Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

Last night we had 3 power cuts, one for over half an hour and a couple of shorter ones afterwards of a couple of minutes each, we checked and it seemed to be the whole neighbourhood. How lovely it was to be able to go direct to where the matches are kept and light the candles that live beside the box and then to turn on the solar/wind up radio and tune in to the local station to see if there was any information as to why they had happened. We sat by the woodstove and stayed warm and listened to the radio by candlelight feeling totally in control of the situation and I have the small camping stove upstairs and could have made us hot drinks if we'd wanted them. There is a lot to be said for preparedness, there is a lot to be said for knowing in the dark where things are and being able to locate them by touch isn't there?

GreyQueen

Nicely played, Lyn, that's what it's all about, segueing smoothly into pre-planned alternative strategies.

I was reading about this incident:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2907410/Six-commuters-hospitalized-following-fire-downtown-Washington-D-C-subway-station.html

Note, people on an underground train in the darkness with a fire in the tunnel. That would be high on my personal oh-sh*t scale. Noted that some of them self-evacuated down the lines. And some people freaked out, something I can empathise with.

My thoughts are; a torch should always be with you, even if only a mini keyring torch. Shoes which you can walk in sensibly should be on your feet for travel, even if you feel it necessary to wear something flimsier/ higher when you reach your destination.

I'm wondering if a cloth dust mask, the kind comprising of several soft layers on a thin metal frame sold for DIY use, would have assisted these folks to prevent/ limit soot inhalation. Anyone know for sure one way or the other? I'm guessing keeping that muck out of your lungs as much as possible would be beneficial.

DawnW

GreyQueen wrote: »

:huh: Ironing, ironing.............hmm, I think I may have heard of that. I'm sure VJsMum mentioned it at some point, not sure if it's something I'm licensed to do, isn't hot metal supposed to be involved? I'm sure you need extra edjumication before you're allowed to i-r-o-n. Or possibly a City & Guilds qualification.

I find it shocking the amount of info on MSE OS about cleaning ovens, too. Doesn't everyone put an old baking sheet in there to catch the fallout and just wash that? Ooops, another epic fail at houswifery, then.

Same here

GreyQueen

I'm so glad you stepped up to say that. I'm not a mucky mare but I've never found ovens get that grubby, personally. You can clean them about once a decade, if the mood strikes. I clean under and behind my cooker about twice a year, but the inside of the oven - nope.

Have just taken Wash 1 out and racked it. Thought I was going to have to wait a day or so for that lot to dry as only have one clothes airer but then I had a LBM. I do have an A-frame ladder style clothes airer (over-bath kinda thingy) which normally serves as a clothes rack in the bedroom, which would be suitable for racking small stuff like socks and undies (smallness being relative in the case of the latter ) which could go in the hall, which means that a second load is now on and can go on the proper airer once finished.

This load is the stuff which was in the old washer when it karked it; I do hope my mattress and pillow protector aren't accursed. Poor new washer is on it's third go round today, it must be rueing the fate which sent it into Shoebox Towers.

maryb

I use an old baking tray as well but because I am still in the big-family-roast-on-Sundays period of my life, I find the door and the shelves need cleaning quite often. But I stick the shelves in the dishwasher. They come out looking just as bad as they went in but the burnt on fat comes off with a light rub with a sponge scourer

nuatha

GreyQueen wrote: »

I find it shocking the amount of info on MSE OS about cleaning ovens, too. Doesn't everyone put an old baking sheet in there to catch the fallout and just wash that? Ooops, another epic fail at houswifery, then.

Nope.
I do put anything that's likely to produce fallout onto a baking tray. But I don't worry about the general state of the oven - having just checked its doing ok and I may check it again in the summer.

Nuatha, the wildfire in question had been running for two weeks after some absolute idiot set fire to a tree in his g/f's backyard after a tiff. It ran for over two weeks in Sept 2014 (The King Fire) and there was a manadatoy evac order for over 20,000 homes. The area to be evac'd kept being widened, so some people had a realistic probability of being affected and time to do stuff to ease the uproar.

Of course, if the fire is lapping at the property, you run. If you have a day's notice, or a few hours' notice, and you will have to go somewhere and not know if you when you will return, or if everything in your home will be destroyed, having a few clothes will be a great assistance.

I could evac in seconds with my bug out bag which includes a change of clothes, something to sleep in, essential docs inc a USB stick with other docs on, sealed in a tin. But if I was given say 15 or 30 mins, I would approach it more like packing for a holiday and have more items, and thus more options.

Given the notice (which I'd assumed when I answered) I would have other priorities than my wardrode - I would pack several changes of clothes, but the assumption would have to be that anything left behind is likely to be destroyed, clothes are something that I'm not particularly attached to, so the vehicle would be filled with other items first. the felines and their supplies, camping kit and food stocks would have a greater claim to time and space. Laptops and archive discs would be the first items packed. If I had time and space I might save some of the artwork, and the blades.
Possibly this is an admission that I have too many clothes

moneyistooshorttomention

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

This is disgusting!

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/13/gm-crops-to-be-fast-tracked-in-uk-following-eu-vote

:mad::mad::mad:

Off to do a reals seeds order before they stop us buying heritage seeds

Indeed it is.

It has been a-coming for some time now and the position, as I understand it, is that Wales and Scotland have already rejected growing G.M. food there and some English local authorities.

So, basically, pressure needs to be put on English Councils to follow Welsh Assembly/Scottish lead and refuse to have it growing.

[Deleted User]

I think we may be about to have a power cut.

The lights just dipped out a few times.

ETA: There are several burglar alarms going off nearby.

1Tonsil

It could be thundersnow with lightning Bob...there are quite a few reports of it on facebook..stay safe everyone.

smileyt_2

Greyqueen can I recommend a Buff in case of smoke? A Buff is a tube of stretchy material that can be worn as a headscarf, beanie, balaclava, scarf or hair tie and is easily stuffed into a pocket or bag. I wear one most of the time as I have a shaved head, which means I feel the chill in winter and have to protect my bonce from the sun in summer. They're great for providing an extra layer under a cycle helmet or a woolly hat, and I imagine they could double as a temporary dust mask in case of smoke or dust. I get mine from cycle shops, but cheaper ones (the real McCoy are a bit pricey) can be had from the men's section of TK Maximilian when they have them in stock. I have half-a-dozen and usually have at least one or two with me everywhere I go. Oh, and a friend recently bought one from A*di. Or B & M, I forget which.

I think I might have to give in and put some heating on as it's baltic here, even with my Buff on my bonce!