Your Comments

What a suprise, we are been ripped off again! Tell me how the pound dropping a few pence to the dollar can make unleaded rise 7p a litre in 3 weeks? It gets me the slightest excuse and it rockets back up within weeks, it comes down and its dragged ourt over 6 months. I SAY A FUEL PROTEST IS NEEDED, WE ARE IN A RECESION AND THE BEST THESE IDIOTS CAN DO FOR US IS INCREASE OUR NUMBER ONE BILL! Before we know it it will be well over a pound a litre again, and dont forget our Browns gona hit us with 2p in april, claming to save the plannet. We all wonder why we are in a Economic Downturn, well here people, lies your number one reason! Makes me sick!!!!

For more than a century it has been cheaper than coffee and as constant as ocean waves.

Getting it is simple. You select the grade, insert the nozzle, squeeze the handle and gasoline comes out. There seems no end to it.

Until now.

On top of the other problems plaguing the world, such as global warming and the current financial meltdown, there's a third pressing issue that threatens to bring the good life to an end: The world is fast running out of oil.

Given that crude oil makes up 36.4 per cent of the world's energy consumption, the seriousness of shortages cannot be underplayed. Our reliance on oil is almost total. It fuels 100 per cent of air and sea transport and most of our land transport. Without oil there is no petrochemical industry.

Agriculture, manufacturing, building materials, the clothes we wear, the food we eat and the medicines we take depend on oil.

Running out of oil is a question of when - not if.

Normand Mousseau, a physics professor at Universite de Montreal who has written a book on the end of oil, says the beginning of the end struck last summer. "This is why the prices jumped to $147 a barrel," he said. "As soon as the economy comes back, they will be right back up."

However, others say the crunch will come in three to 10 years depending on our rate of consumption.

"I hate being an alarmist about it, but our entire lifestyle is dependent on cheap oil and there just isn't very much left in the ground," Andrew Miall, professor of geology at the University of Toronto, said in an interview.

Most petroleum geology experts contend that we have already discovered the world's giant fields and what's left over will not keep the age of oil alive much longer.

"It's safe to say we have pinpricked the Earth thoroughly enough that it is very unlikely we have missed any Middle Easts," Miall said. "There may be another North Sea or two, but nothing that is going to really change the energy scene."

Matt Simmons, chairman and CEO of Simmons and Company International, which is a private energy investment banker based in Texas, said he believes the world's oil reserves have already peaked and we are on the downward slide.

"I think basically we are now in the early days of a very serious pending scarcity of oil and natural gas," he said. "Because we don't know we are, we are not putting any clamps on demand."

Simmons has been studying world oil production and reserves for decades. His company helps finance exploration and production.

He predicted - accurately as it turned out - that the North Sea fields would peak between 1998 and 2000.

Now he has turned his attention to Mexico, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, warning that their fields also have hit the downward slide.

"All the major oilfields of the world have peaked and we are going to see soon some precipitous collapses," he said.

Because production flows can still keep pace with demand, the price has remained deceptively low, giving the impression there's still lots of oil out there. Even at its record high of $147 a barrel, crude oil was still only 22 cents a cup, which is a fraction of the cost of a regular coffee.

Simmons called the price of oil absurdly low: "Let's say you and five fat friends run out of gas and you see a guy coming down the street riding a donkey and pulling an old messy cart and you say, 'Hey pull over here. Can you take me and my five fat friends a couple of miles for 22 cents,' which is what that much gas will get you. And the guy's going to flip you the bird: 'Are you stupid?'"

Our recent consumption rates are the most voracious in history. By the end of 2007, the world had consumed about 1.1 trillion barrels of oil. Half of this was consumed over the last 25 years alone. So far, we have consumed about 50 per cent of the total recoverable oil, according to the World Energy Council.

Chris Skrebowski, a London-based member of the Energy Institute in Britain and consultant editor of the Petroleum Review, which is considered the oil industry bible, said he believes world oil reserves will peak "no later than 2012."

He paints a doomsday scenario of a world blithely unaware that in a few years its oil-based lifestyle will begin to end.

"Peak oil is when delivery flows can't meet the demand," Skrebowski said. Demand will outstrip production primarily because of a lack of sufficient reserves. Once that happens, we are on an unbroken downward slide.

For Skrebowski, signs of the approaching peak are clear. High oil prices as well as the enormous price fluctuations we're seeing are ultimately the result of emerging bidding wars over oil by oil-deficit countries.

