Preparedness for when

ALIBOBSY

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but through "bill" the trug man who use to be a countryside ranger/warden OH has put his name forward to be a volunteer warden locally. Bill says the paid workers (some part time, 2 full time) are drawn from the volunteers, so it could end up down the line as being paid work. But either way OH is S/E and a lot of his work is in the evenings and weekend so he can do a day a week volunteering and thinks the knowledge and experience he will gain will be worth it. TBH he loves being outdoors so I think he will really enjoy it as well. Bill says once the new volunteers are in place he has been asked back later in the year to do some lessons in coppicing and natural fencing.

As OH says just getting to know the sort of crafty type of people who have these lost skills and picking some up himself is interesting and may well be vital later on.

Bill says there are only 14 trugmakers in the UK producing hand made proper wooden trugs. I went up last week to have a look and pick mine from OH and Bill let us take it now even though it should be my crimbo pressie.

It was interesting to hear how they are made. He gets his willow slats from another crafting guy who make hand made cricket bats that are used all over the world. Like he says he could buy the williow and split it himself, but the cricket bat guy grows the trees and does nothing but work with willow so can do a better quicker job. Bill showed me a trug that was the first he ever made and has been going over 20 years and is still in use although a bit battered (and as he says not his best work).

Surely once the oil starts to run out/prices shoot up, these sort of crafting skills will be in demand. Will it end up with people taking baskets and trugs shopping like they used to?

Ali x

P.S I said to Bill how some people would laugh at a trug for a pressie and he told me last Christmas his wife asked for and got a boot-ful of split beech wood lol.

westcoastscot

Fuddle I do dk, as it seems to be most available at a good price, and if you find any thinner you can double it up and use it. Less restrictive I find!
WCS

mardatha

I use Drops wool but not their patterns - I find them a wee bit odd to follow tbh. Maybe the Norwegians knit differently.

fed_up_and_stressed

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

What you really need is a Lurcha, they're very warm when cuddled although prone to licking, which under some circumstances is not entirely unpleasant, but is always damp!!! Cheers Lyn xxx.

Another vote for Lurchers here !

grandma247

I have just learned about this, a different twist on food banks. It seems to have been going for a very long time and they have other schemes if you look to the left.

ragz_2

daz378 wrote: »

noticed fray bentos for a pound in iceland today , great prepp food(if you like FB) carbos and protein in a single tin...

as long as you have an oven...
How would you cook them if there was a power cut? Or worse...

Hubby bought a spoon/fork/knife/bottle/can opener tool today, second hand, for a fiver! I thought he was a bit ripped off but apparently they are Nato issue and I have to admit it feels very heavy. massive spoon on it!

I bought some herb plants for the garden, so at least I can flavour the tinned stuff if we have to live off it for a while!

[Deleted User]

All right, stop sniggering. It's not a euphemism.

I'm wondering how preppers, with oil lamps, trim the wicks?

Do you go for the flat cut, "crown" (curved) or pointed?

Also, do you keep any tools on hand?

I keep a pair of sharp scissors, for wick trimming, a pair of snipe nosed pliers, for running repairs (eg. pinching the bottom plate hinge back onto the lifter bar), and a small, adjustable, rubber strap wrench (see below), for undoing tight filler caps



The last thing you need, is to not be able to open the filler cap, when you need to refill.

Also useful (if the bottle of oil doesn't come with a filler nozzle) is a small plastic funnel.

Filling from a jug mightn't be too difficult in broad daylight (or by the light of a 100w light bulb), but try it by torchlight, at night, in the middle of a power cut.

[Deleted User]

ragz wrote: »

I bought some herb plants for the garden, so at least I can flavour the tinned stuff if we have to live off it for a while!

Keep plenty of sauce (brown, tomato, barbecue, etc.), mustard, pepper, vinegar, etc. on hand, to spice up bland food.

This is especially important for people with jaded pallets, such as those recovering from colds, flu etc.

Likewise, keep in a supply of powdered milk.

There's nothing more depressing, than drinking tea without milk, as Colin Blythe (Donald Pleasence) will testify.

ALIBOBSY

grandma247 wrote: »

I have just learned about this, a different twist on food banks. It seems to have been going for a very long time and they have other schemes if you look to the left.

Wasn't this charity on an episode of the "biggest loser" a few years ago, they got the contestants to pack the bags. Basically its the ingredients for basic meals at weekend for the kids who would normally get school lunches for free, but nothing at weekend. Things like packets of pasta and a jar or sauce etc etc. Each Monday they return the backpack to be repacked for the next weekend.

Good idea, along the lines of a foodbank, but directed through schools and through the children so directing the food to the families with kids.

Ali x

GreyQueen

ragz wrote: »

as long as you have an oven...
How would you cook them if there was a power cut? Or worse...

Hubby bought a spoon/fork/knife/bottle/can opener tool today, second hand, for a fiver! I thought he was a bit ripped off but apparently they are Nato issue and I have to admit it feels very heavy. massive spoon on it!

I bought some herb plants for the garden, so at least I can flavour the tinned stuff if we have to live off it for a while!

Evening all.

The Mad Bushcrafters had us making pigeon pies in the rainy moutain woods......as in giving you a dead wood pigeon and a demo how to twist it apart and turn it inside out to get at the breast meat. Anyone who wants the instructons can PM me.

Soooo, how did we cook pies without an oven? Made a fire and got a section of it down to hot embers. Pie was made in the second smallest section of a Vang0 set of nesting pots, a couple of small stones placed in the bottom of the biggest pan, piepan into it and lid on and there you have it, a dutch oven.

Turn it a couple of times and cook until done.

I have plans for this autumn which involve practising some campfire cookery on the lottie but will have to wait until the burn ban comes off in October. Seems to me that being able to rustle up some grub on an open fire could come in handy one day. Anyroad, it'll amuse this little mind.

Been whacking around in the untouched (albeit occasionally trimmed) top section of the lottie, colloquially known as The Rough. Plus several other terms which no doubt won't make it past the sweary filter.

Under old tarps were lots of snails (:D) and under the brambles and nettles and couch grass was a lot of glass, nails and plastic debris. Have liberated a square meter and leaving another 9 to go.

If anyone has/ thinks they may have to clear rough ground for planting, can I recommend a mattock? They aren't commonly used in the UK but are absolutely brilliant for tough jobs and make short work of grim tasks like excavating bramble roots. Be a good thing for a would-be homesteader to have his or her mitts on.

I went to the el cheapo chazzer today and got 2 brand new blouses for work for 50p each. What I was really after was some men's shirts in brushed cotton or a wool blend. I'm pretty handy with a needle and want to modify some trad warm shirts to be suitable for gardening. With men's stuff, I need to remove the cuffs, cut a bit off the sleeve and re-attach the cuffs. I often unpick the collar too.

Mens' shirts are invariably stronger and made of better cloth than womenswear and when I want something outdoorsy, I tend to get mens and modify it. I figure that a supply of warm shirts, modified to my needs, will be a handy thing to have for gardening and who knows what else in the uncertain future. One may not always be able to lay hands on practical stuff for pennies.

Oooh, I also have a knife/ fork/ spoon set, it titanium (sp?) which is very light. Made them a tres stylish carry case from repurposed cloth and they live in the old BOB. I carry those GI mini can openers on my key rings, they're tiny but very very cool. I think they open bottles as well.

Righty, off to see what the sinners are up to. Seen ZH - the Irish are up to something with depositors' money now. I suspect that mattresses across Europe will be getting lumpier and lumpier..............:rotfl: