Coughs and sneezles spread diseasles
Firstly, can I point out that I have a cold, so my blogging may well be less sparky and intelligent than usual? Secondly, I want to have a moan. So when we first moved here, we commented smugly on the price of fuel. At the time I was driving a petrol car and paying, at one stage, less than a Euro a litre. Our friends and family used to gape in surprise when we told them how cheap our petrol was.
Now, though, I drive a diesel (better fuel economy, blah blah) and I’m paying €1.45 (diesel prices overtook petrol around Christmas and are now around 10c higher) and this fuel chaos seems likely to get worse instead of better. I heard on the news yesterday that truckers are threatening to ‘bring the country to its knees’ in protest at rising diesel costs and I for one will be right behind them. Fishermen also are paying the price, with Wexford fishermen recently giving out free fish (damn and blast) in Dublin to raise awareness of how this will affect their business. A lot of school transport here is provided by small private services, and some of these are running at a loss, for goodness sake.
So yeah, I know, we could all get bikes – but with a huge amount of rural Ireland travelling a very large distance to school every day (my own school run journey is 1/2 hour each way and #1′s new secondary is a stonking 25 miles away).
So what the bloody blue blazing bejaybers is going on? How come Britain and Ireland have some of the highest fuel duties anywhere in the world? And what are we going to do about it? I mean, I love fish. And I love truckers (ahem). And imagine how terrible it would be if the kids couldn’t get to school – they’d have to stay home *gasp*.
Answers on a postcard, then, please (no, not you Dad, nobody would be able to read it anyway).
PS: Oh, and I’ll be interested to hear how much you guys in the US are paying for your fuel.
http://www.rapoleum.com/finished.php
it’ll let you run on veggie oil, so you can fill up at Lidl or the chipper
Strictly speaking you should send the gubmint a cheque for the fuel duty, but they are too busy being condescending.
and sorry about your cold! feel better soon x
Since the fuel went over the £1 a litre mark (having held off for as long as possible) the petrol stations are having a whale of a time increasing the price as quickly as possible. I will soon need a second job just to pay for fuel for the car!
Hopefully there will be enough diesel at the pump to fill my car up for a long drive to France this weekend!
EM You just don’t want to know the price of fuel in the US and it is per Gallon! And they think they pay over the odds!!!
….rant over for now!
Holland has the highest fuel duties in the EU as far as I remember reading. Petrol is 1.69/L and diesel is 1.46/L even though we have all those oil refineries in Rotterdam. Fuel is a great cash cow for governments though because it is a necessity for many people.
Here they are trying to change the car tax system so that you pay per KM driven (I already pay insurance based on how many KMs I drive). For people in rural areas it is much more difficult to avoid using the car though.
I can’t believe that you are so far from your kids’ schools. My daughter’s school is 2 minutes walk away, there have to be some advantages to living in an urban area I guess
Almost had a heart attack when I went to fill up the other day. Was only £1.01 when I left.
I think, EM, you might have hit a rather sore and tender spot with this one!
It has gone up everyday this week, about 15c during the week, so the rise is amazing … the thing is, and this is my argument to Americans… stop driving stupid 7 litre trucks that you don’t need !, the prius sells very well here, as ugly as a couple of my old girlfriends but practical !, In California, the most expensive palce, the cheap stuff is now about $4.60 a gallon, We drive a Nissan, which does about 32mpg … you just do not see cars like european cars that do sensible mpg… they advertise 22 mpg as GOOD !……….
We have zero choice but to drive everywhere…. I have to go to three meeting in LA today, how else can I get there… you can’t. People moan about public transport in the UK… phah !, it does not exist here… the freeways are full, and people will not even think about losing their beloved truck, hummer, SUV etc …. well they might when gas hits the prices comparable to the UK……. now I’m mad .. I could go on forever with this subject, a whole blog page of my own ….. Angry Moon now !
Tara: Hmmm…might be worth it for the peace and quiet though. Can you imagine? ‘oh, the children? They’ll be back at Easter’ LOL!!
Oh and thanks. I’m not too bad, and loving my husky voice too – gggrrrowwwllll! x
TM: I know, I was talking to me Mam this morning and she reckons her petrol bills have gone through the roof too. Bloody shocking x
Aidan: Hmmm, it’s kind of by choice as it’s a denominational thing (as usual here in the Em Isle), but even the local kids face a fifteen minute bus ride to get to school. And WOW, you win on the petrol prices – outrageous!!
Aidy: Aw I love bikes. I had a little Suzuki TS50X in bright red, yellow and blue when I was a mad teen. I loved that thing. Gave me Ma sleepless nights x
Nutty: I know, blink and it’s gone up again. Hope you had a good hol, BTW x
Tuli: Welcome! Nice maths, I’m impressed. Wow, 68 Euro a litre? Hear that, Aidan??!