Despite dwindling reserves, demand for oil is expected to continue to rise in China, India and other Asian countries. This will only hasten the moment of peak oil.

And new important discoveries are doubtful.

Canada's conventional oil production peaked in about 1995. U.S. production peaked in the 1970s. North Sea wells peaked in 2000. Mexico peaked in 1997 and Venezuelan production is peaking.

In all, Skrebowski said, about 28 significant producers are in decline. This represents about 35 per cent of global production. Once that figure reaches 51 per cent, "we reach global peak oil," he said.

The only place where production continues to hold up is in the Persian Gulf.

But the elephant wells of Saudi Arabia are showing signs of exhaustion and the Saudis are indicating that they want to begin preserving their oil for their children.

Yet politicians have not addressed the issue.

"They are terrified of it," Skrebowski said. "They don't know what to do. There are no pat solutions."

**************************************************************

Stop whining and whinging about fuel costs and start preparing for a life of austerity.

Find local employment. Reduce your debts. Reduce your fuel consumption. Grow your own vegetables or buy from local suppliers. Exercise regularly. Insulate your home. Help your family, friends and colleagues to understand the implications of Peak Oil.

We're being ripped off.

If the retailers aren't making any money (don't make me laugh) then what are they in business for? Why not try selling another product?

And as for this peak oil cr@p, why do we have to have this on every thread?

Re 6

"And as for this peak oil cr@p, why do we have to have this on every thread?"

Probably because Peak Oil recognises that as a species we are good on short term thinking (which has got us into the mess we are in, and the way way bigger mess that's coming), and keeps repeating his message in the hope that we will wake up in time to at least mitigate the worst of it.

And what a rubbish, weak excuse to start a blog this is. Cheap shot Brendan, doing it to have a larf at the proles? Choke on it.

Good to see that everything associated with oil prices is always related to the peak oil LOL.

Greed + the big hunt for more profit than last year is to blame in my opinion.

10
Boo, "is to blame in my opinion". I'm interested in any facts/evidence you have to back that opinion up.
"Good to see that everything associated with oil prices is always related to the peak oil LOL". Is it? Exchange rates, tax and Duty, labour costs, R&D costs - all related to Peak Oil? A bit tenuous.

8
Interesting, "And what a rubbish, weak excuse to start a blog this is". Quite agree. I especially like "prompting some motoring groups to accuse petrol retailers of profiteering as prices increase.". I guess that would be organisations like the Private Equity owned AA who now charge restaurants and hotels to have their star ratings 'upgraded' (not blackmail of course - no, you pay to have an AA consultant 'advise' you how to get to the next level). The motorists friend - second only after the PE investors (they don't like profits - do they?) trying to gouge every last cent out of an organisation originally designed to be owned and run by its members.

Boris
"Did you ever watch Doc Martin?" If it's a TV show or film - no,"
Easy way out.
"if you mean the shoe - no, but I've worn them." ???
What does that mean?

No evidence is required, Venezuela is buried in $hit.
For someone who requires only facts, I am vexed with "I don't think" and "
I don't imagine" comments from you.
As you previously posted 11134, this is a typical British middle class suburban Conservative view.
Since when has Britain had an angelic past? So we may not agree with their polices but hey, its their country, not ours, and as you have probably stated using one of your other pseudonyms, if you don't like it, get out.
The problem with English speaking countries is they have a misconception that all that comes from the ground is theirs (eg, middle eastern wars) by right.

World oil demand will contract more than expected this year due to the deepening economic crisis, OPEC said on Friday, an outlook that may bolster the case for further supply cuts.

PriceStock prices Company name Last price Percentage change
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said global demand will fall by 580,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2009 to average 85.13 million bpd. Its previous forecast was for demand to contract by 180,000 bpd.

Oil use is falling this year and in 2008, the first drop in more than 20 years as recession triggered by the banking crisis spreads through all continents. Crude prices have fallen below $40 a barrel from a record near $150 last year.

"World oil demand continues its steep decline from last year and is expected to follow this strong negative pattern at least for the first three quarters of the year," OPEC said in its monthly report written by its economists.

Still, OPEC's prediction of falling demand is less severe than that of the International Energy Agency, adviser to consuming countries, which said on Wednesday that consumption in 2009 would fall by 980,000 bpd.

