Preparedness for when

The_Cheerleader

greenbee/ Mar - I've just been in Ireland for work. What makes you think it would be any better? They have plenty of issues of their own - and the number of homeless on the streets of Dublin is testimony to that. Yes, it's better than it was last time I was there, but believe me, from what clients and colleagues are telling me life is still tough. And I'm not sure they have that high an opinion of their own politicians...

I have to agree, we considered leaving for years but where is it any better abroad? We looked at France pre 2008 and Greece in latter years ( almost around the same time when the EU parachuted a pro austerity leader into power )
There is corruption and social injustice world wide.
I came to the conclusion the best I could do for me and mine was; to move out of the city, prep, keep a low profile,prep, be less dependent on gas/elec ( we have a small wood on our land, multi-fuel burner and solar panels- (looking at batteries to come off grid when financially able))keep ahead of any news that may cause any panic in the widespread populace,prep and not to forget where we came from. Hubby and I both grew up on rough housing estates in the 70's, we both remember going without, being freezing cold as children, with coats on the beds for blankets.
We are very fortunate, and recognise that fact, and try to be the good where we can, remembering to give to foodbanks whilst doing the weekly shop and to encourage our grown up children-who have n't been without, not to judge others, walking a mile in someone elses shoes and all that.

jk0

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

Now this sounds like a silly thought, so this just a randam think out loud type of question..BUT can a village/ area opt out and be responsible of its own running completely? I don't mean the local community council, I mean everything?? And not be governed money wise by the government main or welsh??

If there is a legal way of not paying tax
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/britains-black-economy-season
Is there a legal way of getting your community/ street etc away from government run etc

As I say this is just thinking out loud..

Reminds me of that old black & white film when part of London declared independence. It caused chaos though:

Water & electricity were shut off, buses were diverted, duties were imposed on food, and that was just in the fifties. I'd guess far more chaos would arise in 21st century.

greenbee

jk0 wrote: »

Reminds me of that old black & white film when part of London declared independence. It caused chaos though:

Water & electricity were shut off, buses were diverted, duties were imposed on food, and that was just in the fifties. I'd guess far more chaos would arise in 21st century.

You mean Passport to Pimlico?

jk0

greenbee wrote: »

You mean Passport to Pimlico?

That's the one!

Karmacat

I was a member of the Peace Tax Campaign, which campaigned for the legal right for pacifists to have the portion of their tax money that went to the armed forces diverted instead to extra amounts for foreign aid, the UN etc etc etc. Didn't work legal challenges all lost, and bailiffs and a few prison terms resulted.

[Deleted User]

Everywhere will have some problems, I don't think that Utopia exists anywhere on the planet and if it did humans would move in to it and it would be spoiled. Talk to the Irish posters and I'll bet they paint a picture with difficulties as big as those that confront us every day, they may be different problems to those that annoy us but they'll still be problems. The trouble with thinking of relocating is you tend to only see in your head the good parts and the positive parts of the place when you're looking and discontented with where you live now and it's not until you arrive there that you find out what the downside is and by then it's too late, you're stuck. Problems or not I'd rather stay in the UK where I know how the whole system works and how to deal with the problems I already have, life's not bad and being able to access easily the things I might need should I ever have a problem that's a big one is reassuring and there is no language barrier to get through either. Not perfect but having experience of living in another country and trying to navigate the health system which was so very different to here, I'd rather stay with the UK warts and all.

moneyistooshorttomention

The thought of local community rule sounds:eek: to me. My mind positively boggles at the likely resultant chaos. Government being at a higher level too means its more likely to be impartial/objective/abide by our laws and conventions etc etc. etc. Any "locally run" type of Government (not accountable to THE Government) might well result in "Not what you know, but who you know" way of running things and be very very divisive. Government at national level at least gives some chance of "cream rising to the top" and it being a meritocracy, rather than "Old Boys and Girls Network". As far as possible too - things need to be done in a standard uniform way.

Nope - I think we were fine exactly as we were (ie back in say the 1970s) and there definitely shouldn't be any further amendments to our system - a Government for the country in London and councils etc of various descriptions layering down beneath that. Any bigger - no thanks. Any smaller - no thanks.

*************

On another tack and back again to subject of heating. I've not yet read the "ins and outs" of it. Just heard a headline earlier today about people not going to be allowed gas cookers anymore in the future and thought "Sympathies to those people. Thank goodness I have an electric cooker".

Then I walked back in the door to hear a chat news programme going on on the radio and it was expanding on this and saying "No they don't mean gas cookers - they mean EVERYTHING gas - including the boilers for our central heating systems":eek:.

Next few comments were along lines of "There's 15 years to do it in - and gas cookers, for instance, will naturally waste themselves. You just won't be able to replace your gas cooker come the time - its not that you will find it doesn't work any longer". I think they were thinking along the same lines for gas boilers. Personally - my boiler is 2 years old and will hopefully give me many years of service yet.

But - I'm wondering what happens about the fact that should no-one create problems about me "using it up" until it needs replacing anyway - there is still the question of the fact that I have gas radiators.

Admits to not even knowing if my radiators I have here would work off electric instead. Also wondering who would pay the cost of the various amendments my house would need anyway to swop the heating to a different fuel (has nasty sinking feeling the Government might think that should be me and not them:eek:).

Anyone any the wiser about likely impact of that on yer average householder?

AnimalTribe

I can't get the quote to work - don't know why - I don't normally have problems.

Just wanted to say about being off grid and using batteries. They have to be replaced every 7 years or so (at the same time). This is expensive. They also need to be maintained - topped up with water - cheap from car shops, but you have to be prepared to maintain them.

Although the power comes via an inverter ie is changed from DC to AC and 'evened' out. We found we had a couple of electrical devices that were over-sensitive and didn't like non-mains power and had to be replaced. It was just a couple of small things like a CD player, alarm clocks (that's all I can remember) but you should be aware of it.

On the bright side we are generally immune from power cuts and the cost of electricity is totally in our hands. Although we did have a problem with a cable that had to be replaced and power was cut, and it was up to us to get it fixed rather than a utility supplier.

HTH

fuddle

I'm too young to know anything about having to change fuels due to 'smokeless fuel' areas but who paid for that change? There might lie the answer.

I'm not historical at all but here's a bit of musing from my brain. The stone/bronze/iron ages ended but we didn't run out of material for the next age to begin. I wonder are we in an oil age and are we likely to move on/change before oil runs out? Would we ever enter into a 'renewable' age I wonder?

moneyistooshorttomention

I think far more likely is the scenario GreyQueen mentioned recently - which I have read in a variety of places elsewhere.

That being that we will steadily start "cannibalising" existing products to a greater and greater extent. Sorta a "Cars in Cuba" type scenario. That being how the Cubans, I understand, have "made do" and "made do" again with the cars that they had prior to Current Government.

Personally - my greatest concern is our food. What with "fake foods"/ g.m. food/ I've come to realise the trend to growing vegetables in a soil-less way is a bad one.

It's possible to deal with everyday products being at WAY lower quality than normal (ie back in the 1970s for instance) by throwing enough money at what you buy (if you have it available that is:cool:). For instance - I know it used to be possible to buy a pair of Marks & Sp*ncer slippers for around £15 and they would last years. These days - one can still go in there and buy slippers for £15-£18 BUT they wont be "anything like". They will be cheapo cheapo quality and you're lucky if they last a few months and I suspect my usual quality of slippers would probably now be a case of hunting around online for dead basic sheepskin slippers and paying around £80 for them.

Basically = we have rationing by price now. To get normal quality of anything (be it food or goods) costs quite a lot and "normal" will gradually come to cost more and more and we will only be able to buy cheapo quality/fake & mucked-around with food/etc for the sort of price we have been used to paying.

Personally - I don't rate the chances of entering a "renewable age". I do hope I'm wrong....but I tend to think we will just see more and more "rationing by price" and you cant have Normal anything unless you have enough money to throw (quite a bit) of it at getting whatever-it-is (food, goods, housing).

A lot of peoples expectations have already been downgraded I tend to think. Already one can see people in a younger generation sometimes telling you that your "normal" isn't "normal" and that its "luxury". It isn't - it really isn't. It IS only "normal" - but the New Norm is for much lower quality than my generations "normal" it seems to me.