Preparedness for when

siegemode

sb44 wrote: »

How to keep food cold without using a fridge / electricity.

http://futurewewant.org/portfolio/fridge-without-using-electricity/

May be worth bookmarking.

Thanks
bookmarked Now I can keep warm with plant pot heaters, cook on a rocket stove or kelly kettle (when I can convince oh we need it as well as his rocket stove) and keep food in a pot fridge. Need to work on my hunter gatherer skills next because stores won't last forever.

kittie wrote: »

cold is coming in 8 days or so, also very cold and loads of snow in 16 days

Thanks for this, means I'll get to try out my new boots with their in built flip over spikes :D:D

mardatha

I have an online penpal, a guy in Maine, ex-Vietnam vet in his late 60s and def a wee bit odd, but he knows some very handy stuff. He lived in the woods in a log cabin for 2 years up near the Canadian border when he split with his wife and was homeless. Built the cabin himself, chopped wood and shot his food, for 2 years. Tells me stories about the wildlife, grizzlies are helluva dangerous he says, they can move quiet as a mouse if they want to
But the point of this post is, he thinks the UK is very bad for survivalists. too many people too little land etc. And when I say there's tons and tons of empty land up here around me, he says yes its empty because nothing will grow on it and nobody can live on it. Which I suppose is true
I read his emails then I go into the preppers sites and read all their garbage about running for the hills, defending their homes, buying guns and making weapons and I just want to whack them wi the laptop for living in cloud cuckoo land.
I think also its hard to us to really seriously get into this way of thinking and stay positive. If one minute you're cementing broken glass onto the tops of walls around your house then the next talking about community gardens and guerilla gardening - that doesn't make sense & is muddled thinking.
I sort of feel like the people at the very start of WW2 - when you read their diaries they were thinking all sorts of things and muddling around doing bits & pieces that were mainly useless.
If this is a really depressing post then ignore it.

craigywv

mardatha, not a boring post at all but a very realistic one! i personally live in center of a city the mountains i could run to are not very far away but would not take all who run to them,i personally would stay where i am holed up using whatever resources i have to hand then when/if that runs out i would orefer to go seaside as we live in central Belfast we on edge of the water i know its dock area but keep walking not too far and its beaches i would rather try my chances at living and foraging there rather than up mountain. My dad has a small boat with an engine in his garage which believe it or not no one knows about only brought out 3 or 4 times in past few years due to health reasons so could use that ,very easy to use my son aged 9 once its started steers it and can fly about quite easily(of course we in boat with him at the time) its not an expensive boat quite shabby but does the job ,so i think i would take my chances shore front. i wouldnt really be wanting to leave my own home as i self sufficent for a good year or so veg/fruit/ 10 foot wall around my back and side of house with barbed wire, (wire was up when i moved in )but trees and plants grow thru it so looks quite harmless till u up close. i have enough dry stores and water butts and outdoor cooking devices to last for a while. Hope it never comes to that, my survival equipment isnt called survival equipment in our house its called camping equipment !! but me and oh know the real reason we have it its incase the shtf i want to have a bit of security rambling on againnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn xxx

maryb

But when it really mattered in WWII people got their act together, didn't they? Prepping gets you through the critical stage and then we somehow have to find collective solutions, because I think your friend is right, there's not much point being a survivalist here in the UK.

And people who feel they have to put glass on their walls do so because there's a lot of minor crime that goes unpunished. I think that would stop and thieving simply would not be tolerated.

I also have a feeling that old fashioned "morality" would make a come back - parents and whole communities used to enforce good behaviour because with no safety net, lack of respectability/good character could have serious consequences and plunge a whole family into poverty. It's very recent that people feel they shouldn't be "judgemental" about frankly poor life choices.

BigMummaF

sb44 wrote: »

How to keep food cold without using a fridge / electricity.

http://futurewewant.org/portfolio/fridge-without-using-electricity/

May be worth bookmarking.

I knew I was almost there when I lined a plastic swing bin in the garden with lots of newspaper & put me root veggies in there over crimbly, when there was no room in the fridge! The Offspring used a storage box filled with water to chill their various drinks too, moaned about having to go outside to get it of course, but still a success

I'm sorry Craig but as I read about your littlun & the boat, I had visions of these pale, spindley, prepubescent legs sticking out over the stern of a little row boat & kicking like billy-oh while you water-ski behind Sorry. I'm not making fun of you, but that little daydream has perked me up for the rest of the day so Thank You

mardatha

Maryb that's very wise.

craigywv

BigMummaF wrote: »

I knew I was almost there when I lined a plastic swing bin in the garden with lots of newspaper & put me root veggies in there over crimbly, when there was no room in the fridge! The Offspring used a storage box filled with water to chill their various drinks too, moaned about having to go outside to get it of course, but still a success

I'm sorry Craig but as I read about your littlun & the boat, I had visions of these pale, spindley, prepubescent legs sticking out over the stern of a little row boat & kicking like billy-oh while you water-ski behind Sorry. I'm not making fun of you, but that little daydream has perked me up for the rest of the day so Thank You

hahahaahh glad i made you laugh especially if you seen this boat its the size of a bath I KID U NOT max 2 people in it i dont think it has the strenghth to pull a carton of milk let alone me(small squat square shape...u get the picture) anyway off to wax my water skiis ang get the boy ready for our aqua aerobics lolxxx

[Deleted User]

Afternoon all, MAR I think your pen pal has missed out one factor in his theory about the UK and that is the pure cussedness of those who do make preparation for the possibility of TSHTF. I think that enough folk are aware of the potential for disruption and hardship in any unforseen imaginable and would form a very steely backbone of some substance and be very useful to the whole population. I still feel that the really useful thing to have as a prepper is skills and a cool head, in the long run likely to prove more use than the biggest stash of things in the world. It's a valid point about there not being much land per head of population in the UK but, where there is land it is usually bring backable (if that is the right way of describing it!) into fertility and production. Look at what was achieved in WW2 in terms of feeding the nation, OK not all the land was successfully made use of, but enough to supply a basic diet for all the population, and could be done again. It would definately not be life as we are used to, but could be achieved! Cheers Lyn xxx.

maryb

I agree, Lyn, and I think it's not just preppers who will turn out to be more resourceful than you might suspect, but those with skills will find they are better equipped than most. Living in London, my skills are urban by which I mean sewing, knitting and cooking rather than raising food (beyond a few veggies). I'd love to learn though. I've never wrung a chicken's neck and gutted it but I can gut fish with no squeamishness so I reckon I could.

[Deleted User]

I think the skills might just be a survival factor, in more ways than one MARY, as a useful member of whatever society you found yourself in with relevant skills to enhance the survival chances and likelihood of doing so for others you would be a valuable commodity. Your skills are as useful as any others as the population would still need clothing and feeding and others would be able to despatch and gut livestock as they would be able to grow crops. I doubt the whole world would go to hell in a handcart if the worse happened. It would be very frightening and uncomfortable for everyone, but I feel what you know, as well as who you know would be valuable!!! Cheers Lyn xxx.