Slumping demand is leading to higher oil inventories, which OPEC said were likely to weigh on prices as demand slows for seasonal reasons later in the year.

A U.S. government report on Wednesday showed crude stocks in the world's top consumer rose for a seventh consecutive week to 350.8 million barrels.

"The high and growing stock levels -- particularly for crude oil -- are likely to continue to disrupt the overall stability of the market," the OPEC report said.

"Their impact will become even more pronounced with the onset of low seasonal demand as well as the upcoming refinery maintenance period."

OPEC now expects demand for its oil to fall "significantly" in 2009 by 1.7 million bpd compared to 2008. That is steeper than its previous forecast of a year-on-year fall of 1.4 million bpd.

The group has agreed at meetings since September to cut its oil output by 4.2 million bpd, equal to 5 percent of daily world demand, to combat the slump.

In January, the 11 members subject to production cut deals, all excluding Iraq, cut output by 965,000 bpd to 26.33 million bpd, according to data from secondary sources cited by OPEC in the report.

Production remains above OPEC's 24.84 million bpd implied target and the cutback indicates that OPEC met 65 percent of its pledge to lower output, according to a Reuters calculation based on the OPEC data.

OPEC oil ministers are next scheduled to meet to set policy on March 15 in Vienna.

(Reporting by Alex Lawler and Christopher Johnson; Editing by James Jukwey)
Reuters 12:45 13 Feb 2009

14 & 15
Boo, "What does that mean?". OK, it's Doc Martens - not Doc Martins, but surely you've heard of Doctor Martens boots? Alexei Sayle even had a song about them.
"I am vexed with "I don't think" and "I don't imagine" comments from you." Don't lose any sleep over it.
"As you previously posted 11134, this is a typical British middle class suburban Conservative view." Great, now you're the demographic expert. Let's not start the guessing games.
"Since when has Britain had an angelic past?" I don't know - you tell me. Do you condone Britain's involvement in WW1 or WW2? Was that angelic or devilish?
"So we may not agree with their polices but hey, its their country, not ours, and as you have probably stated using one of your other pseudonyms, if you don't like it, get out." Not a very humane attitude - a "country" consists of people you know. As an analogy, would you just walk on by if you saw some kid being attacked?
"The problem with English speaking countries is they have a misconception that all that comes from the ground is theirs (eg, middle eastern wars) by right." Thanks for the history lesson - you should write a book. Since when does having the view that a society isn't very well run translate into a call to arms?
"Ricardo Sucre, an opposition consultant. Not a follower. He neither attacks nor supports either side. He observes." Your point is what? Presumably you have found a way of squaring the fact that he works for the opposition with not supporting either side? Do share that.

Apologies for the sarky tone, but your attempts at trivial semantic point-scoring isn't very interesting. This debate started because you made unsubstantiated claims about fuel prices, moved on to some 4 year old data to prove yet another erroneous claim and topped it with the astonishing claim that oil in Venezuela was free. You could either defend or retract those views but choose instead to waffle.

J R Ewing
J. R. Ewing.
**Whether Boris is right or wrong, there's no need to degenerate into this kind of abuse and Boris himself will state that though he & I only agree on certain aspects of each others points of view we nevertheless respect each others beliefs.**

Are you serious, are you having a laugh?

A few of Boris' kind words, , , ,

1]..What a sophisticated and well argued point. How enlightening.

2]..nil knowledge stoked by other ill-informed bloggers.

3]..many posts show such an astounding ignorance of how the world works

4]..these people will never be more than cyber soap box ranters

5]..("look, I done a post - aren't I clever hur hur hur!").

6]..you and your like confuse 'thick skinned' with 'thick' - I am the former and you appear to be the latter.

7]..hard to take seriously the fake superior/pompous tone

8]..I don't like to criticise an unwell man (note* he did though)

9]..set your tiny mind straight

10]..(I find I am quite capable of using a computer without getting too grubby - maybe you in your DOM persona are not?)

11]..Happy now weirdo?

12]..ignorance exhibited by some of these fools who think that their soap-box rants are somehow of any value.

13].. but why should fools be tolerated?

14]..the ignorance of some of the posters here

15]..off for his Goosestep in the snow

16]..oh dear, it's all the fault of the immigrants isn't it

17]..stoke the furnaces to keep you warm you sad loser?

18]..hilarious in your stupidity

19]..ill informed and pompous.

20]..duh!

