Preparedness for when

mysterywoman10

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

It's much easier, if you do it in reverse order.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

pineapple

mrs_lds wrote: »

So many folk got hit y the banks but there s ome good in that some Russian !!!!! people have been flushed out like those asking for protection money from small businesses. Cyprus will rise again like a pheonix

Well it would be interesting to know the stats (I believe there is an investigation underway). Meanwhile it has been claimed that computers have been wiped and a huge amount of funds were moved out beforehand by those in the know - which I should imagine includes some of the dodgier money .
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-03-25/have-russians-already-quietly-withdrawn-all-their-cash-cyprus
In fact I think retirees (including British expats) and businesses will be just as likely to suffer. Rising like a phoenix is a nice idea but the financial/economic consensus seems to be that it's all downhill from now on. Austerity will hit, businesses will fail and their sovereignty will go down the toilet once the special 'task force' is put in place. RIP Cyprus.
Plus a line has been crossed - with ramifications for all of us. Let's not forget they were originally prepared to hit the small saver as well.

BitterAndTwisted

mardatha wrote: »

Have decided to watch the sales for warm clothes - we haven't got a lot of jumpers or indoor warm stuff, just good coats and boots. This house is mostly really warm - but what if coal got dearer or scarce? eeeek.

To be honest, I think that any sources of heat are going to become more and more expensive as the years roll by. Are you and the RV any good at scavenging wood?

Have a look in charity shops for fleeces and markets for thermal underwear and socks. I'm the type of saddo who looks for these in the summer-time as the CS do sell them cheaper at that time of year. I've been known to wear a fleece top plus a fleece jacket over it when it was really chilly when I couldn't afford to put the heating on.

My local market sells thermal vests and long johns at 2 for £4, some of them M&S branded.

I got a pair of black Damart fleece trousers a while back for two quid but the fleece PJ bottoms you can get in @sda or Pe@cocks for about four quid and worn over thermal undies plus normal trousers make for very being very snug indoors.

Let me know if you'd like me to keep a look-out for some, as I'd be happy to post them up to you if these are hard for you to locate locally, as I do know you live somewhere pretty remote.

pineapple

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Have a look in charity shops for fleeces and markets for thermal underwear and socks.

I've had some good finds in charity shops. I always check out the men's clothing as well - their cold wet/weather gear seems so much more substantial. I would rather be warm than have some stylish nonsense which barely covers the essentials!
Surely we fragile females need more protection from the elements - not less! :rotfl:
Probably now would be a good time for seeking winter cast offs

mardatha

I've taken to rootling round the charity shops when we go to Peebles for a day out B&T. Thank you xx. Also has some excellent outdoor/climbing/gamekeepery type shops - nice to potter around in.
The fact that Peebles has a terrific fish & chip shop is of course irrelevant. Totally.

westlothianlass

HI all
Thanks to the posters who recently mentioned Aquaponics (apologies as ive forgotten names:o) DH and I have been rooting around the web and found some really interesting ideas. So we are going to clear out the greenhouse and give it a go. Spoke to my bruv yesterday who is a farmer up north and he has tanks lying about (Its only taken 43 years for him to be useful for something:rotfl:, only kidding bruv if you read this:D). So i've got a very excited DH at the moment.

Was in £land and bought some more paper plates just in case, and managed to purchase some fab waterproof trousers on ebay, think i was spurred on after reading Sub Zero the other night (thanks for recommendations gals).
Been in the polytunnel this weekend and planted out some seeds so feeling more organised.
Mar i think the Ikea bags would be really heavy, its amazing how much they can hold:o.
Ginny hope you had a great anniv. day.
I'm away to price some potassium Permanganate ,my boys will love it :rotfl:.
Have a great weekend all
Hugs WLL X

Helen2k8

I bodged together an aquaponics system yesterday, to grow wheatgrass fodder.
I used a growbag tray with two holes drilled in one end. The holey end is sat over a tupperware storage tub. The non holey end is on bricks and flowerpots, angled slightly higher than the holey end. My old fishtank pump is in the storage tub, with a tube running to the non-holey end of the tray (had to melt the end of the tube to fit it on the pump!). A timer is set so that the pump runs for 15 minutes 3 times a day. The flow rate is such that the tray fills with water faster than it drains, so is flooded at these times (overflow goes back in to the storage tub), then drains slowly. The wheat seeds are in small mesh trays sat in the growbag tray. Clear as mud, eh?

pollys

Good afternoon

Some really interesting posts, thank you everyone.

