Preparedness for when

Perplexed_Pineapple

Ouch VJ'sMum, that sounds painful. Best to rest up if you can, although it might still take a while if it's a bad sprain, the one time I did something similar it took about six months to come right but I wasn't very good at resting, quite the opposite. I'm sure you are right about buy-to-let being a good option for retirement income, for those who can afford to get into the market now, that is. Welcome MrsMH, we all start at the beginning and some of us are barely over the starting line compared to the more serious posters here! Time to go tackle some weeds, I'm proud to report that we are entirely self-sufficient in dandelions and nettles for the foreseeable

Butterfly_Brain

VJsmum wrote: »

I am one of these. Using pension monies to buy buy-to-lets. But what do I do? Leave it there for the gubment to take or be proactive and take care of me and mine without relying on state aid should we lose our gainful employment? We know that if we both lost our jobs, we could just about survive on other income. I guess I can also justify it by saying that those houses will provide our children with a start up the property ladder.

Hello, I am back froml my holibobs, where a small SHTF situation has left me rather crippled for a while (an incident with me, a boat and a wet slippery jetty - who knew I could still do the splits:eek:). Am hobbling round like an arthritic 80 year old.

Ouch that sounds nasty ((((Hugs))))Wishing you a speedy recovery.
As a fifty something arthritic I feel your pain

[Deleted User]

For anyone not able to get to a B&M Bargains, ASDA are selling a Compact Camping Stove.

It's similar to the B&M Bargains one (and uses the same cartridges - which they are selling @ £6 for 4), but a bit smaller.

Price is £10.

GreyQueen

Ooof, but I ache. Have been busy at archery. We had an excellent laugh as always and my preptastic antenna swivelled when one of the guys casually asked Teach if the kind of arrows we are using would be suitable for the Zombie Apocalypse?

Teach said not, as these target arrows are too delicate for zombies, what you need are really great stonking arrows. And broadheads, like back in medieval times. So now you know. People who do archery tend to trend from the more unconventional side of the population, hence the question. Me being me, I had to ask if Teach had zombie-shooting arrows at home and was told all serious archers keep a stash of the right kind of arrows.

Make friends with an archer. You may need them to man the battlements of your domestic castle in time of crisis. Us at Shoebox Towers will be able to have a clear-fire zone from the upper floors. As is so ably demonstrated by the hoodlums with air-rifles who take potshots at the posh private flats across the river. City centre living at it's best, hey?

MrsMortenHarket, veggies are relatively easy. I only grow the easy ones myself. Broad beans are your friend, as are spuds and beetroot and a few other things. I use The Vegetable Expert book (part of the Expert series, the most famous being the one about houseplants). It's a good basic primer, but realistically you can just get by reading the seed packets.

When the annual weed seeds come up like cress on freshly-cleared soil in your garden, it's time to sow seeds. When the last frost has past, it's time to sow frost tender things like french and runner beans (broad beans aren't frost tender, they'll mostly overwinter quite happily unless there's a lot of snow). Still time to sow maincrop tatties and lots of other things but you need to get a wiggle on these next few weeks.

I haven't seen my allotment since last Monday so shudder to think how many weeds have come up since I showed them the business end of a hoe. Depending on weather and energy levels, I may skate up there for an hour or so after w*rk tomorrow, just to check all is OK and frighten some weeds.Show 'em cold steel, they don't like it up 'em.

Re the lotties, the villians were taking the feed as well as the livestock which suggest that they weren't for immediate consumption. There's one bloke who keeps about 3-4 turkeys. They're bliddy big, wouldn't fancy wrestling one of them. And some silkies were also taken, which suggests that someone wanted them for breeding, as someone observed.

Gosh, but I need tea and cake......laters, GQ xx

D&DD

Evening all boy its been busy here!! Looking forward to a bit of space tomorrow as theres only me and DS2 left at home..much as I love my lot they do drive you nuts at times lol..


VJ's mum so sorry to hear you came a cropper but extremely jealous that you can still manage the splits bless you hope you feel less sore soon XX


Much sorting of stores going on here as I've got a mass baking experiment week planned,wether I actually manage it or not's another matter but I hope to be playing in the kitchen at least all day tomorrow.


The nematodes have depleted most of the snails and all the slugs so that's made life a bit easier in the garden.
GQ so sad to hear about the thefts it must be so upsetting I know how it felt when my stuff went from the carpark and the first year my apples fruited here some booger cleared me out as they must have spotted them over the fence.


They climbed in the garden to get them too,would LOVE to see them try it now with Rosie *devil grin*


I've seen a few people eyeing up my rhubarb in the front garden too so will have to keep my eye on that this year.


We had potatoes out the front most years and one year we had large healthy plants and no potatoes..still think someone had been rummaging in there to not have any at all is just weird!

vivatifosi

BB, I've been thinking a lot lately about your lighting rig and how we could do something here... please excuse the chain of thoughts, I'm hoping others will fill in blanks..

Does anyone remember that programme in the 70s where someone pedalled a bike like fury and managed to power a sixty watt bulb? Given I would just need to see, not have optimal brightness, a normal modern bulb would do that for about 9 watts and one of the new LED one's for about 4 watts.

So question.. would it be possible to power via minimal human input, of perhaps solar storage.. similar to a garden light that stores in day but lights up at night. I'm just thinking it would require less than 10% of the power of the bike one, so is there a stable way of doing it without a generator?

I do have a hand cranked lantern, but that's not as bright as I'd like... probably about 20w in old money.

ETA... found this one.. 30w equivalent so getting closer..
http://www.solarilluminations.co.uk/solar-indoor-lighting-portable-light/fl14-solar-light

mrsmortenharket

Thanks greyqueen

I have the complete garden expert. Will get the vegetate book.

I've already misplaced my head torches....!

x

Cheapskate

Evening folks

RL has been taking its toll recently, plus being away for Easter weekend - with NO t'interweb signal AT ALL for several days, disaster! . Have finally got through the read, loads of interesting and amusing stuff!

Now we are back to normal, preps are going up a notch this week. Kelly kettle and real seeds order going in tomorrow, plus major food stocktake/rotation etc, have been a very lazy prepper recently!

A xo

Perplexed_Pineapple

Evening all.... haven't properly caught up yet but came across a bit of good ol' tin hattery regarding energy shortfalls on AEP's blog as we might expect:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/10781229/Europe-braces-for-gas-showdown-with-Russia-helped-by-Japans-nuclear-restart.html
Personally I'll continue to work on making the house more energy effficient (the summer is a good time to pick up cheap/free insulation) and building up a woodpile. No wood-burning stove yet but if the gas gets cut off I think we have some trendier neighbours who would be willing to share their facilities if we could supply fuel

daz378

regarding the storage of the small gas canisters in the highest part of a high rise block, for butane two ring stoves .. i have 3 spare canisters ,, but would it be irresponsible to store any more? useful piece on newsnight before called the "Age of the second machine" which considered effect of new technology making human input/work redundant and how society should deal with it....interesting

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-teuber/the-coming-of-the-second-machine-age_b_4648207.html