Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

Following the discussion on plastic kettles, I've just replaced mine with a stainless steel one.

GreyQueen

fuddle wrote: »

My lady said thanks for the book recommendation GQ. She's told me to read The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists as apparently it's about class war. Just checked and it's on free kindle download. Will begin tonight.

Thanks, fuddle. Your lady sounds a diamond gal, I'd love to sit down with a cuppa and visit with her.

Re your sister, I encounter the type, those ladies who are part-time with a higher-earning hubs and work to buy the little luxuries, just funding the nice hols etc. No concern about how their income stacks up in relation to pounds and pence in relation to the grocery bill or the utilites, because that comes off someone else's paycheque. They're not bad people, but they can act as a drag on pay and conditions for the rest of us.:(

A lot of us aren't earning the money for the gravy, we're earning it for the bread and butter, the roof and the rent, and we haven't the luxury of ignoring the worsening pay and conditions. I know you work bliddy hard for your money, to bring in a chunk of much-needed income for your family, and I respect you for it.

The trouble with thatcherism is that it encouraged the working class to split off into sections and for some of the I'm-all-right-jacks-and-jills to have the belief that they are now middle class. Nothing wrong with being middle class, but you're a fool if you think temporary prosperity, a mortgaged house and a lot of stuff on credit make you somehow special.

It doesn't. It just makes you incredibly vulnerable. There's huge shifts in wealth going on across the developed world right now, I truly believe we are at a pivotal point in history. The super-rich are at stratospheric levels of income and are chewing up all in their path, including the real middle-classes and the wannabees.

They'll throw us all under the bus in the end, working class and middle class - IF we let them.

I've had to turn Radio 4's PM programme off a few minutes ago as I was about to explode with sheer rage at hearing another Toryboy up against Serwotka. I think the Tories are bricking it, frankly. I hate them, I have always hated them, I hate them so much I swear it's encoded in my DNA, they are absolutely the enemy of the vast majority of working people in this country, and they hate us.

Have barely seen management all day, they're scurrying around trying to make contingency plans based on losing X, Y or Z numbers of staff. Trouble is, they won't know until tomorrow how this will pan out, until they see the (lack of) numbers tomorrow. They're good people, no one dislikes them, and it's an unenviable time for them.

mardatha

Agree 200% GQ!

Alisonpennypincher

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Also, many of the people I know, don't have so much as a box of candles, let alone lanterns and alternate cooking facilities.

I did find it genuinely alarming that most people had nothing! No torch, no candles, no idea!

Some had young children who were petrified, not just of the total black out but the noises and explosions coming from the fire.

I like to think that it will have spurred some of them into getting organised but I won't hold my breath.

Scary times ahead, if we have rolling blackouts etc I honestly think some people will not cope. Also, whilst we had the power cut, some of the lower life forms of our society took it as an opportunity to burgle and take all the cash takings of a local charity organisation.

fuddle

It's worrying how so many of society lack common sense, blame others and expect others to sort out problems for them.

I tell you what scares me though. It's the 'I'm alright Jack' kind of attitude because, in general terms, I feel we don't love our neighbours like we used to and lack compassion for those in need around us. Could we be confident of pulling together like we used to in times of stress and hardship? No, I don't think so either.

[Deleted User]

fuddle wrote: »

I tell you what scares me though. It's the 'I'm alright Jack' kind of attitude because, in general terms, I feel we don't love our neighbours like we used to and lack compassion for those in need around us.

I think , in a real SHTF/EOTWAWKI situation, looking after No 1 would be the only sane option.

GreyQueen

Alisonpennypincher wrote: »

I did find it genuinely alarming that most people had nothing! No torch, no candles, no idea!

Some had young children who were petrified, not just of the total black out but the noises and explosions coming from the fire.

I like to think that it will have spurred some of them into getting organised but I won't hold my breath.

Scary times ahead, if we have rolling blackouts etc I honestly think some people will not cope. Also, whilst we had the power cut, some of the lower life forms of our society took it as an opportunity to burgle and take all the cash takings of a local charity organisation.

:mad: The thieving barstewards, may they rot in hell. That's low.

Yes, I read your post with alarm but not disbelief; is it possibly arson, then?

