THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

juliettet

What you have to remember is that people on here are really not the norm (in a nice way). The average person now expects a full range of foodstuffs in the supermarkets. The Dutch, Spanish and French sell us far more than they buy. In the winter there are Chilean beans, asparagus from Peru anyone?

People buy these. Some things are changing. Vast polytunnels in Perthshire supply soft fruit well into October. Plastic from China and the far East still floods in but we are using a little less. Trade with China is crucial as they buy luxury goods from us. I can only speak for Scotland but specialist exports are thriving. I have no doubt there will be wobbles but you just carry on feeding your families as usual.

We are here an office of 20 people. Six ladies. Apart from myself, lunch is bought everyday. Dinner is purchased in M&S to heat up. They might cook at the weekend. Granted they are younger than me but still 20-30. The huge purchasing power they generate is repeated all through our cities and towns. They will pick up for me French butter or Italian olive oil for me and raise their eyebrows at the cost. I eat the butter with my home made rolls and soup I made from pennies. Each to their own.

ivyleaf

jk0 Have you considered getting a "call guardian" phone? Most spam/ cold calls come from a call centre and a computer dials the numbers. The "call guardian" requires callers from a new number to say who they are and then press the # key, which of course a computer can't do, so the call doesn't come through. You do need Caller ID on your phone though.

We've recently switched from BT to vodafone, and OH forgot he needed to ask for caller ID as part of the package, and is having terrible trouble getting it added on so he's had to switch off the call guardian and atm it's just working as an ordinary phone, which is annoying. The person he got through to on their online chat" service hadn't a clue.

pineapple

jk0 wrote: »

Is anyone getting phonecalls from a company offering Green Deal improvements?


I get two or three of these a day from spoof phone numbers, and it's driving me up the wall. I guess their real phone number is on a register somewhere that is barred from bothering people.


I feel like unplugging my landline, but can't use a mobile due to headaches. Any thoughts?

If you are with BT you can sign up to their Call Protect - which is free and easy to use.
http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/phones-tablets/bt-call-protect-why-bts-free-service-can-help-you-banish-nuisance-calls-11364136279611
I just have a basic 'phone (I won't have a DECT 'phone) and I have to say it has changed my life!

moneyistooshorttomention

jk0 wrote: »

Is anyone getting phonecalls from a company offering Green Deal improvements?


I get two or three of these a day from spoof phone numbers, and it's driving me up the wall. I guess their real phone number is on a register somewhere that is barred from bothering people.


I feel like unplugging my landline, but can't use a mobile due to headaches. Any thoughts?

Depends on how many/how urgent are the phonecalls you are actually expecting or wanting to receive yourself - but you could try unplugging your phone and checking the number that called you and calling it back if its one you want.

Thinks - I expect it's still possible to buy phones with "Caller Display" on on the other hand and you could watch the numbers coming up as they rang - to see if its someone you wish to speak with.

It would be worth contacting BT to explain the problem to them and asking what solutions they have - I've got an idea they do have a few possibles.

pineapple

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

It would be worth contacting BT to explain the problem to them and asking what solutions they have - I've got an idea they do have a few possibles.

Not sure whether BT would appreciate that. They may put a block on an individual number in extreme, criminal instances, but spam/advertising is a common issue affecting many of us. Which is why they brought out Call Protect, as said. It's a free alternative to forking out on a call barring set up and more convenient than not answering and having to dial 1471 all the time.
Using Caller Display (which is now or about to be free) and only answering selected numbers is the only other alternative.
Got the T shirt on both of those last options but since having Call Protect I hardly ever get a spam call coming through - one a month if that and you just add them to the block list. You can also 'ban' anyone you don't want to hear from :rotfl:
The phone doesn't even ring. What's not to love? And just in case you accidentally blocked someone notifying you that you inherited the estate of your cousin twice removed, they can leave a message on the free messaging service.
http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/phones-tablets/bt-call-protect-why-bts-free-service-can-help-you-banish-nuisance-calls-11364136279611

pineapple

juliettet wrote: »

We are here an office of 20 people. Six ladies. Apart from myself, lunch is bought everyday. Dinner is purchased in M&S to heat up. They might cook at the weekend. Granted they are younger than me but still 20-30.

That's very sad imo but not surprising. The various money saving programmes I have seen feature 'easy meat' - people who live on convenience food and takeaways and it seems more and more live like that. I'm always hopeful of a helpful hint but fact is I already shop and cook economically and have no room to manoeuvre .

DigForVictory

We have a wonder mill - the hand cranked sort, but also the bit you plug your drill into to cheat with.
Makes dried pea into pea flour a doddle & why grow spelt, emmer, hebridean rye etc if you don't then cook & eat the stuff?

Other than it being hard work, you actually seriously care about the weather & after a year of it, we saved 90% of the seed & experimented with the rest. But we have the seed & the knowhow (eyewatering stubbornness) & the wondermill. Went to a feedstock store last year, seeking barley, got a 20 kg sack (smallest - made Costco look like toddlers), still haven't brewed with it (young AngloSaxon research historian discovered Strongbow Dark Fruit in the interim) & am now comtemplating winning dishes with barleymeal...

I was amused to note that many of my younger colleagues routinely buy-&-microwave, whereas I bring-in-a-tub-&-microwave. However I'm married to a stay at home parent who cooks in sufficient quantities to make this easy & convenient. If it weren't for the paperwork I could sell my stewmug three times over every day, it smells that good (I'm told)! Not in this heat, I suspect, but once the cold settles back in, steaming bowlfuls of rootveg will once again be the cup that cheers!

VJsmum

Same DforV, I was one who always brought in food from home. Luckily we did have a microwave - I don't know if most workplaces do these days. In the summer I took salad in a bowl. My OH still does that.

It's not just the cost - the quality of home made is so much better. But I guess you do need the physical ability as well as the knowledge and willingness to invest some time to prepare the food in the first place

GreyQueen

I'm often astonished at how freely my colleagues spend their hard-earned on shop-bought food. Of course,it's their money and their business, but it adds up to eyewatering amounts over a year for not-very-much quality, imo. You could take packups and have a fewFine Dining experiences over the year with the money saved.


Or a flutter on the ponies, whatever floats your boat.


I'm chuffed as I have got my hot little hands on a box which is incredibly strong, and exactly the right size to stash in a particular cupboard. It will be the site of the Olive Jar Mountain, my personal hedge against pricier imports from Greece in the next few years.


I have half-filled it already and it will take 40 jars in total, which is about 10.5 months' supply but their BB in 2021. Which will mean that some further stashettes will have to happen in other nooks and crannies. Bring.Me.More.Boxes.


ETA; article on drying fruit etc:https://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/green-food/10-recipes-DIY-dried-foods-kale-chips-rose-hips/

jk0

ivyleaf wrote: »

jk0 Have you considered getting a "call guardian" phone? Most spam/ cold calls come from a call centre and a computer dials the numbers. The "call guardian" requires callers from a new number to say who they are and then press the # key, which of course a computer can't do, so the call doesn't come through. You do need Caller ID on your phone though.

Thanks. It's on order now.