New years resolution - say no to T***o

[AXJ]

Oh blast. Bad news. Shetland, so far T*sco free zone, is getting their very own in July.... One of the reasons why I like it so much up there is gone.

I hear what you are saying, but the shopping in Lerwick is awful, I mean there are limits, very easy to pontificate about choice from a metropolis, the local shopping for food in Shetland is piss poor, it is not a food producing piece of farming land. Fish, great, then most if that goes to export. I hate big super markets, but if there was ever a place that could do with one, Shetland gets my vote.

I mean they could do with a decent shop more than a massive wind farm, which is going to disturb millions of tons of peat, and will take a hundred year to become carbon neutral, if your care to do the maths.

[ina]

I mean they could do with a decent shop more than a massive wind farm, which is going to disturb millions of tons of peat, and will take a hundred year to become carbon neutral, if your care to do the maths.

What's a decent shop, though? One that is going to destroy most of the other shops already there?

I've done my Christmas shopping twice in Shetland - much better than in Aberdeen; and I've had confirmation on that from folk who live there, who say that whenever they get to the mainland, expecting to get everything so much better and cheaper, they find just the same stuff, only more of it on the shelves: 200 boxes of Quality street instead of 2...

And yes, I know about the food situation: but what is it you are missing there? We should all see to it that we live on what's produced locally; and if you can't produce grapes in Shetland - well, you can't produce them here, either, and I don't need to eat them!

I've written to the editor of the Shetland Times, pointing out that one of the reasons I have been coming to Shetland is now gone... Not a threat that will have them quaver in their boots, I know!

Edited to add: You are quite right about the windfarm. On that scale, I'm against it, too.

[AXJ]

What food do they produce in the Shetlands? I must admit it is a while since I went shopping in Lerwick. I have friends up there, one of whom is a horticulturalist, and is single handedly replanting the native trees, which were all felled and nibbled to death a long time ago. I don't recall seeing any agriculture other than a few sheep, and I have been round the whole mainland many times taking photos. To suggest that people in the Shetlands should only consume what is produced on the Islands is amongst the most bizzare statements I have ever heard, not to mention a cruel suggestion to put it mildly. People have been trading and shifting goods from place to place to place for time immemorial. Shetland supplies a huge amount of oil from the North Sea, has had a big influx of workers to service that industry.

I assume that you don't generate your own electricity, you use a car or a bus, or a boat... you oil the hinge on a gate, or the chain on your cycle. I doubt you have an oil well on your back patio. You may eat fish that is not caught in your pond, that is delivered by boat running on oil? Why should a Shetlander not have a bunch of grapes if they fancy, or a bottle of Tequilla, or some wine from Rioja, or healthy olive oil... do olives grow in the shetlands, or walnuts, or sunflowers... the list is endless.

I don't recall seeing one small shop in Shetland that would suffer, all the shops in Lerwick seemed to be geared towards people buying gifts or local crafts.

My horticultural friend also designs gardens for people over there, I have seen the results, there is not much short of very low slung veg that one could grow. Do the Island Scots have to eat Haggis and Neeps, or are they allowed to join the 21st Century.

Okay... that's my two euro mini rant, I will give my friend a call later, get his view on the supermarket... last time I looked they could do with one. LoL

[ina]

It's not all sheep up there - basically they can grow whatever grows here, they might need more wind protection. And hey, I wasn't saying they shouldn't eat something that doesn't grow there - but I think we should all (us here included) get back to what we can grow ourselves, and get away from imports... And yes, the range of food stuffs may be reduced a bit. But there can still be a lot to prevent life from becoming boring. Check out the Fife diet, for example.

And anyway, there is plenty on offer in Shetland. What they were missing so far was "T*sco's finest" (or whatever their premium range is called... ) I admit that with Somerfields closed, some people might have found it more inconvenient than before; but all the smaller shops seem to have noticed a positive influence! It's not all gift shops, either. Of course there are a lot of them in Lerwick - after all, tourism is a very important part of their economy.

