Preparedness for when

Popperwell

BigMummaF wrote: »

And while I'm on a mission..
Those idiots that get on the telly, expressing their disbelief because someone has dared to strike. If the strike upsets their plans, it's 'outrageous demands'; if they're the ones picketing they expect everyone to come out in sympathy. Why can't folk learn appreciate the fact that if we didn't have emergency services, teachers, hospital cleaners, dustmen, postal workers, supermarket shelf stackers, hauliers, etc etc etc NONE of us would have the ability to do the things we do.
In the words of the Great Aleksandr...seemples!

I can certainly go along with most of that. Many of these jobs that are transferred to the private sector iften means fewer people doing the work and less rights for them when things are obviously not as it should be.

It is why our rubbish collection service is poorer now. They don't collect more than fortnightly but now I think there are only three people doing the collection so it takes longer, they come later and the driver has to keep getting out of the cab to help yet they never complain and are always friendly and helpful.

I'd like to see the politicians and councillors having a go, the council tax pays for less in the way of services but costs the same or in many cases more. And the sad fact is that if fewer are working you just transfer the problem to another part of the system because that worker has to be paid JSA or probably other benefits and chances are what is actually saved initially is quite small.

Popperwell

mcjordi wrote: »

i have very little of value thank god so fingures crossed i dont get burgled however id know pretty much straight away who it was. the only thing of real value i have is my tv which is very well secured on the wall..

My newest things in my home are a TV and Computer monitor(purchased in case I cannot afford them in the future when income gets even tighter)but so far used. Perhaps approx £350 in value.

The other items are to help me try and cook decent meals cheaply and avoid spending money on energy but as they are being used now they are not new and they are a halogen oven, microwave combi, microwave and slow cooker. So altogether I reckon we're talking of approx £160.

And some cheap items from Aldi's special range so that is an iron, hot plate, kettles, steam cleaner, toaster, food processor, paper shredder(perhaps approx £100)

So approx £600 in total so they would not cost much to replace for me or the insurance. Everything else is old/second hand and they would not be interested in the washing machine/tumble drier or fridge/freezer. All my worldly goods. As Pineapple says perhaps they'd take pity on me and leave me something nice.

I cannot see any point buying lots of stuff as when I go(either into care or leave this planet)I have no one to leave anything to. In fact I was talking to someone who was the wife of someone I used to do voluntray work with and she she even agreed when I leave this planet as there are no relatives/family why even worry about arranging paying for my funeral?

I won't be there if you see what I mean(and if there is anything left in savings they can use that)so the state may as well pay the cost. I can't even be bothered to change my will. I don't mean that to sound as sad or miserable as it probably does.

Popperwell

BigMummaF wrote: »

:mad: It make me so angry when people go on about the lack of preparation for adverse weather conditions for public transport :mad:
If they can't/won't drive their cars because of the conditions, how on earth do they think a bus driver feels carrying 60+ passengers in a tin or a pilot landing on packed ice!
The moans about rail services are the worst. Signal boxs have been decommissioned & there's maybe a dozen 'central control' units to cover the entire UK network. Frozen signals & points out on the track are a danger, so what would you prefer..a delayed service while they try to sort it out, or carry on regardless keeping your eyes closed til you get to your destination, hopefully in one piece.
Leaves on the line are considered a joke, but the trains themselves are now considerably lighter in construction so just slide over the foliage etc--not helpful when approaching a bend or another train already in the station.

Yes, other countries have more snow than we see on crimbly cards but that is the crux; they have snow every winter so it's a good idea to invest in snow shuffling stuff. If our local authorities collectively spent £1bn on the latest equipment at the cost of closing fire stations, police forces etc etc, there would be uproar if those machines were left to rust because the closest we had to harsh winters for the next 12 years was a dusting of frost!

Your last point makes sense to me, you'll get the emergency services saying don't go out unless it is absolutely necessary but many politicians and employers take a different view and make it difficult to phone in and you won't be coming in and you are often made to feel as though you are telling lies. And as in many jobs you lose money for taking time off, why would you?

They often make you feel guilty when you are ill. Even if it is something that by coming in, it could make others ill.

I think(as I have some knowledge of the rail network(even though I can no longer afford to use it)and again we ask more of the service especially safety but they are always looking for ways to cut back on investing.

Which do they prefer? Not starting a journey and being safe or getting stranded somewhere for hours and possibly having to bring in the emergency services.

I can understand them possibly trying to run a bus service if it is a main route around town but I know how bad the roads get that connect some of the neighbouring towns around here.

Such decisions are not taken lightly.

We are very lucky that our electric and gas supplies are still supplied when ice and snow really affects the country and when you see the conditions the people who try to get it working again have to go out in and climb the pylons and try and helicopter into such adverse locations they do very well.

RAS

The other thing that people do not seem to understand is that when you have lots of snow, you can use things like chains on roads and make sure you have de-icers on runways.

When you only have a little flurry of snow, it often partially melts on contact and then freezes to form an underlying layer of ice. If it then thaws a little and freezes, you have a skating rink instead of a road or runway.

With lots of snow the grip would be much better.

Popperwell

Good point RAS,
And of course sometimes if conditions change or are variable chains and other things that help can damage the road surface causing more problems and I think I heard that if they find out who is responsible you can be charged for the cost of putting it right.

missrlr

BigMummaF wrote: »

:mad: It make me so angry when people go on about the lack of preparation for adverse weather conditions for public transport :mad:
If they can't/won't drive their cars because of the conditions, how on earth do they think a bus driver feels carrying 60+ passengers in a tin or a pilot landing on packed ice!
The moans about rail services are the worst. Signal boxs have been decommissioned & there's maybe a dozen 'central control' units to cover the entire UK network. Frozen signals & points out on the track are a danger, so what would you prefer..a delayed service while they try to sort it out, or carry on regardless keeping your eyes closed til you get to your destination, hopefully in one piece.
Leaves on the line are considered a joke, but the trains themselves are now considerably lighter in construction so just slide over the foliage etc--not helpful when approaching a bend or another train already in the station.

Yes, other countries have more snow than we see on crimbly cards but that is the crux; they have snow every winter so it's a good idea to invest in snow shuffling stuff. If our local authorities collectively spent £1bn on the latest equipment at the cost of closing fire stations, police forces etc etc, there would be uproar if those machines were left to rust because the closest we had to harsh winters for the next 12 years was a dusting of frost!

I absolutely take your point on the human aspects - both the pressure people feel to be out and about to get to work and those providing the emergency cover. In our house we both have jobs where if I don't get to work someone literally could die and DH is part of the emergency teams working to get life back on track after TSHTF - we know we can get places and do stuff but we are prepared and we take extra care and we THINK how we can get the best effect for the minimum risk.

I personally think we have to look to the lack of continued investment over the years whereby the councils have either begun to be run like private companies cutting back on the stuff that used to be spent on, people, equipment, updating or upgrading or more people or contracted to private companies which have not maintained and updated the equipment necessary to increase profits.

Yes in the 80s we had (I think from memory) more snow events and bigger ones, but the 90s less so, and less heavy falls. We didn't HAVE to go out as much because there was a more permissive societal aspect to this. However there were people who did used to carry on and get stuff done, our doctor and midwife would still be on call and getting places, sometimes on farm tractors which could get through but we all did it, making sure food and water gets to where it is needed. Simply it is not possible now - everything is pared to the bone, on demand and so on - there is no resilience in the systems WORLDWIDE to deal with this and we are all. It is also impractical to take a 5 year view with such equipment and there has to be continued investment in it, you have to assume there will be snow and it has to be dealt with.

Our economy is on demand - so is the world and the cost per day of non action would cripple the country. Unless this changes we have to be able to keep going.

We used to pay for a snow clearing service at work for the estate, the numpties think this means scrapping down to about an inch above the surface, usually melting the top remaining half inch in the process and creating the ice rink effect and then wondering why we all complain. We now buy calcium carbonate and a spreader and DIY - more effective! We have HUGE lorries turning on a massive gentle hill- you do NOT want one of those babies slipping I can assure you! :eek:

Confuzzled

RAS wrote: »

When you only have a little flurry of snow, it often partially melts on contact and then freezes to form an underlying layer of ice. If it then thaws a little and freezes, you have a skating rink instead of a road or runway.

With lots of snow the grip would be much better.

my neighbour used to shovel my small path for me without asking and for the very reason mentioned above, i politely asked him to stop. due to my knees and back if i walk any real distance (i'm ok inside the house but out and about i'm not) i need to use a cane

i am NOT in a position to be trying to catch myself slipping and sliding and if i fall i may not be able to get up without great difficulty. i found walking on the snow so much easier and less slippery then the veneer of ice that kept forming after he'd shoveled it

i felt awful asking him to stop as it was a kind gesture, he thought he was helping me out since he knew i had the walking stick, thankfully once i explained it he was very understanding but i think sometimes people don't consider that it's not the snow that is usually the problem it's the ice

mcjordi

pineapple wrote: »

Here's hoping a sympathetic burglar replaces my aging CRT! :rotfl:

LOL ill know where to come if my lcd goes walkies :rotfl::rotfl:

edit- my tv is pretty much my only luxury along with my xbox. i dont drink or smoke so infact its cheaper for me.. (i saved up for my tv) i did have an old crt thing that sort of nearly set fire to the house 2 years back

Popperwell

I'm watching less TV these days so mt radio is my luxury.
However, when they have a go at say someone on a low income having Sky unless you are perhaps taking prime subscriptions channels, in this day and age when it costs so much to travel, buy a ticket for an event, for a social drink, a meal out is it unfair to castigate someone paying approx £7 a week for 24/7 entertainment?

If you are meeting your essential payments and no one is being neglected. Why not? Then again as I have given up Sky. My box is now a Freesat box so I still have some extra channels but don't pay any fee(unless you count the TV licence)but I have disconnected my TV/Freesat box from the wall.

And if they come around with a detector van they'll find it is not switched on(I do have a licence at present until the end of April)

TBH I watch via the internet and as I watch programmes after they have aired for now I can watch without paying the licence fee. I suspect that will change eventually.

I bet many who pass my home if they know my situation assume I watching and paying for Sky and anecdotally would say its a disgrace that someone on State help has Sky but they would be wrong.

But if you are enjoying your xbox and TV mcjordi continue to do so. You have to have some enjoyment.

Good point Confuzzled I used to say I prefer having a blanket of snow rather than a clear path that gets wet and continually freezes over. And round here they keep taking flagstones away and use that black tarmac stuff which seems more dangerous to me when frozen.

And missrlr I agree with your excellent post too.

2tonsils

The value of your possessions is almost irrelevant if you are talking about burglary or intruders in your home. Most burglars will not have seen your house before they break in and will rip the house apart looking for money/valuables , whatever if they can't see things of immediate resale value.If they can't find anything of value then they may destroy or damage the house and personal property before they leave.

In many cases the damage is done by the feeling that they have intruded into your private space. You may not feel safe or secure again and if you are in the house when they break in you may feel in physical danger or actually be in physical danger.

There has been a big increase in crime in Greece over the last year or so. Break ins are increasing as are car thefts. People are having to think of security measures after years of never locking the doors or leaving the windows open all the time. Some people have even broken into empty holiday villas and lived there for a time, leaving the places trashed and dirty. So they are not just looking for valuables when they break in.