rained on TDC's parade' or to be more exact, on 'Wodgers'. Was I the only one to note squirming and fluster when 'Wodger' was pressed about 'due diligence' enquiries into Euroferries? (Should have read 'Strife'?) With a French firm that seems to have Dover-Boulogne sussed and is about to buy up Sea France, are we really going to see a repaired 'Bonanza Express' in Euroferries livery, sweep into Ramsgate?
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The only good news this evening would appear to be about cucumbers.
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Amidst all the hype about Thanet Earth's first cucumbers hitting Thanet Tesco's no-one commented about the price of £1.28 per cucumber that is essentially 80% water. Considering you could almost throw a cucumber from Seamark Road to Manston Tesco, a 'local' price of £1.28 did seem steep. My 'shopping' correspondent, Granny Smith, now reports that a Thanet Earth cucumber is now on sale at Tescos at the lower price of 80p. One wonders what price Tesco buy them in at and what the mark up is, even at a 38% reduction in price since last week.
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Granny Smith did mention that LIDL are bringing cucumbers in from Spain and if you have no qualms about the carbon foot-print of your cucumber, 49p does seem a more sensible price! Perhaps Tesco is taking the 'proverbial' with its price of a Thanet Cucumber?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think we should be able to "Pick our own" don't you? That should bring the price down surely?

Anonymous said...

Quick,quick, Bertie more important things at the mo - downloaded the Standards board paper - very surprised none of the public come forward who were in the shop - that seems to be a big disappointment and of the part of the 300 pages i read - Thom Morris version differs from the Extra man's version as to who was shouting - it is all academic - amazed they cant see what asses they are making of themselves - resigning would have been the only honourable thing to do.

Bertie Biggles said...

Nice idea 02:31 but sadly not possible; the nightmare for these huge industrial growing operations is infection/pest control failing.

13:11, interesting observations. 300 pages?

Anonymous said...

I've just had a brainwave to save on 'food miles'. Perhaps someone could design an aerial conveyor belt that could take the cucumbers from Thanet Earth to the Manston Road Tesco. Something like those cash-conveyors that were common in shops years ago. Pop a cucumber in and it shoots out on to the veg. counter.

Sorry, must take more water with it in future but I'm sure Heath Robinson could have drawn a suitable device.

Anonymous said...

Bertie,
see ECR is being used as evidence for Cllr Ezekiel's case on Monday - they dont seem to have copied the piece on his blog correctly - or maybe it is me struggling to rotate and look at the piece?
ECR one up on you there getting up the leader's nose!
Thinks he will be here next week in position to meet up with Cllrs in Ramsgate. He must be sure of a whitewash?

Bertie Biggles said...

I like the idea, 21:19! More water with the aqua vita might be in order though!

21.28, since 13:11, you have cleary ploughed through more of the 300 pages. I am not surprised to see ECR coming into the frame. My sources tell me that apoplexy and frothing at the mouth can be induced in some Councillors by mentioning a certain Ramsgate Blog or a certain fellow Councillor!

'Strife' can relax in the knowledge that it only recieves the occasional 'F*****g t****r' expletive from some offices at TDC.

Anonymous said...

Having scanned some of the 300 pages including statements from our esteemed leaders it strikes me that these two men are almost illiterate. Slightly worrying.

Bertie Biggles said...

Michael, over at Thanetonline, posted a semi-literate e-mail from a Cllr a while ago that would seem to confirm your opinion! Slightly worrying.

Richard Eastcliff said...

Nice to see I get a mench in the Standards thingy!

Re the watery toms factory, I'm surprised Infratil hasn't petitioned the council to wangle the s106 agreement so they can truck the produce to Manston, fly it round the island 200 times, and then land it back where it started. Surely it would create jobs?

Anonymous said...

nice one ECR anyone see what the ECR piece was meant to be - i struggled with my bi-focals to make it all out - not to mention not being able to print a couple of pages without having to print the whole 300 - us wrinklies really are at a disadvantage sometimes! Will have to get my granddaughter (9) to have a quick session on my machine and she leaves me for dust!

Bertie Biggles said...

Bloggers got a mention from Cllr Ezekiel; transcript of postings from ECR; e-mail to Ezekiel from Michael Child is referred to. IOTG, page 3 this morning is interesting. Will have to do my take of reading 300 pages late into the night. Witness statements well worth a read.

Anonymous said...

To get back to cucumbers, I see Prentis Greengrocers in Broadstairs has Thanet Earth cucumbers for 80p, same price as Tesco.