Very worrying about the complete lack of such basic preparedness as torches. We human beans have lousy night vision so we're always going to need to compensate for that. S**t tends to hit the fan at inconvenient times, including the night, so we always have to be aware that the lights might not be on. As a child of the sixties and seventies, I'm no stranger to powercuts.

Generally, I find many people are thrown into a flat-spin by even a temporary disruption to a utility such as water or electricity. They tend to act irrationally, by contacting my LA employer rather than the water company, when the supply goes off. Ditto powercuts.

You really need to know which set of ghostbusters to call ahead of time, and have the relevent numbers stored in hardcopy. Plus commonsense should be applied to all circumstances. If the water at the Towers goes off, my first reaction is to walk about 20 m around the corner where the water main is. It blows from time to time, and the water bubbles up throught the ground and goes like a river down the roadway. If it's not that main, it might be another about 50m away.

Your water company may well have a page on their website about interruptions to supply (planned or emergency) which you can check before calling them, so that should be on the bookmarks, and hoping water and electricity aren't down at the same time.

fuddle wrote: »

It's worrying how so many of society lack common sense, blame others and expect others to sort out problems for them.

I tell you what scares me though. It's the 'I'm alright Jack' kind of attitude because, in general terms, I feel we don't love our neighbours like we used to and lack compassion for those in need around us. Could we be confident of pulling together like we used to in times of stress and hardship? No, I don't think so either.

It's what they call social capital, isn't it? The knowledge that other people will be there for you, and you for them. I do find that we are moving towards a more atomised individualistic life in many places. All at home with our tellies minding our own business.

The good news is that hardship can suddenly grow bonds. I was heartened by interviews conducted in places in the Somerset Levels, where people had been cut-off for weeks and were spontaneously organising to look out for each other, whereas they had been only nodding acquaintances before. It's hard to believe that those people will ever go back to being virtual strangers afterwards.

Alisonpennypincher

GreyQueen wrote: »

The thieving barstewards, may they rot in hell. That's low.

Yup, Children's establishment too.

Yes, I read your post with alarm but not disbelief; is it possibly arson, then?

The fire brigade said electrical fault, but it was so well burnt, to the point of nothing being left, I'm not sure that they would be able to tell either way.

Very worrying about the complete lack of such basic preparedness as torches.

Truly alarming! You can pick up a basic torch in £land!

fuddle wrote: »

It's worrying how so many of society lack common sense, blame others and expect others to sort out problems for them.

This is so true, last night it was everyone's fault bar the firemen, and when I relayed the information given from the fire service about the possibility of long term (days) power outage, it was met with outrage and talks of suing the electric company!

GreyQueen

I do find some of the public quite amazing, and you must remember, I spend my working life talking to hundreds of people a month, about all sorts of things.

In my family, we have a jokey catchphrase (someone's got to be blamed), to self-mock the tendancy we all have to try to outsource responsibility for our own problems. Note, if no human can be blamed in your house, it's perfectly acceptable to blame the cat or the dog.*

* Goldfish and hamsters are always golden and innocent, natch.

elaine241

Hi all
Just popping in to say salting stones are the solid stone "shelves" that are in farmhouse dairies. Dairies were always in the northern x cold corner of the house, think walk in cold room! I have used the salting stones to produce home made bacon, you rub the salt/herbs into the skin and leave for a few days/week. I have used the dairy to keep milk etc cool when the fridge is full. Unfortunately we took the salting stones out when we turned the room into a kids cave. I still have them plus the cheesepress and butter churn. Given the chance I would have kept it but a walk in cold room off the front room isn't that great! I hope our next place will have a cellar or cold room I can reinstate them in.
Anyway real life has thrown me a right melon this week and I'm exhausted from stress and worry. I'm even thinking of skiving work and taking a "duvet" day! OK switching the phones off and pottering in the garden day!
Had a chiropractor visit today and she worked an extra 10 mins on me trying to relax muscles and relieve stress points! I felt faint afterwards with all the lactic acid that had been removed from my muscles!!
Anyway keep prepping! I've added to my candle stash, relevant kindle books and freezer is jammed to the top!! Elaine x