Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

Glastonbury's day job is a dairy farm; would you want to drink their water? Nope, far better to truck in the Poondland water and know you're safe.

VJsMum, you know they do those panoramic newspaper website shots of the Glasto crowds? I want you in there, holding up a homemade cardboard sign, saying Hello MSE-ers!

I shall be watching for it.............seriously, have a fab time.

I'd best drag myself from the siren-lure of the five websites I'm jaunting between and interact with RL. I have to do the dishes and read about the fall of the roman empire. The former is more urgent than the latter, but the latter is much more interesting. Decisions, decisions............:p

jk0

Morning folks,

Just making my morning toast, and feeling smug about the extra flour I have stored away, a little thought came to me:

If the electricity goes off, I won't be able to make any bread. Perhaps I should freeze a couple of loaves.

mardatha

jk0 :D:D

[Deleted User]

JKO your morning toast is the least of the problems if we lose the electricity. You could think outside the box and keep in maybe some crispbreads or oatcakes which don't need anything done to make them edible and taste just as nice as toast with your breakfast marmalade. Thank god we've got the kelly kettle as starting the day, any day, without a cuppa is UNTHINKABLE!!!!!

elona

GQ

Maybe you could theorise the empire fell because the dishes were not cleaned promptly At school in Scotland (when dinosaurs roamed according to my dds) we were taught the lead in utensils they used caused a lot of the decline).

I have been reading some of Anthony Riches books on the Empire (fictional but very well researched) and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Our new (to us) house has a chimney and a gas fire but DH gets a portable gas heater in case of severe weather or problems and that throws out lots of heat. DDs hate it because it looks clumsy :eek:

The boiler is being replaced by us as it is nearly fifteen years old and S**s Law would pack up in the next bad winter. Managed to persuade DH that getting it done now would be better than waiting till it broke down when we might be waiting for a boiler, parts etc to be ordered or delivered and competing with lots of others wanting repairs etc if it is severely cold.

Clincher in deciding was when I pointed out prices are not likely to go down in Autumn - but the reverse - and that better controls on radiators would save expense etc as would a more efficient boiler.

Once new boiler is in will start working on thinking about triple glazing in windows and doors so he thinks it is his idea.;)

Told him about oil being $150 which gave him pause for thought.

After freaking out a few weeks ago when DH told us he had been looking at energy monitors and we used nearly double the energy for a house this size - he found out he had looked at figures assuming we were a mid three bed terrace with only two people who were out all day! :mad:

We are detached with at least two people in all day and four sometimes five living here. Makes energy use almost frugal!!!!

Frugalsod

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

JKO your morning toast is the least of the problems if we lose the electricity. You could think outside the box and keep in maybe some crispbreads or oatcakes which don't need anything done to make them edible and taste just as nice as toast with your breakfast marmalade. Thank god we've got the kelly kettle as starting the day, any day, without a cuppa is UNTHINKABLE!!!!!

Apart from the solar kettle which works a treat when it is sunny I am looking at getting a wood burning Biolite stove so can recharge devices like phones as well as the Kelly Kettle. Having a combination of stoves is the key to flexibility.

jk0

elona wrote: »

GQ

Maybe you could theorise the empire fell because the dishes were not cleaned promptly At school in Scotland (when dinosaurs roamed according to my dds) we were taught the lead in utensils they used caused a lot of the decline).

I have been reading some of Anthony Riches books on the Empire (fictional but very well researched) and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Our new (to us) house has a chimney and a gas fire but DH gets a portable gas heater in case of severe weather or problems and that throws out lots of heat. DDs hate it because it looks clumsy :eek:

The boiler is being replaced by us as it is nearly fifteen years old and S**s Law would pack up in the next bad winter. Managed to persuade DH that getting it done now would be better than waiting till it broke down when we might be waiting for a boiler, parts etc to be ordered or delivered and competing with lots of others wanting repairs etc if it is severely cold.

Clincher in deciding was when I pointed out prices are not likely to go down in Autumn - but the reverse - and that better controls on radiators would save expense etc as would a more efficient boiler.

Once new boiler is in will start working on thinking about triple glazing in windows and doors so he thinks it is his idea.;)

Told him about oil being $150 which gave him pause for thought.

After freaking out a few weeks ago when DH told us he had been looking at energy monitors and we used nearly double the energy for a house this size - he found out he had looked at figures assuming we were a mid three bed terrace with only two people who were out all day! :mad:

We are detached with at least two people in all day and four sometimes five living here. Makes energy use almost frugal!!!!

For what it's worth, I intend to keep my twelve year old boiler as long as spares are available. Touch wood, it has never broken down, and I am happy to pay the 25% extra gas cost in exchange for this.

Boilers are very complicated nowadays, and more unreliable, as well as being made of cheaper materials.

elona

jko

York has a food fair on and one of the stalls was selling medieval curl cake which looked as if it had been wrapped or "curled" round a thick poker type thing and cooked over a fire.

Maybe a hand mixed and kneaded dough could be pressed thin and rolled round a clean metal or wood utensil and place over open fire.

We usually have crackers in the cupboard (not so much preps as calorie counting) and use a vacuum jug when we have boiled the kettle. We have a gas cooker which should work when electric is off.

I have the material to make a thermal bag but have not got round to sewing it yet. If it works might sew another one for dd who lives down South or to take on journeys to keep food cold or hot.

[Deleted User]

We've a little solar charger for the phones that just sits on the windowsill and also in car chargers so we can keep in touch with the girls and family as long as the phone grid stays active. Got the kelly kettle years ago after seeing someone use one on the allotments and was hooked. I also have a FIRESPOUT stove which is a small woodburner and will run on any sticks or dried stuff you have around you along with the OzPig for the garden and the woodburner indoors, so I think my breakfast cuppa is still achieveable as long as I can still get the tea!!!

ELONA make the wonderbag, they are amazing and work really well and save you a fortune in cooking fuel, the dough wrapped round sticks is an old guiding/scouting method and looking up Damper Bread will give you a recipe. If you're going to experiment make sure to remove the bark from your stick before wrapping the dough round it to cook over the open flame, if you don't the bark comes away under your bread and you lose the whole lot into the fire!!!

Frugalsod

jk0 wrote: »

Morning folks,

Just making my morning toast, and feeling smug about the extra flour I have stored away, a little thought came to me:

If the electricity goes off, I won't be able to make any bread. Perhaps I should freeze a couple of loaves.

Don't forget that your freezer will also lose power and you might actually have a lot of food in their that you might want to cook fairly quickly. Also to protect the contents of a freezer as long as possible you do not open it at all during a power cut.