Preparedness for when

elona

ginny

I have a large flask and also an insulated carafe but just treated myself to a magic cooker at a****n.

I already have a slow cooker but that needs electricity (even if only a little) but this can continue cooking for hours without any energy needed or used.

Don't forget things like hot water bottles or portable calor gas heater as well as having spare blanket or quilt to keep warm.

the_cake

I'm another who loves maps and hates sat nav. We are lucky enough to live in an old house, and I love the feeling that many people have been here before us, and hopefully many will after us, too. The ground yields many oddities and treasures: I saw something gleam in a gateway, from the shape of it I thought it was an old spoon. About half an hour later, I had unearthed an entire car bumper! I found a broken 18th century gravestone when clearing behind the garden shed (why, I wonder?), and the other day whilst planting in the veg. garden I found a farthing .....

GreyQueen

Beautifully put, RAS.

I'm sometimes astonished at the stories of the sat-nav idiocies, such as programming in a place name and then driving 200+ miles in the complete wrong direction because many places hundreds of miles apart have the same names.

At what point would someone have looked out the window and wondered why the sun was over there, indicating that they were heading north-east and not south-west? You don't just find yourself on a tiny lane, you tend to progressively go onto more and more minor roads first. Do you exercise caution and start thinking Ummm, this can't be the right way, let's turn that moronic device off and look at the map.

Last summer I was with my brother in Yorkshire and the car broke down. He was driving and I was reading the atlas. So I was able to tell the recovery driver that we were on the A- northbound, about 50 meters from the ---- turning. He was very pleased with the exactness of the directions.

He told me that most drivers don't have road atlases and don't have a clue where they are, and he often ends up driving up and down a stretch of road looking for them. Sometimes where they are is actually about 20+ miles from where they thought they were, and the can't even say which direction they were heading in.....unbelievable.

[Deleted User]

the_cake wrote: »

If anyone needs to stock up on cat food the A*di tins are down to 42p.

£stretcher are doing cat food at 39p a tin, or 3 tins for £1.

JayneC

Ooh thanks Bob, I'm needing to get some cat food. I've somehow managed to run out, bad, bad prepper!! I have stacks of dog food and chick food. Still, cat was quite happy with the emergency tuna offering:D

[Deleted User]

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

I wonder if part of the problems we would all face would be that we are used to 24 hour entertainment in our world

There's always battery/wind up radios.

If you've got a laptop/netbook, get yourself a car adapter for it, a leisure battery and charger.

Alternatively, get yourself a Pure sine wave inverter Generator, to run your computer, TV, etc.

Rosemary_Jane

Hi Bedsit Bob,

I saw this and thought of your hunt for lightweight items for your BOB (all right, tongue in cheek, I know, but maybe the way of the future, especially now that M*soft say that windows 8.1 will support 3d printers)

(Sorry, the picture is too big, but text is)
"Scientists using new 3D printing technology have produced lithium-ion batteries the size of a grain of sand. They say the tiny batteries, similar in function to those in cell phones and digital wristwatches, could be used...."

Buy 3d printer, make your own preps...

alfsmum

RAS wrote: »

alfsmum - have you been checked to Reynaud's?

Hi RAS, no, I haven't though I used to wonder as my hands never seem to warm up in the colder weather but having looked at the symptoms, I decided I wasn't that bad, just a 'cold old fish' as DH puts it.

[Deleted User]

mardatha wrote: »

I like reading, and found that 3 candles in front of a mirror work fine.

One Paraffin Lamp will do the job even better, and without the need for a mirror.

It'll also give a surprising of heat too.

7roland8

GreyQueen - you write so eloquently about your and your family memories.

I hope you are/will think of writing them down for some local history groups in the areas where you used to live.

Your reminiscences would be invaluable.