21]..you machine gunning the dreaded immigrants

22]..you nasty little twerp.

23]..Get back in the pond.

24]..you tedious little man

25]..fellow member of the Onanists Club (you do it - he watches?)

26]..devoid of any intellect you really are!

27]..What's the next subject for you parade your ignorance of?

28]..(*Boris take on the refinery strikes) conversing with White Supremacists

29]..let the Nazi get away with it (Mr Handbrake I assume).

30]..easier than working to make a success of your life isn't it?

31]..How can it be free? Does the oil just come out of the ground, refine itself and throw itself into the cars?

32]..Wrong.

If a person keeps poking a sleeping lion he will get bitten. Eventually.
I have written on these pages a few times over the years and have never "crossed-swords" with Boris.
I do agree with most other posters that to post anything is likely to receive the "Boris-Backlash" so will not bother.
Shame really as these pages are very informative and sometimes bring a smile or two.

21
Boris, "Post your real address next time and we'll arrange a meet." Sorry Steve, I meant to say "we'll arrange a meet at your pub".

23
Boo, bored now. You win. Be happy. Be lucky. Walking away..........better things to do.

Boris
I win? Not in a competition.

"Not sure why "STILL" as you haven't asked before,"
Check post 19. Very last line.

BTK>>"No harm in using something if it is virtually free."
BORIS>>"astonishing claim that oil in Venezuela was free"

Where was the word 'oil' in my statement?

Bye Boris.

RE 22 Boris.

Keep talking, someday you'll say something intelligent!

What on earth gave you the impression I wrote that in 20?

If I have anything to say, I will say it and put my name to it.

You really are a sad pathetic lonely old man.

Get a bloody life and if you do not wish to add to the blogs, then don't.

After blogs from you, I've decided I am in favor of abortion in cases of incest.

If everybody thought you were right all the time then this site would be called "Believe Boris.com."
Reality check...... it isn't.

The rest of planet earth's inhabitants have other things to take care of.

You are not the centre of the universe.

No, you have not hit a raw nerve or upset me or whatever else you might come up with.

You are just so laughable, Boris you really are.

It is true that many will not contribute to this site anymore.

All of your ancestors must number in the millions; it's hard to believe that many people are to blame for producing you.

You have the opportunity to reply, but it will fall on deaf ears. No-one is listening to you.

And Boris I am not BTK either.

To pinch a line from 20. Here comes a BORIS BACKLASH.

Or in my own words, "A BORIS BASHING"

toodle pip.

I've had a "BORIS BASHING".

Pardon me, but you've obviously mistaken me for someone who gives a damn.

No one will ever know that you've had a lobotomy, if you wear a wig to hide to the scars and learn to control the slobbering.

Taken from Wikipedia this sums you up perfectly Boris..
Paranoia is often associated with psychotic illnesses, sometimes schizophrenia, although attenuated features may be present in other primarily non-psychotic diagnoses, such as paranoid personality disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. Paranoia can also be a side effect of medication or recreational drugs such as marijuana and particularly stimulants such as methamphetamine and crack cocaine.

Boris are you up to date with your medication?

I catagorically deny any involvement in the production of the said atricle (blog 20)

"Classy. What a joker....... " Why thank you Boris, nicest thing you have ever said.

Classy? me? Thanks Boris. No, really, thanks.

Ditto.

Although I find you an intriguing little past time.

RE 33 Samuel,

PM Misery: Poll Rating Nosedives
A new poll shows Gordon Brown lagging badly behind the Conservatives, with support for Labour slumping seven points to just 25%.
The ComRes poll for the Independent on Sunday appears to mark the end of the "Brown bounce", returning Labour to the trough of unpopularity it experienced last summer.

The 16-point lead enjoyed by David Cameron's Conservatives, on 41%, is the widest margin recorded by any major poll since October.

Labour regularly recorded poll scores of 23% to 25% over last summer as it plumbed depths of unpopularity unseen for a generation.

Full report on Sky news com

Perhaps we will not have to wait too long.

its interesting to see tesco offering their 5p off a litre again just after they put the price of fuel up 7 to 8p in the south wales area. and unleaded has gained 7, 8p a litre, but diesel has only gained 4 to 5p a litre.

