Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

jk0 wrote: »

Even at 50p each that's £20 a year.

50p for a AAA battery. :eek:

pineapple

An interesting dilemma here at pineapple towers. Recently in our little hamlet we have been beset day after day with gun shots reverberating around our homes not helped by the accoustics round here.. The shooters say they have been given permission by the local landowner to shoot rabbits. Which if true (the farmer just happens to be away ) we have to accept as part of rural life. In fact I've been thinking I should start learning myself.
The problem has come with the relentless everyday day nature of it and the fact they have been shooting close by till you can barely see your hand in front of your face. People are afraid to walk their dogs and are worried about their cats. My older dog keeled over with shock the other day and the blind dog of a neighbour is beside itself. It may have to be re-homed if this continues.
Also a little 10 year old has been seen walking along with a cocked gun almost as big as himself. :eek: Pineapple confronted them at 9.30 last night (joining the list of those who have had run-ins). When this guy called her 'dear', she went into 'Nora Batty on speed' mode :rotfl:- resulting in a grudging concession to at least pack in shooting earlier.
Anyhow the police are now involved - checking out their credentials, permissions. health and safety, threatening behaviour, nuisance factor etc. Though it could well be that the law can't touch them.
Like I say, it's a bit of a conflict with my prepping persona and a natural desire to keep 'state interference' to a minimum. Watch this space anyway.

GreyQueen

Morning all.

I think prepping is a state of mind, very much so. I know how to built various kinds of shelters and to turn dead birds inside out to get at the meat quickly and easily. If I wanted to catch one barehanded, I'd go after a pheasant; daft beggars fly to their roosts announcing to the world where they are. They're poor fliers and could probably be captured on the ground with a thrown stick.

Stuff inside your head is the best kind of stuff. It's with you always, doesn't weigh anything extra to carry around, can't be taxed and can be hidden if necessary.

Howsomever, we're not lilies of the field but animals with some very real needs which have to be met if we are to survive at all, and even to flourish, in difficult times.

I know a woman who fell pregnant without planning in her late twenties. Her feller was a fairly casual relationship and it was a case of see Jack run. She admits that, prior to pregnancy and motherhood, she wasn't phased if it got to the end of the week and there was no food in the cupboard nor money in the bank.

Suddenly, all that changed overnight and she became a diligent housekeeper and saver because she was responsible for her child. She may have had motherhood sprung on her but she is a lovely woman, and rising well to the challenges.

Tools - knowledge = not too good.
Knowledge - tools = sub-optimal but a lot better than nothing.
Knowledge + tools = excellent!

If we're prepped, we can avoid becoming part of the problem in a crisis. We can help others by not getting in their way or taking resources from the shops in a crisis when a restock may be a long way off. We can extend help by sharing our resources with others and sharing our knowledge, too.

nuatha

ginnyknit wrote: »

Thank goodness you popped up Nuatha, I have been pondering if larger batteries were still available as I have a vintage walking doll and keep meaning to sort out batteries and sell him. I dont remember seeing big batteries but you have solved the problem for 99p I can sell him complete with a converter - blessing on you and your lady

You're very welcome, and thank you.

[Deleted User]

pineapple wrote: »

Also a little 10 year old has been seen walking along with a cocked gun almost as big as himself. :eek:

A few questions if I may?

1. Was he by himself, or accompanied by an adult(s)?

2. Was he on private land?

3. How do you know the gun was cocked?

mardatha

Pineapple def get the police involved if they're shooting near houses or roads or at night - and the landowner is away. And you don't walk around with an uncovered gun on public roads. I live in the middle of grouse moors and we get a lot of shooters . They aren't the problem really - that's young gamekeepers flying aound in landrovers on twisty country roads too fast.

agreenmess

Morning all, just getting around to reading all the answers to my question. Thank you for all the replys I will defo be going slow with this and will be gathering as much as I can get from here, also joined a couple of other prepper forums but we shall see how long that lasts. Im giving myself this weekend to make space for some prepping supplies and then write a list of what we need to have in, just encase and work from there

thriftwizard

Tools - knowledge = not too good.
Knowledge - tools = sub-optimal but a lot better than nothing.
Knowledge + tools = excellent!

Couldn't agree more, GQ! One bit missing though - no tools, no knowledge = oh dear...

Having been in situations very similar to JayneC's running-out-of-fuel-in-traffic-with-4-kids-in-the-car (think VW van grinding to a halt blowing clouds of smoke in the middle of a busy motorway with 5 overexcited small children chorusing "Are we there yet?") it's that kind of thing that can break the camel's back & tip you from chaotic-but-coping into fullblown desperation mode. I have a feeling that many of us here live in situations that are a bit outside the ordinary - bigger families, coping with longterm health issues or partners with mobility problems, that kind of thing - and it makes us far more aware of how fragile our societal life-support systems are. I have a dear friend with intermittent mental health issues, and see all the time how difficult life is for her, not because of her problem (although of course it doesn't help) but because the systems that were supposed to help her cope "in the community" have been eroded to the point of non-existence. Fortunately she herself is a very resilient & resourceful person who I would not hesitate to rely on in a crisis & is pretty well prepped up to the nines, never knowing when some faceless official will decide she's perfectly capable of holding down a fulltime job or that her very real & incapacitating physical problems are just a "feature" of her mental health issues & withdraw all support. It's happened before now & took several months to resolve, during which time she had no income at all. As she put it, she's too old & gammy to go on the game now - is she just supposed to starve quietly?

So maybe it takes surmounting some kind of challenge to make us aware that prepping is not just wise, but actually necessary? Maybe in some kind of twisted sense, we are actually the lucky ones? Not meaning to make light of anyone's problems here, but finally making a bit of sense of "the meek shall inherit the Earth"...

JayneC

That's exactly it thrift wizard. I'm not for one minute suggesting that we shouldn't have stores just not get too smug about it as it were. If in a SHTF situation you have to abandon it all knowing how to improvise is your best asset. I do have stores now and am building my tool collection but knowing how to hunt. fish. forage. grow your own food. find water and make it potable and recognise medicinal plants and how to prepare them without your everyday stores is just as important imho.
And yes am separated from compulsive gambler now. Only took 25 years to finally admit he wouldn't change :-(

FairyPrincessk

Don't worry BB, a windup is on the list of things to get once our summer money drought ends!