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Home/UK/Millions of shoppers are unable to buy essential FOOD as one in three stock up for Christmas
Millions of shoppers are unable to buy essential FOOD as one in three stock up for Christmas
DUK Editor Team Send an email October 9, 2021
Millions of shoppers have been unable to buy essential foods and bosses have warned that factories could close in the next few weeks while soldiers are set to be drafted in to drive HGVs in the coming months amid fears of a 'winter of discontent'.
Around one in six Britons have been unable to buy essential food items in the last fortnight, Office of National Statistics figures have suggested, amid fears of empty supermarket shelves as Christmas approaches.
HGV driver and supply shortages have led to panic buying over the last few weeks, with one in three shoppers already starting to stock up on their groceries for Christmas.
Hundreds of thousands of panicked shoppers have already booked in their delivery slots for the festive season while two thirds of shoppers were either worried or 'very worried' by potential shortages of food and drink ahead of the festive season.
Amid fears of a 'winter of discontent', senior Government figures have reportedly said that they are considering keeping soldiers on to drive HGV lorries across Christmas in a bid to prevent food shortages.
Elsewhere, Boris Johnson appointed former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis as his new supply chain crisis tsar with a remit to clear 'blockages' and 'pre-empt potential future ones' after dismissing concerns over labour shortages, Britain's creaking supply chain and fears over rising inflation.
Around one in six Britons have been unable to buy essential food items in the last fortnight, figures have suggested, amid fears of empty supermarket shelves as Christmas approaches
Amid fears of food shortages in the coming months and panic buying leading to empty supermarket shelves, one in six adults have been unable to buy essential food items in the last fortnight.
Some 17 per cent of adults said they had not been able to purchase such goods because they were not available, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
While almost a quarter of adults said the same for non-essential food items, the ONS found after analysing responses from 3,326 adults between September 22 and October 3 as part of its Opinions and Lifestyle survey.
It asked about people's experiences of shortages over the past fortnight and overall, 57 per cent of people said everything they needed was still available to buy.
One in seven residents were unable to buy fuel as fears of petrol shortages and struggles with HGV driver recruitment led to drivers queuing for hours to get fuel and petrol stations being forced to close due to low supplies.
Six in 10 people said their food shopping experience had been different to usual, while 43 per cent said there was less variety, and 14 per cent had to go to more shops to get what they needed.
A fifth of Britons said items that they needed were not available but they could find a replacement, with a further fifth saying they could not find a replacement.
Thirteen per cent of adults also reported waiting longer for prescriptions and four per cent of people had to go to more pharmacies to find what they needed.
HGV driver and supply shortages have led to panic buying over the last few weeks, with one in three shoppers already starting to stock up on their groceries for Christmas
An industry leader has warned Boris Johnson (pictured) that factories across the country could stop production due to rising energy costs amid fears of a 'winter of discontent'
Analysis of price rises in the last year shows the cost of a second-hand car has risen more than £1,600, a tank of fuel is up more than £10 and the price of a pint of beer is creeping close to £4
Exclusive research for the Daily Mail by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) also yesterday revealed how inflation will cost the typical family of four an extra £1,800 by the end of this year. Meanwhile, a retired couple can expect to see living costs rise by more than £1,100, and a lower income couple could be stung by nearly £900
Amid fears that empty supermarket shelves will continue and worsen as Christmas approaches, hundreds of thousands of panicked shoppers have already booked in their delivery slots for the festive season.
A survey of 1,000 consumers by The Grocer revealed that two thirds of shoppers were either worried or 'very worried' by potential shortages of food and drink ahead of the festive season.
Supermarkets have been ramping up orders for turkey, the trimmings and other essentials to cope with an earlier than usual rush, according to the magazine.
Retailers have warned of empty shelves and delays to gifts due to gaps in the global supply chain and a lack of HGV drivers, amid concerns of a 'winter of discontent' hitting the UK.
Over the past month, one in ten businesses have put up prices due to rising inflation which is yet to peak, according to economists.
Mike Watkins, of analysts NielsenIQ, told The Grocer: 'Shoppers tend to leave most of their Christmas grocery shopping later in November, but clearly this year we're seeing late-November demand brought forward into October because of the concerns consumers have read and heard about, turkeys being a great example.'
Amid the panic buying, record numbers of panicked shoppers are already booking supermarket delivery slots for December.
Waitrose saw 22,000 festive slots booked by lunchtime on the first day of releasing their dates last week, while 112,000 had been booked by the end of the week.
School dinner choice is slashed and staff told to stockpile 'long-life, dried and frozen food' amid fears suppliers will struggle to keep children fed with shortages this winter
School dinner choices are being slashed and staff advised to stockpile essential food supplies amid fears suppliers will struggle to keep children properly fed this winter.
ISS, one of the UK's largest canteen suppliers, has reportedly told 450 schools it is having issues with 'sourcing, packing and distribution', predicting that the problem will 'get worse' over the winter and will continue until February.
School canteens were advised by ISS in an email to stockpile 'long life, dried, tinned and frozen' products to make sure children can still be fed in a 'worse case scenario' this winter, according to ITV News.
Meanwhile, food wholesaler BidFood has warned that it is experiencing 'significant' supply pressures and struggling to recruit HGV drivers, blaming the issues on the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.
In Lancashire, thousands of pupils are being offered a reduced menu, The Times reported.
'One school this week has not had a delivery of sandwiches. Another, no soup was sent. One school cook has even reported going out and purchasing additional items out of her own money as she was concerned about the choices on offer,' Samara Barnes, a Labour councillor, told Lancashire Live.
'This is a grave concern, especially given the fact that we know some children rely on their school dinner as their only meal of the day.'
Ocado, which is releasing slots more slowly, has sent out a 'sorry if you haven't been able to a Christmas Slot in time' reply on its FAQ page.
Tesco is not releasing slots to customers on its Delivery Saver scheme until November 15 and for others on the 23 – the same dates as last year.
Supermarkets are not the only place that are experiencing shortages, as footballer Marcus Rashford said some of the food banks he works with have been experiencing supply issues.
He told BBC Breakfast: 'They're struggling to do what they love doing because there's a shortage of food and of course it's something that we're going to have to find an answer to, and quickly as well because you know people are out there and they need the meals and especially going into winter.'
Elsewhere, Boris Johnson today appointed former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis as his new supply chain crisis tsar with a remit to clear 'current blockages' and 'pre-empt potential future ones'.
The 56-year-old is nicknamed 'Drastic Dave' due to the lengths he will go to to turn around businesses, including job cuts and slashing prices, and 'Diamond Dave' because of his success at Britain's biggest supermarket and at Unilever before that.
Mr Johnson has insisted it is not his job to 'fix every problem in business' caused by Brexit and the pandemic and repeatedly dismissed concerns over labour shortages, Britain's creaking supply chain and fears over rising inflation.
But today's appointment, welcomed by business leaders, is a sign Downing Street has growing concerns about the crisis after weeks of product shortages, queues at petrol stations and the growing threat of Christmas staples such as turkeys, pigs in blankets and gammons being scarce.
Aldi is hiring 1,500 temporary store staff to deal with the expected Christmas rush and Island, which has seen frozen turkey sales up 409 per cent compared to the same period last year, has upped its order from suppliers by 20 per cent.
Aldi recruitment director, Kelly Stokes, said: 'We always need extra support over the busy Christmas period but this year especially, temporary store colleagues will play a vital role in keeping our shelves stocked as the nation prepares to reunite with their loved ones after missing out on festive celebrations in 2020.'
Mr Johnson has a lot riding on the festive period, having promised last week that 'Christmas will be considerably better than last Christmas'.
A survey has revealed that families will be doing more to celebrate this year than they did before the pandemic despite concerns about shortages wreaking havoc.
Households across the UK will be pulling out all the stops to make sure this festive season is more special than ever, after missing out on much of the fun last year due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The findings are published in the second edition of the M&S Family Matters Index, out this week, which explores the priorities, challenges, ambitions and plans of families.
Some 39 per cent of 5,000 British adults said they will do more to celebrate Christmas than they did before the pandemic hit, with more effort also planned for Easter, Diwali and Hannukah.
One in three say they will do more in future to celebrate family birthdays, and more than one in five say this of New Year's Eve and relationship anniversaries.
However this year families face the threat of the lack of supplies reaching the UK due to labour shortages, Britain's creaking supply chain and fears over rising inflation.
This afternoon France's European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune even threatened to cut off supplies of turkeys and other goods unless continental fishermen are allowed to work in British waters.
Former Tesco chief executive Sir David Lewis has been appointed as the Government's supply chain adviser
Hundreds of thousands of panicked shoppers have already booked in their delivery slots for the festive season. Pictured: Near empty pasta shelves in Sainsbury's, Camberley, Surrey
Supermarkets are not the only place that are experiencing shortages, as footballer Marcus Rashford said some of the food banks he works with have been experiencing supply issues
Two thirds of shoppers were either worried or 'very worried' by potential shortages of food and drink ahead of the festive season. Pictured: Empty shelves at a supermarket in London
It is the latest threat from across the Channel in a dispute over access to rich fishing grounds from next year, including the possibility of cutting electricity supplies to Channel Islands Jersey and Guernsey.
It came as fears were raised today of another toilet roll shortage as industry bosses warned spiralling costs will hit production – and baked beans became the latest food staple to face price increases.
Downing Street said former supermarket chief executive Sir Dave will advise the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and work with Government officials to quickly resolve acute, short-term issues.