The price of oil is not rising, but the prices are slowly creeping up at the petrol pumps - I'm now paying an extra £4 for a tank of fuel. This may not sound much but when I have to fill up every 5 days, it mounts up. It is not a result of the weakened pound as you will find that these companies trade globally in a single currency - dollars.
In the current climate trying to find work which is close to your home, thereby eliminating the need for the car during the week, which will also help the environment, is next to impossible if you're skilled. I'm one of the lucky ones who only needs to drive 35 miles to work, but some folks need to travel further - and with the unreliability of the public transport system (plus the cost), people need to use their cars more, so everyone but the drivers make from it and we keep bearing the brunt.

Unleaded petrol last week went through the 90p-a-litre mark, adding £2 to the cost of filling up a typical family car after surging 4p in a few weeks. Diesel hit £1 a litre.

And petrol prices will soar even higher when the Government's fuel duty rises by 1.84p a litre from April 1.

Motoring group the AA accused petrol retailers of pushing up prices at a time when oil costs are low.

Spokesman Luke Bosdet said "The inference must be that drivers are being ripped off.

"The main concern is that some of the retailers, without the incentive of Christmas or trying to pull customers into their stores, have decided to relax their efforts to compete on price."

All major petrol retailers have raised prices since early January when average unleaded was just 85.89p a litre. The average price yesterday rose to 90.10p a litre.

Diesel has raced up from January's low of 98.06p a litre to a 100.64p average yesterday.

The petrol price hikes are a slap in the face to motorists who suffered record increases last year.

Crude oil costs - on which petrol prices are based - have crashed 70 per cent from last summer's peak. But pump prices are bouncing back up after a raft of pre-Christmas discounts.

Some of you people on here really do need to get a life

This comment has been removed as it was found to be in breach of our Blog Policies.

Crude oil prices dropped below $35 per barrel in New York and lost more than $2 per barrel in London trade as investors worried that the recession will not only continue but deepen before it gets better.

Sentiment is that demand will continue to decline, while bad news on manufacturing in the New York region hurt prices, which have dropped 22 percent since the beginning of the year.

Poor results for the day on equities markets also pushed prices lower, as did new data showing that Japan's economy contracted by 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter and bad news on profits from discount retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).

March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was down $2.58 to $34.93 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery dropped $2.14 to $41.14 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex March unleaded gasoline and April heating oil futures each dropped 8 cents during the session, to $1.13 per gallon and $1.22 per gallon respectively, while April natural gas was down 20 cents to $4.26 per million British thermal units.

The retail prices of gasoline in the United States fell 0.5 cent overnight to $1.96 per gallon on average, according to AAA.


Crude on a downward spiral, dollar shrinking against the pound, euro losing ground.
The cost at the pump rises.
Make sense to you?

Peak Demand for oil IMMINENT.

A new report released today by management consultancy Arthur D. Little questions the energy sector's consensus view that demand for oil will rise ever higher, driven in particular by consumption in the BRIC countries. Instead, it envisions that, as a result of an anticipated public policy shift, oil's predominant share in the energy mix could diminish faster than the industry currently anticipates. In contrast to a widely held industry consensus that, for the foreseeable future, oil will retain its leading role in satisfying ever growing global energy demand, a new analysis by Arthur D. Little offers an alternative scenario in which the global energy market transitions more quickly away from oil and towards a new, post-hydrocarbons, energy era.

In "The Beginning of the End for Oil?," Peter Hughes, a director of Arthur D. Little's Global Energy & Utilities Practice, points to three converging global policy drivers that are likely to bring about major changes to energy policy in all of the major energy-consuming areas; and could result in an earlier than anticipated decline in demand for oil. Climate change, politically undesirable price volatility, and questions of security of supply are all driving new public policy measures, and may well reduce the role that oil plays in the global energy mix sooner than many expect.

"In the last year, oil prices have reached record highs - and also been their lowest in four years," Hughes observes. "The penny has dropped. To varying degrees, governments across the globe are acknowledging publicly, many for the first time, that decreasing reliance on imported oil - and quickly - is becoming an energy policy imperative."

Changing composition of oil demand

According to Arthur D, Little's latest report, of the fossil fuels, oil is particularly vulnerable to a future decrease in demand because of the dominance of the transportation sector in its demand structure, consuming as it does over 50 per cent of oil produced worldwide today. The long-standing lack of alternatives to oil for transportation fuel has underpinned its dominant position, but this is now threatened by a series of global policy initiatives driving technology innovation and fuel efficiency across the automotive sector.

