Preparedness for when

vanoonoo

fuddle wrote: »

Tens of thousands of ration books isn't anywhere near enough. I hope they were just adding to their stocks!

I don't recoil in horror over the fact the government have things like this already printed, ready etc. I applaud them.

absolutely - be prepared! we all need to be, government and local councils included! :T

valk_scot

If we're going to be on rationing again it's probably worth while honing up our cooking skills as part of the prepping, no? It will be important to take full advantage of anything seasonal that can be obtained cheaply or even free in the case of foraging. Also a few extra bags of sugar, bottles of vinegar and some jam jars would be useful, for preserving. Might be worth having a special box set aside for relevant equipment and stores. I can recommend a Readers Digest book, "Food from your Garden" as a great source of reference for this and I'm always seeing older copies of it in charity shops. It has chapters on all sorts of preserving techniques. Including wine making come to think of it!

ETA: I'm also thinking about all these fussy families that people here seem to struggle with, of the sort where everyone seems to demand different sorts of meals cooked for them. Rationing would soon sort that out, not to mention getting more of us down to a healthier weight!

GreyQueen

Let's hope that it will be like the 1940s Keep Calm and Carry On posters which are now collector's items; printed for distribution to the populace in the event the UK was invaded and occupied by Germany and mercifully never needed, and mostly pulped unseen.

Very little surprises me these days, which is why I think prepping (and being discreet about your preps) is so imortant. Stuff which is widely and cheaply available today may not always be so; what is now regarded as hopelessly quaint and old-fashioned may well be the appropriate tech.

I have an electric sewing machine but am giving serious thought about whether I can somehow squeeze a Singer handcranked onto the premises. It wouldn't be easy to find space to home one but as sewing is one of my primary OS skills, it may well be a worthwhile manoever........thinking on.

I've been reading a very interesting American essayist on peak oil and appropriate tech for over a year now and if anyone would like a link to his blog, pls PM me.

ETA Val, I have the more recent edition of that book (£3 from booter as immaculate hardcover) and it's now called Food from Your Garden and Allotment. Most excellent.

vanoonoo

valk_scot wrote: »

not to mention getting more of us down to a healthier weight!

bring on the rationing - I have muchos lard to spare

craigywv

i agree maybe it would wise a lot of people up regarding food wastage as it is.........i know a lady who just throws her leftovers out and i mean enough to do family meal again if frozen, yogurts etc if they a few days BEFORE bbd veg in abundance sheer waste i make sure i there when she does this lol, no i think maybe it would do us good short term if we had to rough it for a few weeks nothing drastic mind you ....i need my chocolate!!!

Gigervamp

I would really love a treadle sewing machine. I used to use one in my teens and I loved the rythmn that using the treadle created. I do have my mums old Jones hand cranked machine though, and if I only need to do straight stitching, I use that one instead of my electric one.

Caterina

Just an idea in my mind, don't know if possible, but will air it anyway. How about an OS Preppers weekend? In a cheap youth hostel, in the middle of the UK where easily reachable by all, to spend a couple of days getting to know each other, do skill-swapping etc? If any of you is interested please let me know and I can start the ball rolling. I have organised OS meet ups before and we have had much fun but this would be especially geared to SHTF issues.

smileyt_2

Caterina wrote: »

Just an idea in my mind, don't know if possible, but will air it anyway. How about an OS Preppers weekend? In a cheap youth hostel, in the middle of the UK where easily reachable by all, to spend a couple of days getting to know each other, do skill-swapping etc? If any of you is interested please let me know and I can start the ball rolling. I have organised OS meet ups before and we have had much fun but this would be especially geared to SHTF issues.

I think this is a great idea, but I wouldn't be able to attend because of my dogs - no-one to look after them and they're too old to go in kennels. The idea has legs, though .

valk_scot

Gigervamp wrote: »

I would really love a treadle sewing machine.

Look on your local Gumtree, or put an ad on Freecycle. It's best to look for a round bobbin machine like a Singer 15, 66 or 201 rather than the long bobbin ones, simply because round bobbins are more easily availible. Usual rate for a treadle machine in fair used condition round here is about £40/£50, though it's not impossible to to find them for a lot less or free.

I belive there's also a way you can charge up your mobile phone using a treadle sewing machine, in much the same way as you can get a wind-up charger. So doubly useful!

Caterina

Val how do you charge your mobile on a treading machine please? I have one, just need to put the leather strap on as it was serviced and never reassembled, but this would be my incentive to reassemble it! Thanks.