I’m waiting for my car, next door to the showroom. That’s a good sign given it’s only 09:30am. The Tesla app has been flagging an expected finish of 1:00pm. It gives them plenty of wiggle room.
The technician’s text, who did a quick meet and greet before whisking the car away is expecting to have it back to me in about an hour.
That means time for breakfast and a phone browse rather than a long camp out wishing the clock along.
My protracted search a couple of weeks ago, came to the conclusion that Tesla Park Royal (London) for winter tyres and wheels was going to be less hassle than finding a third party independent.
I thought I’d struck lucky when I found Mr Winter Tyres, aptly named, but they didn’t want to supply Tesla tyre pressure monitors. An interesting chat revealed that the winter tyres market has all but dried up. No one needs them anymore because UK winters are typically wetter and milder. Punters still in the market, tend to opt for all season or all weather tyres.
There were two things I liked about my Tesla experience and one I didn’t. Being invited to have a chat with the technician is a good idea. The system auto-sends a text the day before identifying who’ll be working on your car. It’s a nice touch when you have the opportunity to say hello when you arrive.
I also liked the text a few minutes later when he’d started the work, telling me roughly when it would be finished.
What I didn’t like was being charged 50p for the hot water plus tea bag in a cardboard cup. It used to be free. Now they’re cheapening the experience in order to save pennies or make more money.
It begs the question, how much does a Tesla have to cost before a cup of tea in a china cup is included? A biscuit would be nice too.
Has anyone else noticed that the cost of insuring a car has gone up? Previous explorations into one or two Tesla chat forums revealed many long and vociferous complaints.
I was reminded again yesterday, when a golf course chat revealed that Range Rovers have been suffering a similar fate. Oh dear.
I found a few reasons as to why premiums are rising fast, none of which mentioned insurer profiteering? Our premium of £1600 had risen to £2500 until I spent 10 minutes on a price comparison site. Armed with three new quotes, I was told that because I’m a loyal customer, they could offer me a discounted price of £1,950. That was a lot closer to the new quotes without the hassle of a switch.
I’ve only been with Direct Line for a year. I wonder how much discount I can expect next?
Given that the festive season is upon us and I’m at least four mince pies in already, I was curious to see an article in Ethical Consumer about which ones to buy and avoid?
Originally, meat was the main ingredient, hence the name, but this was swapped out during late Victorian times for fruit. Suet is still used which can be sourced from animals or plants.
Which ones to chomp this Christmas, depends on your sensibilities about palm oil, and whether the pie is organic or vegan?
I can see the furrowed brows. There are more important things to worry about as family festivities wind to a crescendo.
Making them yourself is still the best option for quality and the ingredients you choose to use. I’ve included the Ethical Consumer’s recipe at the end for any home bakers who’d like to make a sustainable treat.
If you’re more likely to add them to a shopping list, a good option is to support any local independent bakeries, especially as you can ask them directly about what’s in it?
Failing that, here’s a quick explanation on the ethical debate and why most of the supermarket versions are best avoided.
Dairy cows, the main ingredient being butter, typically have poor animal standards. They also have a significant negative impact on our changing climate. Organic usually means higher animal welfare and you’re certainly guaranteed no harmful chemicals or genetically modified anything.
Vegan is also becoming more popular because a good mince pie can be made without any animal parts. Vegan doesn’t mean organic though.
Palm oil is a problematic ingredient and likely to be found in vegan and organic pies. Supermarkets and larger companies traditionally use it as a cheaper replacement for butter.
Iceland was the first major supermarket chain to go palm oil free a few years ago, but has now re-introduced it into some products including mince pies because of supply chain disruption sourcing sunflower oil, caused by the war in Ukraine.
Palm oil isn’t all bad either. When sourced through certified sustainable supply chains it can be traced to the mill of origin. 95% of Gregg’s palm oil is certified, The Co-operative is close with 93.3%. Aldi was the only supermarket to have less than 50% of its oil traceable.
Courtesy of Ethical Consumer
The table neatly explains the best and worst retailers, the higher the score the more ethical your mince pie. As you probably guessed, the places where we conveniently like to shop are the places to avoid, although some of the high street is still recommended.
It’s amusing to see that Mr Kipling doesn’t make exceedingly ethical mince pies and that the survey was aware enough not to recommend Daylesford. If you’re wondering why this over-priced organic farm shop comes with a question mark it’s because of the antics of the Bamfords who own it. Their financial support for Boris Johnson, a disgraced politician, has been well documented in the last year or two.
If the food buyers at the Co-op, Greggs, Waitrose and M&S can make a difference, why is it so beyond the capability of all the other supermarkets to provide a suitable own-label product?
They could do worse than adopt Riverford’s approach, best known for its organic veg boxes and sub contract production to the Authentic Bread Company. A list of all the ingredients and allergens in their pies is listed on Riverford’s web site.
Greggs have also taken a stance, deciding to only offer vegan mince pies, the only retailer to do so, perhaps because of the success of their vegan sausage rolls?
Some of the research undertaken includes the companies agricultural practices which would be common for a range of foods beyond this Christmas delicacy.
The question asked is what action are these companies taking to reduce or even reverse the damage done to biodiversity and ecosystems by agriculture?
All of the non-organic retailers do not have clearly defined policies about the run-off associated with some farms, especially the factory sized ones, and the pollution risk caused as a result to our soil and rivers.
One UK farm, a current supplier to M&S, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose was fined £35,000 for deliberately polluting waterways with slurry, a sloppy mix of animal excreta.
The Pesticide Action Network, a UK charity, ranks supermarkets on their approach to pesticides. Aldi, Booths, Greggs and Iceland were all ranked down because they currently don’t have any policies for reducing pesticides in their supply chains.
With winter tyres fitted for icy roads, mince pies sorted, all we need is some snow. It’s been having a go, even in London recently. According to this web site, which predicts the chances of a white Christmas, London has a 25% chance of snow.
Not long now.
Vegan mince pie recipe
Mincemeat
500 g mixed dried fruits (e.g. sultanas, raisins, dates, currants)
25 g almonds (chopped)
25 g candied peel (chopped)
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 small apple – peeled and grated
130 g muscovado sugar
130 g vegetable suet
3 tsp of mixed ground spice (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice)
75 ml brandy or orange juice (check out our juice guide)
Mix all the ingredients except the brandy or orange juice in a pan and heat until the sugar and suet have melted. Then mix in the brandy or orange juice. Store in sterilised jars and in a couple of weeks it will be ready to use.
Pastry
250 g plain flour
125 g fat (e.g. vegan butter or coconut oil)
2 tbsp water
Small amount plant milk (optional for brushing)
Rub the fat into the flour and then mix in the water to make a dough. You want to keep the pastry cool and don’t knead it beyond forming into a ball. Chill it in fridge before using.
Combining the pastry and mince
On a floured surface roll out and then cut two thirds of your pastry with a pastry cutter and place into a cupcake tin. Fill with mincemeat and chill in the fridge. Roll out the remaining pastry and cut out the lids (you can make stars or full circles). Add these onto your mince pies. Brush with a little vegan milk.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/160C fan/gas 4 for around half an hour or until golden.
Courtesy of Ethical Consumer
I too was surprised at the insurance hike for cars. My Yaris went from £204 to £275. My insurance company wanted £340. When I phoned them to complain about the convenient 66% rise for a loyal customer (4 years) they couldn’t care less. Quick comparison site search and the best was £275. Still a 36% rise .
Supposedly EVs are more difficult to fix, there’s a lack of qualified technicians, parts are more expensive, they are more likely to catch fire (not true).
Any excuse for a profit.