Hughes suggests that:

"As the number of new policy measures implemented to reduce reliance on hydrocarbons for transportation fuel reaches critical mass over the next 5-10 years, the world could see downward pressure on demand for oil and oil products materialize much sooner than the industry would currently concede."

The report argues that within both OECD and BRIC markets, the drive to increase fuel efficiency and reduce oil dependency will begin to develop real momentum and lead to a relatively rapid shift to alternative, non-oil-dependent modes of transport.

According to Hughes, "Depending upon how quickly the transportation sector begins its migration away from oil dependence, we could find ourselves at a tipping point in which demand for oil peaks much earlier than the industry currently anticipates, before going into long-term decline."

Implications for the future energy mix

As peak demand for oil approaches, the implications for coal, natural gas, nuclear, and other alternatives to hydrocarbons are far reaching. According to Arthur D. Little's report, oil and gas companies should give renewed thought to the sustainability of their business models, and among other things consider accelerating their moves to spread themselves into other parts of the energy value chain.

According to Hughes, "As oil and gas and other companies think about the longer-term energy mix, I would expect a great deal of focus to be on electricity as the vector for delivering useful energy to consumers. This has implications throughout the energy sector, and will create demand for multiple new sources of clean power as well as the infrastructure to deliver it."

With the real possibility that oil demand will peak much sooner than industry consensus suggests, Hughes concludes: "We encourage companies across the energy sector to build a revised concept of long term oil demand into their vision of where they want or expect to be in 20 years time. With the lead times that exist in this business, it cannot be too soon for companies to begin to re-focus their investment and long term growth strategies to ensure sustainability in the transition to a post-hydrocarbon world."

RE 47

Nice to see Gordon Browne has gone Greene

RE 50,

Adrian my friend, it is so good to hear from you.

I hope you are feeling much better. Sorry to hear you needed an operation but am glad all went OK for you.

Yup, I know first hand (not by choice) how much a busted knee can hurt.
So an operation (similar to yours) mends the pain.
I am on anti-inflammatories and pain killers now.

I knocked it yesterday on the bed post and it took all my effort to refrain from swearing around my wife. She said I went very red in the face and she could see the words forming but thankfully not spilling out from the lips.
I am back at the clinic on Tuesday for a scan, fingers crossed it will be on the mend with no further complications.
We sound like characters in "Scar Wars"

Enough of that $hit, on with important matters.

Looking back over the blogs will bring you a smile or two. Maybe the odd chuckle.

Blog 48 (John Boy) makes a valid point. Why is it fuel is allowed to be sold at pounds - pence - point - something?

Imagine buying a joint at the butchers "That'll be £9.82 point 7 thanks"

RE 47, It proves how we in the west really believe we are infallible when the opposite could be true.

With BRIC countries gaining ground by the second it is obvious they could soon overtake the rich and powerful countries and be seated in their place.

It would not be the first time the balance of power has shifted.

Catch you later.

Oil fell to just under $39. barrel today that's $108 less than the peak last July
or 73.5% down so where does that leave our fuel prices?

52 Robbing the dead? They've already got that angle covered with death duties and the V.A.T (Supposed to be for luxuries) on a funeral!

The old adage go's "Born free, taxed to death" and this remains governmental
policy even today.
I'm with you "Brown & co resign" but the alternative whoever they'll be, will have their hands tied and plaster cast over this one.

Reply to 54 Brahms
Complacent is the wrong word. This means to be pleased with ones own achievements.
Perhaps it is better aimed at members of parliament who are detached from reality and more debauched than Thatcherites. Complacent indeed.
The only contentment felt is from our chosen electorate who are satisfied with 70% of fuel cost taken to repay huge debts taken by this frivolous government.
That is reality.

Reply to 56 Brahms
Explain. How do 'they' change and become 'un-complacent'?
Any protest is futile. We do not 'stand together' in this country.
Blockade the forecourts and the price goes up due to a drop in demand and profits.
We really are in a no-win situation.

I came across this by chance. . . . there was no title, so I have taken liberty and gave one.

Life after the oil crash.