He will also co-chair a new supply chain advisory group and be based in the Cabinet Office.
A No10 spokesman said: 'This includes both identifying the causes of current blockages and pre-empting potential future ones, and advising on resolutions either through direct government action or through industry with Government support.'
Mr Johnson said: 'I'm pleased that Sir David Lewis is joining the team who have been working on future-proofing our supply chains across the United Kingdom as we recover from the pandemic. There are currently global supply issues which we are working with industry to mitigate and Dave brings a wealth of experience which will help us continue to protect our businesses and supply chains.'
The South East is STILL in the grip of fuel crisis: One third of petrol stations are dry or short on supply despite Grant Shapps' claim UK levels are 'close to normal range'
The South East is still in the grip of a fuel crisis – with a third of petrol stations dry or short on supply – despite Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today claiming supply levels are 'close to normal range'.
The Petrol Retailers Association's research showed that 12 per cent of filling stations have run out of fuel in the region, while 17 per cent have one grade of diesel or petrol.
Under 75 per cent of petrol stations have both diesel and petrol in London and south-east England, as opposed to 90 per cent outside those areas.
The figures are at loggerheads with Mr Shapps' claims that the issue is almost entirely over.
He told GB News today: 'In London and the South East, supply levels in petrol stations are getting very close to the normal range and we'll see them opening up in a day or too.
'There was never a shortage of fuel in the refineries and storage stations. As soon as people queue up to fill up fuel you get into a situation where you get a run on something like we saw with toilet rolls.
'The amount of fuel in the petrol stations themselves is about double what it was at the low point.'
Business leaders have welcomed the appointment and said they hope it is a sign that No 10 is willing to listen to their concerns.
Hannah Essex, Co-Executive Director of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: 'We very much welcome the appointment of Sir David Lewis.
'Hopefully Sir David, and the new groups he co-chairs, will be able to hit the ground running and urgently address some of the critical issues damaging business conditions.
'The increasing pressure that businesses, especially SMEs, are facing around supply chain costs and disruption, labour shortages, price rises, soaring energy bills and taxes is becoming dire.'
Meanwhile, a French minister today threatened to cut off supplies of Christmas turkeys unless continental fishermen are allowed to work in British waters.
Paris's European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune lashed out at the UK's Brexit 'failures' and said that France's trawlermen would not 'pay the price' for the UK's decision to leave.
It is the latest threat from across the channel in a dispute over access to rich fishing grounds from next year.
French fishing barons earlier this week gave Britain two weeks to grant them more access to its waters or face being cut off from crucial Christmas supplies.
They handed down the ultimatum a day after skippers vowed to block the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel unless their demands were met.
Speaking to BFM TV in France today Mr Baume – one of Emmanuel Macron's most outspoken ministers, vented on the subject again.
Rising energy, gas and food costs have also been sweeping the nation amid fears of a 'winter of discontent', with one industry leader warning the Government that factories across the country could stop production due to rising prices.
Andrew Large, director-general at the Confederation of Paper Industries, attended a meeting on Friday with the Business Secretary and other representatives of energy intensive industries to discuss the wholesale gas crisis.
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4's PM programme afterwards, Mr Large claimed it was 'very clear' across all of the sectors that there are 'serious' risks factories could stop all activities as a result of the gas prices being too high.
His comments came after the boss of UK Steel, Gareth Stace, said earlier today that if Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Government 'does nothing to help' firms, rising prices could 'start to strangle' production.
At his Conservative Party conference speech earlier this week, Mr Johnson promised that the UK would become a 'higher-wage, higher-productivity economy'.
But Mr Stace claimed that if no action is taken, 'we'll actually be walking blindly towards a low wage economy'.
Amid the industry warnings, Ofgem warned there will also be a 'significant rise' to the cap on energy bills – hitting millions of Britain's poorest people – with soaring energy prices set to push average annual bills through the £2,000 barrier for the first time.
As the gas crisis escalated, industry analysts suggested the current energy cap of £1,277 would rise by as much as £800.
Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley, didn't put a figure on it, but said there will be a 'significant rise' in the price cap set by the industry regulator which helps to control the cost of gas and electricity in the UK.
He didn't knock back claims that fixed and other deals could reach £2,000 in 2022.
'We can't predict everything, and the wholesale market, as we've seen, has gone up and down extremely quickly so we can't predict fully what that will be,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'But, looking at the costs that are in the system, we are expecting a significant rise in April.'
But Mr Brearley added that the current price cap will remain until April. 'We have no plans to raise the price cap before April,' he said.
In the face of the ongoing energy crisis, London-based money-saving expert Martin Lewis has urged customers to 'do nothing'.
He said those who want cheaper energy deals shouldn't shop around like normal – instead he insisted 'inaction is now the best action'.
Speaking on his eponymous ITV show on Thursday, Martin said customers should pick deals that match their energy providers' price cap – or wait until they are given one when their current deal ends.
The energy crisis has been blamed, in part, on a shortage of natural gas caused by Vladimir Putin allegedly 'choking' supplies to Europe
Experts claimed Putin was using the crisis as leverage over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which is run by Gazprom. Pictured: An output filtration facility of a gas treatment unit at the Slavyanskaya compressor station
The South East is still in the grip of a fuel crisis despite Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today claiming supply levels are 'close to normal range'. Pictured: Queues for Esso in Ashford
The finance expert explained: 'Do nothing, do nothing, energy prices are rising, energy firms are falling. The cheapest fixes are £500 a year higher than they were just a month ago.
'Shocking. People are panicking. Do nothing. Inaction is now the best action,' he added.
Explaining the reasons behind the surging prices, he said: 'The wholesale gas price is the price firms pay, and in the UK a lot of our electricity is heated by gas so it hits the electricity price too, it was normally about 50p/therm, you'll see it has exploded in the last few months – it's now well over five times the normal amount and that's hideous.'
The energy crisis has been blamed, in part, on a shortage of natural gas caused by Vladimir Putin allegedly 'choking' supplies to Europe to pressurise regulators into approving the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Today Boris Johnson waded into the row, branding the link a threat to energy security and suggesting the decision to bypass Ukraine to bring supplies direct to Germany would damage the Ukrainian economy.
A No 10 spokesman said: 'Although Nord Stream 2 will not directly impact the UK's energy security, it could have serious implications for central and eastern European countries.
Why is Putin's £8.1bn Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline so controversial?
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is set to double Russia's natural gas shipments to Germany, Europe's largest consumer of gas, bypassing Ukraine and depriving the EU member state of essential gas transit fees of $1.5 billion per year.
Russia is already the second-largest supplier of gas to the EU behind Norway, and the £.8.1billion will increase Europe's energy dependence on Russia and Moscow's geopolitical clout.
Donald Trump was opposed to the project and the EU has yet to sign off on it.
But over the summer officials in Washington and Berlin reportedly reached an agreement that would allow the Nord Stream 2 pipeline – which was roughly within 62 miles of completion as of June – to finish construction.
U.S. officials under Presidents Obama and Trump opposed the pipeline, arguing it would strengthen Moscow's influence across Europe.
Nord Stream already includes one pipeline running from Russia to Germany. Both are owned by a company whose majority shareholder is Russian state gas company Gazprom.
'Some European countries are nearly wholly dependent on Russian gas, which raises serious concerns about energy security.'
In comments reported by The Times, the spokesman also warned about the damage to Ukraine, which currently hosts the largest pipeline network for Russian gas and benefits from large transit fees. He added: 'Nord Stream 2 would divert supplies away from Ukraine, with significant consequences for its economy.'
The natural gas price is currently hovering at around £2.40 a therm – down from more than £4 yesterday – after traders were reassured by Putin hinting that Russia would consider increasing exports.
Mr Large said today: 'When we talked with the Secretary of State this afternoon, it was very, very clear across all of the sectors that there are serious risks of effectively factory stoppages as a result of the costs of gas being too high to bear, and in those circumstances, there will be a gradual knock on effect through supply chains, right the way across manufacturing, consumer retail and other products. And so the risks are very, very real.'
When asked what this would mean for the paper industry, Mr Large said it would be incredibly damaging for profitability.
He said: 'So, our paper mill will be wanting to operate 24/7, 365 days a year, with the exception of planned stoppages for maintenance and so on. So the financial sustainability of that paper mill is dependent upon being able to maximise its uptime.
'Every minute that the machinery isn't working, every minute that paper isn't being produced is a damage to the profitability of the sector and a damage to the future investment potential and opportunities going forward.'
However, Mr Large did say that the meeting was a 'positive, first step' to look at the solutions they had proposed and that Kwasi Kwarteng 'clearly furthers our desire to avoid any potential supply chain disruption'.
The Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG) echoed Mr Large's comments, saying in a statement it had welcomed the opportunity to meet the Business Secretary and is pleased he wants to find practical solutions to the challenges members face going into this winter.
EIUG chair Dr Richard Leese said: 'Our message to the Secretary of State was for prompt and preventative measures to help avoid recent production curtailments in the fertiliser and steel sectors being replicated in other areas this winter.
'EIUG will work with Government to avoid threats both to the production of essential domestic and industrial products, as well an enormous range of supply chains critical to our economy and levelling up the country.'
The EIUG's membership comprises trade associations and customer groups representing industrial sectors with the heaviest energy consumption in the UK.
These are UK Steel, the Chemical Industries Association, the Confederation of Paper Industries, the Mineral Products Association, the British Glass Manufacturers Federation, the British Ceramic Confederation, BOC, Air Products and the Major Energy Users Council.
