Frank Hovis Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 (edited) At last. Children finally start walking to school again like they all used to. They get healthier and the rush hour loses the unnecessary traffic. Things are looking up. Food cash cut to buy petrolBy JANE HAMILTON, Consumer Editor Published: Today Add a comment Add a comment (0) THREE in five families are slashing spending on clothes and food so they can afford petrol - as Brits fork out £12million more a day to fill up than we did a year ago. A massive 56 per cent of parents say they are no longer buying luxuries and are being forced to reduce spending on everyday essentials. One in seven mums has stopped driving the kids to school and one in 50 has even taken in a lodger to make ends meet, according to parenting website Gurgle.com. Unleaded petrol now averages an all-time high of 127.91p per litre, with diesel at 132.31p - more than £6 a gallon. Prices could rocket to over £1.40 a litre in April when a further fuel duty rise is planned. Brian Madderson, chairman of petrol retailers organisation RMI Petrol, said: "Relentless tax hikes are pushing prices to levels never before experienced. "The Government currently makes over 80p from every litre and wants to take more in April." Edit for link: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/money/3367069/Three-in-five-families-reduce-spending-on-clothes-and-food-so-they-can-afford-petrol.html Edited January 24, 2011 by Frank Hovis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 At last. Children finally start walking to school again like they all used to. They get healthier and the rush hour loses the unnecessary traffic. Things are looking up. Just another six to go. Or maybe 5.9, if we accept that a few of those sprogs are not well enough to make it under their own steam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realistbear Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 With a lot of Mewers driving Range Rover Vogues (usually in jet black metallic paint) it is now costing c. £240 a fill up (£7 per gallon 20 gal tank). I drive a Mazda 6 and have decided to cut my consumption by 50% by walking more and planning shopping trips to coincide with business related trips! My little bit to make sure the government get less tax as a result of their greed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 That's just typical of a male HPCer Shame on you! Let me tell you the UK would be in a lot more trouble if it was not for all the woemn working at the local council 'doing things' department, or selling cup cakes, or bead jewellry, or those Gods-who-walk-amongst-us': Life coaches and reflexologists. From my experience, the lazy b*nts will just stay in bet and let hubby do it - as well pay off the 400K mortgage + 300K BTL empire. See you on mumsnet- Ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia O'Keeffe Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 You could get a job in banking with maths like that. i think its within the realms of respectability on a fan chart basis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauly_Boy Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Every cloud has a silver lining, eh! The school run around my way is as bad as london! We have so many schools that you're never 10 minutes walk away from one, I don't understand why the kiddies need to be driven to school at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 More kids walking than relying on the car, good news all round. Although it would tend to suggest that tax revenues from drives will be falling which will be bad news for govt finances as I bet they had it increasing on their magic extrapolated graphs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urban_hymn Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I doubt whether all 7 out of 7 drove therir kids to school to start with - 3 out of 7 tops I would have thought. Never mind, any reduction will help tackle the fat kid plague. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realistbear Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 You could get a job in banking with maths like that. Oops, make that £140!! Still a bit dear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 WOOHOO!!!! That's a start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Oops, make that £140!! Still a bit dear. Well my last fill up of diesel cost £85 and that is bad enough. However I will get a lot further on that tank full, than a Range Rover will on its. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tin Foil Hat Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 There's a constant stream of badly driven oversized 4x4s blocking the roads near me every morning. Everyone's so "important" and "special" that they won't wait and let each other through. Instant gridlock. It's "Broken Britain" (chavs with money edition) in a nutshell every morning here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxymoron Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Never mind, any reduction will help tackle the fat kid plague. Even better if lard @rse mum or dad walk em there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 If no kids are driven to school then there will be no traffic at the school and the lollipop lady and the manufacturers of the acres of yellow paint they put on the roads will be out of work. Its the law of unintended consequences at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxe Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 We have so many schools that you're never 10 minutes walk away from one The problem is that due to the vagaries of the way places are matched to children, you are not necessarily 10 minutes walk from the school you are attending. When the children were at primary school, they were a mile away and we rode a bike. Now they've moved on, they're 6 miles away, and while the 8 year old probably could ride it, he'd be so knackered that he'd probably sleep in lessons. I don't think the 5 year old could do it! So we drive. Not much alternative really. Schools runs cost a lot because most cars are catastrophically inefficient on short journeys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I doubt whether all 7 out of 7 drove therir kids to school to start with - 3 out of 7 tops I would have thought. Never mind, any reduction will help tackle the fat kid plague. More kids walking than relying on the car, good news all round. Although it would tend to suggest that tax revenues from drives will be falling which will be bad news for govt finances as I bet they had it increasing on their magic extrapolated graphs. In the London Boroughs the problem is mainly due to the "choice agenda". 