Preparedness for when

Frugalsod

pineapple wrote: »

The population is a lot higher than during the last war but I still think there is a lot to be learnt - both on an individual and a government basis - from conservation and use of resources at that time. It might even be a much needed 'learning experience'!
As for load shedding, other countries have had and do have load shedding. I have lived in one of them and while a big change from our on demand lifestyle - the sky will not fall in if it happens.

I doubt that our government have any concept of rationing or living within their means.

mardatha

Agree with that Frugalsod. Also I think if we ever seriously tried to go back to self sufficiency then things would go to hell very fast. Life and people were very very diffferent in 1940. We have built on far too much land, we have let the EU dictate what and when we grow, and things like that can't be fixed in a hurry.

ALIBOBSY

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Hence, if the gas supply is interrupted, we can all expect to experience the consequences of load shedding, especially during high demand times.

For those who haven't already got a camping stove and cylinders, now might be the time to get them.

So glad we got ours in B & M last week, going to get a few more packs of the cylinders this week as well.

For anyone interested the stoves in B & M are just £8.99 and the cannisters are 3 for £3.99. Reading on the stove we worked out one cannister would burn solidly for around 2-3 hrs or so. But you wouldn't need to use it like that and if you had to could cook things and "finish off" by putting a lid on and wrapping up somehow to keep hot.

Ali x

westcoastscot

Hi Guys,

Haven't been here for a while - hope everyone is safe and well, particularly thinking about the flooding. I've been spending much less time online - I felt it was becoming just a little bit too vicarious.

Was wondering what your opinion is of the Ukraine business, so have been having a wee read back. I keep telling myself that we don't have a big enough military now to take it on, and russia/US would probably not relish an outright war, so am expecting lots of posturing but nothing too grim. Suspect the little guys would like a scrap but hopefully the bigger guns will stay calm and it will pass over.

Cannot recall who it was having car insurance issues - my son was involved in an incident which wasn't his fault - he reported it to his insurance company but neither side claimed, however his premium went up. He 'phoned them after 6 months and asked that they put it back down again since no claim had been made, and they did. Might be worth doing this?

Other than that i'm just pottering on here on the west coast - it's been a mild winter to now, around 3 - 5 degrees even overnight, but no seeds sown yet - I'm reminded we were without electricity down here for a week in March last year due to snow. My arthritis has stabilised pretty well - I'm really lucky - but am still struggling to come to terms with the impact on my energy. I have so much energy in my head, but when it comes to taking action I'm really limited - so so frustrating!!!

Workwise things are getting much harder for the people I support - benefit applications taking months, services cancelled or severely trimmed, prices rocketing and little work to be found. I wonder how much worse it can get but have a sneaky feeling that we haven't seen the last of it despite what our beloved leaders may say.

Right, off to knit for a while before tea,
WCS

mardatha

Good re the arthritis, I've been sending you healing pet.
I know how you feel re energy - yesterday I started out full of beans and enthusiasm to move my bedroom round a bit. Got a quarter into it and slumped into a wobbly mess. The RV had to finish it - moaning his face off

ALIBOBSY

Perplexed_Pineapple wrote: »

Wow, lots of food for thought in the posts since yesterday, a few thoughts to add FWIW

It's all 0s and 1s on a hard drive somewhere anyway, such is the level of financial sophistication our society has reached. An EMP could wipe it all out in an instant, apparently. I wonder whether the big financial insitutions use Faraday cages to protect their data? Bitcoin is only the latest evolution of this, wouldn't touch it with a bargepole myself.


The bankster who has come nearest to that is Fred "the shred" Goodwin I think, he lost his knighthood, house, is divorced and hiding out somewhere with nothing but his 350K pension and a terrible reputation to fall back on.

Just like 1938 then. There is a school of thought that applauds the Munich Agreement, (for which Chamberlain was roundly vilified for policy of appeasement), as a stroke of strategic genius, which delayed the onset of WWII for a year during which Britain rapidly re-armed. I would like to think we've learnt since then but I wouldn't rely on it.

I am more with the school of thought that says the munich agreement actually gave Germany the time to build up their forces and weapons, had it never happened a smaller much less prepared german army would have gone into Czechoslovakia earlier and been much more likely to have been slapped down and defeated quickly so shortening the war and saving millions of lives.

TBH we probably could have stayed out of both WW1 and 2 and stood as neutral. The UK would have saved alot of our soldiers lives and been far, far better off. BUT morally we would have broken agreements with various countries.

I think as a country it would stupid to go to war with Russia, but when has stupid stopped politicians.

I think there is a fair chance of issues with the gas pipe, so if you can its worth investing in a camping stove.

Ali x

Nargleblast

I remember reading somewhere ages ago that Germany has enough gas to last about 4 months, France enough for about 3 months - and the UK enough for less than a fortnight. This is the consequence of knocking down all those gasholding towers years ago and selling off the land for development. As usual, greed for short-term gains leads to major problems in the long run.

southantrim3

I'm glad I got a wood burner!

Frugalsod

mardatha wrote: »

Agree with that Frugalsod. Also I think if we ever seriously tried to go back to self sufficiency then things would go to hell very fast. Life and people were very very diffferent in 1940. We have built on far too much land, we have let the EU dictate what and when we grow, and things like that can't be fixed in a hurry.

Actually we are nowhere near as densely populated as people think. We all are crammed into something like 8% of the country. The rest is open space. If we were to have grow our own I think that it might not be too bad. Too many people have a weight problem as it is and could be helped by rationing. Having a few politicians starve to death because they cannot manage will be not great lose to us all. Actually the EU have not dictated what we grow but the farmers have picked what gives them the best return in terms of subsidy and market price less costs. Some crops have much lower costs to produce and so make more sense for some farmers to grow.

As to building on flood plains blame developers as it is cheaper for then than having to adjust designs for slopes.

If people were rationed energy I think I could cope. My main source is electricity and I am already doing better than most considering I am home all day whereas many are out all day and still use as much as I do.

Look at the panic that happened during the fuel blockade. I saw social workers running around trying to get themselves classified as an essential service. It will be the same again.

[Deleted User]

ALI what you're talking about is a Haybox, a Food Muff or a Wonderbag all of which are variations on a theme to allow your food to keep cooking in an insulated container after an initial time on the heat. This would most certainly help to get maximum use from the gas canister used to do the initial cooking. The trick is to have the saucepan/casserole almost full as this keeps the contents hotter in the insualtion. Then all you need to do is bring the contents back up to the boil after the sitting time in the insulated container and bingo - you have supper.