Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

thriftwizard wrote: »

It's very easy to leap to conclusions, particularly when we feel threatened, and demand that someone somewhere do something about it

And that's exactly how the Hegelian Dialectic works. P.R.S.

Frugalsod

thriftwizard wrote: »

I think what we all need to remember is that we only "know" what those who control the flow of information want us to know. I'm not making apologies for any gang of bloodthirsty thugs who want well-meaning innocents to believe they're trying to save the world from us & our "way of life" (which at the end of the day is coming perilously close to wrecking our own natural life-support systems) but I suspect we are only ever hearing half the story, if that. It's very easy to leap to conclusions, particularly when we feel threatened, and demand that someone somewhere do something about it, but we do need to remember that that something may later be used against us ourselves. Especially if we're getting in the way of our lords & masters making yet another fast buck...

That is part of the problem. People sticking only to the main news channels that are to some extent feeding us propaganda. It takes some effort to find other channels that have a different perspective. With this different perspective you discover a lot more. Then the problem becomes being able to filter out the junk and propaganda.

When people ask why is no one doing anything to stop this happening they completely miss the fact that to make your life safer you need to do things differently yourself. So can you avoid public transport or change your hours to a less dangerous time like later in the day or earlier when most terrorists are sleeping? Stop following the herd and do things differently shop at 3 am and get your groceries then. There are no incidents at that time of night. Personally I like shopping at that time because there are no crowds and can meander through the store taking my time.

[Deleted User]

It is windfall apple time at the moment and He Who Knows keeps bringing me home carrier bags full of bramleys which is very nice in a prepping way as I'm just stewing them and popping them into the freezer unsweetened. So far I've got 12 bags in and another 4 at least cooling on the hob. I've still got a good sized bag of the smaller apples left so I'll make a batch of apple chutney this afternoon. A good time of year to be prepping by taking advantage of natures bounty and not letting things like windfall apples go to waste.

happydays89

I was watching the shopping channel thane direct and they had a pressure cooker that was simple to use,cooked a lot of things in minutes.We have an electric oven so I thought it might save us some money.
They showed you how to do canning aswell.
There is a video to watch at https://www.thanedirect.co.uk I was wondering if anyone here had one,and if you thought it was worth £99.They have an offer on where you can try it for 30 days,then send it back if your not happy with itThanks

jk0

This is interesting:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/savings/2015/09/chancellor-faces-renewed-call-to-prevent-absurd-savings-protection-cut?_ga=1.164491960.603080509.1401908274

Reading Andrew Tyrie's second letter, I'm even more concerned:

Worst of all, the Directive requires the UK to reset the coverage level again every five years, and to alter it before that if there are unforeseen events such as currency fluctuations.

So the protection level can be altered if there are 'unforseen events'? What sort of protection is that?

[Deleted User]

Hi there HAPPYDAY, I have a Prestiege Hi Dome pressure cooker I've had it for some 20 years and it's worked perfectly all that time and the only things I've had to replace are the pressure vent and the rubber gasket, both these wear over time and they are easily and cheaply replaced. The same model as I have is £31.99 on A*azon, Argos have many pressure cookers all substantially less than £99. You can bottle fruit in a pressure cooker, but I think you need a proper Pressure Canner to do meat and veg are safer in a pressure canner too. Fruit is not so liable to develop the botulisum problem that can occur if veg and meat are not 100% done properly. Hope that helps.

happydays89

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Hi there HAPPYDAY, I have a Prestiege Hi Dome pressure cooker I've had it for some 20 years and it's worked perfectly all that time and the only things I've had to replace are the pressure vent and the rubber gasket, both these wear over time and they are easily and cheaply replaced. The same model as I have is £31.99 on A*azon, Argos have many pressure cookers all substantially less than £99. You can bottle fruit in a pressure cooker, but I think you need a proper Pressure Canner to do meat and veg are safer in a pressure canner too. Fruit is not so liable to develop the botulisum problem that can occur if veg and meat are not 100% done properly. Hope that helps.

Thanks I will check it out,I need to stop watching the shopping channels when I can't sleep,they seem to convince me I can't live without the latest gadget:eek:

Frugalsod

jk0 wrote: »

This is interesting:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/savings/2015/09/chancellor-faces-renewed-call-to-prevent-absurd-savings-protection-cut?_ga=1.164491960.603080509.1401908274

Reading Andrew Tyrie's second letter, I'm even more concerned:



So the protection level can be altered if there are 'unforseen events'? What sort of protection is that?

Well he is missing the point entirely. This will become a problem if we continue to allow mergers of financial firms. Since 95% of the population already have funds below £50 000 as pointed out in the article this really only effects the very rich and presumably the entire front bench of government, and even then you could have savings in more than one institution so even if 10 institutions collapse you still have more than £750 000 protected, rather than £850 000.

The real issue is not the level of coverage but that there are too few institutions on the high street, and that new bail in laws will make even this lower level meaningless should a big banks derivative position become a mess. Then since central banks are responsible for the stability of the financial system they need to charge more for deposit insurance so that banks that speculate more pay more to insure their depositors. Banks that do not speculate pay less. Though considering how they failed to spot the last crisis they will not spot the next one, and they have not even noticed the bubbles they are inflating everywhere.

ALIBOBSY

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

It is windfall apple time at the moment and He Who Knows keeps bringing me home carrier bags full of bramleys which is very nice in a prepping way as I'm just stewing them and popping them into the freezer unsweetened. So far I've got 12 bags in and another 4 at least cooling on the hob. I've still got a good sized bag of the smaller apples left so I'll make a batch of apple chutney this afternoon. A good time of year to be prepping by taking advantage of natures bounty and not letting things like windfall apples go to waste.

My apple tree is groaning at the mo but not quite ready. Had just one windfall and could see something had eaten into it so the chickens got a treat when I chucked it in for them. Had loads of green plums a couple of months ago until the kids decided to have a swing and shake of the tree :mad: got just 5 ripening up now lol.

Going to check the crab apple trees we usually forage from to see if they are ready next week for crab apple jelly.

Ali x

thriftwizard

Apples coming down all over here! Some have gone into long-term storage; some years ago I invested in some proper apple trays, which are stacked up in the garage where it's cool & dark. A few years back I was intrigued to find that the ones I hadn't got round to wrapping had kept at least as well, and quite probably better, than the ones I had. So this year I intend to run a slightly more scientific trial and keep records! 3 trays of unwrapped apples stacked so far - apples not touching.

Some more have gone into a big apple crumble - 8 at home this weekend - along with half a tub of blackberries foraged on a seaside stroll yesterday. Four bags of windfalls and slightly-damaged picked ones have gone to various neighbours who I know will use them & be glad of them. And last night I roasted a batch on the pot-bellied BBQ (burning wood rather than charcoal) as it was cooling after cooking HM burgers & some sausages, before it got down to roasted-marshmallow stage. Werry yummy, in the words of one of our previous young German guests!

Next project is to pick some for the dehydrator, apple crisps being a BIG favourite around here. And lots more foraging expeditions - weather permitting - which sadly it looks like it may not.