Strawberries and Cream

[DimPrawn]

How about students? Many years ago, students used to bugger off to warm climes to do a bit of fruit picking to build up their funds (and suntans.) Surely now with student fees being extortionate and with climate change giving the northern regions good hot summers this could be a viable alternative? Perhaps offer it as some form of incentive to cut down the payments on their loans?

Students are too busy on twitter dreaming up hashtags and playing Pokemon Go.

[LondonManc]

Not required. They are usually always covered by rolls of fat

FTFY

[Platypus]

Minimum wage? Hardly.

I remember an excellent programme on the Beeb a few years ago "The Poles are coming to Peterborough" where the reporter bowled up outside the local Job Centre and addressed the assembled cider drinkers:

Reporter: Hey lads, fancy a job that pays £9 an hour? Unlimited overtime if you want it?

Lazy feckers: Yeah great, sounds good, what?

Reporter: Picking fruit and veg

Lazy feckers: Nah, no chance, feck orf

[LondonManc]

Minimum wage? Hardly.

I remember an excellent programme on the Beeb a few years ago "The Poles are coming to Peterborough" where the reporter bowled up outside the local Job Centre and addressed the assembled cider drinkers:

Reporter: Hey lads, fancy a job that pays £9 an hour? Unlimited overtime if you want it?

Lazy feckers: Yeah great, sounds good, what?

Reporter: Picking fruit and veg

Lazy feckers: Nah, no chance, feck orf

Indeed. Anything involving graft or without good benefits and many are not interested. The other side of the coin is those that can only take 16 hours a week because they'll be far worse off on 35 hours per week. It's a different world to the fortunate one where we're on per month what they're on per year.

[OwlHoot]

I'm sorry, but this is just a little bit too much fear: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...-farmers-union

Surely there is some way that job seekers or the long term unemployed could be enticed to do this work, I don't know how but it would get them moving at least.

Well you're just going to have to find a way (chain gangs anyone?)

How about designing a robot that can pick strawberries?

I mean how hard can it be to program something to detect a large red lump in the middle of a load of greenery, and transfer it to a basket?

Also, robots could clamber up trees and pick things like cherries or apples.

[vetran]

How about designing a robot that can pick strawberries?

I mean how hard can it be to program something to detect a large red lump in the middle of a load of greenery, and transfer it to a basket?

Also, robots could clamber up trees and pick things like cherries or apples.

AGROBOT - Strawberry Harvesters - Home

I actually met a couple of Germans in the pub after they were commissioning an Asparagus picking bot down south a few years ago.

its all coming, what we need are brighter workers not more of them.

[OwlHoot]

AGROBOT - Strawberry Harvesters - Home

I actually met a couple of Germans in the pub after they were commissioning an Asparagus picking bot down south a few years ago.

its all coming, what we need are brighter workers not more of them.

Well said! These old fogies (in outlook if not in years) who go on about the lazy youth of today are increasingly out of touch.

I mean who in their right mind would want to do any minimum wage job, unless maybe it was cash in hand with _no_ effect on their taxes or benefits?

[DodgyAgent]

with climate change giving the northern regions good hot summers

Really?

[darmstadt]

Really?

Dunno, some bright spark...Speech by Margaret Thatcher to United Nations General Assembly (Global Environment) 11/8/1989 - UNEP

[_V_]

Dunno, some bright spark...Speech by Margaret Thatcher to United Nations General Assembly (Global Environment) 11/8/1989 - UNEP

She was looking to introduce "green" taxes I suspect. Way ahead of her time for stealth taxes...