Preparedness for when

Nargleblast

boultdj wrote: »

It would depend on where I was if it came to me to have to defend myself, as a youngster going round town n' clubing, it was my flat shoe's that got used, I always use to take them off and walk barefoot 'cause my feet were red hot after all the dancing, but now it's more likely to be someone trying something when I'm putting stuff in the car, so it's going to be shopping, normaly got a couple of tins of something each week or my oils from the 2nd job,as well as towels which can be thrown at someone whilst I dive in the car and lock it, if they break in and come upstairs I'll just throw the cat at 'em seeing as she sleeps with me and she hates being diturbed :eek:

I can see the headlines now....boultdj charged with being in possession of an offensive cat......(sorry, Puss!)

RAS

We once had a group of lads who hung around next door, restricting access to our front door and garden.

I came back from the plot, one bright spark waited til I passed, then grabbed me and pinned my arms to my side. My lower arms were still free. He looked a bit dazed when I clocked him with the spade and the nice ringing sound made his mates laugh. The parting of the waves followed.

They left me alone after that.

[Deleted User]

Oh yes knackebrod is wondercrump, you can get the big round ones in Ikea and we buy a variety called Lecksands when we're in Germany too. They are dinner plate sized and in old Sweden they were made and hung on a wooden rod above the fireplace to use in the colder months and would keep there for months, popular myth says the longer they're kept the better they taste.

There is also a flat soft bread made with a special roller with not spikes on but with pyramid shaped 'bumps' on the rolling pin it's like a rectangular flatbread and is Tunbrod (thin bread) and usually served rolled up into a wrap but swiss roll style with smoked salmon, thinly sliced cheese or ham/reindeer meat thinly sliced too. It's delicious.

nuatha

Frugalsod wrote: »

"Preppers" bug out location raided by police in Italy.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/29/!!!!!-bosses-caught-police-raid-mountain-hideout

All those guns and ammo and barely any food.

Swear filter got the link.
I wouldn't describe ma fia* "dons" as preppers. They were supposedly on the run from both police and rival clans but were still ruling there own clan. I suspect food wasn't an issue.

For some reason Ma fia as one word trips the swear filter, if you replace the !!!!! in Frugalsod's link with the word, you should get the article.

RAS

Given how long they have been in hiding, I am sure they could have developed some careful "permaculture" and "weed" gardens to support themselves. Even if some of the weeds were cultivars; I have seen tomato and parsley plants growing out of pavement edges here so sure they would grow quite happily in more tender climes.

Seems that the reduction in local support made them more vulnerable?

Frugalsod

nuatha wrote: »

Swear filter got the link.
I wouldn't describe ma fia* "dons" as preppers. They were supposedly on the run from both police and rival clans but were still ruling there own clan. I suspect food wasn't an issue.

Neither would I, hence I put preppers in quotes, but it did show how poorly prepared they were for a long stay. If you relied on people bringing in daily supplies then the risk of your "bug out" location being discovered increases immensely. With their power and influence nothing would have been a problem but it surprises me that if you are a head of a criminal gang your contacts might be under surveillance so more food stocks would lower the need to contact the gang and blow your cover.

It does exhibit potential problems for proper preppers bug out locations. You need to be able to stay inside for extended periods to avoid detection.

GreyQueen

Whee, cartwheels of crispbread, I wondered what was making the thread go wide.

No intentions of spikifying my rolling pin, as I occasionally use it for rolling pastry or dough (it's washed beforehand, I hasten to add).

nuatha, top tip about the clavicle. I should have thought of that myself. I have twice had my left one broken in childhood accidents. It's well-known as the commonest bone to break in the body, and would have a disabling effect on the use of that arm, especially if you can get the assailant on their dominant side. I suspect if push comes to shove, the blow will land where it lands and then it will be a case of see GQ run.

In terms of expecting Police assistance in a timely manner, I'd like to share something which happened here late last year. A violent domestic incident was happening in a nearby flat - between a couple with a baby - and despite several 999 calls, the Police only arrived after 20 minutes.

When querying this with the Police (we are in the city centre) SG was told that the Police are allowed up to an hour to respond to 'category A calls'.

Frankly, that scares me witless. If Category A is their most serious category, and they regard up to an hour as an acceptable response time when we are a 5 minute stroll away from the main cop-shop, I despair.

******

I've visited on Crete on several occasions and follow my usual habit of wandering around watching the minutiae of life, such as 'discussing' gardening with villagers at 7 am in the morning with my pidgeon Greek and mime.

Even 15 years ago, you'd see little old ladies alongside the verges harvesting horta and I've watched people collecting snails from the piles of rocks collected from the olive groves and piled up the corner. Boxy beehives are also very common sights.

I've also wandered around in the mountains above the Lassithi plateau where that article set, and there are real pockets of verdancy up there, among the bleakness.

One of the things I did last weekend on the allotment was to dig up a mega dandelion root. I now think that when I have another opportunity, I shall experiment with roasting and eating them, to see how it's done.

I suppose we all know that the roots of the bullrush were one of the staple carbohydrates of our stone age ancestors? Gonna get wet and muddy digging them up, but worth knowing about, in extremis.

elona

GQ

A cast iron skillet or frying pan has many uses and looks less
like a club. As you have such a small kitchen then some implements would have to be stored elsewhere.

Someone I worked with years ago was on her way home carrying a bag with quite a few tins of cat food when she was approached by someone. She instinctively swung the bag at him accidentally hitting a sensitive spot and then ran.

nuatha

Frugalsod wrote: »

Neither would I, hence I put preppers in quotes, but it did show how poorly prepared they were for a long stay. If you relied on people bringing in daily supplies then the risk of your "bug out" location being discovered increases immensely. With their power and influence nothing would have been a problem but it surprises me that if you are a head of a criminal gang your contacts might be under surveillance so more food stocks would lower the need to contact the gang and blow your cover.

Without that contact they wouldn't be able to stay in charge of their organisation, power vacuums get filled very quickly.
We only have the photographs that the police chose to share with the media and that the media decided to print. Though I'd agree food stocks would be of more benefit than guns and ammo in most situations.

GreyQueen wrote: »

nuatha, top tip about the clavicle. I should have thought of that myself. I have twice had my left one broken in childhood accidents. It's well-known as the commonest bone to break in the body, and would have a disabling effect on the use of that arm, especially if you can get the assailant on their dominant side. I suspect if push comes to shove, the blow will land where it lands and then it will be a case of see GQ run.

A rolling pin can also be used as a jabbing weapon. But the most effective target is one you can get quickly, the more time you spend debating where to hit your attacker, the more time you have to realise that you've been disarmed and that you're in deep doo-dah. (My teacher wasn't as polite as that, and those lessons hurt and are remembered)

In terms of expecting Police assistance in a timely manner, I'd like to share something which happened here late last year. A violent domestic incident was happening in a nearby flat - between a couple with a baby - and despite several 999 calls, the Police only arrived after 20 minutes.

When querying this with the Police (we are in the city centre) SG was told that the Police are allowed up to an hour to respond to 'category A calls'.

Frankly, that scares me witless. If Category A is their most serious category, and they regard up to an hour as an acceptable response time when we are a 5 minute stroll away from the main cop-shop, I despair.

A friend (shop-keeper in a rough area) dialled three nines to report shots fired.
The first police car arrived at 45 minutes (after the third lot of shots had been fired) it was another hour before the next police car arrived and an attempt to evacuate occurred.
Knowing a few police officers, they privately express concern that they don't have the resources to do their job anymore - and that's without major incidents.

elona wrote: »

GQ

A cast iron skillet or frying pan has many uses and looks less
like a club. As you have such a small kitchen then some implements would have to be stored elsewhere.

Someone I worked with years ago was on her way home carrying a bag with quite a few tins of cat food when she was approached by someone. She instinctively swung the bag at him accidentally hitting a sensitive spot and then ran.

I have a cast iron skillet, if I hit somebody with it I'd almost certainly be looking at a dead body and have damaged myself in the process - its seriously heavy.

Use whatever you have to hand, and using it instinctively is by far the best way.

jk0

GreyQueen wrote: »

One of the things I did last weekend on the allotment was to dig up a mega dandelion root. I now think that when I have another opportunity, I shall experiment with roasting and eating them, to see how it's done.

I did try this about thirty years ago. I was trying to make homemade Dandelion Coffee. (Anyone heard of it?) I loved it, but it was pricey, so I went digging in the garden and roasted the roots.

I don't know what the roots would taste like to eat, but I can tell you that the coffee I made was vile!