Feeling a bit un-nerved (if that's the word) today. Someone has attempted to break in to our garage by disabling the alarm. Damage has been caused to the door but it is now fixed and stronger than ever!

We have been round to our neighbours and alerted them. They too have worrying news - garden furniture missing, people seen in gardens during the night, youths spotted trying car doors.

We are going to up our security even more although we are more secure than most.

At least they didn't manage to get in but it has worried us.

Pollys

Popperwell

Surrounding towns Bishop Auckland, Darlington, Durham and many more sometimes smaller than here have £1 shops not mine...same with B&M but our town would be a prime location and has the right people. If you have to travel you don't save because of petrol or cost of buses and taxis. Also the bus service poor. Often at the times most needed like Sundays and bank holidays when families might like to go out or evenings.

That money is spent on getting there rather than goods...for now I have a bus pass but as the service gets worse and the threat of it being taken away looms, I'll use it whilst I can and it is available.

So I bought in Poundworld the other day

A Cooling Rack
250 Food Bags
8pc Measuring set and jug
A dry food container
Cooking liner which may protect and avoid me having to use a lot of oil to cook with

8 food storage containers for the fridge/freezer or to use in the microwave(the same ones I purchased a few weeks ago elsewhere)were only 6 for the same money

A juice container with pouring spout and lid that locks down

I purchased two mushroom growing kits(they say you'll get quite a few crops and...if left they will grow bigger)for fun but cheaper than others I've seen incuding Aldi.

A corkscrew/bottle opener

A vegetable peeler(there were two peelers on the card of different designs to suit what you are peeling)

Oh I mentioned going to Newcastle and possibly Pineapple said it had memories too(I have not been there in decades)It has all the shops and more but its not what I remember from childhood and the iconic and exclusive shop Fenwicks is not as remembered.

When a child every visit to Newcastle we would go into three big departmental stores...Binns, Bainbridges and Fenwicks. I believe Binns is no longer in the city, Bainbridges moved but became John Lewis but for old time sake I went into Fenwicks today. Naturally it has changed and but for the name on the outside it could be any shop these days. Its all sectioned into franchises and well known names taking floor space.

Its not Fenwicks doing the choosing of clothes and goods that made it special and exclusive. So there was nothing familiar to connect me to the past.

I always came home with a little gift on these special trips when a child, often a record, I remember JG Windows(That's still there)and coming home with the single "The Laughing Gnome" by David Bowie.

Well, how your idea of a gift changes I purchased something that was un-necessary but just to say I was going home with a little treat. A silicone egg ring worth £3 with 20% discount offer so it came down to £2.40. Anyone unsure what that is, you put it in the frying pan, pour an egg in it and it makes the fried a nice tidy shape.

To do twenty eight mile by bus took approx a hundred and five minutes, I had to change buses. The connections were reasonably good.

I digress...

ginnyknit

Peace.....can you hear it... empty house:D Oh gone to listen in at an umpires exam and natter about balls (I think I mentioned this before sorry) Have laid 1/3 of my garden path, luckily its worn flat so I just lined it and poured on the gravel - sooo heavy. Why is it the bags of gravel happily poured loads out of a split in the bag when DS carried them through the house yet wouldnt bl**dy pour out on the path for me :mad:

Off to do the next bit as Arthur(itis) was complaining. Picked up a multi function head for the hose pipe in MR A as I broke the last one and its very useful for blasting away muck or gently watering seedlings. Cleared the bed for the totally necessary strawberries - whats life without something yummy, - and will plant the bogoff garlic I got at the GC around the edge of the bed to ward off bugs (she says hopefully).

see you all when I crawl back in the house xx