Preparedness for when

fuddle

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Right now - and I think it would be useful to see any links anyone has as to how to handle attempted intimidation and still carry on living a normal life. That applies whatever level the attempted intimidation is being carried on at.

One of the most useful phrases my father said to me at one point years back was to admit that there were situations in which he got frightened...but words to effect of "You cant be frightened-off though. Its human to be frightened..but if you are right you are right...and you keep going. We all get frightened at times (ie normal people in normal situations or the particular situations he was referring to).

I think there's no such thing as attempted intimidation. I think a person is afraid of artificial fear and alter their lives to cope with their own fear, or they don't and get on with things the way they wish. A person or group can attempt anything, how we respond is down to us and I am of the train of thought that thinks that the way we respond can have a bearing on the outcome.

I think the general consensus within psychology while I was studying it at degree level, is that intimidation only occurs with your own permission.

boultdj

elona wrote: »

A family member works for an energy company and has asked me to make sure I have candles etc as she saw how near we came to brownouts or blackouts last year.

DH moved a lot of my stuff including solar energy lamps but I am going to root around and try to find them. Fortunately (as a result of a lot of research) I have a gas hob that should still work if the electrics are off, a "magic cooker" that works like a slow cooker but uses no electric and spare wind up torches etc.

Thank you for the head's up, and another request for the magic cooker link, please.

elona

I have trouble doing links but the thermal insulated cooking pots that came up were around £60 and up :eek: which is why I thought of a wonderbag instead. There is a poster called memory girl who is on here and also has a blog who will send a pattern to make your own or Mooloo who has a sewing business in real life.

Not sure if a camping shop might have something similar. The cooking pots I saw were made in Japan.

thriftwizard

intimidation only occurs with your own permission

Thank you, Fuddle, that's an excellent quote & one I need to remember.

I have both a Wonderbag (which a charity shop was about to chuck out, not knowing what it was) and a steel version, both of which work very well, and a number of cooking options for power cuts, which include the living room stove, a little pot-belly BBQ stove - which can & does do rather more than BBQ, especially in tandem with cast iron cookware - a number of little suitcase burners (one of which will be installed in my mother's landing cupboard before long, even though her flats do have a generator in case of power cuts) and now my van too! And my hob also works without 'leccy if I light it by hand - but only if the gas is being pumped. I also have 4 fridges (one gas & one working mainly off a solar panel) & 2 freezers... That lot might seem like overkill, but we're back up to 7 living in the house full-time now...

Karmacat

Wonderbag - please, please, don't spend lots of dosh on one! Get a cardboard box, line it with old blankets, make sure your big casserole fits snugly inside, cover it with more blankets/towels etc. Job done.

I'm doing a posh version of that wooden box, with spare floor vinyl nailed to the sides, insulated with sound insulation foam and solid insulation I went skipdiving for (with permission). A roll of radiator insulation on top of that. Then the softer stuff like old towels etc making the casserole dish snug. Then the top made of more of the same.

Frugalsod

Karmacat wrote: »

Wonderbag - please, please, don't spend lots of dosh on one! Get a cardboard box, line it with old blankets, make sure your big casserole fits snugly inside, cover it with more blankets/towels etc. Job done.

I'm doing a posh version of that wooden box, with spare floor vinyl nailed to the sides, insulated with sound insulation foam and solid insulation I went skipdiving for (with permission). A roll of radiator insulation on top of that. Then the softer stuff like old towels etc making the casserole dish snug. Then the top made of more of the same.

You could also use heat resistant foam beads, which is what wonderbags use for insulation.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Booster-Refill-Polystyrene-Beads-Filling/dp/B00YURPPYA/

jk0

About a year ago, I mentioned to my Mum that she should not let her petrol go under half a tank. I don't let mine go under three quarters. I thought she'd listened, but she shocked me last week, when my aunt visited:

Talking about their cars, Mum mentioned she only had about half a gallon in hers.

'What did I say to you about not letting it go under half a tank, Mum?' I said.

'Oh, it's alright', said Mummy,'There's a little red light that goes on when it's nearly empty.'

!!!!!!. She lives miles from the nearest shop, whereas mine are across the road. I can guess what would happen if there were fuel strikes or something similar. She'd be on the phone asking me to use my fuel to deliver groceries to her.

How can I get Mum to wise up?

[Deleted User]

jk0 wrote: »

'Oh, it's alright', said Mummy,'There's a little red light that goes on when it's nearly empty.'
How can I get Mum to wise up?

Draw a line on the petrol gauge or stick a very this strip. Tell her again and then walk away. She will only run out once and never again. We all can learn the hard way, even grown up parents

jk0

kittie wrote: »

Draw a line on the petrol gauge or stick a very this strip. Tell her again and then walk away. She will only run out once and never again. We all can learn the hard way, even grown up parents

Thanks Kittie. Ha ha. Do you think so? Mum ran out a couple of times when we were out in her Daf when I was a child.

It's not even running out I'm concerned about, as she only potters around the local area. It's that if petrol is unavailable for a week, she has nothing to fall back on. She will expect others to help, when she could have avoided the situation by following a little simple advice.

Any time I get on my soap box about prepping, she humours me by pretending to listen, and then carries on as normal.

fuddle

I just wonder if it's the prepping soap box thing that is making her resist. I suppose no mother wants to take advice about how to go about things from their offspring really. How frustrating for you though. :cool: