Preparedness for when

Hollyberry

Brilliant siegemode, thank you. I will have my cardboard box provided, but the sofa cushion is an inspired thought, as is the flask of soup and cereal bars. I can pretty much do the clothing layers you list, and I think I've finally found the occasion on which I can wear the leopard print ear muffs bought by a friend a few years back!

ETA - Glad you got your TV. x

siegemode

Hollyberry wrote: »

Brilliant siegemode, thank you. I will have my cardboard box provided, but the sofa cushion is an inspired thought, as is the flask of soup and cereal bars. I can pretty much do the clothing layers you list, and I think I've finally found the occasion on which I can wear the leopard print ear muffs bought by a friend a few years back!

Glad to help, the ear muffs sound great. I had to keep taking my hat off as I felt like I was overheating ! The soup was consumed half a cup at a time and was enough to warm me through and stop the hunger. Other people who arrived less prepared felt the cold, but not me I had alsorts of stuff in my backpack that wasn't needed and I was prepared. Having others to talk to and keeping up moral is also a great help.

Frugalsod

Cottage_Economy wrote: »

Thanks for the reminder. I need to get some fire safety gear in the house. Where did you get your fire blanket from?

I got the 1m x 1m fire blanket from Amazon. It seemed more practical as a long term solution than a fire extinguisher for me.

Pollyjuice

Hi All. Could someone tell me what YS stands for? I think I have managed to work out all of the others but this still has me confused. Am I on the right track thinking these are the reduced items?

I've just put an order in at "real seeds" and a starting to plan my plot for this year. I've also just heard that it may be a nother year on the waiting list for the parish council alottment. Already been on this for 5 years and I know that there are some plots not used!! Very frustrating.

We've got a hard frost here today. Still frost on the ground from this morning. Hopefully this will see off those pesky little critters who like to hang around the garden.

Just got out of the freezer the last of the turkey. Turkey curry tonight, yeah (insert smily face, still can't manage to add one, sorry).

GreyQueen

YS = Yellow Stickers, y'know, when they reduce stuff in the supermarket? Every chain I go into uses yellow stickers for the reduced items.

Frugalsod

Hollyberry wrote: »

Brilliant siegemode, thank you. I will have my cardboard box provided, but the sofa cushion is an inspired thought, as is the flask of soup and cereal bars. I can pretty much do the clothing layers you list, and I think I've finally found the occasion on which I can wear the leopard print ear muffs bought by a friend a few years back!

ETA - Glad you got your TV. x

Those gardeners kneeling pads are quite useful as thermal seats and compact as well.

Hollyberry

Frugalsod wrote: »

Those gardeners kneeling pads are quite useful as thermal seats and compact as well.

Good call. I will see if any gardening mates have some we could borrow. I'm still a gardening novice here, so my stash of extras is a bit sparse. Failing a bit of borrowing, I'll go for the big cushion in a bin bag approach.

metherer

I thought this article is rather interesting:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537860/Why-power-blackouts-GOOD-Britain-Eds-aide-sparks-fury-brace-winters-Arctic-blast.html

Do we think this might get people thinking? I doubt it.

GreyQueen

Frugalsod wrote: »

Those gardeners kneeling pads are quite useful as thermal seats and compact as well.

I have one of those ones from camping shops, which concentina up and have a velcro strap to hold them closed. Cost something ridiculous like one whole £ and is brilliant.

You lose heat several ways and one of them is having uit drawn away from your body by contact with cold surfaces. So it's essential to have something between you and the pavement (or your box and the pavement) to stop the heat being sucked away.

One thing from living in the woods with the Mad Bushcrafters (mad as eccentric, not mad as insane btw) was that having food with you, to eat during the night, really helps keep your temperature up. Something like a nice chunk of French bread slathered with butter - lots of calories in the butter to burn as fuel. We were eating like pigs but still losing weight due to being out-of-doors 24-7. It was early autumn so not bitter, but we'd all visibly lost weight in 6 days. Imagine how much fuel you'd burn up if you were exerting yourself in a bitterly cold climate.

Went to the lottie for an hour or so and even though it was early afternoon on a cold sunny day, there was still ice on the water butts and tanks. It must have been a bitter night and it's clear here, with a nearly full moon riding high in the sky and will be baltic again tonight. It was 6-7 degrees yesterday and today in the afternoon and I was gardening outside in shirtsleeves and a fleece waistcoat.

You know what they say about gardening? If you're cold, you aren't working hard enough..........:rotfl:

I'm going into my Sunday evening routine and have showered, hairwashed, snuggled into the jammies and am attending to laundry and cooking. Not sticking my nose out-of-doors for 12 hours now.

nuatha

westcoastscot wrote: »

The latest conversation highlights the differences in prepping styles and the need to prep for your own personal situation.

Here there is always somewhere to pee :rotfl: and even in summer when we have tourists there's an unwritten code among locals that you never drive past someone stuck at the side of the road, even to offer a lift to a safe/dry place/with phone signal. Provided you travel at "busy" times if you are at all vulnerable in the event of a breakdown (that would be me) then you can feel pretty safe. It doesn't matter if you know the person or not, you always have some mutual acquaintance on striking up a conversation. It amuses me no end in Argyll that on first meeting someone the conversation is all about who you are/who you know/who you're related to!!!

WCS

We've had a lot of incomers over the years, but its still surprising how often I meet Northumbrians and we have people in common.
I've never driven past someone who was broken down unless there was already help at hand - I accept it makes a difference that I'm a big burly bloke though.

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Morning all, the most useful items I own, given how uncertain the weather has been lately are my waterproof coat and trousers and some decent wellington boots. They have saved me having wet and smelly clothing constantly drying out in the utility room over this last few months. I would heartily reccommend buying in waterproof outer gear if you can afford to, it really is a sound investment, Lyn xxx.

Good advice, but may I suggest Goretex or similar rather than just waterproofs. I've ended up seriously wet inside waterproofs from sweat condensing on the waterprrofs and soaking back through the layers. As for being a good investment, my current set are around 15 years old and still going strong.