Mr Kwarteng said consumers will be better insulated from erratic gas prices as wind and solar power start providing more energy to the UK's households.
He insisted that by decarbonising the UK's power supply, the Government would ensure that households are less vulnerable to swings in fossil fuel markets.
He told a conference organised by trade body Energy UK: 'The UK so far, as many of you know, has made great progress in diversifying our energy mix. But we are still very dependent, perhaps too dependent, on fossil fuels and their volatile prices.'
The Petrol Retailers Association's research showed that 12 per cent of filling stations have run out of fuel in the region, while 17 per cent have one grade of diesel or petrol
Under 75 per cent of petrol stations have both diesel and petrol in London (pictured) and south-east England, as opposed to 90 per cent outside those areas
It comes as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News 'we're right at the tail end' of the situation with fuel supply pressures
UK Steel boss Mr Stace told BBC Radio 4's World At One today: 'The prime minister this week is calling for a high wage economy.
'The steel sector already does exactly that – we pay our workers 45 per cent higher wages in regions where steel is, they're highly skilled as well.
'If you're paying as much for gas and electricity as we are as a steel sector, then these unprecedented price rises are hurting us now today.
'If the prime minister and government does nothing to help us, they could start to strangle steel production here in the UK and rather than working towards a high wage economy, we'll actually be walking blindly towards a low wage economy.'
He added: 'At the moment, there's an energy crisis. If government does nothing, tomorrow there'll be a steel crisis
'In terms of what impact that could have on jobs, that wouldn't be good not only for the steel sector and for those regions where there is steel but for the UK economy as a whole.'
It comes as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News 'we're right at the tail end' of the situation with fuel supply pressures.
He said in 'most parts of the country' problems have ended, and that London and the South East are the only two areas 'where we're seeing any continued problems'.
Will the lights stay on this winter? National Grid warns of a greater risk of blackouts and says electricity supplies will be 'tight' this year after undersea cable fire
A map showing the various electricity cables that bring in electricity to the UK from the rest of Europe. The IFA link is seen bottom right in green
Britain faces 'tight' electricity supplies this winter after a fire disrupted a vital cable bringing energy from France – loading fresh pressure onto a system that is already being stretched to the limit by high demand and limited supply.
The National Grid said the incident at a connector station in Kent last month had cut the amount of energy that can be imported via the 1FA undersea cable – which runs under the English Channel to Calais – by half.
By October 23, 1GW of power should be restored following repairs, but the full capacity of 2GW will not be reached until more work due to last until March next year.
European wholesale gas and power prices have rocketed this year due to lower-than-usual gas stocks this summer, reduced supply from Russia, the onset of colder temperatures and infrastructure outages.
High UK wholesale gas prices have helped to lift wholesale power prices as gas plants account for around 40% of electricity generation in Britain.
He added that around 3,500 people have applied for provisional HGV licences in the past week.
The Government is also prepared to ask the military to drive HGV lorries until Christmas, after they have already stepped in to help due to recruitment issues heightened by Brexit and the Covid pandemic.
Senior Government sources told The Telegraph that they are willing to ask for an extension of the Military Assistance to Civilian Authorities (MACA) order in a bid to prevent shortages of food and other essential items this Christmas.
The original MACA order is understood to last 30 days, but a Government source told the publication that it could be extended if problems persist past the beginning of November, when the order will run out.
Andrew Large, director-general at the Confederation of Paper Industries, said its members are being 'affected very, very severely' by cost increases, with toilet roll and packaging among the items that could be hit hardest.
He said: 'They're seeing their costs go up through the roof. It's damaging their profitability and in some cases it's causing them to manage their production rates so as not to expose themselves to the very, very highest costs.'
Meanwhile, baked beans have become the latest victims of soaring inflation – with the head of manufacturer Kraft Heinz today revealing the cost of the breakfast staple will have to go up.
Miguel Patricio, CEO of Kraft Heinz, which makes a range of other products including Philadelphia spread and Capri Sun, said that inflation was widespread globally and costs were rising.
'In previous years there was inflation in coffee because of a bad crop or a bad crop in beans – what is different now is that this inflation is across the board,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
'So it's impossible to navigate through this moment of inflation without increasing prices. It's up to us, and to the industry and to other companies to try to minimise these price increases.'
One in ten British businesses put up their prices in the past month due to the rising costs, the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) latest business survey for September shows.
Meanwhile, nearly a third of companies have seen a higher-than-normal increase in running costs and many have been forced to pass this on to customers.
Companies in construction, services and manufacturing were the worst hit as 10 per cent said they needed to raise prices last month, up from 8% per cent in mid-August and 4 per cent early in 2021.
The data showed that, of these, nearly a quarter, 23 per cent, were retailers in consumer-facing sectors, and 25 per cent were in the manufacturing industry.
The stark data came as the soaring cost of electricity and gas hit industries such as steel, glass and chemicals, meaning consumers will soon be paying more for a huge number of products including cars, building materials, food packaging and even toilet roll.
Factories have moved to reduce their output to save on costs as the price of energy went through the roof with some demanding Government support to keep running.
It came as the Bank of England's new chief economist, Huw Pill, used his first interview in the in the job to warn that Britain faces a 'greater than expected' rise in inflation over the coming months, which with further hammer households and businesses.
Mr Pill said he expects increasing costs of living 'should subside as the pandemic recedes', but with inflation already at a nine-year high of 3.2 per cent, he gave the chilling warning: 'The magnitude and duration of the transient inflation spike is proving greater than expected.'
Britons and their businesses are being battered by a 'perfect storm' of inflation and supply chain problems with experts predicted inflation could still reach 5% by Christmas.
Le Grinch threatens to steal Christmas: France warns Britain it faces a festive goods blockade, saying their fishermen must not pay for UK's Brexit 'failure'
By David Wilcock, Whitehall Correspondent for MailOnline
A French minister today threatened to cut off supplies of Christmas turkeys unless continental fishermen are allowed to work in British waters.
Paris's noisy European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune lashed out at the UK's Brexit 'failures' and said that France's trawlermen would not 'pay the price' for the UK's decision to leave.
'They failed on Brexit. It was a bad choice. Threatening us, threatening our fishermen, will not settle their supply of turkey at Christmas,' he said.
'We will hold firm. The Brits need us to sell their products.'
French Fishermen previously blockaded Jersey over access to Channel Island waters.
US warns Boris Johnson scrapping NI protocol would be a 'serious risk to stability' in Ulster
Boris Johnson's row with the EU over Northern Ireland risks creating 'a serious risk to stability', one of Joe Biden's top aides warned today.
Jake Sullivan, the president's national security adviser, said the White House has significant concern' about UK threats to unilaterally suspend the Northern Ireland Protocol before Christmas.
His comments came after Brexit Minister Lord Frost set a November deadline for a solution to the protocol deadlock, warning the EU the UK 'cannot wait forever' for border checks to be improved.
He said there will be a 'decision point' early next month when it will become apparent if it is possible for the two sides to agree a solution to resolve ongoing disruption to intra-UK trade.
London has threatened to unilaterally suspend the agreement if Brussels does not agree to scrap the protocol and replace it – something the EU is refusing to contemplate.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Sullivan said: 'Without something like the Northern Ireland protocol and with the possibility of the return of a hard border between NI and the Republic of Ireland, we will have a serious risk to stability and to the sanctity of the Good Friday agreement, and that is of significant concern to the US.'
French boats were free to fish in the six-to-12 mile zone when the UK was in the EU, but now have to prove that they previously did so. France says they should keep the same level of access, accusing Britain of breaching the Brexit trade deal.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Jean Castex said France was ready to review bilateral cooperation with Britain if London continues to ignore the agreement reached over fishing rights in its post-Brexit trading relationship with the European Union.
Paris is infuriated by London's refusal to grant what it considers the full number of licenses due to French fishing boats to operate in Britain's territorial waters, and is threatening retaliatory measures.
French fishermen have also said they could block the northern port of Calais and Channel Tunnel rail link, both major transit points for trade between Britain and continental Europe, if London does not grant more fishing licences in the next 17 days.
They previously blockaded Jersey over access to Channel Island waters.
Beaune said France had asked for 450 fishing licences but had only received 275. 'We're 40 percent short, but we insist on those 450,' he said.
'Britons need us to sell their products, including from fishing, they need us for their energy, for their financial services and for their research centres,' Beaune said.
'All of this gives us pressure points. We have the means to modulate the degree of our cooperation, to reduce it, if Britain does not implement the agreement,' he said.
'If they don't do their share, then we won't do 100 percent of our share either.'
In Brussels, Eurocrats refused to be drawn into the row, as Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius held talks with Environment Secretary George Eustice.
A European Commission spokesman said: 'Both sides committed to continue as a matter of urgency to examine the evidence, boat by boat, to find a solution for European fishermen and women, guaranteeing that all who qualify under the terms of TCA (trade and co-operation agreement) can receive their licenses swiftly.'
Earlier this week a senior EU diplomat claimed France was 'overplaying' the row ahead of next year's presidential election. The source said: 'It looks good for President Macron right now to be tough on the British.'
The Brexit trade agreement, signed by both sides last year, reduces the catch for EU trawlers in British waters by 25 per cent over five-years. After that expires, access will be negotiated on an annual basis.
The French government wants other EU members to support their push for Britain to be brought before an arbitration panel set up to thrash out post-Brexit disputes.
