The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

DigForVictory

Just been driving in the pouring rain.
It's a skill, which if you aren't sure you have, the trick is simple.

Slow down.

Water is one of the least predictable road surfaces, & it hides how deep it can go & you get aquaplaning issues. So just go at a reasonable speed minus 10 mph & let the ignorant, cocky & differently configured overtake you (most of whom will do so badly, so expect it!)

Better that than be the reason three lanes are backed up as your car is the one across three lanes pointing the wrong way & everyone looking a bit startled.

Not that being splashed by an overtaking thing that temporarily covers your windscreen helps at all either, but if you expect and plan for 22 carat idiocy you'll likely be safer.

PipneyJane

DigForVictory wrote: »

Just been driving in the pouring rain.
It's a skill, which if you aren't sure you have, the trick is simple.

Slow down.

Water is one of the least predictable road surfaces, & it hides how deep it can go & you get aquaplaning issues. So just go at a reasonable speed minus 10 mph & let the ignorant, cocky & differently configured overtake you (most of whom will do so badly, so expect it!)

Better that than be the reason three lanes are backed up as your car is the one across three lanes pointing the wrong way & everyone looking a bit startled.

Not that being splashed by an overtaking thing that temporarily covers your windscreen helps at all either, but if you expect and plan for 22 carat idiocy you'll likely be safer.

You just reminded me of my motorway driving technique for driving in very bad weather: in the left-hand lane find large, dark lorry with lights on, pull in behind him when it is safe to do so and stay there, positioning the car far enough back to avoid the spray from his wheels. Oh yes, and put my lights on.

My logic is that a) being high up in the cab, the lorry driver can see far further than I can so if he reacts to something I will be able to copy him, and b) the muppets on the road might not notice me - my car does seem to have an invisibility cloak - but they'll see the lorry and avoid it.

- Pip

DigForVictory

In case you hadn't heard, thunderstorms are coming. Please check in case they might be coming to an area near you, or those you cherish.

Water isn't easy to store but ye gods you will not enjoy going without. We run a bath to flush loos from.

Food (canned & other non-perishables recommended, you can return to healthy living once the excitement's died down - just bin Anything exposed to contaminated flood water)

Battery-powered or hand-cranked Radio - the intelligent response when asked to unplug all electronics (& not use the landline either).

First Aid kit & any prescription meds - add in anti-diarrhoea medication in case?

Lighting - be it candle or torch or pressure lantern, know where it is, how to use it safely & what to switch to when you candle's burned out or the battery's flat - what is your backup?

Sleeping Bags/Blankets - I know, it's strangely hot. Just thunderstorms can mean cold as well, so if there is a full change for everyone, so much the better.

Sanitary Items - yes, Loo roll! also things like contact lens solution, denture cream (just copying not commenting) & sanitary supplies...

Utensils - can you open you tin of beans? Excellent. Now, what are you going to eat them with? And how do you propose to clean them (even in a thunderstorm the washing up carries on, in some cases with extra bleach so the water is clean.)

Games and Other Activities - well, you may find "I spy" palls, & reading by candlelight takes practice & stronger glasses.

Finally, Cash. Amongst the last things you want to run short of.

May you actually not be troubled by these things, but have the reassurance of knowing the bases are covered!

DigForVictory

For all with family & friends in Whaley Bridge, please call them while you can & offer a safe haven until it is known whether the Toddbrook Reservoir dam is going to hold?

The evacuation is for unspecified "days" & a bit more rain could see that become weeks or months.

Our Scouts are helping with the international camp that's had to be chopped back in Leicestershire - the Ibstock event means we have to source home hospitality for over 4000 scouts. Some scout families will be facing tricky choices tonight.

thriftwizard

The Whaley Bridge situation just goes to show that yes, it can happen here. Fingers crossed for them that what's left of the dam holds together, but all of us living near rivers and other natural hazards that are mostly benign, but sometimes - NOT - need to take notice.

Not far from us there's a pretty little trout stream known as the Tarrant. Those of you with the sort of mind that puts two & two together will instantly realise that that's a slurring of the river's original name - the Torrent...

Cheapskate

Hello everyone :hello: even though I read along, I've just realised it's months since I posted - a lot of RL going on chez Cheapskate - but I'm now getting time for OS stuff again.

Living at the top of a hill, we're not prone to flooding, except the back garden, due to gentle slopes converging, resulting in a lovely ankle-deep pond from time to time - very small fry compared to the horrendous scenes elsewhere in town! Being a hilly, Northern town, we also have valleys and villages in dips next to rivers, so flooding can happen very quickly.

I need to de-junk and prep better for so many areas of our lives that it's a bit daunting at the moment - can't decide which is the most important, so I flit between stuff, which is probably not very efficient! Any advice to get me back on the wagon greatly appreciated!

A xo

PipneyJane

thriftwizard wrote: »

The Whaley Bridge situation just goes to show that yes, it can happen here. Fingers crossed for them that what's left of the dam holds together, but all of us living near rivers and other natural hazards that are mostly benign, but sometimes - NOT - need to take notice.

