Preparedness for when

sb44

Well, I hope the weather predictions in the papers aren't true or it will be a case of SHTF ie this winter is going to be similar to 1963. The snow fell and stayed for 3 months!

What the hell will people do for money if you can't get into work for weeks. I don't think employers are obliged to pay employees if off for long periods due to bad weather.

It is ok stocking up on food but if you can't get to work for a long period you aren't going to get your bills paid.

thriftwizard

sb44, I don't think I'd worry too much just yet - they've been predicting a vicious winter annually for the last - what, 5 years? And down here in the deep South we've had what - two consecutive days? - of snow, and one or two buses have been cancelled.

Not meaning to make light of what people further north or in more exposed areas go through every year, but I can't help thinking that dramatic forecasts make for good headlines, where "more of same" has a certain yawn-factor.

Touch wood...

ivyleaf

mardatha wrote: »

All prescriptions are free up here. I do miss iodine too.
Nice cat thriftwizard- far too posh to be feral!
- oh and the stove's nice too lol

When i had my ingrown toenail done, the chiropodist used S@vlon antiseptic spray, which is providone iodine. I bought one for my own use. It was quite hard to track down though, only one local pharmacy stocked it!

Hope the RV got on okay at doctor's, Mar x

mardatha

Thanks pet, he has atrial fibrillation, waiting for them to decide what treatment.

Frugalsod

thriftwizard wrote: »

sb44, I don't think I'd worry too much just yet - they've been predicting a vicious winter annually for the last - what, 5 years? And down here in the deep South we've had what - two consecutive days? - of snow, and one or two buses have been cancelled.

Not meaning to make light of what people further north or in more exposed areas go through every year, but I can't help thinking that dramatic forecasts make for good headlines, where "more of same" has a certain yawn-factor.

Touch wood...

Yes down south we barely get affected but then even a few millimetres of snow will bring the region to a grinding halt. Though in 1967 the local area was under 6 feet of snow.

There are reasons why an extreme cold winter is more likely. The jet-stream that normally gives us mild winters is now more kinky and that can mean lots of cold arctic air lingering over the country. It is what causes the US polar vortex, to make their weather so extreme recently.

Though prepping will mean that people will be better prepared whatever happens.

Butterfly_Brain

I was only 4 in the winter of 62/63 but I remember it well, even in London there were huge icicles hanging from the buildings and the canals froze solid, the Thames froze as well and where we live now, we had 10 foot snow drifts :eek:
Even the sea froze:eek:

GreyQueen

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

I was only 4 in the winter of 62/63 but I remember it well, even in London there were huge icicles hanging from the buildings and the canals froze solid, the Thames froze as well and where we live now, we had 10 foot snow drifts :eek:
Even the sea froze:eek:

I've heard plenty about that winter from my parents, Dad can also recall the winter of '47 which was appalling.

I'm truly fearful of what would happen with a winter even half as bad as either of those. Not for myself, I'm cushty with stocks and a 5 min stroll from my workplace, but for all those people who are commuting, delivery driving (done that for a living) and just out and about. I feel a lot of people haven't any firsthand experience of prolonged cold weather and so many people don't seem to be able to select sensible and weather-appropriate clothing and footwear.

A pal with the ambulance trust tells me that day 3 of a freeze-up any winter is when the casualties start coming in. It's a pretty predictable thing as the old folks stay in for up to 3 days, then run out of milk and bread, venture out, slip and injure themselves, sometimes pretty badly.

What can be a moment of foolish embarrassment for us younger folks can be a life-changing injury for someone elderly or otherwise frail. Mind you, I saw a bloke of no more than 25 fall and end up with a head injury during my walking commute last winter. Peeps hastened to his aid, his head was streaming blood.

So, with preps, you could have that milk and that bread in the fridge, perhaps some cartons of UHT on the shelf in case you can't get out, and another loaf in the freezer, should you have a freezer. Those simple things could mean the difference between being fine if stir-crazy at home and being in the hospital with a broken hip.

When it's really icy, the carpark around the Towers turns into an ice rink. A few winters ago, we had two neighbours break limbs falling on it, and they were in their twenties and forties. I always tell SG if she wants anything fetched, just ring me before I leave for work, and I'll get it on my way back and bring it to her door.

Good time to lay hands on your warmest layers and the Yax-Tr*x or similar.

mardatha

Also you can keep milk in the freezer as well, as long as you give it a good shake when it's defrosted

thriftwizard

That makes us the same age, BB; we lived on the western edge of Dartmoor & were snowed in for weeks. At Easter there was still a giant snowball (rolled down the hill to the village by my brothers, then back up again) thawing gently in the herbaceous border. The Navy dropped emergency supplies for the whole village onto our lawn at one point; I can remember waving at the clattering helicopter and wondering how it stayed up there.

Frugalsod

I think many people who bake their own bread might actually be able to cope that little longer. I have months supplies of bread flour and yeast. So it will not impact me too much, as long as there is power. It will be the milk that will be my downfall, but I would probably opt to go without for as long as possible.