The country's maritime ministry said yesterday that French ministers would unveil retaliatory measures 'in the second half of October'. Annick Giradin, the French maritime minister, has raised the possibility of cutting electricity supplies to Channel Islands Jersey and Guernsey.
End of furlough did NOT lead to wave of job cuts despite fears removing Covid support scheme would spark surge in redundancies, data suggests
By Jack Wright for MailOnline
The end of the £70billion furlough scheme did not lead to the wave of job cuts many expected after the massive Covid financial support scheme was wound down last month, early data suggests.
Figures from the Insolvency Service show that the number of redundancies proposed by employers in September was close to record lows, with many businesses with large numbers of furloughed workers saying they have taken everyone back.
The furlough scheme introduced by the Government last year, where the state paid a proportion of workers' wages when their bosses couldn't during the pandemic, ended last month.
It is estimated that the programme helped to protect 11.6million jobs over the past 18 months. But around one million workers were still on the programme when it finally closed last week, sparking fears of a surge in unemployment – particularly within the hospitality and travel sectors decimated by Covid.
Now official data suggests the number of businesses planning redundancies was still close to record lows last month, with just over 200 firms informing the Government of plans to lay off workers.
The figures indicate that just 13,836 jobs were at risk last month – a slight increase on August, but far below the levels seen last summer among the lowest numbers ever seen since records began. However, these figures don't include smaller firms, because employers are only obliged to notify government when making 20 or more jobs redundant.
Trade unions including the Community, CWU, GMB, Prospect, Unite and Usdaw told the BBC they had not received news of any major redundancies among their members this week.
Tony Wilson, director of the Institute of Employment Studies, told the broadcaster: 'With estimates of actual redundancies and of real-time online searches related to redundancy both lower than before the pandemic, it looks like the worst is well and truly behind us now on job losses.'
The new month of October also marked the end of the furlough salary support scheme as well as the withdrawal of an extra £20-a-week for struggling households receiving Universal Credit.
It comes as Britain experiences its worst crisis since the Covid outreak, with soaring gas prices and rising inflation set to hit people in their wallets while businesses accused the Prime Minister of 'economic illiteracy'.
Now official data suggests the number of businesses planning redundancies was still close to record lows last month, with just over 200 firms informing the Government of plans to lay off workers. The figures indicate that just 13,836 jobs were at risk last month – a slight increase on August, but far below the levels seen last summer among the lowest numbers ever seen since records began
Commuters wearing facemasks arrive at Waterloo station in London on July 19, 2021
Half of the people who were on furlough spent more than three months in total off work as the Covid-19 crisis wreaked havoc with businesses
A quarter of the nation's workforce were on furlough at some point during the pandemic, according to numbers published this morning by the Office for National Statistics
Rishi Sunak unveils £500million funding package to help get furloughed workers back into jobs as scheme ends
Rishi Sunak unveiled a £500million funding package to help get furloughed workers back into jobs.
During the pandemic, the £70billion furlough scheme is credited with saving millions of jobs.
But around one million workers were still on the programme when it finally closed last week, sparking fears of a surge in unemployment.
In his keynote speech to the Conservative Party conference, the Chancellor announced funding to 'prioritise' job support for workers coming off furlough.
The £500million extension to the Government's plan for jobs will also provide tailored packages for others hit by the pandemic, including the young and workers aged over 50.
Mr Sunak declared he is 'ready to double-down' on his promise to 'do whatever it takes' to recover from Covid-19.
He said the furlough scheme protected 11million jobs and the UK is 'experiencing one of the strongest and fastest recoveries of any major economy in the world'.
Around a million people were thought to be on furlough by the time the scheme ended, of whom around half were working part-time and partly furloughed, the Resolution Foundation think-tank said.
The massive scale of the coronavirus furlough scheme was laid bare today as official statistics showed one in four UK workers were kept afloat by handouts from the Government.
Numbers published by the Office for National Statistics indicate that a quarter of the nation's workforce were on furlough at some point during the pandemic, with half the people who were on the scheme spent more than three months in total off work as the Covid-19 crisis wreaked havoc with businesses.
Meanwhile, the numbers revealed that employees with no education above GCSE level were more likely to have been furloughed than their counterparts with university degrees.
ONS data showed that one in four people who were employees during the coronavirus pandemic had been on furlough at some point between March 2020 and June 2021.
Younger and older workers were more likely to have been on furlough than their middle-aged counterparts.
Some 30 per cent of workers under the age of 24 and a similar proportion of those over the age of 65 were on furlough compared to 23 per cent of workers aged 35 to 44 years.
Half of the overall number of people furloughed spent more than three months in total on the scheme, with 24 per cent spending six months or longer at home.
ONS numbers showed that 54 per cent of women were furloughed for more than three months, compared to 45 per cent of men.
The data revealed there was a significant education divide when it came to who was being furloughed.
The ONS said: 'Employees during the pandemic with a degree or equivalent qualification were 8.9 percentage points less likely to be furloughed, when compared with those whose highest qualifications were GCSEs.
Commuters cross London Bridge in July 2021 as national Covid restrictions were axed
The numbers revealed that employees with no education above GCSE level were more likely to have been furloughed than their counterparts with university degrees
The numbers also showed that people in corporate management or director roles were less likely to have been furloughed
Britain faces bleak winter of soaring energy costs: Gas prices rise by 37% TODAY pushing more firms to brink of collapse, National Grid boss warns of electricity shortages and experts predict bills will soar to £1,700 a year
Britain is facing a bleak winter of soaring energy costs, with gas prices rising by a staggering 37 per cent in a single day and pushing more energy firms to the brink of collapse while the National Grid warned of electricity shortages as the country faces its worst crisis since the first Covid outbreak last year.
Millions are facing a financial squeeze because of rising inflation driven by labour shortages, rising energy costs, a lack of HGV drivers and gaps in global supply chains, as it was revealed hard-pressed families face paying £1,700 more for energy in April and an extra £1,800 for other essentials by Christmas.
While Boris Johnson brushed off the crisis and used his Manchester Tory conference speech to set out his vision for a 'high wage, high skilled, high productivity' economy, the price of wholesale gas surged by £1 a unit to 400p per therm this morning – up 37 per cent in a day and 600 per cent higher than the start of 2021.
Prices reversed course hours later, sending the UK contracts back to £2.87, after Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to stabilise the gas market by saying that state-backed monopoly exporter Gazprom could increase supplies to Europe.
Critics accused Mr Putin of trying to stave off allegations that Moscow is trying to 'weaponise' gas supplies amid tensions between Russia and NATO powers over Ukraine.
On a day of worsening news, National Grid's chief executive John Pettigrew told the FT that Britain will face tighter electricity supplies this winter due to a lack of capacity in the system and a colder winter predicted, which means the cost of electricity will increase as gas prices spike to record high.
'This may reflect more specific job responsibilities or levels of experience across people with similar jobs, which meant certain people were less likely to go on furlough.'
The ONS found that eight per cent of people who had been furloughed were no longer employed in the three months to June this year.
It was broadly the same picture for employees who had not been furloughed (seven per cent). The numbers published by the ONS cover the period between March 2020 and June 2021.
Analysis of the situation at the point when the furlough scheme ended is expected to be published by the organisation in the coming months.
It comes as Boris Johnson's keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester has been heavily condemned by business leaders for lacking a coherent economic plan.
On the last day of the conference, the Prime Minister said he was setting out the 'difficult' process of reshaping the economy in what critics described as a 'vacuous' and 'economically illiterate' speech.
With labour shortages hitting supply chains, leading to empty shelves and queues at petrol stations, Mr Johnson defended his strategy of restricting the supply of cheap foreign labour after Brexit, insisting his new approach would ultimately create a 'low-tax economy'.
But businesses leaders have criticised this approach, with many arguing that restricting migration could lead to higher inflation and increase costs on the consumers.
Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland and Leave voter, complained about the Government treating businesses like an 'endless sponge' when they can only weather so many cost increases at once.
He told the Times: 'The finger is being pointed at business as the bogeyman, but it's much wider than that. We want to pay our people as much as possible but business is not an endless sponge that can keep absorbing costs in one go.
'Next year we'll have a wave of higher costs in one go. Next year we'll have a wave of higher costs from higher energy bills, extra HGV drivers, packaging costs. We can only weather many cost increases at once, so they need to tape it.'
The Federation of Small Businesses criticised the 45-minute conference speech, noting Labour, and not the Conservatives, are the only party with a 'pro-small business policy'.
Craig Beaumont, chief of external affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses, told Times Radio: 'Looking at this party conference season, there was one party of the two that came out with a pro small business policy.
'And I think, you know, the Government should be looking at that and going: 'Well, maybe we've taken this group a bit for granted'. So now, what is that small business offer? What is their response? And at the moment there isn't much, so there needs to be a really strong response to the budget.'
Headline CPI inflation has been spiking, reaching 3.2 per cent in August, and is expected to reach double the Bank of England's 2 per cent target
Free market think tank the Adam Smith Institute described the address as 'bombastic but vacuous and economically illiterate', while Conservative think tank Bright Blue said there was 'no inspiring new vision or policy'.
Ryan Shorthouse, director of Bright Blue, said in an interview with the Guardian: 'The public will soon tire of Boris's banter if the Government does not get a grip of mounting crises: price rises, tax rises, fuel shortages, labour shortages. There was nothing new in this speech, no inspiring new vision or policy.'
When pressed on the discontent felt by business leaders, Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central Jo Gideon defended the Government, telling BBC Newsnight: 'We've got a million job vacancies at the moment but we've got also unemployment.
