Preparedness for when

jk0

I have a number of tenants in BTL flats locally. I posted this question on Landlordzone. I would be interested to hear any suggestions from you guys.

Did anyone see 'Blackout' last night?

I have a nasty feeling that if ever that happened, my tenants would be ringing me up asking when I was going to deliver their water. Or worse still, could they come and stay with JK0 until the power came back on again.

What measures can I take now, to make that less likely to happen in the future?

[Deleted User]

Spot on BOB, that is exactly what I meant, well found. I'm thinkingthat it would be useful if we were forced to move round outside after dark for any reason and as it would only throw a small light it would make us less obvious to anyone out there lurking with or without intent. I think they are known as burglars lanterns aren't they?

[Deleted User]

Maybe they're called Hodge's lamps.

short_bird

Charis wrote: »

Thinking about the drama today, they could have made so much more of it. I was annoyed that as far as I can remember there were only two people over forty, both of whom were dead weights (ageism) and the young people were nearly all portrayed as being brain dead or thugs (reverse ageism?).

It would be interesting to see the ages of the writers and production team; no sign of any active folks aged 40 and over, maybe they assume we won't need it as we've experienced the 70's or WW2? Or maybe they didn't even think about anyone older because they have noexperience of working with people in their 50's.:D

pineapple

2 x 5 litres of 12% white vinegar arrived today. I dilute it into spray bottles so along with the bicarb, that's my cleaning sorted till spring and beyond. Plus weed clearing when used at full strength! Have used this supplier before - and they usually throw in a couple of free samples of other stuff. Can mail the link if anyone is interested.
Another item off the list

westcoastscot

thriftwizard thankyou for your thoughtful post - the area you visited sounds just lovely! I agree that our growing season is short, however some greens do grow over winter - kale, rocket etc - and we do tend to live more seasonably here.
I sometimes wish we had one of the major supermarkets nearer - we have a small tesco now at the garage and a biggish one a 70 mile round trip away on coastal roads but it does save us from spending unnecessarily. I tend to shop in the city twice a year for basic supplies, grains, sugar, fabric etc and we have small shops locally that supply small items of hardware etc. We use local services where possible, and trade whenever we can - my financial income is actually quite low but my standard of living is excellent.

GreyQueen

sophlowe45 wrote: »

GreyQueen if you have broadband at home and a laptop or tablet you can watch Blackout online.

Umm, I'm a technological ignoramus (albeit on broadband). How would I go about watching it, pls?

pineapple wrote: »

Pineapple picked up a beautiful denim skirt today. It has a soft sort of roll top waist and is superbly comfy. It fits like a dream and looks hardly worn!
But she should have checked the label. The clue is in the word 'Blooming'. Well at least she knows where to get her clothes from now on. Yes it's a Mothercare brand :mad:

I found a lovely top at a chazzer last winter, found out much later that it was M'care. Och well, that's between me and the laundry wench (me again). If it fits and you like it, that's all that counts.

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Given the choice, in a SHTF situation, would you be better living in an urban or rural location?

City/Town or Village/Hamlet?

How about an isolated cottage, in the Outer Hebrides?

They each have their pros and cons.

While an isolated location is less likely to attract looters, looking to steal your supplies, if the looters did turn up, you are a long way from outside support, such as the police.

Also, in an isolated location, you are at the end of the supply chain, so will be last to receive outside help.

While town and cities would probably be reconnected to electricity and water supplies (or at least have localised generators and water tankers) within a few days, an outlying village or hamlet could wait weeks, to get electricity and water restored.

The isolated cottage, in the Outer Hebrides, could wait months or, in a major TEOTWAWKI situation, perhaps forever.

I think most of those options have something to commend them. The isolated cottage has much to recommend it, until a medical emergency (or a birth) comes along. Urban environments have plusses and minuses. I'm in the centre of a small city, in a tiny flat, in a rough neighbourhood. I aim to fly under the radar as much as possible.

One thing which I think is important to consider is the probability of being able to exit a built-up environment in a SHTF situation. If everyone else is panicking and trying to drive away from trouble, you stand little chance of getting out on four wheels, although two wheels (pushbike or motorbike) is excellent.

One book which I read in the past few months (Untied Kingdom by James Lovegrove) had a post-SHTF situation where the protagonists had to get into a London overrun by warring gangs.

The city was encased in a ring of steel; abandoned cars gridlocked on the M25 and all other roads. If you looked at my city from above, it's essentially a spider's web with the main roads radiating out. It doesn't take much for one of them to be blocked, such as a crash. In present circumstances, the police can divert traffic onto the other roads and people have delays and inconvenience, but I can easily see the roads solidifying. Heaven knows, they're bad enough on an ordinary day.

One of the things I want to do on my days off next month is a trial run (or trial bike evacuation) across county towards my family. With BOB on the bike, to get an idea of timings and roads, already mapped, into my head. Once I'm halfway across, I'm on known territory and can hack across on the back lanes.

Since I'm the prepper, they wouldn't be able to feed me but we might need to combine forces to look after each other, or the city might become uninhabitable. I also could walk out, with my super newspaper trolley; it could carry quite a bit of weight. More so that the 20kg capacity of my shopping trolley.

In the little close where my Nan lives, on the edge of a village are my Nan, her dtr and SIL, his brother and wife, SIL's sister and her OH and that is within a few doors of each other.

Unknown cars are closely scrutinised and nothing escapes the neighbours. There are other rellies in the village and in nearby villages, some with shotguns (and even one with a broadsword but he's a bit of a black sheep). So, I feel they're all well-covered even though most of them are pensioners. Plus they have large and fertile veggie gardens and an informal swop economy for produce.

With such a community they would do pretty well, as long as hordes of looters didn't descend on them.

Righty, off to descend on my supper. Laters, GQ xx

Tiglath

Grey Queen - this link will take you to the episode on catch-up TV:)

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/blackout/4od#3573954

short_bird

It really doesn't take a lot to put a city into gridlock: it's been done by people in wheelchairs chaining themselves to buses with a few stout chains and padlocks.

[Deleted User]

Just little treats and stuff, that won't be available/feasible, if the electricity, gas and water went off.

Mine would include, tinned sponge puddings.