70% of the kids at our primary school are driven because the parents choose not to send them to the school which is within walking distance, despite there being a perfectly good school at 0.5 mile radiuses all over the borough. Their reasons; chasing bullsh1t OFSTED statistics etc and exercising their opportunity to send their kids to any school of their choice. Then they have meetings at the school organised by non jobs from the council to see how they can improve the congestion/stress/parking around the schools and encourage the kids and parents to walk and adopt green attitiudes!!! When you suggest a return to the 70's and 80's by removing the choice agenda (well at least for primary schools), their eyes glaze over and the subject is quickly glossed over! (probably over fear of losing their non job?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exiges Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 At last. Children finally start walking to school again like they all used to. They get healthier and the rush hour loses the unnecessary traffic. Things are looking up. Except the well-heeled still have their monstrous ill-parked Chelsea tractors, it's the less fortunate in their saloons that are forced off the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I doubt whether all 7 out of 7 drove therir kids to school to start with - 3 out of 7 tops I would have thought. Isn't it a case of 1 out of 7 mothers who drive their kids to school have given up? If the 1 in 7 figure were to include all mothers, then it must represent an ever bigger proportion of the driving mothers giving up? Say if 3 out of that 7 drove and one out of 7 gives up, that's 33% of driving mothers giving up. Except that it isn't. If no kids are driven to school then there will be no traffic at the school Don't forget the teachers. They won't be walking to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Bear Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 We live rurally, quite thin lanes - it's VERY funny when two 'Drug Dealer' blacked out Sport Range Rovers full of kids meet each other. Especially if both of the mums doesn't know how to reverse. My kids are 0.9mile from their school, but the journey is not safe to walk/cycle because of scrummies running late and bombing through the lanes. Buckers Yes, it's all very well in theory. I bet there are a lot of mothers who wish their kids could walk safely to a good school half a mile down the road. Neighbour of mine drives her 2 younger ones,about 5 and 7. It would be around a 40 minute walk (minimum) and involve crossing one very busy A road during the rush hour. There are two far closer primaries, but they had no places. And both would still involve crossing the busy A road. Plenty more like my neighbour. There's a reason why family houses a short walk from popular schools sell at a premium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Yes, it's all very well in theory. I bet there are a lot of mothers who wish their kids could walk safely to a good school half a mile down the road. Neighbour of mine drives her 2 younger ones,about 5 and 7. It would be around a 40 minute walk (minimum) and involve crossing one very busy A road during the rush hour. There are two far closer primaries, but they had no places. And both would still involve crossing the busy A road. Plenty more like my neighbour. There's a reason why family houses a short walk from popular schools sell at a premium. Ever wondered why the A road was busy?...or there is a parking problem outside the school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Anything less than 30 minutes either way is perfectly reasonable to either cycle or walk. Some people say it may be dangerous so would rather drive them ? Driving is not exactly the World's safest pastime either !! If the kids dont go out there and learn there are dangers around - they will not learn how to deal with them. Fair enough perhaps if there are only roads available with no pavements. I can imagine it would not be great to send a young un up them early in the morning. For everyone else - send them off on foot or on their bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Even if you *have* to drive there are some suspect cases around - Exhibit 1) Our nextdoor neighbours, one parent works the minimum 16 hours, drives a gas guzzler up to school. It takes about 15 minutes. The drive is much longer as they have to queue in traffic to get across a roaund-about. Even if you *have* to drive your kids to school then do you have TO PARK ON THE F*CKING ZIGZAGS FOR THE SCHOOL CROSSING? OR EVEN ATTEMPT TO DRIVE INTO THE F*CKING SCHOOL!!!! Why not 5 minutes walk away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepLurker Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Yes, it's all very well in theory. I bet there are a lot of mothers who wish their kids could walk safely to a good school half a mile down the road. Neighbour of mine drives her 2 younger ones,about 5 and 7. It would be around a 40 minute walk (minimum) and involve crossing one very busy A road during the rush hour. There are two far closer primaries, but they had no places. And both would still involve crossing the busy A road. Plenty more like my neighbour. There's a reason why family houses a short walk from popular schools sell at a premium. Going way off-topic here, but this sounds like (another) good reason to have blanket 20mph speed limits in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Congreve Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 (edited) Hurray! The school run will be first to go. Hopefully it won't be much longer before it isn't worth there being two bread winners in the family, as running that second car is barely covered by the woman going to work, so what's the point? Result: Massive drop in traffic on our congested roads, consequently less stress all round, more time in bed in the morning and a decent home-cooked meal waiting for the men of this country when they get home from work (plus hopefully she's done the hoovering in the day so you don't have to!). Get in! EDIT: And of course, a house will become affordable on a single wage, like the good old days. Edited January 24, 2011 by General Congreve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Even if you *have* to drive there are some suspect cases around - Exhibit 1) Our nextdoor neighbours, one parent works the minimum 16 hours, drives a gas guzzler up to school. It takes about 15 minutes. The drive is much longer as they have to queue in traffic to get across a roaund-about. Even if you *have* to drive your kids to school then do you have TO PARK ON THE F*CKING ZIGZAGS FOR THE SCHOOL CROSSING? OR EVEN ATTEMPT TO DRIVE INTO THE F*CKING SCHOOL!!!! Why not 5 minutes walk away? no, they have to park next to the door... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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