Turn on the lights

 

Thanks to Johnson et al

Brexit added almost £6bn to UK food bills in the two years to the end of 2021, affecting poorest households the most.

London School of Economics (LSE) researchers say the cost of food imported from the EU shot up because of extra red tape, adding £210 to the average household food bills over 2020 and 2021, 

Since low-income families spend a greater share of their income on food, the impact of Brexit on their purchases was disproportionately greater, they said.

Lord Frost’s Brexit trade deal signed at the end of the transition period in December 2020 ensures trade is tariff-free with the EU but created trade barriers in the form of customs, rules of original paperwork and regulatory standards checks for agri-food products.

In 2015, the year before the referendum, 77% of food imports were from the EU.

Note the change

 

That's cold

Who can say we don't need the winter heating allowance now?

 

Very sad news

 I've mentioned our very good neighbour and friend Eladia many times before on this blog. 

Eladia and her husband Pepe came to live opposite us not long after we moved in. We took them a bottle of champagne to welcome them to the street. We struck up a great friendship straight away which has strengthened over the eighteen years we have lived here. 

Pam and I have had many happy times with Eladia and her family. Whenever we needed help, they were there to help us. We owe them a great debt of gratitude. 

We will sorely miss Eladia's company, her keen and often wicked sense of humour not to mention the wonderful desserts she made for us. 

This is heart-breaking news.

Not true

Not that long ago, an event only became news once it was endorsed by a traditional source such as CNN, ABC, the BBC or Reuters. But times have changed. News is now available instantly online and a fair amount of it is unsubstantiated in other words possibly fake. 

On Thursday afternoon  the Manchester Evening News ran the following headline on its website: “Zara founder Amancio Ortega registers interest in buying Manchester United.” The story went on to claim that “it is understood he has informed senior executives of his interest in United.” The article did not cite any sources to back up such an exclusive.

The “exclusive” was quickly picked up by the British tabloids – which have millions of readers – and from there, it appeared in Spain’s four most important sports publications: Marca, As, Mundo Deportivo and Sport, as well as general news outlets.

Judging by the number of website clicks and likes on Twitter and Instagram, on Thursday it certainly looked like Manchester United was about to be acquired by Spain’s Amancio Ortega, founder of the Inditex group (which includes the fashion brand Zara) and one of the wealthiest men in the world.

It was fake news. There is no such interest and never was, as Inditex sources later confirmed. It is even questionable whether the founder of Inditex is even a fan of soccer in the first place. Despite his billionaire status, Ortega, 86, is more readily associated with games of domino played in humble taverns with local residents in Sanxenxo, in his native northwestern Spanish region of Galicia.

In truth, it is not even certain that the Glazers, who own Manchester United, want to sell the club. Again there is speculation that the club is for sale, fueled by online social media outlets. 

Crazy money

Many of us would like a bit more in our pockets to buy the things we might want but there must surely be a limit to the amount anyone would need to live even the most luxurious of lifestyles. 

Whilst there are millions of people starving in the world, there are a few that I believe earn more than they should. I include footballers in that group. 

I read this morning that Manchester United will save about £15.5m in wages after coming to a mutual agreement with Ronaldo to end his contract before it runs out in the summer. I understand Ronaldo is payed £500,000 a week for sitting on the bench for most matches. 

According to the Daily Mail,  Ronaldo's goals during his second spell at Manchester United have cost the club £1.2m each.

Although Ronaldo has donated vast sums of money to charity, his net worth is still estimated to be around $115 million according to Forbes. 

AFC Crewe of the 14th tier Crewe and District League Premier Division have made an audacious bid to sign Cristiano Ronaldo for £35-a-week after he agreed to terminate his Manchester United contract Apparently, on that salary,  he would be the highest paid player at the club.

Is Ronaldo 14,286 times a better player than those at Crewe? Not when he spends most of the time sitting on the subs bench!

 

What he said

 This is the editorial I referred to in which Pascual said:

"Pages full of good intentions, alternated with bits of our history and marvelous photographs taken by Keith Williamson, whom we thank in an outstanding way for his commitment to our musical society, a magnificent photographic work that year after year bears witness to musical activity, making it visible and close. "