Jump to content

prepared for the worst


chesters1

prepared or not?  

28 members have voted

  1. 1. alternate heating? IE not dependant on utilities

    • yes
      17
    • no
      8
    • for an extended period ,over a week for instance
      11
  2. 2. alternate lighting IE not dependant on utilities

    • yes
      16
    • no
      10
    • for an extended period ,over a week for instance
      8
  3. 3. alternative cooking IE not dependant on utilities

    • yes
      21
    • no
      5
    • for an extended period ,over a week for instance
      8


Recommended Posts

Well, I have to agree that Emmas comments post 41 are what I would consider sensible. I once worked for a family who had been flooded out (up to the ceiling).

 

All the other families got out with money/documents etc and went straight in to hotels and let the insurance deal with everything. They were all insured obviously. The smartarse I had the misfortune to deal with wasn't (he had a fair few bob), and he was still homeless months after the others had moved back.

 

Dave Vagabond, people have traditionally built in valleys/hollows etc, some to be close to water supplies, some for shelter from cold winds. Long before modern insulation was even thought of, so it is not surprising that the vast majority of the housing stock is built down on flood plains.

 

As for Emmas comments re Dave Chesters, well you did ask for it Dave :)

 

Den

"When through the woods and forest glades I wanderAnd hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,And hear the brook, and feel the breeze;and see the waves crash on the shore,Then sings my soul..................

for all you Spodders. https://youtu.be/XYxsY-FbSic

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 70
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

The thread was started in November when our flooding occurred. It may have nothing to do with that event and would have been started anyway. If so fair enough as it has the potential for an interesting discussion, and maybe some even back then anticipated the significantly severe weather which we are experiencing now?

Some of the suggested solutions to coping with having ones electric/gas/water ceased are sensible if common sense ones and have not been 'belittled' at all.

What does stretch things is this moving into a tent business, what circumstances would come about to make life better by evacuating a building to do that? Fire and flood (that again) spring to mind as the most obvious, in the former one would have course have to have rescued all the necessary camping stores and rations, ditto with the latter, but more importantly, why? Incidents like this happen to people who are old and infirm, new born, blind, bedridden with terminal illness, mentally ill, heavily pregnant as well as those who are or who imagine that they are capable undertaking such rigours. A whole cross section of society. Camping in a flooded, and by definition contaminated building also raises a 'why?' It would be easy to fill the page with real life examples to render the notion dangerously irresponsible.

 

Chesters expended considerable time in here ensuring that we know the motives for his independence and self sufficiency, and his scathingly dim view of those who ill prepare themselves for all that life may throw at them (its perfectly easy to live for some time without bothering other people because you didnt make an effort to look after your self). However it's difficult to extend credibility towards one who expresses these views yet occupies accommodation provided by the community, lives off benefits ('living on the Mr's benefits we couldn't afford blooming B&B' ) and who feels that a television, computer, private vehicle and a whole heap of camping gadgets are more important than having insurance.(outside of the nice world Emma lives in some people dont have insurance i certainly do not), or to have the prudence to keep a reserve of money for a rainy day to properly look after oneself and ones family for even a short emergency period. Far from being independent he is what neo-conservatives like Murray et al call, call the 'feckless'.

 

as usual your misquoting my posts on the flood thread i did not say leave if you have an upstairs.

As for the last miserable paragraph (certainly meant to demean me) I had no choice in the way we live now ,the tied cottage we lived in was sold under us so we lived in a motorhome (no drain on anyone we did try but the uni forbid the camper room in the car park my mrs was left all day in sidestreets ,its also illegal to camp anywhere but licenced camp sites) ,the nearest camp site we could get to Guildford where i worked was chertsey (this site was the nearest open in november until feb ) commuting in the camper was impractical so i had to give up a perfectly good job as well.

we lived on savings (you know the pot of money you mention) no drain on anyone but ourselves ,we realised we were between a rock and a hard place we could rent a measly room for 500 quid a month plus council tax until the money ran out ,try and get the job back (even aldershot was above our means this is commuter belt Surrey not sheep strewn Cumbria) or demand our rights to have the council provide (just like anyone else who's homeless).

we went down the council path! the ten month wait whilst the council tried every trick in the book to dodge their legal requirement wrecked my mrs health .

