The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

MingVase

The tube things that bikers wear are great for masks, they are tight and pull up over the nose and don't fall down.

Greenglockenspiel

Just catching up on the last few pages of the thread... Mar you are absolutely right that the impact of this will be with us for a long time. Due to sick leave/self isolation there will be less people available to pick crops and work in food manufacturing which I can certainly envisage leading to shortages later in the year. Due to lockdowns other countries have also put bans on exports of certain foodstuffs too which will exacerbate the situation. I’m glad to have an allotment which should hopefully lead to a slightly higher level of independence from supermarkets (we are in our first year of having it so it may be all our crops fail!), and I’m thinking we should ensure we don’t run down our stocks of essential non-domestically produced supplies I.e. tea and chocolate!

chirpycheap

nannywindow said:

Dandy Candy I agree with others about designated shopping days. We are isolated too with health issues, but we also have to cater for my Dad who is 90 and lives alone. I had to do an online shop without his list 3 weeks ago, because he seemed to think manana, manana would do. Now he's decided to give me the list by phone and my delivery is this weekend Perhaps he will think twice about it being late next time, but I'll not hold my breath. I had an idea to what he may have wanted but he'll just have to have what he's given. I can't help it if the sm hasn't got the correct item in stock or sends a substitute brand. I can hear the moaning now He wanted a free box from Boris and his merry men but as we live in Wales it's a no-go. He did manage to get social services on speed dial for "just in" case. For those on their own with health issues and isolated, it may be worth calling the council, who will put you in touch with Social Services.

I feel your pain Dandy Candy and I'm trying to be very patient with my 89 year old dad and 85 year old mum. They are locked in at home unable to go out and it must be very frustrating for them not to be able to shop for themselves. I think that part of the problem is that they have small appetites and are used to shopping daily and mum has always been thrifty and won't spend a penny more than she has too. Unfortunately normal shopping has all been turned on its head but as mum and dad haven't been shopping in weeks and are unaware of how challenging shopping can be. Hubby and I are over 65s so want to minimise the amount of times we go shopping but my parents still seem stuck in the little and often shopping mindset. I had been asking them for weeks prior to this lockdown to make sure that they had stocked up. So far as well as food shopping I've had to get them lots of basics like toilet roll, steradent, washing up liquid, toothpaste, Gaviscon, bin liners and washing powder. I've discovered that mum's idea of plenty in the cupboard is not mine. The loads of tins of beans they said they had turned out to be three cans and now they are gone and Dad only likes Heinz! My mother's face when I presented her with 9 rolls of branded loo roll that were twice the price that she normally pays was a picture. I love them both dearly but if mum rings one more time and says that she fancies doing a bit of baking and could I get her some glace cherries next time I go shopping I may well scream.

jk0

My mother got me to go shopping for her last Sunday, and I delivered it around midday. She had said to me that substitutions were okay, which was just as well. When I got home, I saw they had already been on the phone to me to complain about something. I didn't ring back.

elaine241

Hello All
Just catching up.
We have been busy on the farm lambing and have our first baby lamb sleeping in a basket by the fire! Mum had twins and took an instant dislike to the runt!
I have been planting seeds like a mad woman, both in the poly tunnel and in the beds. My OH decided that a spare area on the farm could also be used as a veg patch and dumped about 30 ton of topsoil from a job there! Luckily I will use one of his mini diggers to spread the soil around. Its an old pig yard and the soil there is very stony so a layer of nice soil is the lazy way to get it ready. I think OH has finally got on board a bit with the prepper ideas. He has seen how my stock cupboard and pantry has meant no panic buying for me. Also the thought that veg will be sky high prices and scarce has meant he has suddenly encouraged the veg growing and has also mentioned another bigger polytunnel!!! One thing that has made all of us mad is Sainsbury and asda buying Polish beef!! The beef prices have tumbled as there are no markets and the abattoirs have dropped their prices. There is plenty of beef, lamb, pork etc available in the UK. Why do they insist on buying polish meat which has been fed god knows what and reared in conditions not up to our standards? What next chlorine washed mass produced chickens? Sorry rant over :-)
Today I asked a man why he had driven up our lane in a camper van, it was the only way he could have access to his children as he lived in a HMO. He just wanted to have some peace and quiet and play board games. I felt a bit guilty but it could have been someone camping there;  I told him he was more than welcome to walk round the adjacent field as no one else would be able to use it. Alongside him were several cars whose occupants had driven to walk their dogs along the canal, most looked to be of retirement age which to me is crazy! One thing we are thinking of doing is putting cow/sheep muck on the top of gates and on latches to stop people leaning on the gates and opening them where there are no footpaths. Apparently the virus can live several days on metal. We have spread chicken muck in a field , with no footpath, to prevent all the people letting their dogs off the leads and letting them poop . Nobody wants their dog rolling in chicken poo! We usually put cattle in the field and they can get a disease and go blind from dog muck. There has been a huge rise in dog poop everywhere!!

boultdj

That's madness importing meat when we have lot's of lovely meat ourselves.

jk0

boultdj said:

That's madness importing meat when we have lot's of lovely meat ourselves.

  I suspect Brexit may put an end to this practice.

daz378

Jko article made  a lot of sense....the fact i was a prepper    meant i didn't  have to panic so much....but   i was a bit of a lapsed prepper ...the gap in my prepps  was mainly carbs....which i am slowly remedying....still managing to get fray bentos pies....believe me now ..im an active prepper....unfortunately  got an old freezer   which is ok at the moment...but is due to break....hopefully when shops open will buy a chest freezer....but will concentrate  on cupboard supplies.   Ive always lived alone  so wouldn't  mind having to stay in...but im a carer so have to go out.  The population now as to adjust to our mindset now...wonder how it  Will develop....you all take care

CCW007

daz378 said:

the fact i was a prepper    meant i didn't  have to panic so much....but   i was a bit of a lapsed prepper 

I used to frequent the prepper threads under an old user name but this is exacly the same for me.  Still had enought prepper instinct that I had enough supplies to get by until the panic buying finished but maybe not all the things I would have chosen if I'd been more organised.

Managed to get 2 online orders booked before everything went mad, final one is nex Monday then I will leave trying to get online slots to those who need it.  Getting by with store cupboard and last butchers shop supplemented by weekly veg box delivery.

Si_Clist

Greenglockenspiel said:

... I’m glad to have an allotment which should hopefully lead to a slightly higher level of independence from supermarkets

Don't want to piddle on your parade, but do be prepared for your more attractive/quick to pick crops disappearing overnight in due course ...