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Shortage of lettuce; It's true
Topic Started: Feb 5 2017, 01:30 PM (296 Views)
marybrown
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Went to Tesco's at 9 o'clock..(it opens at 8)..no lettuce to be found...blueberries up a £1...prices were ridiculous..Are people panic buying?...

Or just another rip off??
Edited by marybrown, Feb 5 2017, 01:35 PM.
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Alberich
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Alberich
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Why in God's name would anyone want to "panic buy" lettuce. Or courgettes, for that matter? Is anyone so desperate (or sad) that they cannot manage without them for a while?
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Steve K
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Once and future cynic
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marybrown
Feb 5 2017, 01:30 PM
Went to Tesco's at 9 o'clock..(it opens at 8)..no lettuce to be found...blueberries up a £1...prices were ridiculous..Are people panic buying?...

Or just another rip off??
Seems to be real at the shelves, you can always rely on us Brits to make a small shortage into a drama with panic buying as has happened with the inevitable results through supply/demand pricing

I'm not worried yet - and I'm a veggie.
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marybrown
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Steve K
Feb 5 2017, 01:54 PM
marybrown
Feb 5 2017, 01:30 PM
Went to Tesco's at 9 o'clock..(it opens at 8)..no lettuce to be found...blueberries up a £1...prices were ridiculous..Are people panic buying?...

Or just another rip off??
Seems to be real at the shelves, you can always rely on us Brits to make a small shortage into a drama with panic buying as has happened with the inevitable results through supply/demand pricing

I'm not worried yet - and I'm a veggie.
Buy British..you may not get many aubergines..quite frankly I think a lot of our veg comes from the plastic greenhouses in Holland...I can't really see why ''Iceberg'' lettuces should come from a hot country..full of water and tasteless..

But having said that..there are crates of Iceberg lettuces..12 in a crate..up for sale on e-bay for £80!!
Edited by marybrown, Feb 5 2017, 02:23 PM.
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Curious Cdn
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marybrown
Feb 5 2017, 01:30 PM
Went to Tesco's at 9 o'clock..(it opens at 8)..no lettuce to be found...blueberries up a £1...prices were ridiculous..Are people panic buying?...

Or just another rip off??
You haven't read the "Lettuce be clear" clause in Article 50, yet?
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marybrown
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Curious Cdn
Feb 5 2017, 02:27 PM
marybrown
Feb 5 2017, 01:30 PM
Went to Tesco's at 9 o'clock..(it opens at 8)..no lettuce to be found...blueberries up a £1...prices were ridiculous..Are people panic buying?...

Or just another rip off??
You haven't read the "Lettuce be clear" clause in Article 50, yet?
;D ..that's funny..however not being told what our PM has decided is not??
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johnofgwent
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It .. It is GREEN !!
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Alberich
Feb 5 2017, 01:51 PM
Why in God's name would anyone want to "panic buy" lettuce. Or courgettes, for that matter? Is anyone so desperate (or sad) that they cannot manage without them for a while?
Fundamentalist Vegans of Brighton and Hove Face Crisis
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Rich
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johnofgwent
Feb 5 2017, 02:44 PM
Alberich
Feb 5 2017, 01:51 PM
Why in God's name would anyone want to "panic buy" lettuce. Or courgettes, for that matter? Is anyone so desperate (or sad) that they cannot manage without them for a while?
Fundamentalist Vegans of Brighton and Hove Face Crisis
As soon as I saw the word "fundamentalist" I knew it was time to click on to another topic. ;-)
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marybrown
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johnofgwent
Feb 5 2017, 02:44 PM
Alberich
Feb 5 2017, 01:51 PM
Why in God's name would anyone want to "panic buy" lettuce. Or courgettes, for that matter? Is anyone so desperate (or sad) that they cannot manage without them for a while?
Fundamentalist Vegans of Brighton and Hove Face Crisis
!jk! Or in Hatton Garden?..'' Do you want a nice bit of schmutter?'' Opens coat to reveal endives?
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Steve K
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marybrown
Feb 5 2017, 02:21 PM
Steve K
Feb 5 2017, 01:54 PM
marybrown
Feb 5 2017, 01:30 PM
Went to Tesco's at 9 o'clock..(it opens at 8)..no lettuce to be found...blueberries up a £1...prices were ridiculous..Are people panic buying?...

Or just another rip off??
Seems to be real at the shelves, you can always rely on us Brits to make a small shortage into a drama with panic buying as has happened with the inevitable results through supply/demand pricing

I'm not worried yet - and I'm a veggie.
Buy British..you may not get many aubergines..quite frankly I think a lot of our veg comes from the plastic greenhouses in Holland...I can't really see why ''Iceberg'' lettuces should come from a hot country..full of water and tasteless..

