Preparedness for when

pachycephalosaurus

I look away for a week, it takes several hours to catch up with the posts, I run out of time to post a reply , I look away ... and repeat ... and repeat So before that all happens again , and this becomes irrelevant and outdated ( like everything else I've nearly but not quite posted before ) a few random and unrelated things ...

First, the 'I'm not a prepper but... ' feller - interesting vid, but was he really contemplating living for years in the woods without toothbrush or soap ? Eeew .

Second : a fascinating, easy ( but careful you don't cut yourself, the edges can be wicked sharp, after a nasty cut I used a gardening glove on my can holding hand ) and cheap craft project to equip yourself with free meths burners not unlike the famous Swedish brass ones, but lighter ( and did I mention free ? ) plus you get to drink some beer first (or fizzy pop if you are so inclined )

AArgh I can't post links ! so here it is to amend in non linky form : 3ws dot outdoorsmagic dot com /gear-features/make-your-own-meths-burner/6227 dot html.

I've made around a dozen of varying heights and hole spacings and run tests on the resulting stoves to see which works best.A couple of tablespoons of meths will easily bring 500ml of water to the boil ( meths is around £3 for 500ml in my local shops) so a tiny hotel type shampoo bottle tucked inside a burner and a bodged together support/windscreen of your choice can be packed inside a camping saucepan or cheap £ shop mess tin for a bargain short term outdoor emergency hot drink solution that you won't be unduly upset to have stolen from the car/abducted from the shed. There is an utterly fascinating collection of diy camping stove plans here zenstoves dot net too : look at the stove links then homemade/DIY for weeks worth of fascinating reading. Folk who covet portable woodburners without having the cash to buy one may wish to check out the innovative use of an 1K3A cutlery drainer and a couple of tent pegs ...

Third , a quote from a song by my favourite band , the Oysterband
"Words can be clever and words can be wise,
words can be twisted but that's no surprise.
And lies become truth with the mirrors that spin
Whoever you vote for the government gets in.
The government gets in, the government gets in.

The government gets in, the government gets in.
They promise the earth and they think it's no sin
The government gets in, the government gets in.
Whoever you vote for the government gets in."

Vote early, vote often

nuatha

pachycephalosaurus wrote: »

I look away for a week, it takes several hours to catch up with the posts, I run out of time to post a reply , I look away ... and repeat ... and repeat So before that all happens again , and this becomes irrelevant and outdated ( like everything else I've nearly but not quite posted before ) a few random and unrelated things ...

That happens to me in hours

First, the 'I'm not a prepper but... ' feller - interesting vid, but was he really contemplating living for years in the woods without toothbrush or soap ? Eeew .

Still got half of the video to watch - living without a toothbrush is easy. The twig toothbrush has a long history (over 5,500 years). I've used birch and oak twigs and mint stems. Ideally you want a soft wood that splits into fibres easily, antimicrobial properties are a real bonus.
If you've established a fixed base then making soap is not difficult (though it is potentially dangerous - those safety goggles will be needed), there are natural saponific plants - though I'd avoid using soapwort on skin, it is fine for washing clothes. Personal preferences would be birch leaves, bracken roots or horse chestnuts.

GreyQueen

Well, rocked up at the polling station just after opening time (it's half a mile in the opposite direction to work, inconviently, so involves a special excursion). Was hoping to avoid the usual gauntlet of political types outside the door but all the [STRIKE]usual suspects[/STRIKE] parties had their people out there. Labour bloke asked if he could ask me how I was going to vote as I walked in, got a curt No and obviously thought that amusing as I could hear him laughing as I walked away.

Voted, went back out, and gave him a polite-but-firm piece of my mind and told him that the texts-to-landline received yestereve were particularly annoying and to feed back to base that it's an imposition. FGS, just because the technology exists to make something possible, doesn't mean doing it is acceptable. Have taped a note onto the door not to bother me about politics today as, from past experience, canvassers will be rocking up any time until 8 pm ish asking if I've voted.

I normally vote in the late afternoon after work and there's only me and the polling clerks in there, but there was a small queue today. Dunno if that's typical of the turnout at this time of day or whether more people are going to be voting in this election - hope it's the latter.

We live in interesting times, lovely peep.

moneyistooshorttomention

Off to the Polls shortly, with a certain local newspaper being conspicuously held by me - in case a certain local candidate or his supporters are anywhere in sight.

Courtesy of a recent article in that paper insulting some of his electorate (including me)....must make sure I'm there voting against him then mustn't I?:rotfl:

I think this is the first election I've felt I had to do "voting against" instead of "voting for" and that would apply whichever part of Britain I was living in (if for slightly different reasons accordingly).

Karmacat

GreyQueen wrote: »

Personally, I'd prefer to express extreme displeasure with pointy agricultural implements, but that's just me being wicked......:rotfl:

Me too - just been chatting about that very thing

From pachycephalosaurus:
"The government gets in, the government gets in.
Whoever you vote for the government gets in."

:j:j:j

ETA - the jumping for joy is about the pithiness of the sentiment, not joy that the government always gets in!

mardatha

It's going to be a loooooong day and my fingers will be chewed to stumps by the time I go to bed. Quite shocked at some of the UK newspapers overt racism and nastyness - but I suppose olitics brings out the worst in people. Our village hall is the polling station and it's always nice to vote in a peaceful secluded tiny hall in a clearing next to a river and loud with birds singing and lambs baaaaing

daz378

im off to vote for labour soon.....they probably have 85% of the vote in my area.....alwys vote just to make sure.........my tupe letter had my annual salary 700 quid less than on my latest wage slip.... if i had signed it......to be fair a manager did say to verify the info is correct.....would have been fortuitous clerical error for the new management

take care

moneyistooshorttomention

I haven't noticed any racism/nastiness myself in the papers and that is one blessing.

Gone and "done the deed" myself and everyone I chatted to in this area seems to think there will be a load of horse-trading afterwards - as no-one seems to expect any party to have a clear majority.

ivyleaf

There was a queue at our polling station too, unheard-of :eek: It will definitely be interesting to see whether there's a higher-than-usual turnout.

[Deleted User]

Has anybody got bees in their gardens? I haven't seen any other than the odd bumblebee this year and that was earlier on in the warmer weather we had a couple of weeks ago. I'm very aware of NOT seeing bees at the moment, is it the same in other parts of the country?