Stock up Now

Señor · Post by **Señor** » 31 Oct 2010, 15:17

frank_begbie wrote:I can't see the Powers That Be turning the electricity off or the water.

It would mean instant panic for the population.

Most people can survive without heat, unless they live in a really cold place.

I reckon I have enough food at the moment for at least 9 months. More if the electric and water stay on.

9 months wow? Where do you store it all? What kind of stuff is it?

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 31 Oct 2010, 15:34

Señor wrote:
frank_begbie wrote:I reckon I have enough food at the moment for at least 9 months. More if the electric and water stay on.
9 months wow? Where do you store it all?

Go on, tell us. We wont tell anyone where to find it. Honest

.

Mean Mr Mustard · Post by **Mean Mr Mustard** » 31 Oct 2010, 15:36

I have 40 days food supply for our 3 dogs and maybe 2 months food for us two. It doesn't take up much space at all in tinned form and a sack of potatoes.

Regarding Frank's thoughts that he just can't see the Powers That Be turning the electricity off or the water, well, just ask the good people of Gloucester. (2007) Or Boston MA, Montreal, Auckland, or was it Wellington, or anywhere in South Africa. Governments everywhere fail. They neglect infrastructure and mistake cheap talk for preventative action. Eg new UK power generation etc etc.

One you might like to consider stocking up on is ready cash, not just becase the ATMs will fail when civilisation collapses overnight, but in case your credit card gets compromised and stopped, and you can't buy fuel or food until the replacement arrives, a week or so later. I now keep £60 in the car to cover my card being unexpectedly declined in a forecourt. And a little more in the house too.

After all, it's not as if it's losing interest in the Mustard savings account...

frank_begbie · Post by **frank_begbie** » 31 Oct 2010, 16:18

Mean Mr Mustard wrote:I have 40 days food supply for our 3 dogs and maybe 2 months food for us two. It doesn't take up much space at all in tinned form and a sack of potatoes.

Regarding Frank's thoughts that he just can't see the Powers That Be turning the electricity off or the water, well, just ask the good people of Gloucester. (2007) Or Boston MA, Montreal, Auckland, or was it Wellington, or anywhere in South Africa. Governments everywhere fail. They neglect infrastructure and mistake cheap talk for preventative action. Eg new UK power generation etc etc.

One you might like to consider stocking up on is ready cash, not just becase the ATMs will fail when civilisation collapses overnight, but in case your credit card gets compromised and stopped, and you can't buy fuel or food until the replacement arrives, a week or so later. I now keep £60 in the car to cover my card being unexpectedly declined in a forecourt. And a little more in the house too.

After all, it's not as if it's losing interest in the Mustard savings account...

Very true you might as well keep it under the bed now.

frank_begbie · Post by **frank_begbie** » 31 Oct 2010, 16:24

JohnB wrote:
Señor wrote:
frank_begbie wrote:I reckon I have enough food at the moment for at least 9 months. More if the electric and water stay on.
9 months wow? Where do you store it all?
Go on, tell us. We wont tell anyone where to find it. Honest .

You must have heard of it "Fort Begbie" high on a hill in Cheshire, surrounded by a moat filled with sharks, and if you get past that, enough Dobermans to eat an Elephant.

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 31 Oct 2010, 16:46

There is some good eating to be had just in Fort Begbie's moat.

I'm kinda partial to shark biltong.

featherstick · Post by **featherstick** » 31 Oct 2010, 16:54

Governments won't necessarily turn off the power. But the profit-taking, under-investing utility companies might. Or their systems will fail, and take weeks to put right. Have a look at Luton last winter. Not only did the power fail, but the power company didn't tell anyone! Not the council, the local hospital, the emergency services, no-one. Took about 3 days for anyone to go knocking on doors saying "are you ok?" to people.

Mean Mr Mustard · Post by **Mean Mr Mustard** » 31 Oct 2010, 16:58

They have electric in Bedfordshire?

featherstick · Post by **featherstick** » 31 Oct 2010, 17:01

Mean Mr Mustard wrote:They have electric in Bedfordshire?

They had, old chap, had. EDF took it back, evidently.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 31 Oct 2010, 19:06

woodburner wrote:Instead of using metal then, use clay mixed with sawdust and make a ceramic one. or buy one of these I know it's spending money, but they are probably the best available.

Pretty damned cool, those products.

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 31 Oct 2010, 19:49

woodburner wrote:Instead of using metal then, use clay mixed with sawdust and make a ceramic one.

We made one at our Green Gathering a couple of years ago. It also had/has a moulded pot skirt in insulated ceramic as well. We'll be making another next August if anyone's interested in seeing how it's done.

We're hoping to have a kiln to make insulated ceramic panels and chimney rings as well for other types of clay oven.

Post by **adam2** » 31 Oct 2010, 20:47

Señor wrote:
frank_begbie wrote:I can't see the Powers That Be turning the electricity off or the water.

It would mean instant panic for the population.

Most people can survive without heat, unless they live in a really cold place.

I reckon I have enough food at the moment for at least 9 months. More if the electric and water stay on.
9 months wow? Where do you store it all? What kind of stuff is it?

I keep at least that much, at more than one location.
Mainly tins, with some dried foods and a few MREs.

featherstick · Post by **featherstick** » 31 Oct 2010, 20:55

Our next foray into deep preps will be bulk-buying, then dividing up into vacuum-sealed mylar pouches. We currently have about 3 months' worth of food in tins - more of spuds - but I think it's probably more efficient and sensible to start vacuum packing.

RachCDS · Post by **RachCDS** » 01 Nov 2010, 14:07

frank_begbie wrote:I can't see the Powers That Be turning the electricity off or the water.

It would mean instant panic for the population.

This may be, but there was a power cut in my home town of Redditch on Tuesday last week in the mid afternoon that lasted around 2 hours. This made the front page of the local newspaper detailing the ‘inconvenience caused to over 26,000 customers and businesses throughout the town’.

I found it a telling sign of how much we have come to depend on electricity and the amount of panic even when we knew it would be coming back on at some point. It also gives us a clue to what it would be like if one day, there really wasn’t any power left and just how ‘inconvenienced’ we would all be then.

Señor · Post by **Señor** » 03 Nov 2010, 10:23

Mean Mr Mustard wrote:I have 40 days food supply for our 3 dogs and maybe 2 months food for us two. It doesn't take up much space at all in tinned form and a sack of potatoes.

Regarding Frank's thoughts that he just can't see the Powers That Be turning the electricity off or the water, well, just ask the good people of Gloucester. (2007) Or Boston MA, Montreal, Auckland, or was it Wellington, or anywhere in South Africa. Governments everywhere fail. They neglect infrastructure and mistake cheap talk for preventative action. Eg new UK power generation etc etc.

One you might like to consider stocking up on is ready cash, not just becase the ATMs will fail when civilisation collapses overnight, but in case your credit card gets compromised and stopped, and you can't buy fuel or food until the replacement arrives, a week or so later. I now keep £60 in the car to cover my card being unexpectedly declined in a forecourt. And a little more in the house too.

After all, it's not as if it's losing interest in the Mustard savings account...

How self reliant are you? Do you grow your own stuff at all?

Also, if civilisation collapsed overnight then I can't see people caring about having cash, they'll want goods in exchange for fuel, surely.