Wednesday 10 January 2018

Be Prepared

I read on Mr Home Maker's blog that he had taken a lot of flak on social media for suggesting that we should all be getting ourselves prepared for inevitable future world events.
I agree, but for more ordinary reasons rather than a 3rd World War.

The storm here last week wasn't a tornado or even a hurricane, just very windy but it put the electric off for 9 hours and in some places roads were blocked by fallen trees. In the Big Storm of 1987 our electric was off for a week and we also had a week without power at the smallholding with live wires down across the gateway so we couldn't get in or out for a while. Weather extremes are more common, hottest ever weather in Australia, more snow than normal in parts of the USA,  even in Switzerland - where they know about snow and more storms here..........

For 20+ years I was a Cub Scout Leader and the Scout Motto of Be Prepared came in very handy when coping with a Scout hut full of thirty 8 - 10 year olds. In fact I still dream (nightmares!) occasionally that I've forgotten all the games that the boys enjoyed so much. My experiences have left me with a liking for being prepared and self reliant.

So how we plan for the small events which might help in big events too.........

* Heating - A wood burner is one of the ✔ that was ✔ when we looked at this house. We had one for all the years at the smallholding, so it was a definite requirement. Our oil boiler wouldn't be my preferred choice but as age creeps up, a wood or solid fuel Rayburn to heat radiators would be more work than we could manage and as finances creep down there is no way we can justify the solar/wind with battery storage route. It takes about 10-15 years to get payback on outlay.
*Cooking - Although it's second choice (after wood fired Rayburn - see above) an LPG cooker with a spare cylinders always on hand is easy. We have 19kg rather than 47kg which we had previously but these are easier to move. There are two cylinders with a switch-over thingy plus one always kept as a spare. Unfortunately nowadays you can't use the oven without electric .........once upon a time gas ovens could be lit with a match - no longer sadly. But the hob sees us through a power cut. A small kettle or saucepan could also be heated on the woodburner............slowly!
*Lighting - I would like the answer to this one as candles are useless for many things. Torches need batteries. I have a huge stock of candles and a couple of candlesticks. Once we had a Freeplay wind-up torch which worked well for a year or two but then wouldn't hold any charge. We also once owned a solar-power small battery charger - it charged batteries only if left in full sunlight for 12 hours - Ha! I've looked at wind-up camping lanterns - they don't get good reviews. Freeplay don't seem to make wind-up lights now. A lantern run by a camping-gaz cylinder will give good light for a few hours. The cylinders aren't cheap. In our early camping days we owned a lantern that ran off a car battery - that was excellent, maybe they are still made?
A stock of matches for candles and fires is also kept in a draw - never did get the hang of rubbing two sticks together!
Old packs of candles have been in the cupboard for years, the Freeplay wind-up radio has been around a while too  but the small torch is nearly new. I got it to use for seeing to unlock the car in village hall car parks when I go to WI, it's small enough to fit in my bag. It's also come in handy at home when I realise that I've forgotten to lock up the garage after dark. Only uses 3 small batteries and has LEDs so good and bright.
 * Water - since we found out that the pipework from the road all the way up the lane isn't owned by the water company and knowing how low the pressure is, I've had a 15lt container filled with water out in the garage just in case. The water in  butts that collect off garage and house would do for some things like flushing the loo.
* Keeping in touch. Our cord-less phone won't work in a power cut and mobiles need charging, I try to keep them charged. Somewhere on route between the smallholding and here our old ordinary plug in phone got left behind/vanished. I may splash out £5.99 for an Argos cheapy simple plug in - might be handy if electric is off but phone-lines still OK.
What we do have and have had for years is a wind-up radio - it also has a built in solar panel and I find it will charge up quite well when left on a sunny windowsill. I would give it just 5 out of 10 for sound quality but if you need to know what's happening it works well.

None of the above would be much use for  long term or major disruption and don't come close to the serious preppers on online prepping sites but they are more than most people have.

Thank you all for comments yesterday, I will keep everyone up to date with the hospital stuff. Visited him yesterday, still no coming home date,  the awful headaches have abated somewhat but he's still incredibly tired all the time.
Apologies for getting peoples hopes up with the surprise pension pay out - not state pension I'm afraid, neither of us are old enough. It's Suffolk County Council and something to do with the lump sum payment and I think we should have had it months ago anyway.
The owners of Colmans mustard say they will carry on making the iconic brand, but not in Norwich. There are many farmers growing for them in East Anglia. As for Aspalls  the cider and vinegar producers near Debenham. The new owners have also assured everyone they will carry on in the same place, but as its a small factory in the middle of the countryside, who knows.

Back Tomorrow
Sue



26 comments:

  1. If everything crashed, most of us would be really stuck. Great alternative preparations, you're much better prepared than most of us, I strongly suspect.
    J x

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  2. We now live on the Isle of Lewis where we were led to believe power cuts were common, thankfully that has not been the case as yet. However we did prepare and can recommend the cheap phone. We have rechargeable batteries for radios/torches but of course they are only good in the short term as electricity is needed to recharge them.

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  3. I remarked to hubby the other day about how we aren't affected by power cuts like we used to be...I regularly remember candlelit quiet evenings...actually I rather miss those evenings...but not the risk of food spoiling in the freezer! x

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  4. We would be able to keep warm, cook on a camping stove, have ‘light’ and as I am now keeping my 5l vinegar contains, some water. You can get wind up mobile phone charges which give a few minutes use at a time (used by walkers). Shame he got flak.