Not far from us there's a pretty little trout stream known as the Tarrant. Those of you with the sort of mind that puts two & two together will instantly realise that that's a slurring of the river's original name - the Torrent...

Frankly, I've been praying for the people in Whaley Bridge - and I'm not normally religious! If the dam fails, there will be quite a lot of collateral damage downstream and not just in Whaley Bridge. It'll impact people for miles.

Do you remember the floods of winter 2001-2002? I was working in Worcester for a few weeks and the Severn rose until it was lapping the "new bridge" on the bypass, flooding all the lower lying areas of the town. With that in mind, before we made an offer on this house in 2003, I checked out its flood risk on the Environment Agency's website. We're at the top of a small ridge and should be OK, even if there is flash flooding (which can happen anywhere - turning roads to rivers - even up a mountain).

- Pip

DigForVictory

Cheapskate, run an eye over the cupboards & the last 4 shopping receipts? See if there are any gaps, anything that needs to be thrown (& possibly replaced, or definitely not), and if you could stay warm, dry, clean, lit & fed for 72 hours. Then scheme to extend the amount of time before you Really Have to go to the shops, and not because you'll go postal if you have to eat X again. Ponder the nuances between absolutely essential & important & where the occasional treat could be squirreled.

Also look hard at your garden - anything growing in it you could eat? This week, next, in September? Anything you can store, being it jammed, pickled, jarred, bottled, frozen, dehydrated etc?

This summer being the variable feast that it has been, I'll presume your full-sun & your in-event-of-rain wardrobes have been exhumed & examined and any deficiencies sorted. (I've reproofed three jackets!) Bonus if you've also been through the cold weather stuff & checked it's free from moth, all zips work & you can find a hat scarf & gloves in under 10 minutes.

When did you last have any heating checked, if a professional is needed? Or go through the linen cupboard & check all sheets, blankets, duvet covers, pillowcases, eiderdowns etc are all as you would wish to find them - any gaps can be put on a to do list that isn't urgent but is to be kept an eye out for.

Should keep you out of mischief for a bit, grins she with a date to make more hedge jam & not just defrost but also muck out the freezer - apparently it's full of things the chaps do not intend to eat...

GreyQueen

I'm happily amused with my sewing machine making various tool roll type cloth containers to hold my caming kitchen equipment, as a recent outing as a car camper revealed some petty annoyances. The intention is to have one roll for cutlery and one for bigger utensils.


Have got a mixture of the everyday (unspecial) things from the kitchen drawer and some 20p-a-time bits from the chazzer. Two each of knives, forks, dessert spoons, teaspoons and one combined corkscrew/ bottle opener/ knife and a tiny army can opener.


The latter is so wee that I've put a small split ring through it, and am anchoring it onto the cutlery roll with a small leash and mylon clip.


Apart from the French cotton tea-towel that's forming the roll (chazzer, 50p, superb quality) all the bits and bobs are salvage from my sewing supplies. Nothing gets into the ragbag chez GQ until it has been stripped of any potentially re-usable elements. And, bygorry, do I re-use them.

Cheapskate

DigForVictory wrote: »

Cheapskate, run an eye over the cupboards & the last 4 shopping receipts? See if there are any gaps, anything that needs to be thrown (& possibly replaced, or definitely not), and if you could stay warm, dry, clean, lit & fed for 72 hours. Then scheme to extend the amount of time before you Really Have to go to the shops, and not because you'll go postal if you have to eat X again. Ponder the nuances between absolutely essential & important & where the occasional treat could be squirreled.

Also look hard at your garden - anything growing in it you could eat? This week, next, in September? Anything you can store, being it jammed, pickled, jarred, bottled, frozen, dehydrated etc?

A fair amount of brambles, some plums and apples. About to start some herbs in pots for the rest of the summer and into autumn. Never got around to planting "proper" food this year!

This summer being the variable feast that it has been, I'll presume your full-sun & your in-event-of-rain wardrobes have been exhumed & examined and any deficiencies sorted. (I've reproofed three jackets!) Bonus if you've also been through the cold weather stuff & checked it's free from moth, all zips work & you can find a hat scarf & gloves in under 10 minutes.

Oodles of woollies, may need new ski-type gloves for the littlies, but that's it.

When did you last have any heating checked, if a professional is needed? Boiler checked recently by our plumber, going to book chimney sweep next week. Or go through the linen cupboard & check all sheets, blankets, duvet covers, pillowcases, eiderdowns etc are all as you would wish to find them - any gaps can be put on a to do list that isn't urgent but is to be kept an eye out for.This is a definite gap - need a fair bit of new bedding, but we're doing all the bedrooms this summer and new linens are on the list.

Should keep you out of mischief for a bit, grins she with a date to make more hedge jam & not just defrost but also muck out the freezer - apparently it's full of things the chaps do not intend to eat...

(My comments in red).

Judging by one of your recent posts somewhere, I think we don't live too far apart, and you may have visited my local town recently!

Thanks for the tips DFV!

A xo