we finally got this place after proving legally the council had done its utmost to not only dismiss us as a pack of liars to an MP it also lied and committed fraud by destroying anything they had that proved they knew about our predicament (again we paid from our rapidly diminishing pot of savings) on being caught out they quickly shelved and gave in.

by this time my mrs needed 24hr care we then got her her rights to disabled benefits which we both live on ,i do not get state aid in my own right.you cannot get state aid when your homeless bar cider money.

we moved in with £42 left from our feckless pot ,no furniture but a telly ,a side board and two chairs (all the rest was burned and skipped as we had little time to sort things out when we lost our old place) besides the money the mrs gets we got a decorating grant from the council just like anyone does moving into a council place :rolleyes:

so you see in the last place insurance was no good (we did have it but "moving" isnt included as a calamity) and now living on the money we have now we cant afford it or if we do something else has to go.I did get my old job back in the following september but it was only for 6 months as a temporary worker my rights then meant i couldnt argue my case to keep it when it folded.In those 6 months i almost had a breakdown knowingly leaving my very sick mrs at home trying to not be a drain on anyone!

 

so Emma we didnt rely on anyone but ourselves and our rights as a tax payer the same rights every one else has in times of strife ,we didnt get flooded out but we still lost our home ,we depended on me not imposed on family or friends :P

we will never be in the same state when we left the old place the pot of money (you know that feckless pot) has long gone and will never be found again.

low life dregs to you perhaps but bloody proud of it in a state where the ethnic population gets less bloody respect than those with no rights to anything.

 

you will see i slate the government and council whenever i can ,i have seen first hand how bloody badly they treat people.

yes i probably do look down on others who dont provide for themselves i come from a stance where we had nothing but managed they no doubt cannot be bothered to do it.

we lived on camping gear for many months (i have a note from social services stating a one burner cooker is adequate for our needs :angry: ) we bought our "stuff" by scrimping on other things i have the internet only by selling things on EBay ,paypal buys things we normaly cannot afford .

as for living in a house that was flooded and perhaps contaminated when you dont have a choice you will ,i have lived in places far worse by choice.Not everyone can live in Emmas real world ,i did once its now gone

Edited by chesters1

Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave Vagabond, people have traditionally built in valleys/hollows etc, some to be close to water supplies, some for shelter from cold winds. Long before modern insulation was even thought of, so it is not surprising that the vast majority of the housing stock is built down on flood plains.

 

 

...and your point is ?

 

I am quite well aware the majority of houses are on flood plains - never said otherwise.

 

What I DID say is that nothing would induce me to live on a flood plain. I'll go fishing there, perhaps even stay overnight at a riverside hostelry, but would never have a permanent home there - not even if there was a super roach swim at the bottom of the garden.

 

The fact that the majority live on flood plains is no concern of mine* - its their choice. Big insurance premiums, worries every time there is a prolonged downpour, a high chance of misery at some point in their life - no thanks.

 

I consider my money was better spent on a more expensive house above the floods than donated to an insurance company.

 

*Afterthought - well - it is a concern in the sense that this government continues to approve plans to build on flood plains. When the inevitable floods come, the cost of alleviating the increased collective misery of those obliged to live there will be reflected in increased local and national taxes on all of us.

Edited by Vagabond

 

 

RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

as usual your misquoting my posts on the flood thread i did not say leave if you have an upstairs.

As for the last miserable paragraph (certainly meant to demean me) I had no choice in the way we live now ,the tied cottage we lived in was sold under us so we lived in a motorhome (no drain on anyone we did try but the uni forbid the camper room in the car park my mrs was left all day in sidestreets ,its also illegal to camp anywhere but licenced camp sites) ,the nearest camp site we could get to Guildford where i worked was chertsey (this site was the nearest open in november until feb ) commuting in the camper was impractical so i had to give up a perfectly good job as well.

we lived on savings (you know the pot of money you mention) no drain on anyone but ourselves ,we realised we were between a rock and a hard place we could rent a measly room for 500 quid a month plus council tax until the money ran out ,try and get the job back (even aldershot was above our means this is commuter belt Surrey not sheep strewn Cumbria) or demand our rights to have the council provide (just like anyone else who's homeless).

we went down the council path! the ten month wait whilst the council tried every trick in the book to dodge their legal requirement wrecked my mrs health .

