Preparedness for when

Hardup_Hester

I worked in an internal office with no windows, I had a tilly lamp on my desk, the switchboard did not work without electric, but the phone line did so I had to shout for whoever the call was for & they had to take the call at my desk. Then go home & sit in the cold and dark as my bedsit was all electric, brrr.

pineapple

mardatha wrote: »

Son and DIL were round yesterday, and were saying a food bank has opened in their small market town. I was shocked because it's quite an affluent area. And a really posh small development of biggish houses is full of repossessions.Changing times eh!

Signs of the times indeed. That said many years ago, I was a student in the old 'East Germany' when fresh fruit was like gold dust. One day I passed a shopper returning from the store who accidentally dropped a banana. I was gobsmacked when I saw someone on the other side of the road stop and take note then dart across to nab it.
I don't think we are there yet.
Yet.

VJsmum

At the beginning of the year there was a thread somewhere here about your hopes for 2013. Loads of people were saying it was their 40th year - I wondered if that had something to do with the power cuts!

I remember them well - I was 9 and i remember dad coming in at 5.55 with the candles ready for the power to go off at 6, if you caught a headline on the news you were lucky. it was such an adventure at 9, I am guessing mum and dad weren't so impressed. OH lived in Birmingham, near to the prison and their power never went off at all - they think they must have been on the same circuit as the prison. GQ are you sure that lady with the trolley full of sugar wasn't somewhere in the midlands as OH thinks his mother caused the crisis on her own :rotfl: At that time my mum would buy 3 bags of sugar a week :eek: - there were 6 of us, but even so.. i buy about 2 a month (unless making jam) and that is mostly because of the baking I do. Mind DS can get through it on his weetabix if I'm not there to stop him. Mum also used to buy 4 packets of biscuits a week, I buy one - at most and if I buy plain ones then not even that many. The choccy ones go quicker.

I do think we will see the lights go out again - or certainly restrictions put in place. It has to happen doesn't it? I think at the moment people don't believe that the resources will run out and many don't hold with the global warming thing either. THerefore they don't modify their habits - I think the only thing that will do that is putting the price up which means the very poorest will suffer yet again.

craigywv

i was born in 70s but dont rem the shortages etc... but am ready for them now. b&m selling a cracking 2 ring gas cooker with grill for 20 quid in fact all their camping stuff is well priced , solar lights, kettles etc. i rummaged through the food section yesterday without son ..............DEEP JOY!!! i leisurely poked and plundered without heARING boring grunts from shoulder height! he was in grans whoop whoop!!!!!!!!!!!!! god that sounds awful.......................i love him really but if it dont involve lego or sweets its not worth being there.his view not mine. Anyway they carry a lot of spices, asian food etc igot boxof prawn crackers for 69p so i shall be having a go at these later in deep fatfryer. also got evaporated milk down to 10 p dont know why as date is 2015got 5 tins. treated myself to set of 3 terracotta spice pots in a tray for 2.99 for windowsill they have basil,parsley and chives...........also got oh a venus flytrap 99p he always wanted 1...........easy to amuse the innocent!!!!!!!!! and tomatoe grow bags which shall end up bloody bushes in my greenhouse come the end of summer!! didnt spend too much but enjoyed the plunder. lunch all prepped for today did pot roastlastnight just to slice loads veg,stuffing and yorkies and gravy. rhubarb tart for afters. itsmothers day so justpottering in garden today as went with mum yesterday for lunch and gave her chocs and the mostlovely tulips,i have a massive box of milk tray and a home made card sitting here on the table lol so have a lovely day all, i shall be popping on later so happy prepping folks xxx

thriftwizard

I think at the moment people don't believe that the resources will run out and many don't hold with the global warming thing either.

At the moment there are too many voices saying that biofuels/nuclear/shale oil/coal will let us keep the lights on and the cars rolling. Most people are only peripherally aware that there's a problem, if they think about it at all. When I was attempting to boost awareness in our little town, in the end I gave up trying to convince people that supplies were finite and instead pointed out that most of our gas, for example, comes from Eastern Europe and thus from people who have no particular interest in our wellbeing if we can't pay what they're asking for it. They found that easier to get their heads around. As for climate change, well, they're just not having it - any gardener can tell you that it's not getting warmer round here!

I do see elements of "bread & circuses" - i.e. as long as Downton Abbey's on TV, who cares if we might have the odd power cut sometime in the future? And also elements of "I don't want to be the first one to admit we're broke..." A food bank has recently opened up here too; we're just 5 miles from one of the most expensive areas of real estate on the planet and a 3-bed terraced house in our town costs double the national average house price. I honestly think they thought it could never happen here, and most of them still think it, yet I know others who are feeding their kids at night but going hungry themselves, and have the sort of credit card debts that would singe your eyebrows off & never let you sleep unmedicated again..

But it'll all be alright as long as no-one lets the side down by saying, maybe it isn't all right for all of us...

mardatha

. You wonder why god bothered to give some of them a brain! Folk are their own worst enemies eh!

craigywv

great posr t wizard true to form!!!

pineapple

I've been doing tons of research on pressure cookers - the time saving is irrelevant to me - it's the fuel saving I'm interested in. Plus reliability and durability. So far the favourite is a stainless steel Kuhn Rikon.
But at my age one has to be realistic I can't afford gadgetry for gadgetry's sake. So I'm trying to work out just how many meals I would need to cook before recouping the investment in potential fuel savings.
So far it seems that the cooker (and myself) would have to last at least 5 years before breaking even :rotfl:
Hmmm...

[Deleted User]

I too see 'Bread and Circuses'in many things that are around these days, and an element of 'Eat Drink and be Merry for tomorrow we Die'. I think that there are many tools to be had these days that will make life more bearable if and when we do get to the chalk face and the problems of how we all live can no longer be denied because the consequences of doing so will have caught up with us. We now have access to affordable solar lighting, wind up radios, affordable stoves that can be run on available fuel , I'm thinking kelly kettles etc here, solar chargers to use with many things and keep our mobile phones etc charged as long as the networks are in use, we will be able to communicate! Technology is both the cause and the solution to many problems but our lives will be more tolerable because of technological advances. We have modern fabrics that are easier to look after than natural fibres, we have insulation and double glazing in our homes to make life more comfortable whilst using less fuel to keep us warm. We shall be better placed than we were in the 70s and enough of us have the sense to stock up on food and hardware supplies, and aquire useful and essential skills to be able to make life at least more tolerable and best comfortable. The old saying that 'you can lead a horse to water, but, you cannot make it drink!' stands well for most of the populations attitude towards the problems we are heading for in life, thank heavens for us few believers, who hopefully will not only make our own lives better, but be able to teach others how to make thiers better as well! We'll be useful to everyone, never doubt it!!! Cheers Lyn xxx.

katieclampet

I so agree, Thriftwizard amd MRSLW. I am not sure whether people just arent interested or just dont want to know. I know where I work there are a lot of people in debt, but apart from complaining, dont want to do anything about it. One (very nice) lady has just upped her hours to full time and still puts down for loads of over time. She is constantly complaining of being tired and being skint. I used to feel a bit sorry for her.

However a couple of days ago she was telling everyone about a designer handbag she had won on ebay, for over a hundred quid! Yet I truly think it would never occur to her to work less and spend less, never mind think about the future and how to make things more secure for her home and her family.

I have been buying a few things, solar/windup radio, torch, mobile phone windup charger, extra thermals and have sorted out my store cupboard (bought a bottle of brandy yesterday) rather than putting the money in the bank. With interest rates so low I am looking on it as an investment.

I think prepping is a bit like being a moneysaver, you either get it, or you dont, and until you get that "light bulb moment" :jno one can convince you that it makes sense.

katie

ps GQ got a copy of David Brin - Earth for 50p in charity shop yesterday, nice big fat book, looks like a good read.