I can still remember the time before the crash
when we all drove around in cars and I had lots of cash
and anything I wanted, I'd just go out and buy
I'd even drive a mile or two - just to buy a pie

but then the oil wars started and everything collapsed
the supermarket shelves were stripped before a month elapsed
and people all turned really grim and gained a hungry look
we'd steal from anyone at all we'd kill for things to cook

and everywhere disease and grief and bodies left to rot
while gangs of grim and brutal men would kill and steal and plot
and people fled the cities and countless numbers died
and everything was so so bad not even mothers cried

our house was one of many then, a normal family home
but it was stripped and burnt for fuel when we had left to roam
and I remember mum and dad, my little sister too
but they were killed and eaten back sometime in '22

and now I know I'm dying, I've left no living heirs
nobody is alive to know there's not a soul who cares
there's only me so damned hungry I'm gnawing at the trees
there's no-one left to kill and eat oh God please help me please

and as I stagger on and on through burnt and plundered homes
I see the the signs of rage and ruin and countless human bones
I hear the starving pack of dogs that follow close behind
and I am now so close to death I hardly even mind

I fall and screaming dogs begin to rip and shred my life
my mind drifts back to days of oil and to my kids and wife
oh life was so so simple then and life was so so good
but all we had we wasted, we never understood

By Murray Hobbs

Hiya again Capri
Yes the British way, accept whatever is thrown at us, accept other country's cast offs. The one thing I like about all the various blogs is that they give like minded people a forum with which to debate. I know that we'll never put the
wrongs to right (I don't mean to sound defeatist) and as for blockades like I explained in post 58 they would be difficult to start let alone keep going.
Complacent has 4 slightly different meanings and one of them is:-
To have given up, to accept the inability to change.
You correctly point out that the French wouldn't tolerate as much as we do,
perhaps they really could give us a few pointers.
With our fuel prices ever increasing and the soon to be implemented fuel duty rise (Budget) it would not be too difficult to envisage a scenario akin to post 59. What a terrible prospect.

Hi,

A garage in South Birmingham is charging 93.9ppl for unleaded and 99.9ppl for diesel.

The gap between the fuels has fallen to just 6p.

Hopefully this will be the norm rather than the exception and soon greener, kinder to the environment, cheaper to produce, more MPG diesel will be cheaper than petrol.

Hello all
No long posting from me this time.
Just to say post @ 59 very, very poignant.
Good posting A is for A.

Hi to all and a big hello to Steve M.
All is on the mend with me just a little stiffness leaving me to do a passable impression of Hopalong Cassidy.
Anthony J a fellow Welshman and a possible relation of mine (I have a cousin
named Anthony J****** living in Coychurch Bridgend and he has/had a mk4 V.W.Golf) however I have no phone numbers so a clue perhaps.
Anyway a good Idea "Name & Praise" the garages, I can't drive for a while
but I think it's a better idea than "Name & Shame" and the more free publicity we give the good garages the better it could be for us all.
You could be onto a winner and we've nothing to lose by trying.

Capri, I think you'll prove an interesting asset to these postings.
Brahms, I can't quite pin you down as yet, maybe middle of the road
with some militant tendencies?

Anybody else when they read A is for A's verses think of the film
"I Am Legend"

I read in the press and on T V that the price of oil is now $39 a barral. It's gone way down as of summer last year but why is it not reflected in the price we pay @ the pumps

Hi,

The Beaumont filling station on the Pershore road in Birmingham is cheapest for diesel at 96.9ppl and the Petrol force on the Handsworth New Road is selling at exactly 98ppl (I only mention this as the point something has 'gone' (hooray))
Lichfield also has several stations at 96.9ppl for diesel.

The Tesco's on Church St. Lichfield has unleaded at 86.9ppl and the cheapest in Birmingham it is 88.9 at Esso and Snax 24 both on Barnes Hill, Weoley Castle.

Anthony J,
Adrian came up with an idea some time ago to have a cyber pub where we could 'meet' at set times and chew the fat.

Anybody can contribute, its a free world and it is not a select club, just a way of having some of us on line at the same time so the responses are quicker.

I only suggest a Friday as it has been fairly popular in the past although there have been plenty of dead nights too.

please feel free to pop in the 'pub' and have a beer or two.

M, as your findings are correct, is it a case of who is scratching who's back?
Even a case of who is fooling who?
It is not just this country, as questions are being asked in several areas. Even in Asia and the U.S.A.
Perhaps the unleaded is set lower to attract more customers and let the diesel users pay for their privilege. Are they relying on diesel and LPG to maximise profit?
As you rightly point out it was the other way round some time previously.
With more diesel engines in cars now the practise is being magnified.
We keep buying the fuel, they continue to reap the profit.