Thrifty: A guy Hubby knew used to use Jet A1 aviation fuel mixed with a dash of motor oil. Cheap, and his car presumably went like a rocket!!
Bugs: You’re right. Our combined fuel bills vary between 300 and 500 Euro a month depending on whether Hubby’s in the country – that’s a nice foreign holiday (or a new car, heh). Here, they’re introducing car tax based on carbon emissions
So if you’ve got a big gas guzzler hidden in the garage beware! Mind you, if you can afford to buy one here, then I suppose you won’t give a shit about a 2k tax disc!!
Here in Virginia we hit $3.98 per gallon this week. It costs me about $67 to fill my tank, and I get about 300 miles per tank. I drive like you do (kids have to go to school, damn ‘em), so I have to fill up every week. So for me, that’s about €43 per week. If I paid what you do, that would be $132 per tank! I’d be broke in a month.
Now I kinda feel guilty for all the whining I’ve been doing about US fuel prices.
Cam: Ah, it’s all relative. We do the same when the UK pays much more than us, although with the Euro creeping up on the pound the gap is getting ever smaller! x
June: Ooh anything with alcohol sounds worth a try. Although 3 medicinal glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon didn’t help last night
Nats: Ooh, I’ve got some fizzy echinacea somewhere that I bought thinking it was vitamin C. I’ll give it a go. Hope the vision’s improving! xx
Yay for public transit!
The are saying this will be the key to the election here …… bit sad really, California is the 8th biggest economy in the world, Orange County itself is one of the riches places in the world to live, every other car is a bentley, ferrari, porshce, merc etc … it’s a shame that the ptice of gas will win or lose an election…. not Solar energy, wind technology, the health service and guns…. to paraphase someone else…. there were 68 gun deaths in the UK last year, the mnost ina european country was 169 in Germany….. 11,000 odd in the USA … mmm, me thinks there are many problems more important than gas prices (maybe get rid of 7 litre trucks might help !!!)
Seriously… I need a blog of my own !
PLEASE don’t mention fuel prices! Sweetie reads this blog and I’ve only just calmed him down from his last fuel price induced psychotic rant. Might have to tinker with the Interweb Thingy until you start another topic…
Missus! I’m sure everybody here is over 18? PLEASE tell us what Bert was doing! Washin’ or lovin’? Hmmm?
And just for EMs Blogtarts, here is The Greatest Hot Toddy Recipe In The World (TM)
Decent slosh of Jamesons Whiskey (no substitutions)
Slice of clove studded lemon
Spoonful of Honey (sugar is for pussies)
Top up with hot water (don’t drown the Jemmys)
Sip whilst cocooned in favourite Jammies and lovers’ socks. You’ll sweat like a loonie but that, my dears, is what kills all the nasty beasties.
Best nights’ sleep EVER! Mwah!
Stumm, woman.
We’re doing the Tesco thing and getting the vouchers for 5 cents off a litre.
Hope you’re feeling better – hot whiskies always help
Medbh: Ye lucky thang. I often yearn after being all cosmopolitan and nipping on and off the subway like they do on the telly. Guess ’tis probably a bit smellier in real life x
Angry Moon: Seriously. Get a blog. I’d read it. x
Jen: Am printing off the recipe as we speak and have jammies and sockies all ready. Don’t have the Jameson’s unfortunately but some of Hubby’s single malt should do the trick (ahem) xx
Oh yes, and the thing that mustn’t be mentioned? Would seriously put people off their breakfast. ‘Nuff said x
Wee One: Crikey. Mind you, we’re catching them up fast. Yep, have my toddy recipe, now just waiting ’til bedtime! x
http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/global_gasprices/price.html
Most of it’s tax of course and I get very cranky when I hear that the Saudis are only paying fifteen cents a litre!
So fed up with UK prices. we had to buy a family 7 seater car last year(4 children) so we got our diesel to be economic, ha what a laugh. £1.32 price at garage down the road. my car used to take £40.00 for a full tank, but now its £65.00 to fill it. I live 6 miles from town and shops and school, so i have to use it. sorry rant over just gets my goat, and the price of food too!!!!!!
xx
tracey
Just this morning our closest neighbours caught other neighbours from down the road (almost) in the act of stealing petrol from our closest neighbours house/car/mower – petrol cans in hand, and they were climbing the closest neighbour’s fence. It isn’t the first time its happened either. I don’t think its all because of the price of fuel though, because both families have a lot of ‘history’.
DBM: Hmm, never thought about it like that. You’re right, though.
Tracey: We did the same thing, then diesel became more expensive! One of these days we’re going to work out whether it’s still more cost effective than petrol just because of the MPG (or MPL). God yes, and food here is shocking! We drive to Northern Ireland to buy food as it’s so much cheaper x
Aussie: Still snotty but surviving thanks. Crikey that’s terrible though. I hope there never comes a time when stealing fuel becomes the norm x