Preparedness for when

nuatha

Wyre wrote: »

Feel free to skip this post as it is a moan.

Now as I have previously mentioned we don't have a working boiler at present so our gas use is just for cooking dinner in the evening. We use roughly £70 a year on our prepayment meter. Today I just opened the letter from BG telling us about the price rise. We will spend £95 a year just on the standing charge without actually using any gas at all! Then let's not forget that the price per unit has gone up too. I am dreading the electricity one arriving as no doubt it will. And the government are saying 'keep your living room at 18-21 degrees' sure cos we can afford that! I am just so grateful that none of mine suffer from asthma or other illnesses.

It might be worth checking out Equigas They may not be the cheapest per unit but don't charge a standing charge which can make a huge difference for a low user.
HTH

[Deleted User]

Store some water in clean containers just in case there is drinking water contamination due to the weather, do that on Sunday. Cook some food that will be nice to eat hot or cold if the power supply is off due to storm damage, do that any time between now and the predicted storm. Go out into the garden and look to see what might be thrown about and do damage to your or other folks properties and if you have somewhere suitable put it inside or at least in a sheltered area where it is likely to be safe. Park you car slightly away from the buildings just in case you get tiles slipping off as it might get damaged. Find a safe method of light if you don't have solar then use a lantern (wind up or candle/tea light) and if you don't have a lantern the safest way to burn tealights is in a jam jar deeper than they are stood on a saucer/plate to keep it stable. If you have a camping stove make sure you have enough fuel for it for a few kettles/food heat ups.
Make sure you know where your wet weather gear is and have it indoors, your wellies are no use to you in the shed if it's blowing a hoolie outside and you need to go out and fix something? Try and get in a few things that only need hot water to make them edible/drinkable like cuppasoups, pot noodles, inst cappucinos, hot choc sachets so if you do get cold and wet and the power IS off you can have something to warm you up very easily, and if you have boiling water left after you've made the instant thing, put it into a flask to use later. If I can think of anything else I'll add to this later, Lyn xxx.

BessieBooBoo

Don't forget the chocolate and buy stuff to keep the kids entertained if there is a power cut. Even a pack of cards would help, library books to read to them, dig out the board games, snacks you don't have to cook or cook them now before any storms hit...

Ever tried playing twister in a power cut!

HTH

BBB

GreyQueen

Afternoon all.

Well, my LA employer is on storm-standby and we're expecting buildings and tree damage. Street trees across roads can quickly cause chaos. Expect the arboriculturists (sp?) will be very busy next week.

From my working experience, I can tell you that even standard autumnal storms are hell on panel fencing and roof tiles. Perhaps if you have a rotten and rickety panel fence, you might want to help it down before it flies?

Deffo aim to secure loose stuff in the garden and, once it's over, go outside and use binoculars if you can, to do a visual inspection of your roof to make sure nothing has come adrift. Might be an idea to have empty buckets to hand in case the worst happens and a roof springs a leak. Check your home insurance details and have their contact numbers to hand. If you have loose felt on a shed/ hen house. hutch, now's a good time to bang some extra tacks into it.

Hopefully gutters and drains around your home are being kept clear of leaves and other debris. If drains are a bit slow and claggy, mebbe a treatment with soda crystals and several kettles of boiling water, to dissolve any grease in there might be an idea.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I'm expecting a lively phone shift on Monday, to put it mildly.

ALI, I like my job a lot, and one of the things I like about it most is that it doesn't follow me home, therefore my time is my time, if you get my meaning. One's headspace is important and mine isn't sold outside working hours, it's busy about my own affairs.

7WW, just to add to those good suggestions already given, you can get cans of fruit, 3 small cans in a cardboard sleeve, pineapple or tropical fruits, from 99p Store or FarmFoods at 89p. D0le brand. Perfect size for one helping and they have a ring-pull opening. Possibly some of those pre-made jelly dessets, too? Little treaty things can help.

As a prepper, I have most things short of the zombie apocalypse sorted already, but will bake a double-batch of bread rolls in case the gas cooker is off. One also wants to be up with the laundry and any tasks which require power.

Heaven forfend, but I might have to stay at home on Sunday eating bon-bons and reading my library books by candlelight if it gets too bad.

kitschy

tryingtobethrifty wrote: »

Thought you might be interested in this. It's about a family who live at the end of a glen in Scotland on a croft with no electric, it was on BBC2 last night.
It looks like a hard life but very interesting. The nice thing was that they didn't make them out to be "weird" or anything just told it how it was, they seem like a happy family.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p01gygxp/Power_to_the_Pococks_A_Year_in_the_Life_of_a_Crofting_Family/

Thank you - I have opened this in a new tab to watch while I'm cooking dinner. It looks really interesting :beer:

mardatha

Found this on the Scottish weather forums...

http://notrickszone.com/2013/10/23/meteorologist-gulf-stream-weakens-to-lowest-level-in-five-years-may-bode-ill-for-europes-winter/

And this -

http://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/the-gulf-stream-today/

kitschy

Just watched the documentary about the crofting family - how nice it was to see four children of different ages working together, and relishing their outdoor life. And not a gadget in sight! I'm too squeamy to slaughter my own meat, but would love to be half as self-sufficient as they are. Thank you again for posting it, TryingToBeThrifty x

pineapple

7_week_wonder wrote: »

Please can a long-time lurker pick your collective brains?

First - does anyone have recommendations for a good small light-weight torch that I could keep in my handbag? .

Hello, good evening and welcome (as David Frost would say).
I have a dinky Asda wind up torch which fits snugly in your palm. They are only £3 - I have had mine for a couple of years. One of my best buys. :T
http://direct.asda.com/Status-Wind-Up-Torch/001127867,default,pd.html

short_bird

9 floors up in a building wrapped in scaffolding and net.

It's going to be an "interesting" weekend

[Deleted User]

7_week_wonder wrote: »

does anyone have recommendations for a good small light-weight torch that I could keep in my handbag?

Something like this perhaps?


http://direct.asda.com/Status-9-LED-Torch/001130940,default,pd.html