The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

[Deleted User]

A recent flag up that those working for the emergency services apparently have been advised officially to store some water, tinned food AND the 5 litres in a can of fuel that is the maximum allowed to be stored ahead of the end of March! perhaps the idea of being prepped for things is finally NOT a lunatic fringe thing after all???

GreyQueen

I've been reading about those folks stranded in cars in the snow with no food, water or warm things. Something for all motorists to consider carrying with them, perhaps? I think a lot of us have got into the habit of 'wearing' our cars instead of warm coats and sturdy footwear in wintertime.

Karmacat

GreyQueen wrote: »

I've been reading about those folks stranded in cars in the snow with no food, water or warm things. Something for all motorists to consider carrying with them, perhaps? I think a lot of us have got into the habit of 'wearing' our cars instead of warm coats and sturdy footwear in wintertime.

Hi GQ! I was astonished to read of a woman with two small children who didn't even have any water with her. I mean, in *ordinary* times, having a little bottle of water is a normal thing. And snacks if you've got kids. I really don't get that level of unpreparedness.


I'm re-reading that apocafic, Snow, by Ryan Clifford not nearly as detailed or well researched as Flood, but a good-enough one to pass the time - a fair few motorists cop it straight away in there :eek: though no spoilers - not all of them do!

GreyQueen

I was surprised about the tenor of some of the motorists' reported comments. The jist being it was all someone else's fault that they were stuck in the snow with no provisions.


I get that employees may well not dare ring in and tell the boss that they're taking a snow day, or even two or three, because the weather forecast is grim and travel will be difficult and/ or dangerous.


But were all those car journeys really necessary? And, if you had to be out on the roads in what was well-predicted snowy weather, why had you not provisioned your car with water, high energy snacks, lots of blankets etc etc? We adults have to be responsible for ourselves and any children or vulnerable adults with us, but it cannot be left to the emergency services to make everything all right, all the time, on a tight schedule.

THIRZAH

DH worked from home on Tuesday because snow was forecast and although we got a bit in the afternoon it didn't settle so he could have gone in. The next day when it did snow he had to go to work but went in by train but two of the staff were stuck on the motorway for a couple of hours and eventually went home rather than into work. The forecast for around here seemed to change almost hourly.



At least he can normally work from home-although I don't appreciate having him under my feet all day-but there are many jobs that can't be done from home.


We do keep a folding snow shovel in the car plus a couple of rugs and we have a box with spare walking socks, gloves etc as we have been known to forget them when going walking. If snow is forecast DH takes a flask plus some cereal bars and chocolate.

GreyQueen

Yes, if you're a knowledge worker, you may be able to work remotely at least some of the time but others have to be in a certain physical place (or series of places) in order to do their jobs. Thinking of medical staff, retail workers, factory workers.


Someone I know in my snow-free area of the country told me of the national chain of charity shops which he works for had one person walk 11 miles to get into another office for the charity in a snowbound area. OK, heroic, but are they going to be able to walk 11 miles back again that night? And the day after............?

GreyQueen

Well, the night was warmet than expected and even before dawn there was no ice on the water in the wheel ruts outside my window. It is now beautifully sunny out there, lovely day.


I have been doing a few bits and bobs around the flat, some of which are even preptastic and will be imbibing the second pot of tea for the day before hitting the city centre to get some particular items, will be waiting on shops which are opening at 10.30/ 11.00.


I have been scouring various places for my preferred seed potato (Kestrel) and my Dad has been scouring places in both their small market town and in Big Market Town, which they typically visit once a week. Thus far, he has obtained on my behalf, precisely one 2 kg net of Kestrel and another 2 kg net of Maris Peer. The Peer are smaller potatoes and the net contains 29 spuds but the Kestrels are larger and contain only 19. One can cut up seed potatoes before planting, subject to each portion having shoots (or eyes where shoots can grow from) of course, but I prefer not to do so.


This morning's ramblings will include a visit to the last two city centre places where I haven't yet Kestrel-hunted and I have decided if I come up empty there, I shall saddle the pushbike this afto and head to an edge-of-town garden centre which had them in stock, according to their website. It's only a couple of miles away but there are some nosebleed hills between me and it, and I have had flu in January and am not wonderfully fit.


I particluarly like Kestrel as they do well on my soil, are very tasty and store well. Besides, they have the prettiest violet eyes, especially when just out of the ground........... :rotfl:

DigForVictory

This knowledge worker also teaches same, so the car has been dumped for a week & I've hopped a bus, counting my blessings as I go. Walk 11 miles? That is surely poor management? That said I note our pharmacist has a 4WD vehicle parked - maybe it's a rental for the month or just a personal decision that some risks require specialist tools.

Today I am to do a resupply run & number 2 son is twitching that my car, 'abandoned' on the drive, may not start. He has a point, but I don't think the battery will be too flat & anyway I was planning to let the engine idle & get all its internal goop circulating as I brushed the snow off then scraped the ice. So, three minutes idling, & two minutes heating the glass should get the vehicle ready to move off & I can decide if I'm taking Twitchy as house muscle. Ordinarily, a son is taken in the same way as bags for life are taken - wouldn't shop without them - but ice driving & other iffy pursuits are a strictly solo entertainment.

Same son is a blood donor & was on his phone sorting a group of like-minded young souls to go donate a unit - if they need a lift to & from then I'll drive them (or pay for the taxi if the weather's outside my comfort zone) In Any Event, I don't want to think of those needing a unit going without but you can only bank the stuff for so long & under pretty strict conditions.

GreyQueen

4 mph is a pretty good walking speed, probably slower over snow, so 11 miles represents about a three hour hike which, if the person was keeping normal office hours, would have meant setting off in darkness.


I wouldn't fancy hiking in the dark and the snow, presumably along the public highway and would think that only a person whose presence at the workplace involved life-and-death for other parties ought to even consider doing anything like that. And ought to have enough to overnight where they work and not contemplate hiking back again in the dark.:(

thriftwizard

During the Beast from the East, DS2 ran 5 miles to work - and then straight back again - because his bosses had messaged round to say that they were open - even though the entire business park was actually shut & locked up, no-one from any of the firms there could get in - so that they wouldn't have to pay anyone who didn't make the effort. He did, and did get paid, as he took a pic of himself at the gates; no-one else was daft enough. But his side gig is as a fitness instructor who does things like Tough Mudder for fun/charity, so he was well-prepared and very capable; he had a pair of sensible boots, a warm jacket, water & energy bars in his backpack and most of the route is through housing estates where there'd be help available if needed. He was back within the hour, and it was daylight. (Mind you, this is the one who ran a whole marathon by mistake last summer.) So there may have been a little method in GQ's charity worker's madness, although for most of us it would have been just plain daft to even try.