'When we went into the pandemic, it was predicted that we would have more than two million more unemployed that we actually have so I mean it's a success story of the furlough of the £400 billon that was invested to keep people and businesses afloat.'
She added: 'I am out there meeting businesses every day and I'm hearing two things: they are both enormously grateful for the support that they have from the Government during the pandemic, and also very much looking forward to being part of this massive chunk of jobs where they have support, apprenticeships and kickstart schemes to take new people on.
'In my own constituency, there is a massive commitment for local businesses to support.'
We're at the mercy of Vlad the Blackmailer — and it's all our fault, writes EDWARD LUCAS
By Edward Lucas for the Daily Mail
The Berlin Wall may have come down more than three decades ago, but the grim politics of the Cold War are in danger of returning to Europe.
With characteristic ruthlessness, Russian president Vladimir Putin is exploiting the energy crisis to bully his neighbours, strengthen his autocracy and intimidate the West.
His chosen weapon in this renewed campaign of hostility is Russia's control of gas supplies: the vast gasfields and the export pipelines that bring them to market.
This infrastructure, often legacy assets from the Soviet empire, give the Russian president enormous leverage in his quest for ever-greater domination of the region.
Russia's capacity to manipulate the British and European energy markets for geo-political ends has been dramatically illustrated during the turmoil of recent days.
As the price of gas contracts soared on Wednesday by 40 per cent in just 24 hours, Gazprom, Russia's state-backed monopoly exporter of pipeline gas, was accused of flexing its muscles by both restricting supplies to Europe and keeping its European underground storage facilities at deliberately low levels.
With characteristic ruthlessness, Russian president Vladimir Putin is exploiting the energy crisis to bully his neighbours, strengthen his autocracy and intimidate the West
The sense of Russian control was further reinforced when it took just a few words from Putin himself to bring an immediate fall in gas prices.
Revelling in his position as the ultimate wire-puller, he said with a hint of blackmail that supplies could be increased.
'This speculative craze doesn't do us any good,' he said, adding that Europe's leaders should 'settle with Gazprom and talk it over'.
Putin might be behaving like a mafia boss in charge of a protection racket, but British and European governments have for years disastrously played into his hands with misguided, short-term policy decisions.
To be fair, the EU has taken some steps to break the Russian stranglehold, by building new international pipelines, breaking the Kremlin's east-west transit monopoly, and by drastic reforms of the energy market that have unbundled the corrupt, exploitative business model.
Europe has also pioneered the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from destinations such as Qatar.
Yet Europe has been increasing its reliance on supplies from outside the continent by running down its own domestic energy industries. So far, renewables have not made up the gap, especially in recent months when the wind has not been blowing.
In Britain, the problem is particularly acute because we are one of Europe's largest gas users, while we have massively reduced gas production from the rich fields of the North Sea and Irish Sea over the past 20 years.
Nor have we made use of the vast reserves of shale gas that exist across the country, even though such resources have recently made America 'energy-independent' once more.
Instead, Britain has exacerbated its energy vulnerability by depending on just-in-time imports from pipelines and seaborne cargoes.
In a particular act of folly, the Tory Government in 2017 decided to close the huge storage facility on the Yorkshire coast connected to the Rough gas field, believing both that supplies of LNG would always be plentiful and also because the energy companies believed that limiting storage would boost prices and thereby profits.
Four years later, the step has backfired catastrophically, leaving us at the mercy of Putin.
Indeed, our entire energy strategy has been marked by stinginess, wishful thinking and complacency.
By manipulating energy markets, Putin's immediate objective could not be more clear: he wants to pressurise Europe into approving immediately the operation of Gazprom's controversial £8.1 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
His chosen weapon in this renewed campaign of hostility is Russia's control of gas supplies: the vast gasfields and the export pipelines that bring them to market. Pictured: Tugboats get into position on the Russian pipe-laying vessel Fortuna in the port of Wismar, Germany
Putin's objective could not be more clear: he wants to pressurise Europe into approving the operation of Gazprom's Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Pictured: A specialist works onboard the Allseas' ship Solitaire to prepare a pipe for Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea
Now completed, this runs into Germany along the seabed of the Baltic Sea and bypasses Ukraine, in whose eastern regions Russia has been fighting a proxy war since 2014.
Critics say Nord Stream 2 will give too much influence to Russia over regional energy supplies and their prices.
But crucially, the project is backed by Germany, which puts cheap reliable supplies of Russian gas ahead of the security interests of its east European neighbours.
US President Joe Biden's administration, desperate to repair the damage done to relations with Europe under Donald Trump, has dropped American objections to the scheme.
The result is that Russia can now hold Ukraine and other Eastern European states to ransom. The Kremlin could shut down their gas without having to cut off the rest of Europe.
In effect, one group of nations will be played off against the other in a fearful system of divide and rule, with Russia in command.
As Yuriy Vitrenko, the chief executive of Ukrainian energy giant Naftogaz, put it this week: 'Moscow is withholding gas supplies in order to coerce Europe into accepting Nord Stream 2.
'Russia's actions are the epitome of gas weaponisation. Anyone who refuses to acknowledge what Moscow is doing, especially when it does this so blatantly, is sending a dangerous message to the Russians that they can use gas to blackmail Europe and get away with it.'
Given all this, it is almost inevitable that Ukraine will soon be plunged into another security crisis, perhaps even greater than the one that led to the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The fallout would be disastrous, especially in view of the fragility of Europe's post-Covid economies.
The implications of Russia's energy strength are brutal, leaving us relentlessly on the defensive.
If, for example, Russia invaded Estonia, would Nato respond if Putin threatened to cut off Europe's gas? The only way to break free from the shackles of energy dependency is to develop our own resources and means of storage.
In the 1970s, Western reliance on Middle Eastern oil created an era of regional conflict and economic crisis.
It would be a tragedy if today, the same were to happen because of our reliance on Russian gas.
Soaring energy bills, paying more at the pump, NO food and empty shelves – how millions are being clobbered by rising cost of living that will leave them THOUSANDS out of pocket
Millions face a looming winter energy crisis and a warning that gas and electricity bills could surge by an extra £500 a year.
A shock 60per cent surge in wholesale gas prices at the beginning of this week – on top of earlier increases of 600% since January.
National Grid has also warned of tight electricity supplies as the amount of energy from renewable sources such as wind, dropped.
The current UK energy price cap, set by industry regulator Ofgem, is £1,277 – but analysts Cornwall Insight predict it will rise to £1,660 when it is reviewed on April 1. Today the cheapest fixed gas and electricity deal available in the UK is £1,700 – a month ago it was £1,177. Experts believe households will pay £500 to £800 more for energy in 2022.
The cost of energy is also hitting industry, who say they will have to pass it on to customers with it likely to hit products like cars, building materials, chemicals and even toilet rolls.
Petrol prices have soared to an eight-year high last month as filling stations cashed in on the fuel crisis.
Average pump prices hit 136.8p a litre for unleaded – 22p more expensive than in September 2020. It meant the cost of filling the typical 55-litre tank in a family car was £12 dearer than a year ago, said the RAC.
Separately, an AA study found some forecourts are currently charging up to 163.5p a litre for unleaded – 27p above the average. This would add a further £15 to the cost of filling up.
Growth in British house prices gathered speed in September when they rose by 1.7% from August, mortgage lender Halifax said on Thursday.
In annual terms, house price growth also accelerated to 7.4% from 7.2% in August. The average price of a detached home has surged by £41,000 over the past year as buyers have searched for more space, the research found.
Council tax may need to rise by up to 5 per cent a year for the next three years to keep services running and pay for social care reforms.
That would add £299 on to the average council tax bill for a Band D household.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that under current government spending plans, a rise of at least 3.6 per cent on council tax bills will be needed per year just for town halls to keep services running at the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic.
Such a rise would come on top of the 1.25 per cent increase in National Insurance announced last month.
Supermarket food shop
The average household spent £277 a month on food expenses, but the latest inflation reading suggests this could increase to £285 a month this year.
Analysis by MailOnline of prices today compared to those in March 2020 found many staple goods have gone up in cost include mushrooms, spring onions, cabbage, salmon, soup, kiwi fruit, apples and mineral water.
Among the biggest price rises are eggs, sausages, fizzy drinks, fruit and bottled water;
Price of a pint
The average price of a pint in the pub across the country could soon pass £4, the ONS has said. In London the price is already through that barrier.
And the other factors driving price rises….
Prices are rising at the fastest pace in at least a quarter of a century as businesses pass on the costs of labour, materials, shipping and energy to consumers.
Firms in the services sector, which range from transport companies and hairdressers to pubs and restaurants, hiked their prices in September at the fastest rate since data began in 1996, according to the Purchasing Manufacturers' Index (PMI) from IHS Markit.
Manufacturers are also putting up prices as inflation once again stalks the global economy.
Inflation hit 3.2pc in August and is widely expected to surge past 4pc by the end of the year in a headache for Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
HGV crisis
Britain is struggling to deliver good and move items die to a shortage of drivers. Large numbers have retired and some have returned to the EU because of covid and Brexit.
The Government has set out an action plan over the weekend to address lorry driver shortages, currently running at 100,000 in the UK and 400,000 on mainland Europe.
It will see 5,000 temporary visas made available to foreign HGV drivers, while a £10million skills plan will help train 4,000 more truckers.
This week sources claimed only 27 drivers had applied for a new visa – but Boris Johnsons insisted it was 127. At the same time, tens of thousands of Britons were unable to take HGV driving lessons and tests during the lockdowns, which means the UK has missed out on a generation of skilled recruits.
Cost of materials
Wholesale gas prices have soared to record highs across Europe while the price of oil has almost doubled in the past year to close to $83 a barrel – the most expensive since 2018.
Copper has jumped by more than a third over the past year which, when combined with the shortage of semiconductors, will bump up the prices of electrical products. And cotton has also spiked above $1 a pound for the first time in more than a decade, rising more than 42pc over the past year, which could mean more expensive clothes.
Even arabica coffee has jumped almost 73pc over the past year to levels not seen since 2014, meaning Britons could soon be feeling the pinch when visiting their local cafe.
Disrupted global supply chain
The cost of bringing in container loads of supplies, including festive products, from China has soared this year. There has also been a major issue with containers being stuck in Europe rather than in Asia as shipping was disrupted by covid. It means that UK companies are struggling to get products made and shipped easily with long waiting times.
Food shortages
Farms are pouring milk down the drain at the same time as McDonald's and supermarkets cannot get supplies due to the lorry driver shortage.
There are not enough tanker drivers to collect milk from farms, while the dairies have too few delivery drivers to transport supplies to high streets.
At the same time, farmers are complaining that a chronic lack of workers to pick and pack crops means fresh produce is being left to rot in the fields.
Supermarkets are having to concentrate on moving fresh products rather than many dry goods because of a lack of trucks.
Pig farmers have started culling livestock amid warnings from food firms the drastic measures will hit key ingredients.
Meat industry leaders say a lack of skilled butchers means abattoirs are refusing to accept pigs for slaughter, leading to fewer pork products and reduced choice.
This is expected to hit supplies of gammons and pigs in blankets in the run-up to Christmas.
The National Pig Association (NPA) and National Farmers' Union (NFU) are warning that tens of thousands of pigs – possibly 120,000 – may have to be culled on farms and incinerated.
Labour shortages
Businesses have complained about difficulties recruiting staff from HGV drivers to baristas and warehouse workers.
But latest figures show unemployment stood at 1.55million at the end of July.
That was before the end of the furlough scheme this month which analysts believed could have put as many as 250,000 on the dole queue.
Critics say bosses have come to rely on uncontrolled migration from Europe providing a stream of cheap labour and should instead raise wages to fill staff shortages.
Christmas dailymail news
Love Island's Connagh Howard and The Circle's Beth Dunlavey put on loved-up display
Fingerbobs presenter Rick Jones dies at 84 as friends pay tribute to 70s children's show star
Holocaust survivor, 98, celebrates becoming a great-grandmother for the 35th time
Government 'could send asylum seekers abroad for processing'
Queen Letizia of Spain recycled an outfit worn by her mother-in-law Queen Sofia in 1977
Joanna Lumley and Sheridan Smith join This Morning's presenters to star in a 'mash-up' pantomime
Rise of The Phoenix – Global Seducer
Kim Kardashian's daughter Chicago, three, recreates her mom's go-to peace sign pose
Carragher backs petition for him and Neville to commentate on FIFA 22
'Anything is possible with Kane leading England's attack ahead of World Cup'


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¡Sorpresón! Oro para Mohamed Farah de Gran Bretaña. Plata para Galen Rupp de Estados Unidos. Bronce para Tariku Bekele de Etiopía. Los cinco siguientes fueron africanos.
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text:
Zach Schonbrun
Bio The Performance Cortex Events
The New York Times Bloomberg Businessweek ESPN the Magazine Yahoo! Sports Kindle Single SB Nation Longform
BioThe Performance CortexEvents Writing The New York Times Bloomberg Businessweek ESPN the Magazine Yahoo! Sports Kindle Single SB Nation Longform Contact
Zach Schonbrun is a senior editor covering business and technology at The Week and has been a regular contributor to The New York Times since 2011. His work has also appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, Fast Company, ESPN the Magazine, SB Nation Longform, Vice, The Athletic, and Yahoo! Sports, among other publications.
Zach is the author of The Performance Cortex, which explores the neuroscience of motor skills, and was published by Dutton/Penguin Books in April 2018.
Zach has covered five Final Fours, the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA postseason, US Open tennis and championship golf -- among numerous other events -- for the Times, as well as regularly contributing coverage of New York's professional and college teams. He also writes occasionally for the Times' Business Day section. Zach has authored six articles that have appeared on the front page of The New York Times.
Zach received a B.A. in Economics from Syracuse in 2009 and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia in 2011.
He lives in New York City with his wife, Missy, their son, Jordan, and their dog, Luke.
Zach is represented by Carol Mann at the Carol Mann Agency.
© 2018 Zach Schonbrun

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Response teams extract, treat F-22 pilot in joint exercise
By Senior Airman John Linzmeier, 154th Wing / Published November 29, 2020
Lt. Col. Steven Augugliaro, 154th Wing F-22 flight safety officer, works with members of the Federal Fire Department during a pilot extraction exercise Nov. 20, 2020, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – Firefighters, paramedics and medical response Airmen raced to the flight line Nov. 20 in an exercise to extract pilots from fifth-generation aircraft.
The scenario was designed to test Team Hickam's competency in rapidly aiding, egressing and transporting an F-22 Raptor pilot – experiencing signs of decompression sickness – to a U.S. Navy hyperbaric chamber.
"Thankfully, we don't see this type of emergency very often, thankfully," said Hawaii Air National Guard Lt. Col. Steven Augugliaro, 154th Wing F-22 flight safety officer. "When you don't get to execute the processes and procedures that you have, then it's important to practice going through the motions every so often. You'll find things in the books may need to be updated, such as phone numbers, who the point of contact is for a certain function, or if new rescue equipment is and is not compatible with pilot's gear."
The event began in the same manner as any other in-flight emergency, with the pilot alerting the ground staff of the emergency and initiating a call-in sequence for first responders to make their way toward the pilot's grounding location.
Within minutes, the first wave of personnel arrived. The "Crash Net 1" crew included firefighters and emergency medical service personnel from the Federal Fire Department based out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and Tripler Army Medical Center, the supervisor of flying, followed by Air Force medical teams – a flight surgeon, aerospace physiologist and aerospace medical technicians.
While the potential for experiencing physiological ailments can happen to any airborne traveler, F-22 operations rely on additional layers of safety precautions due to the advanced maneuvering capabilities, higher altitudes and the single occupancy limit of each aircraft.
For training purposes, the pilot was experiencing paralysis on one side of his body and slurred speech, a condition that Maj. Kimberly Dowd, 15th Medical Group aerospace physiologist and exercise planner, considers a neurological (Type 2) form of decompression sickness, warranting an immediate extraction and transport to a hyperbaric chamber for treatment.
Decompression sickness can lead to long-term medical complications, potentially ending an aviator's career. When nitrogen bubbles make their way out of the bloodstream and into the circulation to joints, lungs, heart, brain and skin, it can impair a pilot's cognitive faculties and motor functions. In these cases, administering high-flow oxygen and rapidly transporting the pilot to the hyperbaric chamber is paramount.
"This exercise allows us to identify any holes in our internal checklists, correct them, and continuously work to improve, learn and execute it better during the next exercise or potentially for a real-world event," Dowd said.
Unlike more conventional airframes such as the KC-135 Stratotanker and C-17 Globemaster IIIs based at JBPH-H, the F-22 cockpit is accessed through a canopy, requiring maintenance crews to deploy specially adjusted stands for extraction. The aircraft's sensitive instruments present another challenge during egress.
"Today was also important because it allows the folks who would respond to an aircraft emergency actually to get up close and personal to the aircraft," said Augugliaro. "That refreshes their memory of what to watch out for, where the sharp objects are on the aircraft, what not to touch, etc., when responding to an aircraft emergency."
As first responders care for the pilot and coordinate a transit plan, a secondary wave of 15th Wing and Hawaii Air National Guard support agencies assimilate information to improve the condition of command and control and produce a detailed after-action report. Members of Wing Safety, Air Terminal Operations Center and the Wing Control Center communicate via conference calls, on-scene notes and direct reports from medical points of contact.
Following the egress and initial medical treatment, the pilot is loaded onto a medical vehicle and taken to the hyperbaric chamber. Capt. Nick Crain, 15th Medical Group flight surgeon, oversees his patient's condition and relays the information by radio to Navy divers who operate the lifesaving equipment at their destination.
The mobile recompression chamber is packaged into a structure that resembles a freight car and is staged where divers and aircrew can receive treatment. After the pilot is escorted through the re-recompression process, accompanied by a tending Sailor inside the chamber, the Airmen and Sailors hold a briefing.
Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 Raptor exercise


text:
Missouri's pro-sports teams, casinos unite on sports wagering bill taxing gambling by 10%
By Joe Mueller
(The Center Square) – After years of building a consensus, Missouri's six professional sports teams and five of the state's six casino operators came to Jefferson City on Tuesday to testify in favor of a bill to legalize sports wagering.
But the coalition seemed to be the only unanimous force during the three-hour hearing before the House Special Committee on Public Policy. Witnesses said the bill's 10% tax rate on sports wagering was a starting point for negotiations. The teams emphasized the importance of the tax rate as it will affect competitiveness in high population areas along Missouri's borders, where gamblers could cross a bridge or state line and pay a lower tax rate.
