Preparedness for when

jk0

This tickled me:

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2014-02-13/are-millions-business-people-risk-dying-collapsing-buildings

RAS

grandma247 wrote: »

This looks a good idea for gaining extra growing space. I am trying to figure out how to grow a few veg in our tiny back yard which is north facing. I have successfully grown cut and come again salad.

This guy had a north-west-facing "balcony" in London. Loads of useful info

http://www.verticalveg.org.uk/


One thing to work out is which way each wall faces. At this time of year it may be that only the top of one or two walls get sun (what's that?). Later in the year the sun may lght up lower parts of the wall.

I helped a friend with a north facing garden and despite having 2 or 3 story buildings on 2 sides and a 7 foot high wall on the other sides 2 corners got the sun in the early morning and late afternoon. These were great spots for plants that liked more sun and a "raised bed" with a wooden seat across the front.

cornishchick

jk0 wrote: »

I thought this thing I just ordered might interest you guys:

http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/hot-house-inset-stove-5kw-18212-150878

No teasing me JK I can't have a fire or stove here and I really want one...:(

GreyQueen

Evening all.

Charis, I did say 'some forms of flooding' quite deliberately, meaning those floods were it is a result of short-lived downpours causing fast run-offs from paved areas, inc covered areas in gardens. The flash floods. Those kind of surface water flooding events brew up fast and subside fast, but they can cause a lot of damage to homes and cars in harm's way and also the fast run-offs can sluice through urban sewers (London is a case in point) and the rainwater runoff is so intense that it ends up flushing the sewers into the rivers........ not nice.

One could never have prevented the current disaster by de-patio-ing (for want of a more concise term) as there has been so much rain, over so long, that river systems are being overwhelmed.

Still, I think of the streets I know in Provincial City and the Hometown and gardens with anything like grass and plants in them are a rarity now. It's more an exercise in hard-landscaping. You can look down whole streets of terraced houses here and not see as many as one in twenty with a garden as opposed to slabs etc. Collectively, over huge areas, I think that this makes a difference to certain forms of flooding.

greenbee, wow, I think we shall have to rename you busybee, you've been incredibly active. You must be getting tired of all this lifting and carrying. There comes a point when you have done all you can and it's just a question of fingers crossed and hope for the best. Wishing you, and any others in a similar situation, all the best.



ETA care.data article on BBC R4 news right now.

jk0

GreyQueen wrote: »

Evening all.

Charis, I did say 'some forms of flooding' quite deliberately, meaning those floods were it is a result of short-lived downpours causing fast run-offs from paved areas, inc covered areas in gardens. The flash floods. Those kind of surface water flooding events brew up fast and subside fast, but they can cause a lot of damage to homes and cars in harm's way and also the fast run-offs can sluice through urban sewers (London is a case in point) and the rainwater runoff is so intense that it ends up flushing the sewers into the rivers........ not nice.

One could never have prevented the current disaster by de-patio-ing (for want of a more concise term) as there has been so much rain, over so long, that river systems are being overwhelmed.

Still, I think of the streets I know in Provincial City and the Hometown and gardens with anything like grass and plants in them are a rarity now. It's more an exercise in hard-landscaping. You can look down whole streets of terraced houses here and not see as many as one in twenty with a garden as opposed to slabs etc. Collectively, over huge areas, I think that this makes a difference to certain forms of flooding.

greenbee, wow, I think we shall have to rename you busybee, you've been incredibly active. You must be getting tired of all this lifting and carrying. There comes a point when you have done all you can and it's just a question of fingers crossed and hope for the best. Wishing you, and any others in a similar situation, all the best.

I realise it's not an ideal thing to do, but I also had my front garden paved. I live on a main road near a roundabout, and need to turn my car round off the road rather than risk reversing in/out among two-way traffic.

Some days it's hard enough getting out of the drive going forwards!

edit: It's just started to hammer it down here in Reading, and my lovely new flat roof is dripping in the saucepan again.

jk0

jk0 wrote: »

I realise it's not an ideal thing to do, but I also had my front garden paved. I live on a main road near a roundabout, and need to turn my car round off the road rather than risk reversing in/out among two-way traffic.