But having said that..there are crates of Iceberg lettuces..12 in a crate..up for sale on e-bay for £80!!
Who desperately wants to eat lettuce in February? Not I

Aubergines? :nono: Posted Image

Now the Broccoli shortage might amount to a minor irritant, I think I'll cope

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Tigger
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Sorry about this. I don't usually advocate violence but if you are the sort of person who would panic buy greens then frankly you deserve to be beaten up as a service to society.
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papasmurf
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The problem with veg supply has been escalating for some time, as has the quality worsening.

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marybrown
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So we have most of Lincolnshire..growing veg..are we all going to die??
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Rich
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marybrown
Feb 5 2017, 03:38 PM
So we have most of Lincolnshire..growing veg..are we all going to die??
Me.....?...............meat and two veg...Potatoes and marrowfat peas, I am easily pleased and will not go hungry even if if means beans on a nice thick slice of gypsy toast.....if one is REALLY hungry one will eat what is available and within ones budget.
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marybrown
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Rich
Feb 5 2017, 03:46 PM
marybrown
Feb 5 2017, 03:38 PM
So we have most of Lincolnshire..growing veg..are we all going to die??
Me.....?...............meat and two veg...Potatoes and marrowfat peas, I am easily pleased and will not go hungry even if if means beans on a nice thick slice of gypsy toast.....if one is REALLY hungry one will eat what is available and within ones budget.
True..mmm I love marrowfat peas..when I was a kid we ate what was in front of us...No questions..If you didn't eat it..you went hungry..you had to clear your plate..strangely enough this must have been in 1962 and my mother would say..there are hundreds of Africans starving..who would be glad to eat what you left...How times have changed..  ::)
Edited by marybrown, Feb 5 2017, 04:05 PM.
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Tigger
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marybrown
Feb 5 2017, 03:38 PM
So we have most of Lincolnshire..growing veg..are we all going to die??
Why don't we invite some hard working foreigners in to help boost production? Poles perhaps?
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papasmurf
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Tigger
Feb 5 2017, 06:42 PM
Why don't we invite some hard working foreigners in to help boost production? Poles perhaps?
The problem is not in the UK it is with imported veg.

http://www.euronews.com/2017/02/03/uk-vegetable-shortage-leads-to-rationing

Dieter Lloyd, from the British Leafy Salads Association told British media:


“Southern Spain provides around 80% of the fresh produce for the EU out of season, so it is not just the UK”.


He went on to say that stocks are 30-50% of what is normally available. The challenge, he said, “is we are not the only people buying it.”


Courgettes and aubergines are also in short supply. Panic buying is said to have contributed to the introduction of rationing and customers are being asked to ‘shop responsibly’. Vegetable vendors are complaining of an almost doubling in the price of wholesale lettuce to as much as 1.75 EUR.
Edited by papasmurf, Feb 5 2017, 07:20 PM.
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Rich
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papasmurf
Feb 5 2017, 07:08 PM
Tigger
Feb 5 2017, 06:42 PM
Why don't we invite some hard working foreigners in to help boost production? Poles perhaps?
The problem is not in the UK it is with imported veg.

http://www.euronews.com/2017/02/03/uk-vegetable-shortage-leads-to-rationing

Dieter Lloyd, from the British Leafy Salads Association told British media:


“Southern Spain provides around 80% of the fresh produce for the EU out of season, so it is not just the UK”.


He went on to say that stocks are 30-50% of what is normally available. The challenge, he said, “is we are not the only people buying it.”


Courgettes and aubergines are also in short supply. Panic buying is said to have contributed to the introduction of rationing and customers are being asked to ‘shop responsibly’. Vegetable vendors are complaining of an almost doubling in the price of wholesale lettuce to as much as 1.75 EUR.
So, we eat what is in season.
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Tigger
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Rich
Feb 5 2017, 07:39 PM
So, we eat what is in season.
No thanks it's not 1943, the fact is our climate is against up and we have to buy certain foods from abroad, some might want to eat as well as live in the past, most of us don't.
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papasmurf
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Tigger
Feb 5 2017, 08:26 PM
No thanks it's not 1943, the fact is our climate is against up and we have to buy certain foods from abroad, some might want to eat as well as live in the past, most of us don't.
I certainly do not want the return of Spam fritters:-
http://www.recipespastandpresent.org.uk/wartime/?cat=43
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Tigger
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papasmurf
Feb 5 2017, 08:47 PM
I certainly do not want the return of Spam fritters:-
http://www.recipespastandpresent.org.uk/wartime/?cat=43
Nor do I, and unlike some on this thread I've no interest whatsoever in the sort of gesture politics that leads to a bad diet!
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johnofgwent
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It .. It is GREEN !!
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I have a fool proof, guaranteed, all weather solution to producing out of season lettuce. It has been tested, and has already passed sainsbury's standards (well, the ones they worked to in 2006)

The only problem is it uses the same sort of hydroponic rigs as used to grow pot, and thus the lettuce produced is .. about the same per ounce as a spliff at source.

Bench checking the system (with lettuce) was the one and only time i ever got a payout from the EU. It was commissioned by an industrial grower near hereford who thought there might be a market for the pre-washed pre-bagged ready to eat stuff, the only time I personally made money from my bioscience training

And it was put out of business by the bloody spaniards

With the recent arrival of LED lighting to replace that terribly expensive high pressure sodium stuff so loved by the FLIR camera operators on plod choppers, there might, however, be a truly economic way to produce lettuce hydroponically under artificial light at LED wavelengths designed to stimulate the plant processes around the 450 nanometre region and the other key wavelengths without wasting money on useless wavelengths in the visible spectrum and heat.

Brexit might have a few pleasant side effects onmy wallet after all ;-)
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Tigger
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johnofgwent
Feb 5 2017, 09:42 PM
I have a fool proof, guaranteed, all weather solution to producing out of season lettuce. It has been tested, and has already passed sainsbury's standards (well, the ones they worked to in 2006)

The only problem is it uses the same sort of hydroponic rigs as used to grow pot, and thus the lettuce produced is .. about the same per ounce as a spliff at source.

Bench checking the system (with lettuce) was the one and only time i ever got a payout from the EU. It was commissioned by an industrial grower near hereford who thought there might be a market for the pre-washed pre-bagged ready to eat stuff, the only time I personally made money from my bioscience training

And it was put out of business by the bloody spaniards

With the recent arrival of LED lighting to replace that terribly expensive high pressure sodium stuff so loved by the FLIR camera operators on plod choppers, there might, however, be a truly economic way to produce lettuce hydroponically under artificial light at LED wavelengths designed to stimulate the plant processes around the 450 nanometre region and the other key wavelengths without wasting money on useless wavelengths in the visible spectrum and heat.

Brexit might have a few pleasant side effects onmy wallet after all ;-)
After looking into this lettuce lark it seems you need a bit of heat as well as light, the seeds don't germinate reliably unless the temperature is between 19-22C and if it's too hot or too cold they don't grow properly, ie if using hydroponics during the winter months you'd need to heat the water and the air.

Sprouts are easy to grow though. ;-)
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papasmurf
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Tigger
Feb 5 2017, 09:51 PM
After looking into this lettuce lark it seems you need a bit of heat as well as light, the seeds don't germinate reliably unless the temperature is between 19-22C and if it's too hot or too cold they don't grow properly, ie if using hydroponics during the winter months you'd need to heat the water and the air.

Sprouts are easy to grow though. ;-)
My wife grows lettuce outside from the end of February to the end of November in old toilets and wash basins. (We are thinking of entering our back garden for the Turner prize.)
Swiss Chard seems to grow all year around.
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Ewill
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Tigger
Feb 5 2017, 08:26 PM
Rich
Feb 5 2017, 07:39 PM
So, we eat what is in season.
No thanks it's not 1943, the fact is our climate is against up and we have to buy certain foods from abroad, some might want to eat as well as live in the past, most of us don't.
Much green veg in the shops usually sources from East Africa - I wasn't aware that Spain was that major a source of veg
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johnofgwent
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It .. It is GREEN !!
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Ewill
Feb 5 2017, 11:37 PM
Tigger
Feb 5 2017, 08:26 PM
Rich
Feb 5 2017, 07:39 PM
So, we eat what is in season.
No thanks it's not 1943, the fact is our climate is against up and we have to buy certain foods from abroad, some might want to eat as well as live in the past, most of us don't.
Much green veg in the shops usually sources from East Africa - I wasn't aware that Spain was that major a source of veg
If you wish to reseach historical (2000 on) fruit and veg production and imports, start here and work through other references.


DEFRA Horticultural basic stats 2014
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papasmurf
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johnofgwent
Feb 6 2017, 10:13 AM
If you wish to reseach historical (2000 on) fruit and veg production and imports, start here and work through other references.


DEFRA Horticultural basic stats 2014
Interesting data sets. Some of which show how in some cases Britain is near totally dependent on imports.
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Curious Cdn
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papasmurf
Feb 6 2017, 10:48 AM
johnofgwent
Feb 6 2017, 10:13 AM
If you wish to reseach historical (2000 on) fruit and veg production and imports, start here and work through other references.


DEFRA Horticultural basic stats 2014
Interesting data sets. Some of which show how in some cases Britain is near totally dependent on imports.
You need sunshine to grow vegetables.
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papasmurf
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Curious Cdn
Feb 6 2017, 11:21 AM
You need sunshine to grow vegetables.
Actually you don't.

Posted Image
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marybrown
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If lettuces were grown under those conditions..they would be more expensive than asparagus?
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Oddball
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Because of health issues I choose to have most of my groceries delivered. I hope that the Caesar salad mix I requested gets delivered tomorrow, complete with the Iceburg lettuce and courgette pieces.
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marybrown
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Oddball
Feb 6 2017, 05:02 PM
Because of health issues I choose to have most of my groceries delivered. I hope that the Caesar salad mix I requested gets delivered tomorrow, complete with the Iceburg lettuce and courgette pieces.
Don't hold your breath....
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Oddball
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marybrown
Feb 6 2017, 05:11 PM
Oddball
Feb 6 2017, 05:02 PM
Because of health issues I choose to have most of my groceries delivered. I hope that the Caesar salad mix I requested gets delivered tomorrow, complete with the Iceburg lettuce and courgette pieces.
Don't hold your breath....
My Caesar salad arrived complete with lettuce, but not cucumber - I added halved baby plum tomatoes, some sultanas and fresh toasted peanuts - rather tasty.
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Ewill
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Oddball
Feb 11 2017, 03:19 AM
marybrown
Feb 6 2017, 05:11 PM
Oddball
Feb 6 2017, 05:02 PM
Because of health issues I choose to have most of my groceries delivered. I hope that the Caesar salad mix I requested gets delivered tomorrow, complete with the Iceburg lettuce and courgette pieces.
Don't hold your breath....
My Caesar salad arrived complete with lettuce, but not cucumber - I added halved baby plum tomatoes, some sultanas and fresh toasted peanuts - rather tasty.
There was plenty of lettuce and broccoli in the village Co-op yesterday

Could it all be an ''eat more greens'' promotion from the health department ? :rubchin:

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marybrown
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Ewill
Feb 11 2017, 09:57 AM
Oddball
Feb 11 2017, 03:19 AM
marybrown
Feb 6 2017, 05:11 PM

Quoting limited to 3 levels deep
My Caesar salad arrived complete with lettuce, but not cucumber - I added halved baby plum tomatoes, some sultanas and fresh toasted peanuts - rather tasty.
There was plenty of lettuce and broccoli in the village Co-op yesterday

Could it all be an ''eat more greens'' promotion from the health department ? :rubchin:

Ordered a salad with my fried chicken..very little lettuce but rather a lot of red cabbage.. :angry:
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Tigger
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marybrown
Feb 11 2017, 12:16 PM
Ordered a salad with my fried chicken..very little lettuce but rather a lot of red cabbage.. :angry:
Perhaps it was in the bottom of the bucket?
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Steve K
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Once and future cynic
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Oddball
Feb 11 2017, 03:19 AM
marybrown
Feb 6 2017, 05:11 PM
Oddball
Feb 6 2017, 05:02 PM
Because of health issues I choose to have most of my groceries delivered. I hope that the Caesar salad mix I requested gets delivered tomorrow, complete with the Iceburg lettuce and courgette pieces.
Don't hold your breath....
My Caesar salad arrived complete with lettuce, but not cucumber - I added halved baby plum tomatoes, some sultanas and fresh toasted peanuts - rather tasty.
Messrs Abel & Cole delivered two lettuce yesterday here. Mrs K was going to put them on Ebay but seems the crisis must be over
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marybrown
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Tigger
Feb 11 2017, 12:18 PM
marybrown
Feb 11 2017, 12:16 PM
Ordered a salad with my fried chicken..very little lettuce but rather a lot of red cabbage.. :angry:
Perhaps it was in the bottom of the bucket?
I would have thought that a man of your standing and bloodline would not have demeaned himself with sarcastic one-liners.. 8-)
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Rich
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marybrown
Feb 11 2017, 12:43 PM
Tigger
Feb 11 2017, 12:18 PM
marybrown
Feb 11 2017, 12:16 PM
Ordered a salad with my fried chicken..very little lettuce but rather a lot of red cabbage.. :angry:
Perhaps it was in the bottom of the bucket?
I would have thought that a man of your standing and bloodline would not have demeaned himself with sarcastic one-liners.. 8-)
!jk! !jk! !jk! !jk! !jk! :thumbsup:
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Paul
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I can live without lettuce quite happily, I prefer Peppery Mustard
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