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  5. I am amazed at the lack of alternatives most homes have. I would not be without my wood burning stove and candles. Our solar panels in the motorhome would charge phones/iPad. I would like a wind up radio though. I once saw a wind up l e d lamp. I should invest in one of those too. I hope this country would have strategies in place for any long term disruption but I’m not convinced. It is better to be prepared.

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  6. Our problem would be water, we would be OK with everything else, providing it did not last too long. .

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  7. The mustard and the mint will still be grown here in Norfolk and there will be a smaller plant set up here for the milling of same to continue locally. As for being prepared I think country people are used to being prepared for anything and out on a limb and forgotten so no worries and no education needed.

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    1. Hope Colmans stick with Norfolk for growing and milling

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  8. We were without power for over twelve hours just before Christmas and I was pleased to have a gas cooker, because although it is generally lit 'electrically' I was able to light both the hobs and the oven itself with a match so we could eat... Definitely made us realise we wouldn't want to be without a gas hob, even though I had contemplated getting a nice 'easy to clean' flat stove top. I couldn't do without cups of tea for that length of time!

    We have stocked up with lots of candles etc...and it was good to sit and read, but you are right, candlelight isn't bright enough.

    In NZ, my parents home is fully self sufficient if there are power cuts (we used to have many) They have a log burner which has a wetback system so heats the water. Can you get that here in the UK? They also have a gas cooker that has tanks rather than being attached the mains. Their water is rain water collected from the roof and into large tanks.

    We are certainly taking into consideration many of these things that we will look for in a new home when we move hopefully later this year.

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  9. We should be prepared especially when there is so much unrest and terrorism in the world. I rarely see emergency planning for emergencies like earth quakes or a nuclear power station leak or even explosion.

    We always have candles ready for power-cuts and I often wish we had made a cellar for the gales season, So much for living on the coast and Western edge of Europe.

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  10. This is WAY off topic, but while it’s in my mind, what did you think of your homemade strawberry vodka liqueur? Would you make it again? (Of course, back on topic, this might well be welcome in a crisis!)

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    1. It looked lovely - the bottles went in the hampers for Christmas gifts so I need to ask if it was OK. I don't/can't drink any alcohol so didn't get to taste.

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  11. I have candles in case of a power cut, I also have 2 lanterns which are battery powered. I keep one on the bookshelves in the sitting room and onein the kitchen. They are quite attractive to look at and produce a bright light. I miss my multi fuel stove and my Aga very much - central heating is trouble free but not the same heat.

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  12. I totally believe in being prepared for anything and have said so in comments on a few blogs. However, because of my disability I am reliant on my husband a lot and apart from stocking up on tinned goods (which took years of him coming round to seeing it as I do) he doesn't have any interest in stocking up on anything else.
    With our recent move we do have an LPG cooker with gas hob and calor gas for heating, also candles, matches, torches and a water butt.
    As I mentioned on Mr Home Maker's post, nothing you buy for preparation would be wasted so it's all money well spent.

    Joan (Devon)

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    1. Sorry, that should be oil for heating.

      Joan (Devon)

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  13. About charging mobile phones - if you haven't already, get an in-car charger, I keep one in the car so never without juice and it is there for power cuts too!

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  14. we have a great lantern/light for power cuts - really safe and easy but does take batteries so check regularly we have said batteries - its called a cyba-lite and i got mine from Amazon

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  15. A head torch is terrific for power outages. You can get rechargable LED types now .
    Most of our camping gear doubles up as emergency stuff.
    One of those little water filter thingummies is handy to have too (life straw) as you can use it for practically any water, even water butt.

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  16. i have most things for an emergency to hand but like so many people we don't have an alternative form of heating, When the electric goes so will the central heating because although it is gas the pump etc is electric. I would love a wood burner.

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  17. Here in the US, most of our neighbors have gotten generators, after going several years in a row with electric for two or more weeks at a time...since we're rural, they connect us LAST...we have wells, and if we have no electric, no water....tough when you have a barn full of animals...and two freezers full of food, that we also lost, TWICE...

    We also have two wood burners.....

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  18. I used to have a wind-up lamp, but it constantly needed winding up and it soon broke. I keep a couple of wind-up torches to hand and a wind-up radio, as well as battery powered portables. We have plenty of candles and a multi-fuel stove, plus a gas-powered camping stove. I try to keep a fair few tins in the cupboard and my husband laughed recently when I bought a couple of large bottles of cheap supermarket water 'just in case'. They wouldn't last for long, but would mean that we could have a drink in an emergency. Tracy

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  19. As a Girl Guide we learned to always be prepared as well. Lots of candles, batteries, and flashlights here as well as a well stocked pantry.

    God bless.

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  20. I don't know if you can get it but I have a solar lantern.
    A Consol glass jar (as used for jam etc) with a solar panel on the lid.
    I use it each evening - night owl and my early bird is asleep.

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  21. It is good to be prepared and you sound like you are as prepared as you can be - I am just going to have a look at how we would manage now...now where did I put those candles...

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  22. A great practical list - I'm super glad the whole topic has generated some practical and useful conversation.

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  23. There's nothing wrong in being a little prepared. Sometimes in the winter we lose power when there is an ice storm so keeping candles, torches and such are just sensible. I always have extra food in. Tinned stuff. Perhaps it wouldn't be made into meals we love but we would be able to eat. If it ends up close to expiration I use up or donate. Both hubby and son make it a hobby to have lots of camping gear on hand so we have dried meals, additional water and fire making tools on hand. They even have those life straw thingys so you can drink usually yucky water.

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