The bill eliminates "adjusted gross receipts" for sports wagering, which at least one witness identified as problematic and was flagged in the fiscal note, "(Missouri Gaming Commission) assumes that this omission was done in error." The fiscal note reports total state revenue will increase between $16.3 and $20.5 million, but witnesses stated those levels might take years to reach.
Two parallel bills, House Bill 2502 and 2556, would legalize sports wagering in Missouri. Rep. Dan Houx, R-Warrensburg, introduced 2502 and Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters, introduced 2566, and both made remarks to start the hearing.
"Missouri is only one of 18 states that currently does not have sports gambling," Houx said. "More importantly, of the eight states surrounding Missouri, five passed legislation and two – Kansas and Oklahoma – currently have legislation working through the legislative process."
Christofanelli said legalizing sports gambling is positively viewed throughout the state.
"I think many of you are aware that sports betting happens on unlicensed and unregulated apps," Christofanelli said. "Legalized sports betting allows a framework for consumer protection and revenue generation for the state of Missouri to address our critical needs, like education."
Representatives from Missouri's six professional sports teams—Kansas City Chiefs (National Football League), Kansas City Royals (Major League Baseball), Kansas City Current (National Women's Soccer League), St. Louis Cardinals (MLB), St. Louis City (a Major League Soccer expansion team) and St. Louis Blues (National Hockey League)—sent high-level executives to testify in support of the bill.
"We're all on the same page with mobile operators and casinos and others who are key stakeholders here," said Bill DeWitt III, president of the Cardinals. "I believe it's a fair compromise for all involved. First and foremost, all the pro sports teams in Missouri support sports wagering as a way to increase engagement with our fans and provide a fun, exciting and new way to enjoy sports and root for our teams. We also know sports wagering will generate a significant source of tax revenue for Missouri."
The bill places a wagering tax of 10% on the adjusted gross receipts received from sports wagering by a sports wagering operator. The Tax Foundation reports the tax rates of states with legalized sports wagering bordering Missouri are:
Iowa, 6.75%
Illinois, 15%
Tennessee, 20%
Arkansas, 12.72%
Nebraska, 20%
New York has the highest state tax rate on sports wagering at 51%.
"We all agree there needs to be a fair tax rate," DeWitt said. "We've suggested 10% in the bill, which is kind of in the middle of what we're seeing out there in other states. We want to make sure there's no temptation for fans to go to lower-tax states for better pricing or otherwise have taxes choke the economics of the operators who need to be successful to create a robust set of choices for Missouri consumers."
Witnesses who testified against the bill said the state's overall gambling laws are outdated. Before adding sports wagering, witnesses urged a review of the 1993 casino gambling laws to examine how inflation costs the state revenue and adding video lottery terminals.
"The tax piece is touchy," said committee vice chairman Dottie Bailey, R-Eureka. "Obviously, as brokers of the state, coming in here in the last minute… we kind of get this pushed on us and we're looking to make the best deal for the state as possible."
Tagscasinosgamblinglegislationprofessional sportssports wagering
Joe Mueller
Joe Mueller covers Missouri for The Center Square. After seven years of reporting for daily newspapers in Illinois and Missouri, he spent the next 30 years in public relations serving non-profit organizations and as a strategic communications consultant.


As global markets become more exposed to widespread regulatory impacts and a diverse stakeholder base, greater reliance and accountability pressures are being placed on the Board. Effective corporate governance promotes the efficient and legal use of resources and should identify managers who do not put scarce resources to efficient use, or who are incompetent or — at the extreme — corrupt.
The need for better oversight requires the Board to adapt through technology and independent reporting channels such as compliance and risk. In addition to the pace of regulatory change, Boards internally are being challenged by diversity pressures, the need for new technical skills to deal with growing risks, and cultural and ethical conflicts and issues.
This program has been designed to provide a wide range of recent cases in Malaysia and abroad, research and publications from around the world, governance issues and dilemmas will be explored through a range of learning activities, including classroom, multimedia presentations, scenario analysis of case studies, group simulations and role plays.
The course outline is tailored only for those already practicing Corporate Governance. Challenges faced by different departments, will be highlighted and will be discussed during the workshop.


Discussion in '[OLD FORUM] Bass Guitars, Amps, and Accessories: F' started by c-ba55, Jan 5, 2002.
Very amazing bass. Probably the nicest I've ever played in my life. The sound is just the sound of bass as god intended. Truly something to behold. Sweet and deep and clear. Tremendous sustain.
Very, very easy feel, and spectacular workmanship.
Zebrawood top over maple neck-thru body. Ebony fretboard. Gold hardware, and thunderguts electronics.
Comes with OHSC. Buyer pays shipping.
I would like to get $1500. I have another Pedulla that is more what I need right now. And lovely as it is, this bass has become something of a luxury for me, and there's no room in my life for luxuries.
Oh yeah, as far as trades I think the only thing I'm interested in is a fretless 5-string F bass.
This is still sitting in my closet. Seems a shame. Anyone want to buy it?
Have you sold it yet? I'm very interested.


Released on the Beatles' first UK album, Please Please Me (1963), the recording of which on February 11, 1963 was their first album session and is notable for 11 songs recorded in a mere 10 hours. "Twist and Shout", with John Lennon on lead vocals, was the last song recorded; producer George Martin knew Lennon's voice would suffer from the performance, so he left it until last, with only 15 minutes of scheduled recording time remaining.
Lennon was suffering from a cold, and was drinking milk and sucking on cough drops to soothe his throat. His coughing is audible on the album, as is the cold's effect on his voice. Even so, he produced a memorable vocal performance: a raucous, dynamic rocker. He later said his voice was not the same for a long time afterward, and that "every time [he] swallowed, it felt like sandpaper".
Released as a single in the US on March 2, 1964, with "There's a Place" as its B-side, by Chicago-based Vee-Jay Records on the Tollie label, it reached number 2 on April 4, 1964, during the week that the top five places on the chart were all Beatles singles. (In the Cashbox singles chart for the same week, "Twist and Shout" was No. 1.) In the United States, "Twist and Shout" was the only million-selling Beatles single that was a cover record, and the only Beatles cover single to reach the Top 10 on a national record chart. The song failed to hit #1 because the Beatles had another song occupying the top spot, "Can't Buy Me Love".
In the UK, "Twist and Shout" was released by Parlophone on an EP with three other tracks, "Do You Want to Know a Secret", "A Taste of Honey", and "There's a Place", from the Please Please Me (1963) album. Both the EP and album reached No. 1 (see Twist and Shout (EP)). In Canada, it became the title track to the second album of Beatles material to be issued by Capitol Records of Canada, on February 3, 1964.
It is regarded as one of the finest examples of British rock and roll for its vocal performance. The song was used as a rousing closing number on Sunday Night at the London Palladium in October 1963 and at The Royal Variety Show in November 1963, the former signalling the start of "Beatlemania"; the latter was included on the Anthology 1 compilation album in 1995. In addition, the group performed it on one of their Ed Sullivan Show appearances in February 1964.
2:25 • Radio show	• L4 • "Twist And Shout" made its initial impact through a single by The Isley Brothers. The Beatles' characteristic falsetto whoops had been sparked by Little Richard, but the vocal gymnastics on the Isleys' "Twist And Shout" and their earlier American hit "Shout" also influenced the group's sound in 1963. The Beatles used "Twist And Shout" as the rousing closer of their debut album and many live shows. They performed it nine times in BBC radio studios. This version was recorded on a day when, in less than seven hours, they recorded eighteen songs for three Pop Go The Beatles programmes.
"Twist and Shout" has been played in 262 concerts.


text:
by Ian Muneshwar
Ass o'clock in the morning and it's black out. Black black, the kind of black you only get in these miserable, middle-of-nowhere places. No, "middle-of-nowhere" is too generous; this is past that, right at the line where nowhere becomes miles of uncharted forest thick with months of snow and screaming with wolves and whatever other ungodly feral things make noise when everything decent in the world is asleep.
In Jan. 2022 (Issue 112)
John Allen Nelson, Justine Eyre
http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/podcasts.nightmare-magazine.com/podcast_226-Dick_Pig-Ian_Muneshwar.mp3
by Steve Toase
At least twice a day it occurs to Marissa that the photos she uses to find Neolithic long barrows and Roman forts were taken to better plot destruction. Every image passing through her hands is labeled at the top in a language she cannot speak. A freezing of the land to ease the locating of bombs and the advancing of invasions.
In Dec. 2021 (Issue 111)
Gabrielle de Cuir
http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/podcasts.nightmare-magazine.com/podcast_225-To_Rectify_in_Silver-Steve_Toase.mp3
by Laur A. Freymiller
"The Mothers" came mostly from "hidden mother photography" that was popular in the Victorian era—these are essentially photos of children with their mothers "hidden" in the background. The result is utterly unsettling. I've been interested in the blurring of binaries for a while, and the binary of mother/not mother felt ripe for exploration.
by Manish Melwani
Stopping by the canal to piss, and only a third of his way back to the House of Death, Ah Keng found his friend Leung, dead of the cholera. He recognized his oldest friend immediately, even in the darkness; even in this state. Leung's sickness-shriveled body lay a few feet from brackish water, pallid face upturned towards the moon. Leung. It was really Leung.
Stefan Rudnicki
http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/podcasts.nightmare-magazine.com/podcast_224-The-Plague-Puller-Manish-Melwani.mp3
by Jayaprakash Satyamurthy
The question "what's your mother tongue" is forever being asked in India. In a country divided into linguistic territories, it's a deeply significant question. The answer places you, signals your fundamental origins, wherever in India you now live. I started thinking about how much we take for granted being multilingual, yet tied to that basic mother tongue identity.
