Scrutineer

Summer here in Adelaide has been fantastic this year - easily the best year since 2009. Lots of sunny days but temps between 18 - 28 here in the hills and we've even had some rain as well. Really lucky. The last few years at Christmas time have just been endurance tests of 40+ with all the curtains drawn tight, ceiling fans whirring and aircon vents blasting, so no Christmas atmosphere at all. But this year it actually felt like Christmas and it's been cool enough to walk outside as well so actually surprising and really great!

I don't think you were wrong at all. I can speak for Perth and Adelaide and insect spray is a necessity. I've been on walks along the beach in Adelaide where people walked past me with bee-keeper style mozzie nets over their heads, such was the problem. Even on hot days when walking along the beach dunes I was forced to wear a hoodie, zipped to the top, and wave a bunch of grasses I had picked for the purpose non-stop in front of my face to keep the flies off. I went outside the other night for around 10 seconds on my front porch and came in with a mozzie bite on my ankle. As I have said before, along with the barking dogs in every garden the insects are the worst thing about life in Australia.

It’s important for several reasons that you kill it ASAP. Either squash it with something or wait till you buy a spray, and make sure you get rid of any egg sac you can see as well.

If it means not going to a food bank, yes. As it happens, I have often used a simple cheese grater to get a thin slice.

I totally agree this is the answer. People are exposed to a lot of junk food, which is very expensive, and also a lot of very "fancy" food on TV shows and they're unaccustomed to cooking old-fashioned simple food from scratch. It is very cheap in the UK, though not Australia so much due to the cost of fresh fruit & veggies here. Here it could be a problem to get hold of a lot of cheap stuff if you were in dire straits.

Spending on alcohol increased in the UK during the GFC 2009 - 2012 for household consumption. Smoking is about the same. But the costs of both have shot up and many people prioritize cigarettes and alcohol over food.

I saw 900 grams for £5 (2 for 1). This is £2.50 per block. I can easily get 50 slices off a block of cheese, often many more. 2.50 / 50 = 5p. It was a matter of pride for me at uni that I could live healthily on so little - my grandmother used to cut cheese quite thin and it's the best way for health and economy.

Not that I agree with all of this reasoning, but I do appreciate the interesting, concrete explanation for food banks you offer.

We're not talking about Australia. We are talking about the rise of food banks in the UK. All of my prices are taken directly from the Tesco website and calculated exactly, so they bear up to scrutiny 100%. I can easily detail it if you persist in throwing doubt on these facts.

Maybe. At the end of the day the cheapest stuff in a British supermarket - not an Australian one, mind you - are fruit and vegetables, then rice, legumes and beans is also very cheap. All of this is good food for young kids growing up. Meat can be expensive, but it should be eaten sparingly even by kids. On top of that all of this can be made even cheaper by buying wholesale. It's not ideal, but possible, and my fear is that many people simply are totally ignorant about how to cook and so go to banks.

I eat an apple for breakfast plus a cup of tea, this costs around 30p. A simple cheese sandwich with some tomato and a cup of tea for lunch, this is about another 30p, and dinner would be rice, beans and peas with tuna for example, which I can cook for around £1.40. So about two quid – and totally healthy as well. I often eat like this, especially if I’m trying to get fit. Just a quick example. I don't eat as much as others, but then most people eat way too much.

Never really sure who would need a food bank aside from the homeless, to be honest. I could feed myself on £2 a day, not including fuel to heat the food. So genuine question - who uses food banks - who hasn't got two pounds a day? A family of four needs eight pounds a day. I'm told nearly a million people use food banks - so a million people can't find two pounds a day for food. I don't believe it. I'm not counting homeless or those not competent to cook.

See, I don't think it's irrelevant at all. I think it's highly relevant. Violence against women and children is significantly higher in Aboriginal communities and while some like yourself choose to be in denial about this, because you think you're being kind and doing good, others realize that if anything is to be done about it then it must be dragged into the daylight and talked about. It shouldn't be possible that I can read story like this and predict with such certainty that the offender is aboriginal without knowing the first thing about the crime.

I wonder where the murderer comes from? I'm thinking somewhere exotic.

Same here in Adelaide - wonderful. For the first time in six years Christmas week hasn't been about sweat and sunburn. We're actually getting in the mood - 24 forecast for Christmas Day and apparently rain as well so double celebration as it hasn't rained here since about April 15th.

Shak Five months is nothing. Five months is a holiday. When you have been here 24 months, sit down and ask yourself honestly if it is for you. Five months is not fair on you or Australia.

This is what the treadmill was for. Or maybe the iron maiden. If I were the judge I think I'd mull both but go for the latter.

Shayman "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans" John Lennon.

Thanks Diane, My brother in the UK does home-brewing and he's got me interested in it a few times, to be honest. I've even thought about buying those kits as well. I'll keep your offer to connect with a group in mind as well. Things are unusually hectic for us right now but I wonder if in a few months if things settle down a bit I could get into that

Cost to wage ratio is essential for all comparisons, but I don't earn 600% more than I did in the UK and neither does anyone else, I'd wager, so in terms of beer it's very expensive, hence why I consider it a luxury product. I agree about half the problem being beer prices in the UK actually being too low as well - it makes for a very large disparity in prices.

It's an average of $6.50. Spitfire is $9.50, Theakstons is $8.50. If you buy a six pack of Speckled Hen you bring your average down. These are beers that cost £1.25 - £1.99 in the UK.

Threaten them with constructive dismissal. It's not legal for them to hound you out of employment.

In 2011/2012 the proportion of full-time 1st degree entrants from socio-economic class 4 to 7 across the UK to HE institutions were: England: 30.9% (Mainly comprehensive) Wales: 29.1% (Fully comprehensive) Scotland: 26.6% (Fully comprehensive) Northern Ireland: 39.1% (Almost totally selective) You can see a clear correlation between the more comprehensive the system the lower the number of people getting into university. Considering the UK average is 30.7% you can see the devastating effect of comprehensives, but then they are doing what they are supposed to do - reduce competition for private school kids when trying to get into top unis.

Of course there's a limit to what you can bring in but if you like proper beer then you could bring a couple of bottles and hide them away. What costs £1 or £2 in the UK will cost $8 - $10 here. I like proper beer and it's so expensive here it's a luxury product I get once a year at Christmas - just bought some today for that reason - 10 bottles cost $65.

You can get good mineral water here, but it's very, very expensive unless you buy the big 10 litre boxes, and it's those I've had the trouble with. Some makers are MUCH better than others though, but they will differ from state to state. Definitely bring single malt if you like it - the Australian duty free allowance is very generous and your $45 Laphroaig in the UK is very often well over $100 in Dan Murphy's. (although currently $85 for Christmas I presume - but that's still £45 for a bottle of whisky. I have bought not one bottle of single malt in the six years I have lived here because of the prices - not one, and rely on duty free when I travel or when others visit.