Cauliflower lovers of Gonville might have complained first to the store owner about the price of such an essential food item.
Cauliflower lovers of Gonville might have complained first to the store owner about the price of such an essential food item.
LETTERS
Price of cauliflower
The front page of this paper last Friday informed us of a "bombardment of threatening messages" received by the owner of SuperValue Supermarket in Gonville. Sufficient, apparently to arouse the interest of the Ministries of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
It stimulated my thinking in a number ofways.
Firstly, I was reminded that in abnormal circumstances, abnormal behaviour is normal. So, as Jay Kuten reminded us in the same paper, in the face of looming powerlessness, we all are inclined to do something concrete and momentarily empowering, which may be understandable but ultimately self-defeating.
I'd like to think that in more normal circumstances, the significant number of cauliflower lovers of Gonville might have complained first to the store owner about the price of such an essential food item, or not, once they had ensured that the prices of every other item was pretty much the same as last week. Or perhaps chosen broccoli instead.
Secondly, I thought Mr Patel's response was a sagacious explanation of the law of supply and demand and of the effect of increased opportunities for bandwagon jumping in the time of The Great Lockdown. Perhaps his more reasonable customers will congratulate him on his explanation and support his post-bombardment recovery.
Lastly, it got me thinking about the enormous amount of food hoarded by many of us pushed into recent panic buying by our reptilian brain.
Countdown nationally, if I understood correctly, reported that food sufficient for 10 million people was sold by supermarkets all over the country in less than 24 hours following the Prime Minister's announcement of the lockdown on Monday last week.
Seems like a lot of food at risk of wastage by rats, mice or natural spoilage when we're assured that supermarkets will have plenty for the duration.
So, now the panic is over and we have all breathed deeply, can think more rationally, and be grateful for our Government's response to the threat, how about we give up some of our stored food to Food Bank for sharing with those who didn't have the means to hoard and who remain on the bones of their backsides. Joined now by others, who through no fault of their own, are unemployed. DAVE CAMERON Whanganui
Rubbish approach
Re: "Full bins poor image for council" (letter, March 26). I'm sure the man who empties the bins feels your frustration. I live across the road from a bin and the man empties it twice a day always.
He is thorough, picking up rubbish around the bin area and gutter.
I have even seen him take away a cat who had met with death on the road.
I often see people get rubbish out of their vehicles and jam it into the bin or dump it beside, particularly on Monday morning. From suited businessmen to homeless car dwellers. Mostly the same ones each time.
I pay a firm to remove my rubbish and my rates help pay to have picnickers and riverbank users rubbish removed but I don't pay to have other people's household rubbish removed. GRAEME PRINCE Whanganui