By the way - the fear is not just that T*sco will destroy some of the smaller food shops - they make most of their money with white goods, clothes etc... Can't see t hem not wanting to do that in their new location. ALSO: read the article in the Shetland Times. They are already messing about with local suppliers - either expecting them to supply all their produce to them (so that the existing shops don't get it any more), or not telling them how much they will want to take - so the producer can't go ahead and plan for it. That will often mean that they just ship in stuff that could perfectly well be produced locally.

http://www.shetlandtoday.co.uk/Shetland ... ntID=27732

[AXJ]

Thanks for that, an interesting article indeed, so they produce milk up there are well. The other local produce appears to be fish and sea food, as expected. A friend of mine used to own and run the Shetland Smoke House, closed down now after a nasty bit of manouving in a takeover by a bigger company.

I'll say this, the shopping in Scalloway was no great shakes, nice pub though.

Okay, I can see where you are coming from on this one, fair enough.

I have to say that I am happy to be a couple of thousand miles south, where the selection of 'local' food is more varied LoL.

Best thing to do with that shop in the Shetlands is just to torch it, and cut out the crap. What ever happened to good old fashioned civil unrest?

[ina]

Thanks for that, an interesting article indeed, so they produce milk up there are well. The other local produce appears to be fish and sea food, as expected.

Wonderful icecream, too; and the usual hardy veg and tatties; there's also a very good brewery, and (quite new) a distillery. I saw hens running about - so they seem to be able to cope with the wind! Don't know whether there is a larger egg producer, thuogh. There are two (or three?) large bakeries, but I'm sure they import their flour - Scotland isn't great on baking quality wheat. Barley and oats, however grow; I think somebody also grows bere.

[JR]

I know they have all been responsible for driving the small shops away from our towns and it is a shame.

Trouble is we all need to buy things as cheaply as possible and they do undercut everything from wine to washing powder to clothes or even electrical goods.

I don’t think there is a simple answer. I think perhaps a scheme to allow shops selling locally produced goods (or a high percentage of) should be allowed a reduced business rate or subsidised rent to allow them to compete on prices with the big players. People may then use the local shop again or some might open up again!

I did find a fruit and veg shop in River near Dover and most of the produce is local and priced fairly well.

[mrsflibble]

I tried market shopping recently, but the seller of the veg couldn't tell me where it had been produced. that's at least something supermarkets DO do.

[ina]

I tried market shopping recently, but the seller of the veg couldn't tell me where it had been produced. that's at least something supermarkets DO do.

Tell the seller at the market it's a legal requirement that he can tell you - I know, I'm often annoyed at that, too - the village shop often doesn't bother, either! But I buy almost all my veg from farm shops or farmers' markets, so I do know where it comes from.

And JR - things aren't necessarily cheaper in large supermarkets. Their KVIs are (known value items, like milk and bread), but the rest often isn't. OK, they do sometimes have a cheaper range, but then the quality isn't necessarily the same. I always read the supermarket price comparisons in Farmers' Weekly and compare that with the local shops, and eggs are always cheaper in the village shop - and I know exactly which farm they are from!

[Jobi1canobi]

I have a simple phylosophy (for town dwellers any way)...

If you can't walk there and back carriying what you buy.. don't go there and don't buy it.

I'm pleased to say that Jybson & I are pretty much weaning ourselves off T£££o, 2 x S££££bury and £SD£ - those being 4 (yes, four) supermarkets that grace our local area.

Every Saturday morning we walk down to the local town centre with rucksacks on our backs (so we don't have to use carrier bags), visit the fabulous greengrocers (they always tell me where stuff came from), the butchers (where we can get dairy if we want it as well) and the fishmongers (when we are feeling abit 'flush' - pricey!)

We also refill our Ec0ver bottles from the Eco-house when we're passing and purchase all our toiletries online from Gr££n Pe0ple - so no supermarket usage there either.

Our only vice is the purchase of soya milk/yogurt and some store cupboard items (tins, dried foods) from the supermarket (again that we walk to) but as soon as we can source these elsewhere - we will.

[starchild]

I've been boycotting Strescos for about 4 years now, but I confess that I still use JS. Strescos I have a real thing about; with the local independent shops issue most of all.

Good to see some of us feel the same way :)

SC x

[ina]

Every Saturday morning we walk down to the local town centre with rucksacks on our backs (so we don't have to use carrier bags)

It's not that long ago that I kept being asked if I was on holiday, and did I like it here, wherever I turned up with a rucksack! Folk just couldn't believe that I was only shopping...

[AXJ]

I tried market shopping recently, but the seller of the veg couldn't tell me where it had been produced. that's at least something supermarkets DO do.

