Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

BLUEBAG I always carry my survival tin with many useful things in it in my rucksack wherever I go, working on the principle that an emergency won't necessarily conveniently happen when I am at home and if I wasn't at home the tin would be of no use to me if it was still at home on the shelf, it fits into a tobacco tin and isn't heavy but such reassurance, it is worth having it with me, Cheers Lyn xxx.

bluebag

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

BLUEBAG I always carry my survival tin with many useful things in it in my rucksack wherever I go, working on the principle that an emergency won't necessarily conveniently happen when I am at home and if I wasn't at home the tin would be of no use to me if it was still at home on the shelf, it fits into a tobacco tin and isn't heavy but such reassurance, it is worth having it with me, Cheers Lyn xxx.

Like me probably you have never had to use it, but just knowing it's there is a comfort. I'm not saying I would be international rescue or anything, but I could stay comfortableish till help came.

And .... I could deafen zombies wiv me whistle!

VJsmum

JayneC wrote: »

I think that's what happens now. All kids don't get the opportunity of a Grammar School education under comprehensive system, all kids get a 'Secondary Modern' education.

Interesting - I'm not sure. I went to one of the worst schools in the country - still is, 30 years later. More or less everyone where I came from went to this school - a few escaped but not many. It is one of the biggest schools in the country - in my day there were 2,000 of us there :eek: Some of my friends got A grade A levels and won apprenticeships to do degrees at top universities. I scraped through my A levels - second time round - and ended up at a Polytechnic. That Poly is now a University and I teach there. I have done some teaching for a Russell grop university also in the city and the standard of their masters students is not as good as ours, but they charge double.

I was lucky to have a mother who encouraged me to make the best of myself, even though it would be hard, financially, for all of us. My mum had one of those grammar school educations but was forced to leave at 16 and go and work in a shop, her younger sister wasn't allowed to take up her place at the grammar as the family couldn't afford the uniform or the fares.

I didn't want my A grade daughter to go to the grammar school, even though I think she could have won a place. I hated everything about it and their "We are the best, we only take the best and only produce the best" attitude - no room for personal development or artistic leanings, it was academic, academic, academic all the way. My daughter went to our local comp (admittedly not in a terribly deprived area - tho part of the catchment is), and got A and A* grade GCSEs. She now goes to a different comprehensive (one that has a fantastic drama reputation, which is why she's there) and can see how much better a school the new one is - good schools attract good teachers and they don't have to be grammar schools.

Also, I think TV shows people what else is out there and what they could achieve. Regrettably TV also instills this "dumbing down" mentality where it seems to be cool to be ignorant, naff to be "a boff", Jeremy Kyle style way to live. Students struggle to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time (if that) and TV today flits between images at a rate of knots. I showed my DD an episode of Trumpton on Utoob the other day and she found it too slow and boring - kids aren't used to "Windy Miller speed" of doing things! younger people (and some older ones) seem to have an expectation that things will be done for them, people - "they"- will look after them, perhaps many should be made to visit Greece to see what could so easily happen here.

Sorry went off on one.

I also have a BoP - particularly when I travel 200 miles by train to visit dad for the day. I take a silver survival blanket, travel toothpaste and brush, spare drawers :cool:, mini deodorant and moisturiser, (and mascara )

Popperwell

GreyQueen wrote: »

I had a £3 off £20 tillspit today so decided to "spend" the £3 on prepperish things and got 2 more boxes of cooks' matches and a carton of Milton sterilising tablets.

I have never got around to buying water purifying tablets yet but if bleach tablets/Milton sterilising tablets work I may have to consider them as alternatives. I tried yesterday and had no joy on either...it might have been me though but I could not find any in the local SM or a local phamacy...

GreyQueen

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Vehicle fuel?

Indirectly it is; I cook an omelette in the oil and then use the calories created in my own personal engine to power my pushbike...............:p

Popperwell wrote: »

I have never got around to buying water purifying tablets yet but if bleach tablets/Milton sterilising tablets work I may have to consider them as alternatives. I tried yesterday and had no joy on either...it might have been me though but I could not find any in the local SM or a local phamacy...

Hi Pops, I found the Milton tabs (£1.25 for 28 in date til 2015) in the babycare section of the supermarket, on a low shelf.

I am planning to store my water carrier full, with a tailored cover made from something like an old tablecloth, and stand it on one of those plant stands. It'll live in the bedroom.

Worse case scenario is that is springs a leak, in which case everything else in the bedroom is off the floor on casters and the water would just have to be mopped off the tiles.

We have a water main here at the Towers which ruptures about every 12-18 months and the civil engineers told us that it'll keep on happening due to the nature of the soil we sit on which (an old industrial site full of carp). It's been the case in the past that I've woken to find no water from the tap but 2 feet of it flowing down the street outside.

This morning I am a crabby beast as am waiting to go to GP for a fasting blood test and haven't had brekkie, tea or meds so am in a dangerous state of wibbliness. I shall wibble off afterwards for a fast brekkie and hit t'office.

In fancy dress.............:rotfl:

Popperwell

Thanks GQ,
Hope all is well at the Dr's, no doubt results won't come through until next week...

As you'll have seen I went to my Dr last night. Having got into the pattern of times I eat and smaller portions I probably could do a fasting test but I don't want to...

I'll look for those Milton Tablets...

You know all the stories we've heard from 2T about Greece? I heard disturbing stories on the radio this morning about Bulgaria.

Demo's started regarding the high cost of electric but now it is about poverty in general and some unfortunates have even set fire to themselves they are that desperate.

Unless something goes wrong it will be my demo tomorrow against the bedroom tax.

Shropshirelass

Is it still possible to buy ordinary long candles? In olden days, they were Price's Candles I think. I have stocked up on a few fancy perfumed gift-types, (found in cs's), but sm's and W1lks only have fat candles, or tea-lights, is this the new style, do they last longer? (sorry, daft question)

[Deleted User]

Tealights certainly don't last longer than standard candles

They last about about 3.5 hours.

They can be a pain to relight too.

ETA: Just been in ASDA, and they have some large tealights, with an average burning time of 9 hours.

Expensive, at 20p a pop. :eek:

Might be better to invest in a Hurricane lamp, and a can of Paraffin.

Provides more light (and heat), and is safer than the open flame of a candle/tealight.

GreyQueen

Shropshirelass wrote: »

Is it still possible to buy ordinary long candles? In olden days, they were Price's Candles I think. I have stocked up on a few fancy perfumed gift-types, (found in cs's), but sm's and W1lks only have fat candles, or tea-lights, is this the new style, do they last longer? (sorry, daft question)

Hi there, I saw boxes of ordinary long candles (plain white) in my Wilk0 2 days ago.

I tend to favour pillar candles but buy them 2nd hand, preferably no more than 50p but will shell out a whole £1 for a tall pillar candle which hasn't been burned at all. Bootsales are productive hunting grounds for me.

Today I've purchased a candle lantern 2hand but it's candle-holder ring is tealight sized. I think I shall be doing something about that. Will also be looking at a taller model which will take the biggest pillar candles, Wilk0 have a nice one for a tenner which I may have if I can't turn up a 2nd hand one. This has a larger ring to hold pillar candles.

I consider glazed candle lanterns a useful thing to acquire to prevent the candle blowing out in a draught and to make them a bit safer to use. A lot of the candle holders I see around are decorative objects designed to let the candlelight glow through winsomely, which is great if you're using them as mood lighting but not so cool if you're going to try to prep a meal or read by them.

Perplexed_Pineapple

Milton tablets are very useful, but are different from Milton fluid - the tablets contain sodium dichloroisocyanutate, the fluid sodium hypochlorite. You can use the fluid to sterilise drinking water - it says so on the Milton website; I'm not sure about the tablets, although obviously they are great for sterilising equipment and surfaces they might not be safe to drink in solution. Just a thought.