Preparedness for when

D&DD

They'll survive RAS After one recent powercut DS3 was getting frustrated at being ignored as they were all plugged in as it were so we um *whispers* pulled out the main circuit breaker thing shhh cue much yelling as they were all shot/tackled or eaten by zombies..

After they had all simmered down we had a lovely evening of boardgames and a cobb bbq so all was not lost,and they never did guess :cool::whistle:

Did anyone see the article about a firm selling aquaponics for the living room?? Will grab a link..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2332090/The-DIY-ecosystem-lets-grow-fresh-fish-living-room-eat-dinner-perfect-lazy-aquarium-owners.html

ooh and the article about the price of tatties...http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332167/Council-chips-away-budget-axes-potatoes-school-dinners-expensive.html

GreyQueen

Evening all.

Rationing visits to the GP? Really? Will low-users get a special reduction on their taxation? What will happen if someone who has TB is right up to their limit and decides not to bother the Dr with that persistant cough? The Stupid Barrell is being scraped very deeply in these sorry times. Our Jeremy ought to be a bit more careful of his reputation, bearing in mind the fun comedians could be having with that name...........

Whilst watching the terrible business in Moore, Oklahoma, I called to mind a post I read some time ago from an American blogger, about having a pre-planned escape route if a natural disaster afflicts your region, and having pre-positioned some core household goods/ apparel/ tools of one's trade in a storage unit.

Here it is, in case you'd like to share: http://www.grandpappy.info/hbigcity.htm

It seemed a bit extreme to me when I first read it, but then were are a smallish island not prone to mega-disasters, but given the nature of the USA's burden of extreme weather events, it seems a good idea, assuming one wanted to spend the time and money, or had the money to spend. If you'd prepped like this and were a resident of Moore, you would be better situated than those who lost everything.

Of course, just because it is fairly unlikely in the UK that a whole region will be hit by a tornado, or flooded out, or burned in a wildfire, that doesn't mean individuals have any room to be complacent.

After all, if my home becomes uninhabitable, I'm 100% homeless and although I wouldn't feel any happier if the rest of the city were sharing the experience, it doesn't make it any less real or devastating to me, personally. If you're house catches fire, gets exploded in a gas leak, flooded with raw sewerage, subsides into an old mine working, it's your life in a mess.

I recall reading about the people affected by the bad flooding in the NW the other year. One couple went thru about £1,200 in the first week or so, getting themselves set up in temp accomodation, phone on etc etc. They were looking at being out of their home for possibly a year. You need to expect to burn thru money like water in such a set of circumstances.

I do see a fair amound of unpreparedness in everyday life, as well as tipping up in the media. Like the feature on the DM website over the weekend about how a journey from London to Edinburgh up the east coast mainline turned into a 12 hour ordeal with no water, backed up lavvies, jam-packed onto carriages and a lot of time sitting stationary between stations, as it were.

And people think I'm quaint for never going a-travelling without a water bottle (min 1 litre) and some grub as well as summat to read. I was once on an airport coach for 10 hours (more than twice the amount of time the journey should've taken) due to most of southern england gridlocking following a gas explosion. It wasn't fun but I wasn't taking any harm from it.

If I had been thirsty and hungry, it would have been a lot more unpleasant. The backed-up onboard WC was bad enough, tho!

short_bird

Not to mention the female of the species having to visit twice as often due to the plumbing, whether used for the survival of the species or not;)

So, having had a cough for more than 6 weeks, as recommended by the NHS I consulted my GP who gave me the paperwork for an x ray. Then he phoned to ask me to pick up a prescription and more paperwork for a second x ray. How many "lives" have I used up there by following advice:mad:

PS GQ, that additional stash reminds me of The Road.

GreyQueen

short_bird wrote: »

Not to mention the female of the species having to visit twice as often due to the plumbing, whether used for the survival of the species or not;)

So, having had a cough for more than 6 weeks, as recommended by the NHS I consulted my GP who gave me the paperwork for an x ray. Then he phoned to ask me to pick up a prescription and more paperwork for a second x ray. How many "lives" have I used up there by following advice:mad:

PS GQ, that additional stash reminds me of The Road.

Yeah, read that book. My book group did it a coupla years ago. Real nightmare territory, so much so that there's no way I want to watch the movie, no matter how brilliant it is.

Although we live on a hardscrabble planet, and life as we know it is only possible in northern Europe because of the wonder which is the Gulf Stream, I think the major effect that many of us will face will be a worsening of our standard of living.

Reduced standard of living sounds like such a modest thing to be concerned about, doesn't it? Almost genteel. What a pal of mine deems a first world problem. Re-phrase it for what it is and will be for more and more of us; sinking into poverty, and it's not quite so mundane, is it?

I was thinking back to what my Dad's mate paid for a large, detached 3 bedroom bungalow in the early 1960s; £3,000. Even as they were going up, site workers were tipping his mate the nod that they'd soon cost a lot more and if he could stretch to buy another......but a working-class man like Dad's mate worked for about £11 a week back then, and was stretching to buy one on a mortgage.

:eek: Just looked up that area and a new-build bungalow very similar costs £270,000.

