Independent and shopping up north article

edgecutter · 17-07-2016 06:17PM

stimpson wrote: »

Id take Belfast over Kilmainham any day.

Never had any hassle in Belfast. Even in July. There are some great pubs up there and I've always found the people very friendly.

Never had an hassle myself and the people are very friendly, but the city is a kip.

stimpson · 17-07-2016 06:23PM

Chartsengrafs wrote: »

Just a heads up, you'll get stung for parking if you're taking the car. I stayed there for two nights and was left with a hefty bill.

Saw that. £18 a day. No big deal. The Executive lounge has free drink so I'll make it back one way or another.

alias no.9 · 17-07-2016 06:24PM

biko wrote: »

Unfortunately "shop local" for some people means to spend their money in foreign chains that happens to have local presence.

They go to Tesco, Lidl and Aldi instead of local Irish shops. In 10 year or less when the local shops are all killed by the major chains they will complain that "there is no local competition", "high street shops all the same" when in fact it was they themselves that helped kill small businesses.

Get local eggs, bread, fish etc Only get from chains what you can't get from local farmer or shops.
Do the bulk of the veg shopping at farmer's markets.

I'd never dream of buying my olives in a supermarket, farmers market all the way for me, you have to know where these things are coming from. I like to make my own humus too so the farmers market is my go to for chickpeas. As for sun dried tomatoes, support your local producers.

Turtyturd · 17-07-2016 06:31PM

What's the name of the OP's shop?

FortySeven · 17-07-2016 06:39PM

Ive had many a great night out in Belfast. One of my favourite cities due to the people. Great crowd.

kneemos · 17-07-2016 07:00PM

alias no.9 wrote: »

I'd never dream of buying my olives in a supermarket, farmers market all the way for me, you have to know where these things are coming from. I like to make my own humus too so the farmers market is my go to for chickpeas. As for sun dried tomatoes, support your local producers.

Olives are all imported?

FortySeven · 17-07-2016 07:10PM

kneemos wrote: »

Olives are all imported?

Haven't seen much sun here in Galway for drying tomatoes. Not many people producing chickpeas either?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 17-07-2016 07:38PM

FortySeven wrote: »

I be had many a great night out in Belfast. One of my favourite cities die to the people. Great crowd.

I assume that's a typo.

FortySeven · 17-07-2016 07:42PM

Garrett Weak Klutz wrote: »

I assume that's a typo.

An unfortunate one. Cheers.

OldMrBrennan83 · 17-07-2016 07:46PM

This post has been deleted.

murpho999 · 17-07-2016 08:06PM

alias no.9 wrote: »

I'd never dream of buying my olives in a supermarket, farmers market all the way for me, you have to know where these things are coming from. I like to make my own humus too so the farmers market is my go to for chickpeas. As for sun dried tomatoes, support your local producers.

You do realise that not one single olive or chickpea in Ireland is grown here.

The "farmer" is selling you an imported product just like the supermarket?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 17-07-2016 08:16PM

alias no.9 wrote: »

I'd never dream of buying my olives in a supermarket, farmers market all the way for me, you have to know where these things are coming from. I like to make my own humus too so the farmers market is my go to for chickpeas. As for sun dried tomatoes, support your local producers.

I suppose you buy your bananas and oranges direct from the farmer too.

Let's face it. With the exchange rate today, shopping is unfortunately more attractive in the North right now. Citing travel cost etc is all very well but many people live close to the border, or closer than to Dublin. The savings are certainly there at present but I like to spend locally myself even at a premium.

kneemos · 17-07-2016 09:05PM

Garrett Weak Klutz wrote: »

I suppose you buy your bananas and oranges direct from the farmer too.

Let's face it. With the exchange rate today, shopping is unfortunately more attractive in the North right now. Citing travel cost etc is all very well but many people live close to the border, or closer than to Dublin. The savings are certainly there at present but I like to spend locally myself even at a premium.

Actually saw a woman selling Bananas at a farmers market once.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 17-07-2016 09:19PM

kneemos wrote: »

Actually saw a woman selling Bananas at a farmers market once.

As have I many times. It just proves the whole nonsense of the things.

OldMrBrennan83 · 17-07-2016 09:30PM

This post has been deleted.

alias no.9 · 17-07-2016 09:58PM

murpho999 wrote: »

You do realise that not one single olive or chickpea in Ireland is grown here.

The "farmer" is selling you an imported product just like the supermarket?

Did the post really need sarcasm tags?

alias no.9 · 17-07-2016 10:07PM

kneemos wrote: »

Actually saw a woman selling Bananas at a farmers market once.

Now we're starting to get it. Some farmers markets have some local producers but anybody with a clue of what is in season and what can conceivably be produced in Ireland, even in polytunnels, will see the sham that is most farmers markets.

17-07-2016 11:05PM

biko wrote: »

Unfortunately "shop local" for some people means to spend their money in foreign chains that happens to have local presence.

They go to Tesco, Lidl and Aldi instead of local Irish shops. In 10 year or less when the local shops are all killed by the major chains they will complain that "there is no local competition", "high street shops all the same" when in fact it was they themselves that helped kill small businesses.

I doubt anybody who uses the term "high street" would ever have buying Irish as a priority. As for buying in foreign chains this is 100% the fault of the gougers who run Ireland's largest retail chain, Super Valu. They have the economies of scale to easily compete with the Brits and Germans but the billionaire Musgrave family ( who also own Centra etc) would rather fleece Irish consumers. No price-conscious Irish shopper would do their regular shopping in Super Valu. As for the Apartheid lovers who own Dunnes Stores - some of us aren't going to forget what that family (and the cokehead, hooker-loving individual who ran the firm and now tries to present himself as affable) did. The idea of giving business to the average tax-avoiding, offshore-account holding super rich Irish firm simply because they're Irish never appealed to me. Equally, I would never shop in M&S because, aside from being all fur coat and no knickers, they buy next to nothing from Irish producers.

biko wrote: »

Get local eggs, bread, fish etc Only get from chains what you can't get from local farmer or shops.
Do the bulk of the veg shopping at farmer's markets.

This I agree with 100%. Well said.

Capt'n Midnight · 17-07-2016 11:08PM

kneemos wrote: »

Actually saw a woman selling Bananas at a farmers market once.

They are most likely Irish because they are manufactured in Ireland.

OldMrBrennan83 · 17-07-2016 11:08PM

This post has been deleted.

17-07-2016 11:12PM

Patww79 wrote: »

Yeah right. Like that is a real option.

It is for those of us who have enough knowledge of remedial geography to know that Belfast is in Ireland.

Specialun · 17-07-2016 11:14PM

That journo is known to be a stupid tool. He wrote article a while back about poker and gambling..it had zero facts and complete rubbish

FortySeven · 17-07-2016 11:22PM

I used to work in a freezer warehouse. Our role was to split pallets of imported meat and stack it half and half with Irish meat and then relabel it as Irish meat.

25kg blocks on pallets. 52% fat. Heading for McDonald's. Go figure.

OldMrBrennan83 · 17-07-2016 11:23PM

This post has been deleted.

kneemos · 17-07-2016 11:30PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I doubt anybody who uses the term "high street" would ever have buying Irish as a priority. As for buying in foreign chains this is 100% the fault of the gougers who run Ireland's largest retail chain, Super Valu. They have the economies of scale to easily compete with the Brits and Germans but the billionaire Musgrave family ( who also own Centra etc) would rather fleece Irish consumers. No price-conscious Irish shopper would do their regular shopping in Super Valu. As for the Apartheid lovers who own Dunnes Stores - some of us aren't going to forget what that family (and the cokehead, hooker-loving individual who ran the firm and now tries to present himself as affable) did. The idea of giving business to the average tax-avoiding, offshore-account holding super rich Irish firm simply because they're Irish never appealed to me. Equally, I would never shop in M&S because, aside from being all fur coat and no knickers, they buy next to nothing from Irish producers.

This I agree with 100%. Well said.

Not sure I see any great advantage from buying in Irish owned stores either.
No idea what the Dunnes and MusGraves do with their profits but I imagine it's invested in similar areas as Tesco and Aldi.

stimpson · 17-07-2016 11:31PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Equally, I would never shop in M&S because, aside from being all fur coat and no knickers

I think you might be quite surprised with M&S. They actually have an extensive lingerie department and I'm fairly sure they don't sell fur.

17-07-2016 11:45PM

Patww79 wrote: »

And it's not by the way. Islands are not countries (and Belfast is in the UK, it can't be in two countries)

Indeed. By the precise same thinking Dublin mustn't have been in Ireland before 6 December 1922, then. Ireland must have been invented in 1922.

OldMrBrennan83 · 17-07-2016 11:49PM

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18-07-2016 04:12AM

Patww79 wrote: »

Exactly, it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, just as Belfast is in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to this day. And it's 1949 if you really want to nitpick, with 27 hazy years in between. There was no state called Ireland before that.

Very good. So because Dublin did not belong to a state named Ireland in 1922, the country of Ireland never existed before such a state came into existence? (and it's 1937 if you "really want to nit pick")This is an extraordinary revelation to every Irish person that neither Ireland nor the Irish people existed before they were invented in 1937. And no doubt by the same special thinking Scotland does not exist today, and has never existed, either. A very, very special well done to you right there. Really special.

FanadMan · 18-07-2016 04:23AM

J.pilkington wrote: »

Rant ahead related to something I am passionate about

I see the independent (the tabloid paper where facts need not apply) has started the spin with sensationalist headlines about shopping up north. Do these journalists (mark o regan in this case) not have to do a course on journalism anymore where minimum strandards of journalism are taught?

Article is almost non existent on facts, looks like the journalist went out of his way to find high price variations and all they could come up with is special k (who pays €7 for special k down south? Nobody does so you shouldn't write an article based on this).

That article must have taken 10 mins to write, then slap a headline which is a lie. Is that what modern journalism is about? Is this what mark O'regan aspired to do when he was young?

Sad thing is a lot of people will fall for this and head north save nothing (even lose out after travel costs) and at the same time their local towns are dieing then they will wonder why there are so many boarded up shops and no employment. Shop local folks

http://m.independent.ie/business/irish/savvy-shoppers-flock-north-to-save-50pc-by-cashing-in-on-weak-sterling-34889750.html

I'm shocked that I'm agreeing with research done by the indo but those prices are right for Special K

ROI http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=258549232 - €6.49

NI http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=258549232 - £3 (was £3.99)

But still, who could eat Special K?

Independent and shopping up north article

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