The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

DigForVictory

Cappella wrote: »

our nearest Chinese supermarket burnt down rather spectacularly lastyear

Well, that’s one way of celebrating New Year but I’ll guess the insurers were a bit peeved...

As a family we have a bit of a reputation at the nearest Indian supermarket, Himself for his enthusiastic researches into the sweet range & me for my quiet mentions as to traditional English spelling (I swear the parents regard me as a blight on family discipline as a couple of the young watch me bright eyed & try to hide huge smiles at times.)
The lads are crooned over, as they stagger to the car under sacks of rice or clutching vats of cooking oil. The matriarchs think I have trained them passably & the blokes look pitying.

Herbily, how's your peeled down radio looking? Is it working?

RebeccaAnn

Hey I have had a quick search but cannot find anything, I am sure this has been asked previously so I apologize in advance.

Can anyone recommend some prepping type books? I have a good allotment one and a foraging one. I really need a first aid guide, maybe something with regards to fixing up a house. Anything lighter, stories of building and living off grid, being self sufficient would also be of interest.

Thank you in advance

[Deleted User]

Always check the book shelves in charity shops, they're a surprisingly good source of interesting books.

The Survival Handbook, Self Sufficiency for Everyone by Michael Allaby Published by Mcmillan London Ltd 1975. ISBN 0 330 24813 8

Self Reliance by John Yeoman Published by Permanent Publications 1999
ISBN 1 85623 015 5

Peak Oil Survival by Aric McBay published by The Lyons Press 2006
ISBN -13 : 978-1-59228-127-5

When Technology Fails a manual for self-reliance, sustainability and surviving the long emergency by Matthew Stein Published by Chelsea Green Publishing Company 2000 ISBN 978-1-933392-45-5

The Illustrated Hassle Free Make Your Own Clothes Book by Sharon Rosenberg and Joan Wiener published by Studio Vista 1973 ISBN 0 289 70347 6

Just a few useful and fairly easy to understand but useful books, I've collected prepping books for the past 40 years or so and I find them mostly at boot fairs or in charity shops or at jumble sales for pence. I have a shelf full so if you have a specific subject need within the prepping area I may be able to give you the info to find a book, just ask.

GreyQueen

I agree with Lyn; chazzers and bootsales are the way to go. I also have the Yeomans book but haven't got any others she mentions.


If you slide slightly sideways and don't go out with your eyes peeled for things with Prepping in their title, you should do well by checking out things on preserving, basic woodwork/ plumbing (there are stonking great household manuals out there with great illustrations), gardening, sewing.


The Expert books by Dr D J Hessayon are very good, I always recommend The Vegetable Expert to newbie gardeners. It's widely available secondhand, although the older editions are a scream in respect of vegetables considered exotic in their day (garlic, anyone?).:rotfl:


If you want to make your own clothes without buying patterns, Metric Pattern Cutting by Winifred Aldrich is the bible used by all students of fashion for the past several decades. If you know the principles of pattern cutting, you can make your own 'blocks' and make any clothing item you like, subject to your interest and willingness to invest the time and effort.


You might also enjoy older-style household manuals for tips on housekeeping in ways we no longer use, in case one ends up temporarily or permanantly without access to modern conveniences. You can also mug up on herbalism and look at herbs which have been used to treat insect infestations. Don't go at herbs without a bit of education as some of them have potentially severe consequences, thinking of pennyroyal, for example.


Manuals on anything like building garden equipment (there is an Expert book which covers this), bicycle maintenance, home nursing, all sorts of things are out there for an enquiring mind.


There are also a lot of blogs but you may prefer to have your info in a lo-fi dead-tree format rather than rely on t'interwebulator. HTH.

RebeccaAnn

Thank you both so much. I am going to make a list to keep in my purse and will go hunting in the charity shops next week .

silvasava

Second the Hessayon books for gardening. Somehow after doing g my GCE Home Economics in the early 60's I forgot to return my copy of Cooking Craft by S Elizabeth Nash. It's come in very handy over the years as it not only covers the cooking methods it also explains the changes in the construction of foods in the process and why. There's also usually a copy in one of the CS of the old Readers Digest DIY manual!

[Deleted User]

Just picked up this handy EDC toolkit, from Asda, for just £8.

Great for carrying in a side pocket of a daysack. :cool:

Those all important dimensions.

Length - 6"
Width - 3-3/4"
Thickness - 1-1/4"
Weight - 16.2 oz

GreyQueen

silvasava wrote: »

Second the Hessayon books for gardening. Somehow after doing g my GCE Home Economics in the early 60's I forgot to return my copy of Cooking Craft by S Elizabeth Nash. It's come in very handy over the years as it not only covers the cooking methods it also explains the changes in the construction of foods in the process and why. There's also usually a copy in one of the CS of the old Readers Digest DIY manual!

the Readers Digest books are very useful, as well as incredibly commonplace. And The Singer Book of Home Sewing.


One of my friends, who is a skilled and adventurous cook of most cuisines in this world was ranting about having his favourite cookbook stolen from his home after he had had distant relatives staying. They'd taken such a shine to a recipe from it that they'd offski'd with the book.


I was agog to know which rare tome had been taken and it turned out to be the Dairy Book of Home Cookery! Another good standby which is easy to find used.

monnagran

Gatecrashing to say that the Readers Digest DIY book was always my gift to newly divorced friends. They grew more grateful as time went on and they saved more money by truly being able to Do It themselves.

herbily

DigForVictory wrote: »

Herbily, how's your peeled down radio looking? Is it working?

Still working, but looking a bit moth-eaten. Under the rubberised layer was a layer of harder plastic, which fortunately doesn't dissolve in gin, or at least not immediately! Crucially the front half of the radio isn't sticky any more - because it's a wind-up one, you need to hold it while winding, and the stickiness was off-putting. (I also have a solar powered version as recommended on an earlier section of this thread, several thousand posts ago.)


Am much happier knowing that an essential part of my power-cut preps is usable again. It was tuned to local radio and everything. Thank you again for the advice.