Preparedness for when

Runcorn_Bridge

Alloneword, if you haven't read it, may I recommend Flood, by Richard Doyle? It's a fiction which is very well researched, and deals with what will happen in London should the Thames Barrier be overtopped, in incredible detail, borough by borough. I have re-read it in the past few weeks and believe there will be much in there of interest and relevance to your planning.

It details how emergency services and telecoms went offline as the water penetrated exchanges and took down electrics. And how the Underground flooded. It's unputdownable.

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How weird is that! I've just finished the very same book, for the second time. It's brill. Great minds think alike eh.

I'm so glad I live up a hill.

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Sorry GQ, I tried to put your comment in a quote box but it didn't work. Don't know why.

maryb

I thought this was very interesting:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11931403/US-navy-returns-to-celestial-navigation-amid-fears-of-computer-hack.html

Interestingly, I believe the British Navy do still do drills involving navigating without GPS.

I remember reading a report during the first Gulf War that the US forces did not have navigational skills to cope without GPS (which was made much less accurate for the duration - people didn't notice because this was before TomTom). Course, there aren't many landmarks in the desert:rotfl:

Following a star has a long history in that part of the world!

Frugalsod

Well celestial navigation does have benefits over GPS, it cannot be hacked and in a desert where clouds are rare it can be very reliable. You can also use it here even just to get your basic bearings. I have used it to navigate cities that I did not know because I could tell which way was north.

moneyistooshorttomention

Is it possible to see the stars well enough in some places (ie courtesy of light pollution) to be able to use celestial navigation?

thriftwizard

Some people have an inbuilt compass! One of my brothers can always tell which way is North, even blindfolded & turned round a few times, much to our amusement as kids. And he was in the Navy... useful, eh? I'm fairly good at it, but far from infallible, and I've never been sure whether it's some kind of real magnetic sense or whether I'm subconsciously picking up clues from the position of the sun/shadows/mosses/which plants are growing where.

Here on the edge of two small cities run together into a bigger entity, the light pollution is pretty marked, but we can still pick out most of the constellations on a clear night. Nothing like the glittering jewels in the sky I remember from my rural childhood, though, or the fabulous skycapes we watch from the roof terrace in our favourite holiday destination in a less-developed part of Spain. It saddens me that many kids will never see the heavens in all their glory, unless the light go out, which presupposes some kind of nastiness.

[Deleted User]

I guess we're all following our own star even in these hectic and technological times so following real ones to some purpose makes sense too, golly even the Vikings did it didn't they?

Karmacat

For us, especially with light pollution and clouds, there's this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Find-north-with-your-watch/

There's other links about it as well. You *can* use a digital watch for it, but you have to use your imagination a bit more. I was practicing (sp?) a while back, but I'm rusty with it now - use it or lose it!

mardatha

I live in the pitch dark at night, the stars are still there and still huge - but I'm ashamed to say I haven't a clue what they're called.
Thriftwizard your brother must have pigeon genes

AnimalTribe

I've not made this apple cider vinegar yet, but it's on my list of things to try.

http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2014/10/diy-homemade-apple-cider-vinegar-using-peels-and-cores/

It can be used for cleaning and I'm sure there are UK based recipes but this is the first one I came across.

Apple peels and cores can be frozen until you have sufficient quantity to make it.

AnimalTribe

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

It's SOAPWORT (saponaria) and along with chickweed, and horse chestnut leaves it contains compounds called saponins which can be made into a cleansing agent and also a shampoo for humans. It apparently is irritant to some skins and not used on the face near the eyes. It is used for old tapestries as it's very gentle in action and doesn't fade the colours.

I tried using conkers to make soap, grated and boiled and moulded into shape. I used conkers because I read somewhere it was a soap that would keep. It was only partly successful. It was good and soapy, but wouldn't hold together (it was like using chopped hazelnuts). The colour wasn't very appealing either. The biggest problem was that some of the conkers contained larvae - yuk, yuk, yuk. I then tried the leaves which actually worked quite well - I wonder if dried leaves would still soap up - I will experiment one day.

I just found this which might be helpful:
http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/short-history-soap-pre-petroleum-age-how-make-your-own-biodegradable-plant-soaps