In Hinterland this week: levelling up, rural living costs, pricey food and some funny rural films. Read on!!

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Impact of the pandemic on rural shopping habits

An ostensibly prosaic subject but in the hands of quality researchers of this calibre a really useful contribution to our rural store of knowledge. This article tells us:

Researchers at the University of Southampton have explored how the pandemic has impacted the shopping habits and attitudes of consumers aged 65+ living and shopping in rural communities in the South of England.

A series of practical recommendations to encourage older shoppers in rural areas back into local stores in the wake of COVID-19 have emerged from research commissioned by the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE).

The research found that while many older shoppers were already returning to use rural retail stores, the majority also had similar concerns and apprehensions that prevented it being a 'normal' experience. For others, at the time of the survey in summer 2021, physical shopping remained a step too far, often for one or more of the reasons that were also inhibiting those who had already returned.

The findings led to seven recommendations for stores to help welcome more older shoppers back, make those who already had feel more comfortable, and encourage an improved experience for customers:

• Simply recognize that pandemic fear persists
• Maintain a physical distance
• Offer multiple modes of payment to reduce anxiety
• Encourage and facilitate [even more] personalized service interactions
• Mitigate against merchandise contamination
• Ask for feedback (and listen)
• Go the extra (delivery) mile

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-impact-pandemic-rural-habits.html

Car-flip farmer cleared of dangerous driving and criminal damage

I personally can’t fully understand why the farmer here was so keen to get this vehicle off his land if a rescue vehicle was on the way. The fact that the owner but passenger was drunk does not seem not seem material either. This story tells us a lot about rural/urban tensions….                                   

A farmer who used a telehandler to pick up a car and dump it in a road to defend his property has been cleared of dangerous driving and criminal damage.

Robert Hooper, 57, had told Durham Crown Court he felt "frightened and threatened" when he took the action.

He had argued an "Englishman's home is his castle", and he had been assaulted before he used his vehicle to remove the Corsa in County Durham last June.

His partner Kate Henderson said he had been through "eight months of hell".

Supporters cheered the couple outside the court after the jury cleared Mr Hooper following a four-day trial.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-60260155

What levelling up? Councils forced into tax rises and drastic service cuts

Poor levelling up. Any time any individual or body is going through the milli, it’s the fault of Levelling Up. Not the case in my book, but this article does point to a number of authorities in danger of intervention, some with rural footptrints

Levelling up secretary Michael Gove last week unveiled the government’s long-delayed plans to address regional and social inequalities, but cash-strapped councils across England are having to plan heavy cuts to frontline services after more than a decade of ongoing austerity. Recent funding increases have not undone £15bn of cuts in central government grants to local authorities between 2010 and 2020, and councils wrestling with the impact of Covid are set to pass a succession of savings measures plus widespread council tax increases. Several local authorities are facing votes on service cuts in the coming weeks.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/06/what-levelling-up-councils-forced-into-tax-rises-and-drastic-service-cuts

Shropshire 'overlooked' in 'levelling up' plan

This article speaks for itself…

Government plans to "level up" the country are ignoring rural areas like Shropshire, the local authority has said.

The scheme is designed to close the gap between rich and poor parts of the country.

On Wednesday, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove announced details of the government strategy.

But councillor Ed Potter said the plans meant "once again Shropshire has been overlooked".

"At the moment we feel overlooked, unrecognised, taken for granted and completely undervalued," the cabinet member for economic growth said.

Philip Dunne, Tory MP for Ludlow, echoed the council's disappointment at failing to get anything from Wednesday's announcements and said he would be arranging a meeting with Mr Gove.

Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, who took the North Shropshire seat from the Conservatives in December, said the plans showed the government was continuing to ignore people in the area.

"We are having our rural services cut left and right and we are facing [a] healthcare crisis. Yet the government chooses to turn a blind eye," she added.

The secretary of state's plans bring all existing government initiatives into 12 "national missions" which include improving "well-being" and increasing pay, employment and productivity across the UK.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-60232061

Tesco chairman warns of food price inflation at 5% by spring

This doesn’t bode weil – we already know it costs more to live in rural Britain. The aricle tells us:

The chairman of Britain’s biggest supermarket chain has warned that “the worst is yet to come” on food price inflation, as he predicted it will soon hit 5%.

John Allan, who has chaired Tesco since 2015, told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme that he was well aware people on very tight budgets were having to choose between food and heating. He said the idea that this was happening was very troubling.

Overall inflation currently stands at 5.4%, a 30-year high, and is predicted to top 6% in the spring, just one element of the cost of living crisis facing UK households. Poverty groups have warned about the impending threat to those on the lowest incomes.

“In some ways the worst is still to come – because although food price inflation in Tesco last quarter was only 1%, we are impacted by rising energy prices. Our suppliers are impacted by rising energy prices. We’re doing all we can to offset it … but that’s the sort of number we’re talking about. Of course, 5%,” he said.

Allan admitted some people would “of course” have less to spend on luxuries, as the price hikes coincide with a rise in national insurance contributions and the £693 increase in the average family’s annual energy bill, to £1,971, both of which come into effect in April.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/feb/06/tesco-chair-warns-food-price-inflation-of-5-is-just-around-the-corner

And Finally

Best British Countryside Comedy Films

Some of my favourite films reviewed in this article Holy Grail, Clockwise to name just 2 …..

The great outdoors and a hearty chuckle are two of our favourite things. So what better way to enjoy both than with our top countryside comedy films, from old corkers to new chortlers?

We’ve rounded up our favourites below, reliving some wonderful moments in the process and giving details of locations so you can visit and do the same. Why not head up to Glen Coe on your next trip to Scotland and trace the path of iconic Holy Grail scenes, including the multi-purpose Castle Doune and the ‘Bridge of Death’ at the River Coe? Or practise some tai chi near the Yorkshire village of Kettlewell, where Calendar Girls was based?

Failing that, you can always tuck yourself away on a rainy Sunday afternoon, hunker down with a cuppa and enjoy some serious comfort viewing in the British countryside.

https://www.countryfile.com/reviews/best-british-countryside-comedy-films/