we finally got this place after proving legally the council had done its utmost to not only dismiss us as a pack of liars to an MP it also lied and committed fraud by destroying anything they had that proved they knew about our predicament (again we paid from our rapidly diminishing pot of savings) on being caught out they quickly shelved and gave in.

by this time my mrs needed 24hr care we then got her her rights to disabled benefits which we both live on ,i do not get state aid in my own right.you cannot get state aid when your homeless bar cider money.

we moved in with £42 left from our feckless pot ,no furniture but a telly ,a side board and two chairs (all the rest was burned and skipped as we had little time to sort things out when we lost our old place) besides the money the mrs gets we got a decorating grant from the council just like anyone does moving into a council place :rolleyes:

so you see in the last place insurance was no good (we did have it but "moving" isnt included as a calamity) and now living on the money we have now we cant afford it or if we do something else has to go.I did get my old job back in the following september but it was only for 6 months as a temporary worker my rights then meant i couldnt argue my case to keep it when it folded.In those 6 months i almost had a breakdown knowingly leaving my very sick mrs at home trying to not be a drain on anyone!

 

so Emma we didnt rely on anyone but ourselves and our rights as a tax payer the same rights every one else has in times of strife ,we didnt get flooded out but we still lost our home ,we depended on me not imposed on family or friends :P

we will never be in the same state when we left the old place the pot of money (you know that feckless pot) has long gone and will never be found again.

low life dregs to you perhaps but bloody proud of it in a state where the ethnic population gets less bloody respect than those with no rights to anything.

 

you will see i slate the government and council whenever i can ,i have seen first hand how bloody badly they treat people.

yes i probably do look down on others who dont provide for themselves i come from a stance where we had nothing but managed they no doubt cannot be bothered to do it.

we lived on camping gear for many months (i have a note from social services stating a one burner cooker is adequate for our needs :angry: ) we bought our "stuff" by scrimping on other things i have the internet only by selling things on EBay ,paypal buys things we normaly cannot afford .

as for living in a house that was flooded and perhaps contaminated when you dont have a choice you will ,i have lived in places far worse by choice.Not everyone can live in Emmas real world ,i did once its now gone

 

That life has deal you a poor hand isn’t license to stalk through these pages cynically snarling at almost everyone else, trying to point out how foolish and inadequate we are in almost everything we do or say. While promoting your own ‘savvy’.

You suggest that part of my last post was intended to ‘demean’ you, it was written to point out the contradictions and flaws in your case. If you felt ‘demeaned’ well isn’t that precisely what you try to makes others feel, over and over? And as pointed out recently, ‘you asked for it’.

 

I don’t misquote you, on the contrary I post back your words ad verbatim.

Some clearly ignore you, probably upon reflection the most sensible course, and one I was following until recently, others don’t waste time in lengthy discourse as I have done this time and point out what they think in short sharp terms. Some discussions end up being continued using the private message system (and that wasn’t my idea) simply to avoid things being turned into a mockery.

 

Please have a think about it, my (late) Father used to say 'anyone who fishes can't be all bad', and I still have faith in his words.

Edited by Emma two
"Some people hear their inner voices with such clarity that they live by what they hear, such people go crazy, but they become legends"
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You ever spare the time for a fishing trip Chesters, let me know. It will me my treat and my pleasure. Don't take too long in agreeing, specially when the summer is here. Gawd bless you sir. :)

Free to choose apart from the ones where the trust poked their nose in. Common eel. tope. Bass and sea bream. All restricted.


New for 2016 TAT are the main instigators for the demise of the u k bass charter boat industry, where they went screaming off to parliament and for the first time assisting so called angling gurus set up bass take bans with the e u using rubbish exaggerated info collected by ices from anglers, they must be very proud.

Upgrade, the door has been closed with regards to anglers being linked to the e u superstate and the failed c f p. So TAT will no longer need to pay monies to the EAA anymore as that org is no longer relevant to the u k . Goodbye to the europeon anglers alliance and pathetic restrictions from the e u.

Angling is better than politics, ban politics from angling.

Consumer of bass. where is the evidence that the u k bass stock need angling trust protection. Why won't you work with your peers instead of castigating them. They have the answer.

Recipie's for mullet stew more than welcomed.

