Preparedness for when

HariboJunkie

I've deleted my post Catznine. So if you want you can delete the quote you made.
Maybe you're right and it wasn't directed at me. Either way, I'll think twice before clarifying facts on the thread again. Some opinions are evidently more welcome than others.

Glad you enjoyed your holiday and well done for making it through that flight :eek:. xx

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

HariboJunkie wrote: »

Good luck with your stained glass class Jojo. Is it expensive to joing and pay for materials?

It's fairly cheap - but I've enrolled for 20 weeks of classes, so that's why it's a fair amount (£172)

We get an allowance of materials from there, and the use of some tools and chemicals, so I will probably need to spend around £30 over the period.

The first thing I'm making is made up entirely of broken pieces of scrap glass, so that shows just how cheap it can be.

Molly41

D&#8517 wrote: »

MrsL I love halloween here too we have trick or treaters and they all make an effort with costumes its a really nice evening usually.My one pumpkin I managed to grow this year is Jackblittle so that won't be much use for carving..

Im another who loves Halloween and never had any real trouble except for a few zombies - one year our pumpkin got used as a football.

I quite go to town and love to buy different squash like Turks Turban and gourds. I make a mean Pumpkin pie too x

SpikyHedgehog

betony wrote: »

I am aware there are OSers on here who complain about this thread being 'scaremongering' or over the top. This proves to me that they don't read the whole thread properly, don't see that they can cherry-pick what is releveant to them and don't get that there are many levels of preparedness. (Or that much is tongue in cheek :cool:) There is also the fact that if they don't agree with it, they're not being coerced into doing any of it.

I can give a real-life reason why some prep is a good idea. I live in Morpeth. Yes, you may have heard about the town on the national news yesterday - we had severe floods. Again. Fortunately, we ourselves weren't affected, despite living about 10 yards from the river wall. Others weren't so lucky and had to leave their homes. How many of them had a BOB or emergency plans in place, I wonder?

It's now hit home that, had we been flooded out, we would have been one of those families who had to leave with practically nothing . I have talked to my OH about BOBs and contingency plans, but he is very dismissive of any kind of prep and doesn't even like me buying 'extra' bags of flour, tins or anything else for that matter. This event still hasn't changed his mind, but s*d him, I say what goes here and will prep without his knowledge, or just tell him I'm doing it regardless

Now, in some strange irony, our water has gone off without warning :eek: Luckily, my OH always overfills the kettle, despite my nagging him not to, so there's enough for several cuppas in there, so I'm sorted for now :rotfl:

ETA: Just as I was posting this, the water gurgled back on. I'm not telling the OH, as I've told him to buy a couple of the 5l bottles of water just in case. They can do for the next time, can't they? *need a devil smilie*

Betony, we're not near the floods but it's making me aware that we're not prepared for evacuation either. I can't register with the environmental agency for flood warnings as they don't do my postcode, but I know the river we pass on the way to take DS2 to school goes over the banks regularly. Luckily, so far it's not come up to the bridge.

For us, welly boots & waterproof trousers & having a spare set of clothes at school/work are part of my automatic prep (ooh, I'm more prepared than I thought I was!) however much DS1 might grumble about the notion of waterproof trousers and refuse to take spare clothes to 6th form to store in his locker.

I got 24 2litre bottles of basic table water from MrS last time I did an online order, they were 20p each and being only 2 litres each, a fairly easy size to handle & store.

[Deleted User]

gosh what a scare betony! Good on you re planning to prep, lets face it, the woman is generally the one who has to scheme and plan for survival strategies. I just quietly get on with it, after all it is a safety cushion for the whole family and tbh I do think dh now sees it the same way

I finished the file system today but I had to do it in chunks as it was too much work. It is just a concertina file with a handle and is in a drawer, ready to grab. I had a big pile of papers on my desk, which I roughly sorted yesterday. Today I shredded an awful lot of out of date paperwork and made sure there were labels on each concertina section. I even put the names of various easy access bank and savings accounts on a list, just in case dh has to deal with things. It was very worth doing and paperwork is neatly grouped in labelled polypockets

I also got finances in order, which I try to do on a regular basis using an old version of m/s money. I always know how much is in the bank and what bills are due and I input details for 2 months ahead, so there are no nasty surprises

Shtf would happen in our house if anything happened to me as I do all the financial stuff so I have made sure that everything is straightforward for dh, or anyone else

GreyQueen

betony wrote: »

II can give a real-life reason why some prep is a good idea. I live in Morpeth. Yes, you may have heard about the town on the national news yesterday - we had severe floods. Again. Fortunately, we ourselves weren't affected, despite living about 10 yards from the river wall. Others weren't so lucky and had to leave their homes. How many of them had a BOB or emergency plans in place, I wonder?