Sooo, think about how much a GBP has devalued in the past 50 years. Have wages gone up by 90 x £11 a week? Nope, not unless regular blokes are pulling down £990 each week. So, what was affordable by a squeeze for a few years and became easier as wage inflation took the sting out of the mortgage over time, is now a hopeless pipedream for many.

It's like that for a lot of us, even those like me for whom owning her own home is mission impossible. I reckon the prices of many staple groceries are up 100% in 4 years. My rent's gone up 49% in seven years, I pay 400% more to make the bus journey to see family than I did 5 years ago. I keep accounts and have done for about 16 years, so this isn't a figment of my overheated imagination, it's bliddy well real.

And, if I do scrape together some folding stuff, over and above what is needed for bills, I get to keep it in a bank which pays a rate of interest which is lower than it's depreciation......... and they tell me inflation is only ?? :mad:

Pull the other one, sunshine, it's got bells on it. I'm buying tangible stuff like canned goods with long dates and growing such of my own as I can. We have to understand that our government is comprised of spoilt rich men who really don't give a monkey's uncle for what happens to the rest of us.

VJsmum

GQ we were once on a stationery M6 due to a fatal road accident. Fortunately we had not long had fish and chips and were stocked with several litres of water and squash. the lav was the biggest issue but a kindly coach driver behind us took pity on me. many were jumping over the safety barriers on the hard shoulder. Hmm maybe i should get a shewee for the car.
the kids had a DVD player in the back so they were entertained.

i always have drinks and snacks on me now. it was 3 in the morning when we finally got home. we were supposed to be back around 7 or 8. our delay was compounded by the fact that roadworks kicked in at 11 just as this massive jam could move again and we were all required to get into one lane.

nightmare - tho of course we were able to get home unlike some poor soul that night. a few seconds earlier and who knows....

[Deleted User]

Can't find the post now, but someone commented about always putting the heavy items at the top of a rucksack.

This is, of course, correct, but not really applicable to a BOB, since we don't put heavy items in a BOB.

The heaviest item in my BOB is just 640g.

lovefullshelves

D&DD wrote: »

ooh and the article about the price of tatties...http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332167/Council-chips-away-budget-axes-potatoes-school-dinners-expensive.html

We grow an acre of pots every year. Last year we left half in the ground as it was so wet! Some were completely underwater!
In 2011/12 we managed to get about £5 for a 25kg bag.
2012/13 they were worth up to £14!!
Thats what the chip shop in the village is paying at the moment! And they've had to put their prices up twice since christmas!
No chippies for me unless I make them myself!!

thriftwizard

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

I couldn't do without my books, having said that DD` got both of us a kindle each for christmas a couple of years ago and I wouldn't be without it, particularly when I'm travelling and away from home. I only have recreation books on it though, anything remotely practical and reference has to be on my bookshelves physically always at hand and ready to use. I'm a bit of an oddity in the kitchen too, I do have a food processor but I also have a mouli legumes and a mouli sieve and use them much more than the electric one. I much prefer to make cakes and pastry etc by hand and love chopping up veg and fruit rather than blitzing them and I even have a manual mincer which I use for meats and an old fashioned stovetop coffee peercolator. I guess it's because I always have in the back of my mind that the electricity probably won't always be there ad infinitum so I like to have the option of a little comfort and ease in our lives even if the power supply is iffy in the future. It gives me a little feeling of peace of mind, Cheers Lyn xxx.

You are not alone! I freecycled my food processor some years ago & much prefer making stuff by hand when time allows, though I do admit to an underused Kenwood Major in the utility room for major catering emergencies. You get feedback from dough, for example, when you knead it by hand, that tells you when it's ready. And my own kids, and my first trainee daughter-in-law (there's an Ogg-ism if ever there was one) have all been taught to make stuff by hand & do it all the time. If I don't need dual-feed or really fancy stitches when I'm sewing, I'll use one of my two treadles - so much more control! - and I may have finally given up trying to conquer knitting machines now I've got the hang of two needles, at least in a minor way. A crochet hook is still quicker, though. And every time I have to drive any distance, I want to give it up; I actually deeply resent living in a society that makes it so necessary, so much of the time.

We have to understand that our government is comprised of spoilt rich men who really don't give a monkey's uncle for what happens to the rest of us.

Couldn't agree more, whoever is in power. And if they're not yet rich, they're working like mad on it & not about to upset any apple carts or gravy trains. There may be the odd maverick who does give a damn, but they are far from representative & don't stand much chance of ever changing anything, thanks to the Whip system.

In a bleak mood tonight; seems I have to spend much of the next three days behind the wheel, for business & family reasons. Not my favourite way to spend time in spring...

Perplexed_Pineapple

GreyQueen wrote: »

Yeah, read that book. My book group did it a coupla years ago. Real nightmare territory, so much so that there's no way I want to watch the movie, no matter how brilliant it is.

Although we live on a hardscrabble planet, and life as we know it is only possible in northern Europe because of the wonder which is the Gulf Stream, I think the major effect that many of us will face will be a worsening of our standard of living.

Reduced standard of living sounds like such a modest thing to be concerned about, doesn't it? Almost genteel. What a pal of mine deems a first world problem. Re-phrase it for what it is and will be for more and more of us; sinking into poverty, and it's not quite so mundane, is it?

I was thinking back to what my Dad's mate paid for a large, detached 3 bedroom bungalow in the early 1960s; £3,000. Even as they were going up, site workers were tipping his mate the nod that they'd soon cost a lot more and if he could stretch to buy another......but a working-class man like Dad's mate worked for about £11 a week back then, and was stretching to buy one on a mortgage.

:eek: Just looked up that area and a new-build bungalow very similar costs £270,000.

Sooo, think about how much a GBP has devalued in the past 50 years. Have wages gone up by 90 x £11 a week? Nope, not unless regular blokes are pulling down £990 each week. So, what was affordable by a squeeze for a few years and became easier as wage inflation took the sting out of the mortgage over time, is now a hopeless pipedream for many.

It's like that for a lot of us, even those like me for whom owning her own home is mission impossible. I reckon the prices of many staple groceries are up 100% in 4 years. My rent's gone up 49% in seven years, I pay 400% more to make the bus journey to see family than I did 5 years ago. I keep accounts and have done for about 16 years, so this isn't a figment of my overheated imagination, it's bliddy well real.

And, if I do scrape together some folding stuff, over and above what is needed for bills, I get to keep it in a bank which pays a rate of interest which is lower than it's depreciation......... and they tell me inflation is only ?? :mad:

Pull the other one, sunshine, it's got bells on it. I'm buying tangible stuff like canned goods with long dates and growing such of my own as I can. We have to understand that our government is comprised of spoilt rich men who really don't give a monkey's uncle for what happens to the rest of us.

Haven't read all the posts from the last couple of days, but GQ your thoughts chime with something that has been on my mind, and an article I read on the BBC website this morning. We are all going to see a reduction in standard of living, and this is down to the free dissemination of information that the internet creates. Basically there is no reason why someone in Europe is more productive than someone in Africa or Asia when knowledge and skills are instantly transferable, and since the effect of information technology is to vastly speed up the transfer of both, standards of living will move towards equilibrium across the world, effectively falling here. The only people to prosper will be the people who control the exchange of information. What price skilled labour when a 3D printer can produce a piece of intricate machinery, such as a car engine, or even the car? The BBC article here isn't directly SHTF relevant but I thought it was interesting: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22658152
Food for thought anyway.

GreyQueen

Morning all.

Good points, PP. We tend to have an underlying bias in the West, towards thinking that we have an entitlement to be global top dogs and the rest of the world gets to sell us their goods, agricultural products and services for chump change, and should be positively grateful for the opportunity.

This sense of superiority is so engrained that, like fish probably don't think about water, we westerners probably don't think about our privilege.

A happy set of circumstances saw us sitting on a lot of coal and various clever people saw ways to get that out of the ground and hey presto, the first country in the world gets industrialised. Add to this a frankly piratical navy, slavery and joint stock companies with a license to help themselves to all the best from across the planet and off we go..........wheeee!

If you care to look it up, you'll see that real world wage increases, in both Europe inc UK and in the USA stalled about 1970. Only the rise of two-earner households and social welfare programmes has disguised the fact. At the same time, the differential between regular folks' wages and the earnings of managerial types has increased exponentially.

Wealth is quietly being concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. What were once public services are now private companies. Council homes are a subject dear to my heart. There are landlords in my city who have empires of several hundred ex-council properties which they rent out privately for x 3 what the council rent them out for. They haven't committed any offences; they bought them on the open market and rent them on the open market. They get richer and richer on what was once part of the commonwealth of the people of this city, and I blame That Woman and her followers for doing incalcuable harm to the life chances of so many people.

15 years ago, you could buy little Edwardian 2 bed terraces in this city for £40k. Add £100+ now for the same houses. People I know are paying more to rent homes than their neighbours are to buy the identical ones next door. If you missed the boat by a year or two, you're stuck.

As I poke through the discount stores, I've often thought that the supply of ultra-cheap goods from developing countries is all that allows us an illusion of prosperity. You may wince to pay the gas bill but hey! £20 still gets you a lot of stuff in the cheap stores, doesn't it?

This party won't go on forever. Not simply because the dirt-cheap labour countries will up their game and become wealthier. I'm afraid I concur with Kunstler in The Long Emergency; the undeveloped countries will probably stay undeveloped as we run into the post-oil age. We won't be able to ship containerloads of plastic carp around the planet. Oil will be too expensive to make cheap plastics, never mind the fuel for the ships.

We need to start thinking locally and accepting that we need to produce what we use close to where we use it, and to be very careful about not wasting such resources as we have. I wince everytime I take a pushbike-ful of couch grass to the tip; the stuff that goes in there which is perfectly usable, to be despoiled by being moved by a JCB's front shovel............!

Sheesh, writing an essay before work........I need to get my head examined sometimes.

ETA; linkie to a Kunstler article which has appeared on Zero Hedge overnight;

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-28/awash-self-delusional-cornucopianism