Tell the seller at the market it's a legal requirement that he can tell you - I know, I'm often annoyed at that, too - the village shop often doesn't bother, either!

You guys really "want your cake and to eat it" to coin a phase. Legal requirements etc. Half of that nonsense is what has driven small businesses out of business, in one breath we will all sit here complaining about sell by date culture (required by law) and the next whining on about the fact that you local market stall can't offer you the pedigree of a potato.

You want all laws covered, then converge on your supermarkets, they just love the law. The law is what is killing the very thing you hold dear, individuality.

Just like sell by dates, and eat by dates, most people can use their "nose" and make a judgement, same goes for your local fruit and veg stall holder, do you trust them? If you don't, take your custom else where, which small business person would want your custom if you're going to start quoting some European law at them anyway. Remember that poor chap who was prosecuted for selling in imperial measures to old ladies, he won his case in the end, sadly I believe he had already died of a heart attack.

[ina]

Just like sell by dates, and eat by dates, most people can use their "nose" and make a judgement, same goes for your local fruit and veg stall holder, do you trust them?

Sorry, missed that when you posted it. Yes, I would trust my local shop and veg stall holder - if they could tell me where their stuff comes from. But just saying it comes from the wholesaler ain't good enough for me! Unfortunately a lot of them - not all, of course - won't bother themselves about finding out where the product they sell actually does come from unless it is the law. And it's not a law that causes them extra cost; their wholesaler must know it, too, so it's just a matter of asking them...


Anyway, that's not why I came back to this thread.

Update on T***o in Lerwick. Only open a couple of days, and already at it. Oh yes, they do sell local milk - but they also sell Wiseman's (from Scottish mainland), and have a special offer on that! Brilliant!
That way they can easily get the local dairy to lose a lot of their sales; and then, come next situation where the ferry can't go (weather plays quite a role here), the local dairy won't have enough milk anymore for the local population, because they were forced out of business by all those lovely special offers...

Quote:
"But some shoppers voiced con­cern at T***o’s pricing scheme and questioned how genuine their commitment to local produce was.

The company is using Shetland Farm Dairies as its “primary” milk supplier but this week has been running a special offer on Aberdeen dairy Wiseman’s, where you can buy two litres of its low fat milk for £1 – more than the £1.04 it charges for a single litre of the local product, which costs £1.52 for two litres."

Full article:
http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2008/07/ ... into-town/

[Flo]

So many all depends in saying no to the local supermarket, whatever it is called. Depends where you live and whether there are enough alternatives. Depends on what you can grow for yourself, whether you can get onto the internet to go green shopping, whether you want to buy in bulk through a local co-operative group, how healthy you are for hunting up shopping outside the supermarket, how much time you have outside the job that produces the money, how much time you have to cook for yourself, the price of gas and electricity, what sort of income and transport you have ...

Surely not everyone here is 100% fit and able to grow their own, living in a larger town which has a variety of smaller shops providing food and household goods alongside the supermarket as well as having a thriving farmers' market and a normal market?

If I didn't use the supermarket here I would live on bread and vegetables. Well excuse me but I like to clean myself, the abode and the clothes. Even if I jump on the bus into one of the next towns, I would still not be a lot better off as there are only chains like Holland and Barrett which sell extra staples and Oxfam (yes it's a chain store even though it's for charity) which sells household cleaners at the moment (Bio-D). Sure there is a butcher, fishmonger and baker there - two no use to a vegetarian of course ...

OK so I so shop on-line for a lot of green cleaners because they are cheaper than the supermarkets here (think soda bicarbonate, vinegar and such like) even with a delivery charge. But that is a price choice due to being an improvident person who never saved up and so only has a state pension And if you shop on-line rather than in the local supermarket you are rarely supporting a small business which compares to a small, local shop are you?

As for local small local independent clothes shops all for 16 year olds or at one heck of a price for Madam who does nothing but give dinner parties and arrange posh charity events. There are some times when you can't make it or get it from the charity shop which now charge prices comparable to those of T***o and Asda. Ho hum.

And it's not the very recent arrival of T***o two years ago up the road that has caused this situation - it's the fact that the local shoppers in our town and the one next door didn't support the independent shops over the last 40 years when they were here. So they shut for lack of custom.