2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

PipneyJane

maryb said:

Did anyone see the programme on Wartime Britain last night on Channel 5?  It's available on catch up.  It talks about food rationing and clothes rationing. The usual format with a modern family trying to live as they would in 1940.  What was quite good was that they were an ordinary family whereas a lot of these programmes choose a family that was always going to struggle and were not representative eg vegetarians in the early 20th century A bit superficial but interesting anyway with some black and white film footage I hadn't seen before

I have it recorded.  (We were catching up on NCIS.)  Not sure when we'll get around to watching it.  Anything in particular I should keep an eye out for?

- Pip

TwibbleDee

Power stayed on all night!  Didn't even blink.
Still working from home today, at least until more people have gotten out on the roads.  Tiny car + ice just doesn't sound like a good combination.

I did realize, however, that I have an issue with our house.  Sleeping out in the camper, I woke up every morning with my sinuses clear.  This morning, after sleeping in the house, all gunky and lungs feel tight.  We just changed the sheets.  Might be time to do a deep declutter and cleaning in there, then 

TwibbleDee

maryb said:

Did anyone see the programme on Wartime Britain last night on Channel 5?  It's available on catch up.  It talks about food rationing and clothes rationing. The usual format with a modern family trying to live as they would in 1940.  What was quite good was that they were an ordinary family whereas a lot of these programmes choose a family that was always going to struggle and were not representative eg vegetarians in the early 20th century A bit superficial but interesting anyway with some black and white film footage I hadn't seen before

Did anybody catch the name of the program so I can see if I can hunt it down?

maddiemay

@TwibbleDee it is called Wartime Britain: Make Do & Mend on Channel 5. In 2 parts.
Pleased to read that things are a little easier for you and your family.

TwibbleDee

I've found the first episode on Youtube, but it sounds like the second was just aired, so I'm not having luck finding it yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpQi2I3p9aE

Cherryfudge

I'm so pleased you have power, @TwibbleDee! I hope things are back to normal for Texas soon.

PipneyJane

TwibbleDee said:

I've found the first episode on Youtube, but it sounds like the second was just aired, so I'm not having luck finding it yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpQi2I3p9aE

I’m glad you found it.  Are you warm enough now @TwibbleDee?  Do you have enough supplies?  The news here is all about Texas supermarkets being stripped bare by shoppers and not receiving deliveries.

I drive small cars, too. I drove through a lot of snow/ice in my last car, “The Toy”, at the end of the 2000’s when the UK had 5 winters with heavy snow falls.   My Canadian ex-boss told me that you should try to avoid changing gear because you lose momentum and grip, so stay in second gear for as long as possible when driving through suburban streets.  If you’re on the freeway/motorway when the bad weather hits, find a semi-trailer and sit behind it in the slow lane. He’ll plod along and so will you.   The other drivers will notice the semi, even if they don’t see you, and you should be able to see him react to the traffic and have time to respond.

- Pip

PS:  This is “The Toy” packed to come home from France a decade ago.  That’s DH in the driving seat and our host in the back. (Sadly, the Toy written off while parked in 2013.  He’d only done 264k miles in 12 years.  We were aiming for 300k.)

TwibbleDee

PipneyJane said:

I’m glad you found it.  Are you warm enough now @TwibbleDee?  Do you have enough supplies?  The news here is all about Texas supermarkets being stripped bare by shoppers and not receiving deliveries.

I drive small cars, too. I drove through a lot of snow/ice in my last car, “The Toy”, at the end of the 2000’s when the UK had 5 winters with heavy snow falls.   My Canadian ex-boss told me that you should try to avoid changing gear because you lose momentum and grip, so stay in second gear for as long as possible when driving through suburban streets.  If you’re on the freeway/motorway when the bad weather hits, find a semi-trailer and sit behind it in the slow lane. He’ll plod along and so will you.   The other drivers will notice the semi, even if they don’t see you, and you should be able to see him react to the traffic and have time to respond.

- Pip

PS:  This is “The Toy” packed to come home from France a decade ago.  That’s DH in the driving seat and our host in the back. (Sadly, the Toy written off while parked in 2013.  He’d only done 264k miles in 12 years.  We were aiming for 300k.)

I have a Kia Soul, so not much bigger than that one!  Hubby used to drive semis, so he generally drives us when things are iced unless we have to get out. 

Heat are still on again, both at home and at work (I'm actually back at work again today - cleared a section of the sidewalk going up to the building, waiting to see if the overhang falls or if we're going to have to knock it down).  I even started laundry this morning and will bake keto cornbread and bacon cheddar ranch soup tonight.

Haven't gone to the supermarket yet - we have a freezer full of meat and veggies that luckily did not thaw out, and plenty of baking materials.  If it comes down to it, I have plenty of rice and beans, though hubby would not appreciate it if we have to eat those.  If I go on a baking spree, we might need to find more eggs, but that's about it.

Laura_Elsewhere

I was always old the reason for staying in second gear in snow is that it has far better torque and therefore grip than other gears, with minimal risk of stalling or wheelspin. I got my little old rust-bucket Mazda hatchback up farm tracks in 7 inches of fresh-fallen snow once, passing fancy BMW 4x4s that hadn't made it... Very smug when I reached the top and my fellow-beaters (small informal game-shoot I worked on for a bit) were very taken aback, knowing I was a desk-based city-girl  

My parents learnt to drive in Syracuse, USA, in 1964, and they brought us up with things I was never taught when I had driving lessons in several places in the UK - never drive through big piles of leaves at the roadside (apparently kids get crushed every year, playing in leaves) and never ever trust an indicator, wait til you see the wheels start to turn... and when driving in snow basically just try not to do anything much - don't accelerate if you can avoid it at all, don't brake if you can avoid it at all, don't even steer unless you have to... get it into second and start moving in second and then just keep it like that, no matter how slow. 

Thanks for the good wishes everyone. My friend is doing ok, her husband is doing ok, and I posted off a pair of socks to her today as she hasn't any good warm cosy socks... 

PollyWollyDoodle

I live on a not-very-steep hill. A couple of years ago when we had some quite heavy snow I watched from my bedroom window as cars struggled to get up the hill, and several were eventually abandoned until their owners, including some quite high-performance cars.  Then a fairly old car came chugging slowly up, overtaking them all - it’s definitely not what you drive, but how you drive it. Exactly as you’ve said, Laura, second gear and never touch the brake, and if you feel the car starting to skid, steer into it not against it.  That last one is very hard to do because instinctively you want to wrestle the car away from it. Having said all that, I’d prefer not to drive in snow if possible!