In Nov. 2021 (Issue 110)
by Julianna Baggott
For my eighteenth birthday, I get a tattoo. A small red heart on my shoulder, Loot inked across it in black cursive. Loot was my brother's nickname. He was twelve years old when he disappeared. I was seven. The next morning, I peel off the bandage to take a look. A vine with thorns where there was no vine with thorns. It wraps around the heart, above and below Loot's name.
Susan Hanfield
http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/podcasts.nightmare-magazine.com/podcast_223-Inkmorphia-Julianna_Baggott.mp3
by Adam-Troy Castro
My visitor gazes at our family bookshelves. I perceive right away that this is less the helpless bibliophile's habit of scanning the titles of any shelf encountered in the wild, than an exercise in measuring me, of finding the best means of approach. We are in the family living room, a welcoming space with, among other things, three double bookcases. It is not an extraordinary book collection to find in the home of people who read.
http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/podcasts.nightmare-magazine.com/podcast_222-Glimpses_in_Amber-Adam-Troy_Castro.mp3
by Dale Bailey
I've never written a short story this short before. I wrote this one for a Halloween event at a great independent bookstore in Asheville (shout out to Malaprops!). There were four or five readers scheduled, and we were each asked to read a very short Halloweenish piece. I set mine in the late Victorian era because I've been spending a lot of time there working on a historical novel (still in process) and the period is right now much in my mind. Plus, I'm fascinated by the spiritualist movement.
In Oct. 2021 (Issue 109)
by Jon Padgett
This time I will definitely die, Jeffords thinks. He feels that this conscious thought affords him a certain immunity from such a fate, though logically he knows that's nonsense. As always, he chooses a window seat, not the aisle or—worst of all—the middle seat. The window seat is essential for a simple reason: Jeffords must remain in control of the window shade being up or down throughout the flight. At certain times it must be closed. At certain times he must open it, even though he dreads doing so, for, when he does, he finds himself trapped in one of three familiar nightmares.
http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/podcasts.nightmare-magazine.com/podcast_221-Flight_389-Jon_Padgett.mp3
by WC Dunlap
He looks at me, and I am his. A steady rhythm of flickering light cast from above, pursuing me like a shadow. I scurry through tunnels, crawl through gutters and across fields, and always he is there. Relentless, wearing me down, toying with me. I escape it, breathless and relieved. But when I look down into the puddle of water at my feet, he is me. Black eyes slowly displace my brown, like thick tar pouring slowly into my pupils. Soft red lips stretch into a hard, pointed beak. Oily black feathers spread across brown, hairless skin.
Janina Edwards
http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/podcasts.nightmare-magazine.com/podcast_220-Caw-WC_Dunlap.mp3
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text:
Answer these 10 quick questions to uncover the real reasons why you're not able to take control of your creative work.
Girls' Comics: inspiration and serendipity
In the mid to late 90s, I was a bit obsessed with early 20th-century adventure comics; Wonder Woman (in the Harry G. Peters era), Flash Gordon and Terry and the Pirates. It was at this time, too, that I drew my short-lived weekly strip Doc Trader for the Willamette Week in Portland, which was kind of a mash-up of/homage to Terry and WW.
I can't remember what I did this self-portrait for; I think perhaps it was a promotional postcard (a photocopied one, using overlays and a cool spot-color machine in my local copy shop—anyone who knows what this machine was called, or where to find one…please get in touch!). I also later used it (blown up) as a folder for tear sheets to promote my illustration work. But whatever the reason, the basic idea, of drawing myself in the guise of various (ordinarily male) action heroes, stuck with me for several years.
Girls' Comics 1a © Jessica Abel 1995
A year later, I was in need of an inside back cover for my Xeric Grant-funded issue of Artbabe (volume 1, number 5), and I came up with this:
Girls' Comics 2 © Jessica Abel 1996
Then when I started my Fantagraphics run of Artbabe, I wanted to continue the self-portrait thing as a common design element. So I drew this in 1997 for Artbabe volume 2, number 1.
Around that time, I was asked by Lisa Wainwright to participate in an exhibition she was curating at the Jean Albano Gallery in Chicago called "Pink". So I did a color version of my Fightin' G.I., using a cell-painting method (I had the image shot onto transparent film, then painted the back with acrylics.)
Girls' Comics 3 (color/cell painting) © Jessica Abel 1997
That painting was bought by Jack Lemon, the owner of Landfall Press. Jack offered to publish an edition of three lithographic prints, part of a series he was developing with cartoonists, including Archer Prewitt, I believe. This was, by the way, about two months before I moved to Mexico. I am on record that 1997 (and the first two months of 1998) was a very good year. It was a hectic time. I wish I'd had thought to take pictures of the process, but of course, this is pre-digital, and it wasn't as ordinary to do so. Making these prints was truly an incredible experience. I hand-drew five color overlays for the color prints, which took their places in the Girls' Comics series as numbers 4 and 5. I also drew an enormous comic strip in two colors (black and a lovely blue-gray). I later repurposed that strip in my Mirror, Window collection as the Frog Prince.
I don't think these prints were hugely successful (after all, they still have them for sale—as do I—cheap, if you ask me! Get in touch if you want to pick one up for yourself), but working with master printer Barb Labus to learn the process of hand-drawing color overlays, and then watching the big gorgeous prints come off the press…it was like a magic. The drawings here look pretty similar to computer color or the cell-painted approach of the GI piece…trust me, in person, they're nothing like. Just lush and velvety.
Being a Landfall artist led to me having a pretty large representation at a show at the Davidson Galleries in Seattle. The prints are also in the Milwaukee Art Museum Landfall Press collection. Jack Lemon bought a cell-painted version of the cowgirl above, and he wanted the original space explorer, too, but by then I found that image to be overdrawn and heavy, plus it's small; just larger than a postcard. And the composition isn't great. So I redrew it for him. I ran this new version as the inside back cover of Artbabe vol 2. #2.
Girls' Comics 1b © Jessica Abel 1998
My final drawing in the series (Girls' Comics #6) was, I think, printed in Artbabe vol. 2 #3.
…But that's not the end of the story. In the following years, I colored Girls' Comics #1b (the revised space explorer), and it served as a button, a t-shirt for the Oly comics festival, and the cover for a summer course catalog at the University of Minnesota. I used #2 (Fightin G.I.) as the icon for my old mailing list, the Artbabe Army, a button, and the name and symbol for my "publishing company" under which I co-published Radio: an Illustrated Guide with WBEZ Chicago. And I believe there are a few more uses I've forgotten along the way.
When I started thinking about posting these drawings, I just had the idea of collecting them in one place. But as I started reflecting on them collectively as a series, it occurred to me how very productive they were. They have a good, funny concept. (They might have been even more useful in the age of Tumblr and Facebook.) But mainly, as I followed my interest, I put myself in the way of interesting opportunities, and in the end this sequence of simple pieces fomented more experiences and connections than almost anything else I've done.
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Answer these 10 quick questions
to uncover the real reasons why you're not able
to take control of your creative work.


Pectin is a great natural thickener that's used by chefs to add substance and desirable mouthfeel to a wide variety of food and drink. Craft bartenders take things in the opposite direction, however. We know that taste, aroma, texture and appearance determine how we appreciate flavor. Increasing the appeal of one or all of those experiences also increases the appeal of your recipes. Pectin-free cocktail fruit juice has more intense flavor than basic juice. The clarified liquid also has a crisper mouthfeel which is a great foundation to build upon. How do mixologists work their clarifying magic? Pectinase.
Pectinase is the clear cocktail winner.
In this ChefSteps YouTube video we learn how to easily clarify fruit juice using pectinase. I really like the possibilities with this technique. Not only does it bring to mind exciting ways to elevate cocktails, but the extracted pectin fiber can be used in interesting ways too. Pectinase is a naturally-occurring enzyme that breaks down and frees pectin from its liquid suspension. After filtering the separated liquid through a Chemex filter (centrifuge optional!) , you'll have a clear, intensely-flavored fruit juice. This technique is used by mixologists to create some of their most inventive recipes. Pectinase is usually sold in small amounts since a few drops goes a long way. Just drip a little into your fruit juice, let things rest for about 30 minutes, then you're ready to mix!
When I look at piles of extracted pectin, I immediately try to think of fun ways to use it in recipes. I do the same after running fruit and veggies through my juicer (I love this thing!). I've had luck heating the pulp with brown sugar or honey and a little apple cider vinegar. Balsamic vinegar has worked great in place of apple cider vinegar in my experiments as well. As always, I say get creative with it!


You can play the game, via the Turbulence Archives here.
During my childhood, I was a chess whiz and spent many hours playing against a primitive chess computer my father bought me. I reveled in the infinite possibilities on such a small board. When playing firends, I learned about imagination and deception: how to set traps, feign weaknesses and when to attack. After university, I became a computer programmer and in later years, I transitioned into the contemporary artworld as a new media artist. Fascinated by paradigm shifts such as those created by Duchamp, I wanted honor his legacy as a both an artist and chess player — the two are inseparable. Combining my early love of chess with my algorithmic skills and a current passion for creating conceptual media artwork, this piece serves this purpose.
Playing Duchamp" is a 2010 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. for its Turbulence website.. It was made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding was provided by Terminal at Austin Peay State University.