Preparedness for when

Hollyberry

Just checking out the latest on the coastal flooding - apparently high tide in Northern Ireland is about noon, and parts of Belfast may be evacuated, so stay safe craigywv. Family & friends in the West Country all seem ok thus far - at times like this I really do appreciate FB & Twitter to see them checking in. Hoping you all stay safe, warm & dry.

pineapple

jk0 wrote: »

I think most of us are tested from time to time anyway, whether it's ill health, accidents or infrastructure failings.

I'm being tested at the mo. Since before Christmas the dog has barely been eating a thing. Apart from the worry and the vets bills - have been driven to cooking/buying all sorts to tempt her - not to mention running round like George Galloway (but in dog mode not cat mode) pretending to fight her for her kibble and even pretending to eat it on occasion.. :eek:
Yesterday I shelled out a cool £75 for another appointment and for blood tests.
Following which she promptly started eating. :mad:

Note to self: Should have got the pet insurance.

mardatha

You mean you think one day us preppers will be seen as - gulp - normal?? O I don't think I could handle that :eek::eek:

fuddle

I cannat fathom a prepping mind and the reasons behind why you would prep if it surrounds the issue of protecting yourself and your loved ones and that of the notion of wanting a SHTF scenario just to be able to test.

I think there must be different camps of folk - those that prep out of fear of losing what they have most dear (self/family/shelter/water/food) and those that do it as a hobby, enjoy accumulating and do it as a buzz or a stick fingers up at authority maybe?

I dont know, all I do know is that I dont at all want to be tested.

[Deleted User]

Totally agree FUDDLE, I can't understand anyone wanting a trial run just to see if things worked out with what they already have. I prep because I see an increasingly fragile system of living all around the world and an increasingly volatile weather system which has the potential to be very disruptive to any one of us anywhere on the planet. I know if the weather events disrupt the supply chain, or destroy standing crops I've enough in store to keep us going. I know if the power supply is disrupted we have ways of heating the house, cooking our food, boiling water to keep us and our clothes clean and clean environments mean better health. I have enough medicinal supplies in to deal with any minor bugs coughs and colds and enough of our medications for more serious problems to keep us going for 2 months, more in the case of the minor things. I have adequate supplies of loo rolls, soap, toothpaste etc to last us for some time and equipment to do most things should we be forced to leave the home for safetys sake. It would be irresponsible for me personally to NOT think ahead and plan for the 'what ifs' of life, my biggest reason for doing the prepping in the first place is to give us a better chance of coming through whatever the event is with a whole skin and also to not be part of the problem that needs sorting out by the emergency services who would have more than enough to do looking after those who haven't made any preps at all, Lyn xxx.

craigywv

hi all just on briefly as leccy is on and off really bad over here at the moment. up all night using the oven to cook off meats so we can have something tasty for tea. I have sellotaped the freezers so I don't open them lol force of habit! wind is fierce wheely bins being bashed about outside. oh in work he walked it as afraid of stranding his car son has his priorities right ipad and Nintendo charged to the max. was outside earlier seemed ok thought this not too bad till gust of wind lifted the dog sideways again so its indoors for us.i have a wash on watching it praying it finishes cycle at least can get it on clothes horse. people in other parts of Belfast being evacuated as they sitting low its actually a whole part of the town east to be exact not too far from me but more closer to the sea.just want it to blow itself out well am going now as lots to do will check in later and thanks for the concern xxx

[Deleted User]

Look after you and yours CRAIGY, nothing is more important than that, stay safe petal, Lyn xxx.

westcoastscot

We're almost at high tide and the sea is coming up over the road - we're 90 metres above the road up a steep hill so fine, apart from the fact that the road is our only way out. The shops/flats on the front street are backed by the canal and really at risk of flooding - a yearly occurrence. I have to say it doesn't seem to put folks up nor down and apart from the wee co-op the shops stay open, using a pencil/paper and cash box! I guess its a little different when it's your business not your home eh?

GQ glad to hear the vampires are finished - hope things stay stable for you. When youngest had to go in for a day at a time for longer tests we used to take sausages in a foodflask to make sarnies once the fasting tests were over - can still recall the incredible taste of them!!! We had to leave home at 5.30 to get to hospital for 8am, and were starving by 11am! The nurses were fantastic and used to attend to us first, we were really lucky.

Hope everyone is staying safe. Why do I have a feeling of doom today????? not like me.

WCS

craigywv

was on the phone to my friend in east Belfast she says they NOT being evacuated just warned so conflicting stories going on the news at present hope it goes away soon

Perplexed_Pineapple

I think preparedness is a mindset which has been normal for millenia, and only in the last 50 years has our state of mind become so abnormal as to assume we are immune from personal catastrophe and natural disaster. This is an image which has been sold to us very professionally, by insurance companies who tell us they can provide protection (at a price), by banks who tell us that our assets are safe, by governments who have encouraged a nanny state mentality. My bible knowledge is a bit rusty but wasn't it Joseph who told the Egyptians to prepare for seven years of famine during their seven years of good harvests? At the moment I think we have a very real problem of agricultural dependence on oil, and while the press are talking about how we can maintain energy generation for homes and industry, I'm seeing very little coverage on how we can replace oil based agricultural fertilisers which feed the western world. If you look at rationing in WW2, the population of the UK was about 40 million, and rationing actually improved the nutritional state of many people. The population is now about 65 million, and we are even more heavily dependent on imports. There is a discussion of food security here: http://archive.defra.gov.uk/evidence/economics/foodfarm/reports/documents/foodsecurity.pdf
This paper is a few years old but note the assumption running through it that Britain will be able to rely on imports because of high levels of trade and a prosperous economy. Unfortunately that assumption is looking very rocky, the economic gap between "first world" countries and developing nations is narrowing rapidly. Food will still be available, but we will be paying more for it (our current spend on food is very low in historical terms, which partially compensates for a very high spend on energy and housing).
So for me prepping is about controlling those things that are within our control: reducing energy costs, having back-up supplies to give us time to adapt to price hikes, growing our own where we can, developing skills to cope with different scenarios. For us as a family we are heavily dependent on continued employment, and that isn't something that can be relied on by anyone :eek: