Preparedness for when

BigMummaF

GreyQueen wrote: »

....As a seasoned and sarcastic observer, I think this BT could be the thing which brings down the coalition. And maybe, just maybe, will motivate some people to get off their backsides and out to the polling stations.............

But who to vote for...It really angers me when the only argument they can come up with during an interview, is to revert to (very) young schooldays & proclaim "Please Miss; they started it!" all the while believing the public will just sit back & agree with them!
It seems all the parties granted air time are guilty & I end up screaming at the telly 'I KNOW what they've done; tell me what you're planning to do, to put it right!'

Cheapskate wrote: »

....Each day I shop this week I have added a couple of extra things to my list, from tins of food and bottles of water, to painkillers and loo rolls - good prepping anyway as some stocks are below normal operating capacity, but it's really my Northern siege mentality coming to the fore! :rotfl:

A few people I know are finally paying attention to some of my tin-hattery (love that phrase, thanks whoever dreamed it up!), but nowhere near enough. So many others haven't even heard of the Cypriot hoo-hah, only keep in enough loo rolls and tinned tomatoes for the next occasion (I nearly passed out at that one!) and still snigger when I start talking like a prepper.

I may be paying even closer attention than usual to the budget next week, and listening to what Georgie-boy DOESN'T say, too! :eek:

A xo

I'm getting ear-ache off me muvva because I like to know I've got the rudimentaries in the cupboard etc to produce a passable meal or three should the need arise, but all she sees is 'clutter' Given her advancing age & related health hiccups I can't guarantee I will be able to get to the shops, but she will not see it :mad:
I've always thought I would prefer becoming a "working girl" than caring for the elderly if things got really bad, & now I've proved my point :rotfl:

BigMummaF

The Postman delivers 2 identical envelopes in the same delivery.

1. Letter One says " we have paid £X into your bank, because of changes you hace told us about".
2. Letter Two says "we could be taking £X+ from your bank, because of changes you have told us about".

Both letters have the same date at the top, both vome from the same office & both have the same signature on the bottom.


You gotta luv guvment depts



Seems the new kid on the benches block had it banged to rights when he asked t'other day
"What exactly could my learned friends organise in a brewery?"


Male chickens are certainly rising skywards....

VJsmum

BigMummaF wrote: »

But who to vote for...It really angers me when the only argument they can come up with during an interview, is to revert to (very) young schooldays & proclaim "Please Miss; they started it!" all the while believing the public will just sit back & agree with them!
It seems all the parties granted air time are guilty & I end up screaming at the telly 'I KNOW what they've done; tell me what you're planning to do, to put it right!'

I agree, the "co-don't listen" seem to be hell bent on their austerity path, even though the results of that can be seen in other countries, the labour party are criticising the gubment when they certainly didn't help in terms of the mess we're in (not sure they put us there - I still blame maggie), and that leaves - who? Regrettably I think this is where U-kip might well get some votes (not from me, I hasten to add), particularly with people's feelings about immigration. If they had a more charismatic leader who was a great orator, I could see us becoming like Germany in the 1930's and it is a frightening thought. In his book about Auschwitz, Laurence Rees relates Hitlers hatred of those he blamed for Germany's humiliating defeat and for the terrible peace deal they struck - the foreign minister at that time was Jewish (he ignored those Jews who had fought alongside other germans). Using this and building on anti semtism that was rife in Germany, the leaders of the nazi party promised the people they would rid the country of those that were to blame and that Germany would rise once more.

I have always felt upon reading that, that if someone of Churchillian orational skills replaced "GErmany" with "UK" and "Jews" with "blacks" "Asians" "Muslims" "Poles" "all of the above" etc, and that times were hard enough - there might just be sufficient numpties around who would vote for them. Luckily at the moment, UKIP leader doesn't seem to hve those skills and times aren't yet hard enough. But what if........

GreyQueen

Morning all.

WCS, I'd echo Jo Jo's advice about level access shower being preferential to a wetroom, if you're in for these things. The price tag on a wetroom via social services here is £10k and they're very prone to probs in respect of blockages in the drainage and the special flooring can develop probs too, esp coming away from the tiling where it runs up the walls.

I book a lot of repairs..........

I was listening to R4 yesterday and a financial journalist was saying in no uncertain terms that inflation is robbing everyone with savings, every year, and that there is no guarantee of being able to prevent your wealth devaluing wherever you stash it; deposited as cash, stocks and shares, under the mattress. She pointed out that current fiscal policy is just as much a tax on savings as what is happening in Cyprus, it's just more subtle.

Someone asked about buying land. Some of it is pretty cheap. Usually for very good reasons such as being low quality and inconveniently-situated. Plus you usually can't live on it. If you could get a small field which would be suitable for redevopment at some point in the future for housing you could have made an excellent investment, and a fair few individuals and organisations are landbanking as we speak. Mark Twain advised his friends to buy land because they're not making it anymore.

If you were thinking about buying a plot of land with a view to living on it in a post-SHTF world, you'd need to think very carefully about whether a world gone mad would respect your property rights and whether there would be a functional police and judiciary to enforce them. You can own what you like until someone bigger, badder and better armed comes along, and then you own nowt and would be lucky to get away with your life. A bit of land in a highly-defensible topography would be a better bet than a nice little lowland smallholding. But the land might only be viable for running sheep.

Re gold, it's a historic act to flee to precious metals in the event of the currency/ political situation becoming unstable. You'd be smiling now if you'd done it in 2000. Not looking so sweet now as the price has climbed steadily. It's useful if you need to flee across borders into countries using different currencies. But border guards would be looking to fleece you as you went............and that is as true in the 21st century as it was in the 2nd century BCE.

Investing time and some cash in skills is a very valid way of handling uncertain times. Knowing how to light and keep a fire lit in adverse circumstances could see you alive instead of dead in a crunch. Knowing how to forage and maybe to hunt small game could be useful as we import a huge amount of our food.

Gardening is a valid skill, when things settle down enough that the looting stops. Being able to look after as many of your own needs as possible is worthwhile. Having a network of friends and family is important.

Ultimately, you can't future proof yourself against all possible eventualities, no matter how you prep and plan. You can only use your intelligence to try to predict the most likely problems and mitigate against them.

pineapple

elona wrote: »

GQ
Have just ordered a load of kitchen, bathroom and universal spray cleansers at 16 pence a bottle (but not told him yet).

When you have gone through those, look into bulk vinegar and bicarb - also cheap plus less chemicals. I keep a couple of sprays topped up with vinegar. Sometimes I add a drop of tea tree. That's all I use on a daily basis - plus a dusting of bicarb for a 'deep clean'. It's replaced my laundry conditioner too. The vinegar I get is food grade- so I can also use it to pickle my eggs :rotfl:
Mind I'm the last person to talk about frugality. I just bought a top end air purifier on account of the dog's bronchial problems (but hopefully I'll benefit too). In my defence, I was going to take to the tip the acre of thick cardboard packing that came with it - then I had a lightbulb moment. A previous occupier of this house thought it would be a good idea to tile the ground floor throughout with ice cold ceramic tiles. Great for a northern stone cottage - not. :eek: I have a couple of big central rugs with no underlay. So today I am going to recycle that cardboard as underlay :j

mardatha

Some younger folk on the preppers forums are obsessed by games, usually zombie related. They come in with all sorts of mad ideas and plans.
For me it makes more sense to look to the past - when they were dirt poor, they didnt have police on the end of the phone, or a house with full mod cons. If they had a fire and a pot of soup or stew on it, then they survived So I reckon if they did then I can do it, and I don't worry too much about it all.

Rosemary_Jane

pineapple wrote: »

-I have a couple of big central rugs with no underlay. So today I am going to recycle that cardboard as underlay :j

Please, please be careful that does not make for a slip hazard. It is a good idea, but I don't know how you could stop them slipping, unless they are very heavy and you don't go right to the edge?

R

exarmydreamer

If anyone is looking to buy gold, the best thing to do is buy sovereigns as these are pure gold and your not wasting money on stones as they are not worth anything when cashing in on gold prices. I have been buying gold coins for 16 yrs as an investment and 'back up plan', just in case the paper money loses value.

You can buy full sovereigns from £495 and half sovereign from £250 from the Royal Mint. Have a look at https://www.royalmint.com. I am not in anyway connected to the Royal mint but I find this a very real investment.

mirry

Hi everyone, I thought I should pop in and say hello because I read this thread with interest most days, feeling I have nothing further to add. However I am slowly building up a stock pile and wonder how long bleach,washing powder, washing up liquid would last for? As these items don't have dates on them like food. I would of thought they will last many years but what do I know:o

My husband was watching a film about how to kill and cook a pigeon,which quiet frankly made me feel sick because I have a extream phobia to pigeons..... I would probably end up starving :rotfl: But they seem easy to catch don't they, just throw some bread down and be ready with a net.

Someone mentioned about voting, and I think it's something a lot of us are trying to work out, I keep visiting the Labour Party/ukip facebook page to find out more about their policy's and the only one who seems to be addressing my concerns are ukip. From what I've read they are not anti immigration, they just want a sensible points system like Australia has and want us to leave the EU because as a small island we are under too much pressure with open door immigration. But I still can't decide, because the 3 other party's feel like "better the devil you know".

westcoastscot

Hi Jojo an GQ – yes I was thinking more of a user friendly bathroom rather than a wetroom. I’ve assisted in sorting out the issues with wetrooms too often to want one.
Jojo I have PsA and OA, and am hoping this new medication will slow the PsA down somewhat.

Good luck with your endeavours – I got back into work after being a Mum for 20 years through voluntary work.

VJ’s Mum I read a book recently by Ben Elton. Not an author I really wanted to read but the book itself was recommended to me – it’s called Two Brothers and is apparently based in truth. The basic premise is two brothers, one adopted; in the 1930s find themselves on opposite sides of the fence in young adulthood through origin of birth. What scared me about the whole story was how Hitler’s idea seemed perfectly reasonable to an educated population until it was too late.

I’m not really a prepper as such – had never heard of the word until fairly recently – but I am self sufficient (small s) and endeavour to continue to be. I’m 99% sure I could take care of me and mine – although the balance of that is shifting to my grown up children – they’re taking care of me and theirs!! but I don’t even try and plan for serious melt-down/lawless situations.

Enjoy your day - I'm on annual leave this week, so essay writing and spring-prepping the garden.

WCS