We talk to people in Bridgnorth to see how there coping with energy costs.

Shropshire Star

We took to Bridgnorth High Street to see how people are coping with energy costs now winter is setting in.

Transcript

00:00Do you still get that? Or are they taking it off you?

00:06How are you going to cope with that this year?

00:08Well, I've got enough, so, you know, it's not me that has to worry.

00:13So you're quite well off, so you're not worried about the heating?

00:17But I presume you've got friends and people in your peer group who are?

00:21Yes, but I don't know their circumstances.

00:25I mean, there are 59 flats where I am, and obviously we're varied incomes.

00:33And I'm all right, Jack.

00:39But do you feel for a few people that are stricken this winter when the cold weather comes?

00:44Well, of course it's lousy, it is.

00:47And it's for everyone who can't cope.

00:52And how do you think the government's doing at the moment?

00:54I was going to say, I can't make it political, but no.

01:04I just think the government's in a hell of a bind because it's got too much to go out and not enough coming in.

01:11I wouldn't want the job.

01:15That's, I think, a very salient point.

01:21Can I just take a word for your name, then?

01:24Do you want me to get on with it?

01:27I mean, heating's obviously gone up quite a bit, so it's going to go up even more.

01:30It will, it will go up, won't it?

01:33Every year it goes up.

01:35Well, are you tempted to keep your heating off?

01:37Well, as much as possible.

01:39During the day, you keep it off, don't you?

01:41Just keep to one room.

01:43Just carry on from there, don't you?

01:45When you get a move, a couple of days, shut the door.

01:49So you're pretty much leaving one room, just to say goodnight?

01:51Yeah, just keep to one room.

01:53You've got a wife with you as well at home, don't you?

01:55Yeah, she's in there.

01:57So you're bound to lay her up to you and keep to one room?

02:00Yeah.

02:02And what do you think the government should do?

02:04I think they should be a bit more helpful with pensioners.

02:07I mean, they've taken the winter fuel off, but it's a bit of a stink, isn't it?

02:12I don't think they can do anything really, no.

02:18All your food keeps going up.

02:20Everything keeps going up, so there's no stopping it, is there?

02:24I mean, if they could, they'd all be brilliant.

02:27We watched Charles down.

02:29And the government, they've put everything up for self, isn't it?

02:33So who's going to suffer?

02:35It's the people, isn't it?

02:37Do you find yourself getting poor as each year goes on?

02:40You think you're doing all right, but by the end of the year, you're pocketing it.

02:46I mean, that's what you used to do for a living.

02:48I was an orange harvester.

02:51And that's all your life?

02:53Yeah.

02:54Does that one take your name?

02:56Are you both working?

02:57No, we've both retired.

02:58And what about your winter fuel?

03:00No.

03:01They've taken it off, yeah?

03:02Yeah.

03:03We just got over it, yeah.

03:05So, I mean, how's that going to fit you?

03:06I mean, are you planning for your bills this year?

03:09Well, we live in a park, our own site.

03:11So, are we callow gas in a tank?

03:14We've got a dumper.

03:15A dumper tank.

03:16And we get, like, a delivery every month, sort of, October to maybe February.

03:21And then we get, like, it doesn't come for the rest of the year because we don't plan to use, sort of, cooking and we don't use central heating.

03:27So you have to plan it in advance?

03:29We do, we do.

03:30I mean, has the price of gas gone up?

03:31Yes, it goes up.

03:33We've got a good supplier.

03:35Sorry to interrupt.

03:36We've got a good callow gas from Killingminster and they keep us well informed.

03:41And it goes up by a little bit, but when the price comes down, they do reduce it.

03:46They're a very good company and they look after us exceptionally.

03:50Yeah.

03:51But, I mean, it's obviously going to be a bit cold this year.

03:53I mean, do you find yourselves tempted to keep it heating off?

03:56Well, no.

03:57We have to try and...

03:59The site owner rules out electric because we get it through what the site owner decides.

04:06Obviously.

04:07So, whatever that's going to happen now, with this rise and everything else, we may be in a little bit of trouble.

04:14So, actually, at the moment we've got, we've bought two fleeces.

04:18Yeah.

04:19So we'll sit with the fleeces and we don't have the lights on at all.

04:23You don't have the lights on?

04:24No.

04:25We have maybe just a little light that's on the side, but we keep it low.

04:28Just enough to see without getting accidents.

04:30Yeah.

04:31It's no way to do, is it really?

04:33Well, it's ridiculous.

04:34We didn't wear it for all our lives.

04:35It's retarded.

04:36And I've got a problem because I've got a tumour in my ear.

04:38Yeah.

04:39So I have to have a little bit of light because I do have balance problems.

04:41Balance problems.

04:42And which have been done by the hospitals and keeping a check on it every year.

04:46So it is important that I keep myself safe and this is my carer, basically.

04:51And now I look well and young and all that, I hope.

04:54Yeah.

04:55Not young.

04:56I'm 77, my husband's 78.

04:59I mean, the government are going to need a bit more money for pensions, mate.

05:02Probably not going to have you this winter, though, is it?

05:04No, it isn't.

05:05No, no.

05:06Do you think it was a bit too much of a blow?

05:08I think it's absolutely ridiculous.

05:10It's a bit cynical.

05:11You know, there are other ways of looking at this.

05:13I think they've just gone for the actual thing and that's what we're going to do.

05:17It's signed by the farmers.

05:18They've got no idea what they're doing.

05:20I'm not totally running them down, but I don't think they've thought this out clearly.

05:26And that's my opinion.

05:27I think we've heard now in the news that Scotland's going to award their pensions.

05:32They always do the opposite, don't they?

05:34They are a devolved government, so that can be what they want.

05:37But Scotland's supposed to be a jeopardy as well, so...

05:39But we understand that.

05:40We think of them, well, it's just attack, attack, attack.

05:43We've got to give them tight insert areas.

05:46We understand that.

05:47We've been bullied.

05:49They're supposed to have the quality of a working thing.

05:52They don't seem to be that at all.

05:55It's got to go around the world, doing all these interviews with different people of the world.

06:00We understand all that, but there's too much going on here.

06:03We should balance it out.

06:05He seems to be running away all the more.

06:07He is running away.

06:08I hate to run people down, but that's the way it is.

06:11He's trying to be a statesman at the end of the day.

06:12I think he is, and I think he's not qualified for the job at all.

06:15No.

06:16And I think what's happened with the riots and things, people shouldn't riot really, but it wasn't fair.

06:23We don't agree with riots.

06:24We do agree with protests.

06:26It wasn't fair.

06:29I just think the British people are second class now, and they will be in five years.

06:35Well, our children don't understand.

06:37You know, they're that 30, 40 age, but they can't see what's happening.

06:43But I just dread for the future.

06:45I said to them all, you're all clever, disappear to another country, and they said, well, we'll be the foreigners then.

06:52So it's not fair really.

06:53We'll be the immigrants.

06:55But we're very lucky that we've got four kids.

06:57We've all put through uni.

06:58We've worked our row out.

07:00We're all working 12-hour shifts and working two jobs.

07:03Put them through university, they've got fantastic jobs, and that's the only blessing we've got.

07:08That our kids are okay.

07:09So far.

07:10So far.

07:11Well, thank you so much for your time.

07:13That's brilliant.

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