Preparedness for when

RAS

GreyQueen wrote: »

Picture this (a la Golden Girls) GQ and Pal wandering around on Harris in a pretty stiff gale, full waterproofs, all pink-cheeked and healthy, but decided to descend a bit to a sheltered cove to have our packed lunch.

Got under the wind, lovely little beach, rocks, sand, ruined house, the full picturesque bit. Down we plonk and then the bliddy midges arrive. I can still cringe at the feeling of them in my hairline, ears, eyes, nose......eww. Rang to the surf and rinsed my face in the seawater, trying to get them off.

We had to back onto the hill as they couldn't fly in the gale. Lovely scenery but those critters reminded me of that episode of the X Files. I hate them bliddy things.

Our first trip to Harris the wee things were not much of a problem because the wind was strong enough to keep them down. And the day it lessened we were in the west coast opposite Taransay. Tide in and lovely little coves in which to swim with a light breeze to keep the blighters off.

Glenbrittle however!!!!!!!! Getting from the car or tent to the toilet block was a nightmare and the toilet block was not fun.

I ended up finishing cooking supper off whilst ex sought refuge in the car as they loved him. Once we had eaten we drove away to get a little light relief. Escaped first thing in the morning.

Up north we camped in a spot that was above the beach and open to every light breeze. Every evening we aimed to have supper eaten before 8pm and then went for a walk; on the beach if is was breezy and on the headland if it was still. The updraught kept them down if you got onto the end.

GreyQueen

danih wrote: »

GQ - as I lurked I enjoyed your posts too - takes skills to make your area sound as entertaining as you do! Do you think it has got better or worse while you have lived there.

It goes in cycles, actually.

Shoebox Towers, under its real name, is very well-known among the Police clean across the region. It has always been a sin bin. We haven't had a crack house running for about ten years now, but they're the pits, worse than anything. Thing about the Towers is we might have several weeks of peace and quiet and then it blows up into something incredibly noisy, violent or even actively dangerous in seconds, day or night.

I have become expert in identifying various sounds such as breaking window glass vs breaking door glass, doors being broken in by the Polis vs doors being broken in by amateurs, the pang of an air gun vs the sound of a proper gun.................a lot of the time you get a bit blase about the general level of aggro and a bit yeah, whatever.

We do get very good responses from the Police because they know if we ring and say there's an 'incident' going on, it has to be pretty bad or we'd just shrug and get on with it. If you're awake in the night, you'll also note that they quietly drive in and out of our carpark during the night, and you sometimes spot undercover officers (SuperGran knows a fair few of the CID) but she gives no indication that she's seen them if they're down here in mufti.

In general terms, if there's someone on the lam from bail, or just generally wanted on an arrest warrant, the Polis come here and usually find them...........they also bring newbie officers down here to show them the ropes as they place is a rabbit warren and if you chase someone in here, you need to know all the rat runs or you'll lose them in no time.

All in all, it saves me paying for a TV license because there is real life action far more entertaining than any soap opera. It also keeps you in the conditon yellow state of alertness, as it isn't a place where you'd want to let your guard down. I'm totally used to it, but then again, I'm not one of life's Nervous Nellies.

Frugalsod

GreyQueen wrote: »

I have become expert in identifying various sounds such as breaking window glass vs breaking door glass, doors being broken in by the Polis vs doors being broken in by amateurs, the pang of an air gun vs the sound of a proper gun.................a lot of the time you get a bit blase about the general level of aggro and a bit yeah, whatever.

Machine Gun? That's new! Mmm No screams, clearly not a good shot. So cannot be the polis. Back to prepping.

GreyQueen

Frugalsod wrote: »

Machine Gun? That's new! Mmm No screams, clearly not a good shot. So cannot be the polis. Back to prepping.

We haven't had machine guns here, but I have seen about 2 dozen Police with them down at the shopping centre when they were looking for an armed robber. Given that they hadn't evacuted Joe Public from the shops, it was a bit worrying to think that they might be intending to open fire with the ruddy things. They're not exactly precicion targetting, are they?

I once saw armed Police shoot the tyres out of a speeding car in the city - that was pretty gobsmacking.

jk0

Anyone seen this on Zerohedge?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-08-01/espirito-santo-stock-suspended-after-40-crash-pending-information

2tonsils

Thank you for sharing the financial updates...had a nasty moment when we found our bank branch closed down and sealed off....they had moved further up the road with parking and not bothered to announce it......

Everyday something makes me glad to be on this site and sharing prepping ideas....whether it be financial news , storms or even zombies.....thanks to you all!

pineapple

2tonsils wrote: »

What do you do when two volunteer peace corps workers are gravely ill with Ebola in Africa? You transfer them thousands of miles to a densely populated area of America......this is not a hoax or conspiracy theory...but is taking place right now....... look at this..... are they people who decided this brain dead???? http://www.cbs46.com/story/26166691/emory-hospital-to-receive-ebola-patient-in-atlanta

Ebola isn't pandemic flu. The only threat these poor people pose to the general population is if people come in their droves to get up close and personal - which I doubt will be allowed.

2tonsils

I still don't think it is a good idea to transport them half way across the world...

[Deleted User]

I buy bars of carbolic soap (carbolic acid is an excellent antiseptic) from my local market, at 5 bars for £1.

Likewise, I buy plain unscented bleach (which is actually nothing but Sodium Hypochlorite) from the same stall, at 5 Litres for £2.

5 Litres of bleach will sterilise a heck of a lot of water.

[Deleted User]

As part of general prepping I try to keep in spare things like bath sponges, cotton wool buds, etc. and today picked up a couple of spare toothbrushes from the 99p shop too. It occured to me that part of dealing with the aftermath of a big disruptive event would be trying to maintain a modicum of normality and that something as everyday as being able to still clean your teeth, even if you had to use salt instead of toothpaste would be a very good thing. I'll build up supplies to half a dozen new brushes each as I know we'll use them in the future and at 99p they're not expensive. I'm not too worried about stocks of sponges as I'd make facecloths from an old towel if our sponges wore out.