Prepping: the new world...

boultdj

@weenancyinAmerica how about a flint and steel as well for your friend?

weenancyinAmerica

She is 78. I'll have to see if that would work for her. She has been using the petroleum jelly on cotton balls as "kindling". I saw the suggestion of mixing up cooking oil and water in a spray bottle to spray on the logs to help the fire get going. Will suggest that to her also. When I sent her matches this last month, she was down to her last two matches - and it was snowing outside. 

DigForVictory

The antibac gel we used in covid is beautifully flammable. (Be stingy with it.)
Some of the flint & steel rigs sold for campers may be OK in senior hands (my scouts are doing remarkably well with amazon B09X77JKV2 - one new lad got a solid spark second try ever, but it is generally acknowledged that if you want a fire starting, find a scout)
Remarkably both sugar cubes (dirtied in ash first - all clean, they don't catch) and Brazil nuts (out of their shells) burn rather well, once going.
My flint & steel are period repro & have a current first aid kit handy as you can wallop your knuckles thoroughly. (I keep them for the patrol that has annoyed me most in the last weeks.)
We have a couple of "permanent matches" which you "strike" on the side like a normal match but is laced with lighter fluid - they may need refilling but they do tend to work relatively reliably.
(Like I say, I Scout. My nappy bag of a couple of decades ago had cotton wool, Vaseline, and sometimes milk powder [which explodes rather than burns but sure gives the Scouts a show] - I was very nearly recruited/coaxed into volunteering for access to that lot alone.)

weenancyinAmerica

Sounds like your scouts have a more exciting time - how many do you oversee at this time? When I was a Brownie Leader, I had 34 Brownies - they won't let you do that anymore as you need one leader for every 6 Brownies. And I was it. I was program director for Cub Scout Camp two years in a row also (350 Cub Scouts). I don't have any kids, but was shanghaied by a friend. I used to work at scout camps all summer when I was a Senior Girl Scout. Sounds like your more active your with scouts. I enjoy reading what your boys are up to and what you are doing with scouts as well in your posts. I'll pass your information along to my friend.

MrsCD

@weenancyinAmerica, there's a chap called Sergio_Outdoors on YouTube, who makes shorts showing survival type things. He showed how to paint regular matches with nail varnish to stop them getting damp and not working! He also had some matches wedged into cardboard grooves then fastened with twine, and a strip of striker paper around the cover. I find these videos very interesting.

AllotmentMan2

In Memory

Those of you who knew FUDDLE, sadly she was diagnosed with an agressive form of breast cancer in the last few months of covid and after a courageous and determined fight she sadly passed and left us in early January this year, she is much missed.

Cherryfudge

AllotmentMan2 said:

In Memory

Those of you who knew FUDDLE, sadly she was diagnosed with an agressive form of breast cancer in the last few months of covid and after a courageous and determined fight she sadly passed and left us in early January this year, she is much missed.

RIP. Thank you for letting us know, @AllotmentMan2

I didn't know Fuddle personally but I thought I remembered her name. Her threads are here. It helps to know what happens when people no longer post here. Thank you for taking the trouble.

Wednesday2000

Sorry to read that about Fuddle.x

MrsCD

AllotmentMan2 said:

In Memory

Those of you who knew FUDDLE, sadly she was diagnosed with an agressive form of breast cancer in the last few months of covid and after a courageous and determined fight she sadly passed and left us in early January this year, she is much missed.

So sorry to hear about Fuddle. Thank you @AllotmentMan2 for letting us know.
I remember many years back how she gave lots of good advice and suggestions for being frugal, and I'm sure many folks here remember her. I'm sorry she had such a tough time. Sending heartfelt condolences to her friends and family. Sleep well, dear Fuddle x

Nargleblast

I had the pleasure of meeting Fuddle a few years ago, before the pandemic. We had tea and cake in a local cafe and put the world to rights. She was a strong, hard working, caring lady who thought the world of her husband and children. We are the stuff that stars are made of, and Fuddle has gone back to the stars.