Angling sanitation trust and kent and sussex sea anglers org delete's and blocks rsa's alternative opinion on their face book site. Although they claim to rep all.

new for 2014. where is the evidence that the south coast bream stock need the angling trust? Your campaign has no evidence. Why won't you work with your peers, the inshore under tens? As opposed to alienating them? Angling trust failed big time re bait digging, even fish legal attempted to intervene and failed, all for what, nothing.

Looks like the sea angling reps have been coerced by the ifca's to compose sea angling strategy's that the ifca's at some stage will look at drafting into legislation to manage the rsa, because they like wasting tax payers money. That's without asking the rsa btw. You know who you are..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

emma seems to be on a self preservation course ,she hasnt (i expect she looked hard at both threads to find something i said to hang me with) said anything contradictory to my well meaning post, the bile just probably just to save face.

My intention was to ask and then show you could be prepared for ALL eventualities with a bit of forethought so you were not stopping those that help in emergency situations getting to those that cannot help them selves ,the sick elderly and infirm etc.

 

It also was my intention to show even on a limited income you can cater for yourselves for some time with little outlay a small collection of things that could be ignored most of the time but be within hand in cases of a power cut or worse .

 

with a little more money (or a hobby that uses them) you could build up enough emergency supplies so you could live exactly the same as you usually do even if the electric and gas were off,

 

Decent cookers even with a grill that can be plonked on your old cooker and cook the very same (albeit slower as you have less rings) meals as normal.we paid £12 for the cooker its not a huge outlay on anyones pocket even if its never used!

 

Decent lights so your not groping about with candles or silly tea lights can (as i have shown) be bought very cheaply and the highlighted ones in another thread be even used by women ,nothing against women but even my long suffering wife will not play with pressure lamps however dark it is i think a high proportion of women probably think the same.

 

And that a stash of food was kept above what is usually kept for emergencies ,i said we had two freezers and a full cupboard of tins as an example none is full of tins of roast chicken ,beluga caviar or fortnum and masons pick of the week stuff just basic fare you can ignore (pointless filling up with stuff you will eat first) until its needed.

 

and ofcourse if your hobby allows it build up a emergency cache or even two (or 3 or 4) so even the most unusual events can be cater to some extreme .Ofcourse in the winter fridges arent needed but 3 way ones very handy for keeping things cool in the summer our last house used to have power cuts for days so we learnt the hard way to think ahead my post was to help those that perhaps till now have not .

I even mentioned the ideal setup where you had stand by electric and a telly we dont have a radio so any info would have to come via the telly as i mentioned outside of hobbies that can use it the top of the range emergency supply is probably not for everyone.

 

going by the Poll most of the responders could cater for them selves ,some very basically some better.Its been a week now (hence my last line in the poll) i had no need to go out bar once to pick up a prescription for the mrs (she's never prepared for emergencies :rolleyes: ) and to buy the old lady next door a jar of coffee.

 

Hopefully despite the bad feelings in the thread some will think about it and get prepared .Its been a week now but my forward thinking has backfired somewhat ,down to 3 bog rolls so if the snow doesnt melt soon the pack of 4 in the trailer tent will be needed.(bugger is owning a trailer tent smug?)

Luckily the power stayed on (winchester lost it) so the emergency gas heating wasnt needed but its very nice (so i am a little smug) to know you dont need to bother anyone whatever is going on even on the basic cache for at least a week.

ofcourse theres always the genetically stupid who go for walks in the fells and get trapped or lost and put others lives at risk looking for them ,there always is but with a little forethought they (the emergency services) wont be dragging the stupid out of ditches because they ran out of food or the house got cold because the leccy went off so can have more poor souls out saving the deliberately stupid

 

snow chains on the list this year as i said but worry not i wont pay much for them ;)

 

"Chesters expended considerable time in here ensuring that we know the motives for his independence and self sufficiency, and his scathingly dim view of those who ill prepare themselves for all that life may throw at them (its perfectly easy to live for some time without bothering other people because you didnt make an effort to look after your self). However it’s difficult to extend credibility towards one who expresses these views yet occupies accommodation provided by the community, lives off benefits (‘living on the Mr's benefits we couldn't afford blooming B&B’ ) and who feels that a television, computer, private vehicle and a whole heap of camping gadgets are more important than having insurance.(outside of the nice world Emma lives in some people dont have insurance i certainly do not), or to have the prudence to keep a reserve of money for a rainy day to properly look after oneself and ones family for even a short emergency period. Far from being independent he is what neo-conservatives like Murray et al call, call the 'feckless'. "

 

 

 

 

as for emmas retort yes i was dealt a bad hand ,it wasnt the first it maybe not the last but aside from help everyone can get if the fill the criteria (state benefits or council housing) i have never imposed on anyone everything i have got is by going without something else .My "fecklessness" as i have said is beyond my control a previous bit of bad luck used the last un-feckless bits up :P

having no contents insurance doesn't really bother me ,we had nothing in 2001 having nothing again really isnt worth worrying about ,nice to have the money to get insurance but in our case its better spent on todays problems not an unpredictable futures ,if the house burns down we simply live in a tent no problem! plenty of people in the world do it some even because they want to.

as i said i personally do not rely on the state the mrs got the council house (only because she is disabled note) and she gets the benefits ,i look after her 24/7 so live with her ,if i dropped dead tomorrow she (and it was all set up for the eventuality) will still get exactly the same and then probably more ,i save the fooking state money not live off it

 

 

if ofcourse its merely that emma has a problem with me perhaps it would come better from someone who actually makes an effort to start a thread now and again ,even my drawl pulls in people from outside ,her sole contribution with any replies worth reading seems to be the whining and pouting in "my outing" brought on no doubt at a realisation even the surgeons knife and powerful drugs cannot remove all the manly aspects of a person and even writing on a forum gives things away .You would think an ex service person could come up with more than doing a "rabbit" on someone elses post and contribute but perhaps tales of facial cammo ,huddling around a hexamine stove wiv me mates and calling in air strikes on wedding parties not really that interesting.If you want to play spiteful i'm afraid your far down the ranks mate and if you want to report the post now it has got personal go ahead!

Edited by chesters1

Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chesters, thank you for initiating this thread, I have found it interesting and enlightening, and that is the essence of what this forum is about. Some of your ideas and those generated are akin with my current line of thought, I had put it down to being of a certain age.

 

I am absolutely sure you will not be intimidated by posts from a certain person. I really couldn't let this latest outburst lie without giving you my support.

I rarely bother logging on these days as this aint the place it used to be, too many personal attacks and usually from the same few posters. It would seem that some would have us embrace their views whilst they seek to ridicule those which they don't agree with.

I have moved on to another forum where I feel I can more easily express my opinion without seemingly engaging a nutter or two.

 

So come the apocalypse yours will be the place with lights aglow and the wafting scent of bacon butties filling the air, good luck to you mate.

Our perception of time as an orderly sequence of regular ticks and tocks has no relevance here in the alternative dimension that is fishing....... C.Yates

Link to comment
Share on other sites

intimidated not me i call it deadbait wobbling :D

Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chesters, thank you for initiating this thread, I have found it interesting and enlightening, and that is the essence of what this forum is about.

......I am absolutely sure you will not be intimidated

...good luck to you mate.

 

I would support that.

 

It is a pity that what the thread was about (ie providing alternative heating, lighting and cooking if your utilities failed - either due to extreme demand, bad weather, power lines down, industrial action, or just your boiler breaking down) was hijacked by a rant about flooding.

 

Before that there was very helpful input from several (as a result of which I'm thinking of getting a small generator)

 

Saying the thread is irrelevant to flooding is itself irrelevant. Its irrelevant to bush fires, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes and plagues of locusts also - so what?.

Edited by Vagabond

 

 

RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

be choosy when buying a generator ,under 1kw is ok for lights ,2kw you can run lights and a small telly and a low wattage (camping type) kettle.The higher the figure the more you can run at once.and dont be fooled by peak output thats when the poor things screaming its head off

my boss wanted the lot so he bought a diesel 5kw but the price was not what normal people pay for the odd power cut although it was used a fair bit as the powers dodgy hereabouts.

 

he had it professionally installed so it took over the complete electric system when it came on ( the national grid was isolated) but if you have lamps etc separate from your house wiring you can run anything you please.

ALL are gob smackingly expensive to run compared to what comes out of the grid they are extremely noisy as well but far quieter than in the past the suitcase types have a limited output but are very quiet.

he had his installed in an outhouse well away from anyone

Edited by chesters1

Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.