Preparedness for when

Cappella

Hard Up Hester - thank you. I asked the question about academies. Is yours a secondary school? The school I was told about was a primary, it seems that they've only just begun putting security measures in place. There have always been plans in place in infant and junior schools, and regular practises at evacuating quickly in case of fires, but nothing concrete about coping with other possible scenarios. I think this was because there tended to be more concern about 'upsetting the children' than about dealing with potential threats. Which on many levels I can understand, but in general things have changed over the past years, and I am curious about whether or not general perceptions have shifted as well.

MrsLW - how lovely, very well done on your wins

lillibet_dripping

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Not that one wishes to boast but one won the pub quiz this evening and then one won the snowball too and even going one better, one won the tiebreaker for the snowball so one won it all!!! One is feeling smug!!!!! One can now afford the Parsons Nose on the Xmas turkey this year, one is happy!!!

Mrs. L - this reminds me of something some (t)wit put in my autograph book waaaaay back in the 70's:

1 1 was a racehorse,
2 2 was 1 2,
1 1 1 1 race,
22 1 1 2

Keep saying it, it'll come :rotfl:

VJsmum

GreyQueen wrote: »

In my own building (a truimph of sixties architecture) I reckon the stairwells, which are concrete, would be the places least likely to catch a bullet.

Should be the case in all public buildings as stairwells need to be fireproof, both due to escape requirements and spread of fire

maryb

Article in the papers today about comments by Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6 basically confirming what I suggested yesterday that European security services would not stop working with us and they don't use Europol anyway because it's a leaky colander

(Aren't colanders supposed to be leaky?)

[Deleted User]

Hard_Up_Hester wrote: »

Mostly bulletproof, that reminds me of the Hitchhiker Guide, Earth was mostly harmless.
Hester

The entry originally just said "harmless", but Ford Prefect amended it, so it read "mostly harmless".

I know it's still not much of an entry, but it is a 100% increase, which isn' t bad

Siebrie

Hard_Up_Hester wrote: »

Mostly bulletproof, that reminds me of the Hitchhiker Guide, Earth was mostly harmless.
Was it on the thread someone was querying if academies had the same security as other schools, I can't answer for all, but I work for an academy and we have had a lockdown system and other things in place for many years now.
HTH
Hester

I'm next to the Brussels' airport, my dds go to kindergarten and primary school in the village. Kindergarten has the large roll-down gate at the main entrance closed during the day, but the back-entry to the playground still is a 1.5m high normal swing gate. It's closed, but not unjumpable. The primary school has two policemen with rifles at the gate, where the kids have to pass; I don't know what frightens the kids more: the rumours of some attack which the parents and staff are trying to keep calm about, or two fully equipped police officers at the school gate.... And to top it all off: five minutes before the school starts, the police officers get a call on their walkie talkie, jump into their van, and leave the school unprotected :T

Frugalsod

GreyQueen wrote: »

Some takeaways from various pictures and various consequences of the Brussels assaults;

1. If you have slip-on shoes, like loafers, courts or ballet flats, you are likely to lose one or both of them. You will then be barefoot or in your stocking feet amid debris. I have given first aid to a lady we got out of a burning car (mercifully unhurt) and getting her out parted her from her slip-on footwear, too. And her handbag.

2. If you are shod flimsily, which would mean most womens' footwear esp business-appropriate shoes/ summer sandals, and you end up either in an incident, or stranded miles from home due to a metro shutdown/ buses being taken away/ road closures forcing long walking detours, you will be lamed by the time you get home. Perhaps wear something sturdy and suitable for running if necessary, like trainers for the journey and keep the dressy shoes in the bag or at work? This would also apply to air journeys as any crash will see you with debris and likely burning fuel to pick your way through.

3. Don't wander around in a daze listening to your headphones or playing with your i(diot) phone wherever you are. Traffic alone is a menace if you're not looking where you're going.

One thing that airports advise is loose shoes so that you can get through airport security more easily, as you do not have hundreds stopping to tie up their shoes once they have been scanned.

Also if you are carrying extra shoes then that might raise warning flags at security desks. It is hard to know what is best.

The real risks of an incident at an airport are very low, and so we really should not be manipulated into being fearful. Being vigilant is one thing but over reacting is one way to make the terrorists victory complete. Look at how many people make a safe transit through airports every year and compare that to almost any other form of transport. Yet we still drive to work when the risks are far higher.

[Deleted User]

Packing inside things is enlightening. I'm starting to think of what to pack for my holiday next week and decided to take a small container of sheets of clothes washing detergent (camping section at Wilko's) which I had to locate on the doomsday/bug out shelf. Could I find it? no I couldn't! then I remembered I'd packed small things inside the sets of rectangular mess tins and looked and I'm amazed at how much I've managed to stash inside the tins, mine holds

2 x air activated hand warmers
1 x spork
1 teaspoon
1 small bottle of hand gel
1 x tea diffuser to hang over a mug rim
1 x mechanical tin opener
1 new packet of assorted sewing needles
1 pack of assorted ready cut sewing threads in many colours
1 needle threader
1 small pair of scissors
1 telescoping folding drinking cup in its own container
1 x small swiss penknife
1 carribina with a key ring attached
1 pack of detergent sheets in a plastic box
1 foil space blanket

He Who Knows is a variant on the same but includes a bottle opener(metal one)
1 gadget for piercing tins
1 very sturdy heavy duty large plastic bag.

I also have up there a lidded jam jar with matches, a lighter, some cotton wall balls, a small pot of Vaseline, a scraper type fire starter, some charcloth, and a small bag of dry seeds to catch the spark.

Good things in small packages? I think so.

Frugalsod

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

The entry originally just said "harmless", but Ford Prefect amended it, so it read " mostly harmless".

I know it's still not much of an entry, but it is a 100% increase, which isn' t bad

It is also 100% more accurate as well.

ivyleaf

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Not that one wishes to boast but one won the pub quiz this evening and then one won the snowball too and even going one better, one won the tiebreaker for the snowball so one won it all!!! One is feeling smug!!!!! One can now afford the Parsons Nose on the Xmas turkey this year, one is happy!!!

Great stuff Lyn, well done!!