Some days it's hard enough getting out of the drive going forwards!

edit: It's just started to hammer it down here in Reading, and my lovely new flat roof is dripping in the saucepan again.

OMG. The whole flaming wall where it's attached to the side of the house is now dripping. I don't have enough saucepans for this lot.

greenbee

GQ, Charis - there are compromises that could be made between paving and scrubland. There are plenty of porous materials that can be used for drives - including gravel. I replaced my patio with gravel in my last house, as I was on clay soil and the patio regularly turned into a paddling pool. The gravel ensured that water didn't sit against the walls and overtop my damp course. This obviously doesn't solve everything, but I think we do need to be a little more sensitive to the consequences of our actions.

Willows don't have to be allowed to grow tall. Osiers can be coppiced - in Norfolk you get areas called 'osier carrs' where coppiced willows are grown. Traditionally they were used for basket making, but I'm sure they could be used for biofuel. My mother used to get the train to school across the somerset levels, and remembers them being covered in osiers.

It's miserable here. Raining again and windy. I've lit the fire, but it isn't cheering me up as much as I'd like because the wind is making it smoke

I also get a howling gale INSIDE as my soil stack is indoors - it goes from the kitchen, through the bathroom, into the attic and out of the roof. So it draws nice cold air down from outside...

GreyQueen

That Radio 4 news item was informative.

They pointed out to the relevent people that of those they surveyed, less than one-third of people had recieved a leaflet and suggested that leafletting itself isn't really the way to go about it, and tried to suggest that with so few people being aware of such an important change, that the upload should be postponed until they had been informed.

The interviewee didn't like that suggestion at all.

Now, I don't get a lot of paper mail. It goes into a sealed mailbox so it isn't sliding around on the floor getting lost under other things. I look closely at everything sent me and recycle, shred or action as appropriate. Heck, I've earned my shilling as an administrator, I know how to do this stuff.

That leaflet never came here. It hasn't reached a single person I know, either. If they've farmed it out for Royal Mail to do alongside the regular post deliveries, it mostly hasn't been done and they should ask for their money back.

This cannot be informed consent, it's just wrong. And there are apprarently not-dissimilar things for Wales and Scotland (didn't catch reference to N Ireland, if there was one, sorry) so you may want to check it out if you're in those regions.

Just had a call from the Police re the allotment break-ins. Door-t-dooring on the nearby streets hasn't revealed anything but there were a few sheds which had alarms fitted and those were untouched. I may have to give the matter some further thought..........

RAS

GreyQueen wrote: »

Now, I don't get a lot of paper mail. It goes into a sealed mailbox so it isn't sliding around on the floor getting lost under other things. I look closely at everything sent me and recycle, shred or action as appropriate. Heck, I've earned my shilling as an administrator, I know how to do this stuff.

That leaflet never came here. It hasn't reached a single person I know, either. If they've farmed it out for Royal Mail to do alongside the regular post deliveries, it mostly hasn't been done and they should ask for their money back.

I get a fair bit of junk mail (local take aways mainly) and go through it rigourously to check for letters that have been sandwiched between.

Have definately NOT seen this as I was looking for it.

GreyQueen

Yeah, yesterday I had a postcard from my utility provider-to-be and a letter, today I had two letters and a pizza leaflet.

No way was anything hiding from me; most days I get no post whatsoever as most of my stuff comes in via email.

Y'know, I am so thankful for this site and the web in general or I'd've been in ignorance of this care.data malarkey. I've opted out already and the GP receptionist, a sensible lady of mature years said, when I asked, that other people are opting out too, lots of them, but lots of people are saying that they haven't had the leaflet.

Insofar as a genuine attempt to obtain presumed consent, it's an epic fail but if your goal was to be able to say, with wide eyed faux innocence But we sent you a leaflet! then TPTB are doing just fine.

I don't like being taken advantage of, but that pales into insignificance with how little I like being played for a fool.:mad: