Latest Moan From You and Me 2025

Have you tried flying from Bristol to Edinburgh @KT53 ? Cheaper and faster than the train if you book ahead with someone like Easyjet plus the time and cost of getting to the airports of course.

 

Our neighbours have flown to Alicante, twice recently and the airport tax has cost more than the flight. The first time the tickets were £12 and the second £16. The returns were more but only about £30 each.
The cost of rail travel in this country is ludicrous.

 

I lucky, i don't plan to go to a hotel or get on a plane or a train, i don't even know how to book 1 up now, i think i've got well out of touch

 

I've not been on a train for 30yrs, I wouldn't even know how to buy a ticket, it all seems more complicated than it needs to be.
Last train I was on had slam doors.

 

I haven't yet but will do. I'd calculated that if I drove I would average 45 mpg, so about 8 gallons of petrol. That's under £50 each way, but I don't fancy that drive anymore although I used to drive it regulary.
Train travel is just a total ripoff.
Just done a quick dummy run for Easyjet which comes out at just over £300 including baggage. Unfortunately can't just book one suitcase when there are 2 passengers. Working on 2 large carry on.
Add Bristol Airport parking at nearly £70 for 4 days for the cheapest option, plus petrol of about £15 and we're still creeping up towards £400!

 

Have you tried "split ticketing"? There are websites which will find the cheapest way of splitting your journey into segments, making it sometimes very considerably cheaper than buying a direct ticket. The only potential disadvantage is that you have to travel on the train specified on the ticket, but it's worked for me - for instance, Glasgow to Oban booked straight through cost more than booking to an intermediate station (might have been Helensburgh Upper, can't remember now), and from there to Oban, last time I went.

 

It's a shame that short haul flights are so damaging ecologically, but so ridiculously cheap... where's the incentive to choose greener options? Why is aviation fuel not taxed? If jet fuel were taxed in the UK, it could raise £6bn per year for public finances.

 

That's just totally wrong, presumably to rip off customers, I can never work out why none of these regulators dont regulate.
The rail system in the UK is the pits when it comes to customer service and value for money.

 

@Liriodendron agree about aviation fuel being taxed.

France is reintroducing sleeper trains to cut the number of short haul flights from Paris to the south. Prices start at 29€ in a shared compartment so great for families and groups. The network is nationalised. Prices from here to Paris can be high but there are deals to be had if you plan ahead. Eg, if I book it now I could go on a TGV from Nantes to Paris for 19€ on January 6th and go and play in the sales - not that I would. La Roche-sur-Yon offers Paris via TER or Intercité for anything from 28 to 83€ depending on time and day of the week.

 

I think its down to an international agreement that aviation fuel is not taxed by any country.
However, APD in the UK on flights leaving the UK is the most expensive in the world and will increase again in April 2026.

Where they can raise a few billion more, charge those flying by private jet more APD. At the moment APD is based on the distance of the flight, yet passengers flying by private jet are using nearly 14 times more fuel to travel the same distance. It should be a levy for those that fly frequently, the more you fly, the more you should pay.

 

Edinburgh, as previously suggested Fly into Edinburgh Airport
Pre book one of the six hotels at the airport and the new Fast
modern Trams run from the door, right into the city centre
Princes St, then on down to Leith to visit RY BRITANIA along with
the NEW modern popular cafe and restaurant area

 

I buy carrots loose @Escarpment and tried them in and out of plastic for storage. I adopted the fridge/freezer here when I moved in and the salad drawer is the worst place to store them. I think it's because it's directly above the freezer. However, it doesn't matter where I store them in the fridge, they don't last long.

 

Everything vegetable or fruit comes out of the plastic as it's being put away.
Carrots I buy the organic ones with the leaves on, pick the bunch with best quality leaves. Once home I take the leaves off and store the carrots with the potatoes under the sink.

 

The only options to get to Edinburgh from where I live, apart from flying, are the train (ridiculously expensive), coach (takes between 11 and 13 hours), car about 6 hours without holdups and breaks. Which of those are both greener and practical for anybody needing to get there quickly? I used to fly regularly from Birmingham to Glasgow. It took me longer to get to the airport than the flying bit. At least I got there comparatively fresh, could put in a fullish day, and get home again the same evening. When I drove it, it typically took about 8 hours with breaks on the way. Then work the following day and return the day after. That involved to cost of 2 nights hotel accommodation.
Every method will have pro's and con's.

 

Some veg in plastic wrapping , I think, is packaged with carbon dioxide to prolong life.
So once removed it will deteriorate faster.

Going back to the milk thing, I find that milk deteriorates faster once the pull off seal is removed, I guess the air space in the top of the bottle causes it to go off.