It's now hit home that, had we been flooded out, we would have been one of those families who had to leave with practically nothing . I have talked to my OH about BOBs and contingency plans, but he is very dismissive of any kind of prep and doesn't even like me buying 'extra' bags of flour, tins or anything else for that matter. This event still hasn't changed his mind, but s*d him, I say what goes here and will prep without his knowledge, or just tell him I'm doing it regardless

Now, in some strange irony, our water has gone off without warning :eek: Luckily, my OH always overfills the kettle, despite my nagging him not to, so there's enough for several cuppas in there, so I'm sorted for now :rotfl:

ETA: Just as I was posting this, the water gurgled back on. I'm not telling the OH, as I've told him to buy a couple of the 5l bottles of water just in case. They can do for the next time, can't they? *need a devil smilie*

:eek: Oh my gosh, I was staring at those pictures of Morpeth and environs online with owl-like eyes and horror. Was wondering if any of our fellow OS-ers were in the thick of all that. So glad that you were unaffected and feeling sorry for those who were flooded.

As 2tonsils says, insurance helps but it doesn't mitigate the distress in having your home ruined.

I wandered through the supermarche on my way home from work with another 2 litre water bottle to add to the stash. As I only have muscle-power, I have to do these things steady and often. 2 litres is an optimum size for water bottles as each one weighs 2 kg or 4.4 lb and you'll know all about it if you have to carry a few of them. They're also a handy size for storing in a domestic setting.

I'm going to be looking for a pair of wellies at a modest price to keep in my shed down at Shoebox Towers (I have a dexion-type rack in there to keep things of the ground). I don't use wellies on the allotment as I am on lightish silty soil and have an old pair of DMs which live up there. But I would like to have wellies at this end in case the river gets ideas above it's station and I end up wading to safety. T'would be miserable to be out of your home and with sopping wet feet.

There's also an aspect to flooding which makes wellies prudent; you may be wading through water which has picked up contaminants which can cause disease, and there are likely to be things hidden beneath the surface which won't be pleasant to walk on. You'll note from the pictures of the floods that the emergency services are often probing ahead of their feet with a long pole (OS-ers could use a broom handle?) to check for hazards.

Years ago, my Dad was hillwalking in Scotland and came upon a bridge which was marked on his map but had been removed. Despite his caution, he was knocked off his feet by the fast-moving burn even though it was only ankle deep and carried several yards downstream. He had some terrible scrapes on his shinbones and hands but was otherwise just soaked. If you've never been in wild water, you may not be aware of how powerful even shallowish waters can be and how quickly they can carry people off their feet. Yet another reason to bug out in a timely manner.

I've been looking at the photos online of that block of new townhouses whose foundations have been washed away by floodwater............ spinechilling. Shoebox Towers was built 40+ years ago and sits on hundreds of the darned things, sunk into the gravelly soils of the floodplain.......... Sobering thought as I have an awful lot of concrete poised above my head!

warehouse

So when exactly is this sh*t going to hit?

D&DD

DUCK

ginnyknit

Betony I was watching the floods on the news last night and thanking goodness I didnt live anywhere near them. OH contacted his Brother who lives in a dip in the lake district but we havent heard from them. SIL has cancer and is very poorly at the moment so am guessing they could be at hospital. Just hoping they are ok as the worry alone would be rather to much for them.

Wellies are an essential in this country nowadays. I hate them but will wear them when necessary as they are safer. If your feet get cold and wet its difficult to keep your core temperature up isnt it.

Hugs to all watching flood water from their windows. keep safe and prepped. Even if its only old bottles filled with water to rinse things in and a full kettle its worth it as the water may well go off in times of flood due to contamination at the other end.

westlothianlass

Hi all
Was out and about today so purchased another couple of wind up torches for 99p for our bags, also purchased another couple of tins for the cupboard, its building up nicely with me buying a couple here and there:D.
The weather has been pretty lousy up here but nothing like down south, so hugs to anyone battling with floods etc.
Mum should get out of hospital tomorrow so thats a relief, now just need to remind my dad that she isnt a "china doll":rotfl:.

Kittie my paperwork desperately needs sorted so will follow your example and tackle it this week:o.
x WLL