Boudicca Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Hi everyone! I am a relatively new prepper and recently stumbled on this fantastic site! What a wealth of information there is here ... I have no excuse to jolly well not get on with things now! Since August, (the time of the rioting here in the UK), I have collected together about six months supply of food. I have acquired wind up lanterns and torches, a BoB which is an ongoing work of art, communications equipment and about a years worth of fire wood and coal, and a bow and arrows! I have a HUGE list of things I'd like to get, make and learn how to do and sometimes feel a little overwhelmed with the enormity of it all! My plan is to do, buy or learn at least three things each week! This week I have learnt how to make arrows and broadheads and will start constructing my own asap. I have also added some tinned goods to my stores and I have identified a few places in my tiny house where, with a bit of ingenuity, I can construct secret hidey holes. I have also been reading up on solar stills, on this site, and plan on making one in the next couple of months but before I do that, I need to get some rain water barrels to collect water from my roof. And then ... There's the solar power that I would like to get going and ... and ...and... But before any of that I want to make a Farraday Cage to house my radios and other electrical equipment! ... Phew!!! A bit about me ... I live on the outskirts of a small coastal town about 90miles to the east of London. I am self employed and run around all week like a whirling dervish so I am only really able to work on my prepping at weekends. I live on my own and I have two fat 'n' furry rescued cats who like to supervise all my activities and I hasten to add their preps are already taken care of I really look forward to increasing my knowledge and know how and that will be easy now that I've discovered this terrific site. I will be coming here frequently to pick your brains! ttfn Boudicca Link to comment
DonsCountryGal Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Welcome to 'MrsS' Boudicca! Yes, there surely is a great wealth of information here. You'll find everyone here to be very helpful with most any difficulties you may come across! Sounds like you've got a really good headstart with your prepping. Do you have a relatively private area where you're able to hone your archery skills? Again, a big hearty ! Link to comment
Boudicca Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Thank you for the 'hearty welcome' DonsCountryGal! Im very happy to be here! I have a tiny house but with a reasonably long back garden. I am no Robin Hood with a bow and arrow just yet, but manage to keep my arrows in my own back yard! I have spoken to my neighbours about my latest 'hobby' (archery), and no one is bothered about me practicing as I do it EARLY in the morning. I hasten to add, I am not using anything but target practice arrows whilst Im learning! EEK! I am lucky that I have fab neighbours who are 'nice' but not nosey and who are used to me getting on with stuff like chopping wood and building sheds! I think, they think, I am a little eccentric ... If only they knew! Boudicca Welcome to 'MrsS' Boudicca! Yes, there surely is a great wealth of information here. You'll find everyone here to be very helpful with most any difficulties you may come across! Sounds like you've got a really good headstart with your prepping. Do you have a relatively private area where you're able to hone your archery skills? Again, a big hearty ! Link to comment
Sunflower Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Your message brought light to heart today. It is rainy. We need the rain and so do the fields. My bones ache, but there are worse things to deal with. One thing I know is that I will need more bottles of generic tylonel and Alieve to get through SHTF situations. Your interest in solar and Farraday cages caught my attention. I have the tin can for the Farraday cage already. It is a medium size. I also have a very small one (former Christmas Popcorn Tin) ready for conversion. On the bed in the living room I have several boxes of food to repack into mylar bags and 5 gal buckets. The bed is no longer in the bedroom/den as the room is now holding my #10 cans, and buckets of wheat etc. I do not have the windows to the new foods room covered yet, but plan to soon. It gets cold and hot here - with wide temperature swings at times. Glad you are where you are. It sounds like a lovely place to be up north and still near the sea. I too am rather new. I ordered two boxes of ghee (clarified butter) recently. Also have a solar oven on the way. I located one at a price I could manage with pots and assessories included. Plus, I had planned to make my own, but had not got it done yet. I will want a second solar oven, so maybe I will get that one made on my own. I have purchased the mylar survival blankets already and still waiting to snag a old glass frame that is sized right and study enough for my liking. My dog is over 150 pounds. He is a Great Pyrenese, so I need something sturdy enough to keep him from an afternoon snack. The dog is a recused dog. He has heart issues also. I am pretty partial to him. I also need a back up plan to feeding him. A 50 pound bag of food does not last real long with him and the barn and stray cats around. I perfer cats over rats so I cooperate with the cats needs. (Oh, I have snake skins in the basement. Probably a bull snake. Anyone have any ideas on how to deal with them. I have a few run in with snakes on our farm. The bull snakes are kind of big and try to bite you.). Welcome to the English darling. Link to comment
themartianchick Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Hi, Boudicca! Your intro made me a bit dizzy...You've been working hard to get prepped! I look forward to reading your posts and following your progress. Your fast pace might just cause me to get my own butt in gear. In the past 2 weeks, I've filled a few holes in the pantry and it looks as though we've made a few new holes at the same time! Link to comment
Boudicca Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hello Sunflower :wink (2): Wow! It certainly sounds like you are well on your way with your preps! Im sorry to hear your bones ache and am sending you a hug! I am going to get a metal dustbin to use as a Farraday Cage and attach a length of copper wire to the handle and attach the other end to a length of copper pipe buried at least 12" into the ground. I was recommended to 'earth' it by my brother who is a radio ham. I think this is a belt and braces approach which I can do reasonably easily where I am but I have seen that many people dont earth them. I will be interested to hear how you get on with your solar oven Sunflower as I recently was looking on You Tube at one being demonstrated and they look awesome! It makes things difficult to have extremes of temprature and just the other day I was thinking about what I could store in my attic and of course it's limited for the same reasons However, I have plans to make it a bolt hole should the SHTF by pulling down my stairs, making entry to my upper floor and my attic very difficult indeed. You have a Pyrenese Mountain dog! I was at a country show in the summer and there was a lady there who breeds them! They are gorgeous and BIG!!! Lucky you! I dont think Hugo and Izzi my two fat cats would approve though! Have you got chickens or thought about getting some? I have but I can only do one thing at a time and I wouldnt want to get livestock and then be sidetracked by my other preparations. Chickens could provide you with a good food source for yourselves and your Pyrenese? Snakes? YIKES! I had a friend with a 6' Python and Boa Constrictor but they were really quite tame ... I don't think Id fancy meeting up with a wild snake in my house Is there anything that you can get to catch snakes in? A snake trap? Ill have a look around on the net. Thank you for your nice welcome Sunflower, I look forward to comparing notes with you on how are preps are coming on. You look after those achey old bones my dear, Boudicca Link to comment
Boudicca Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hello MartianChick! Sorry to be making you dizzy too! I have been a bit 'gung ho' to get things going as I felt that if anything 'happened' Id be a dead duck in the water! Then when I began to think of all the numerous ways in which I relied on the infastructure and everything we normally take forgranted, it scared the living daylights out of me as to how unprepared I really was! Then... well, I guess everyone who has been prepping for sometime must know, there is sooooooooooooooo much that needs to be done! I am also prepping in order to look after my Mum here (she is not in good health), at my home and also my brother and his wife who currently live in eastern Europe! My brother has recently started prepping there but if it comes to a SHTF scenario and there is enough time, they will be coming here! He is a radio ham, I am part qualified, and when he is next in England we will be stringing up some covert antennas and testing some equipment that he has built which will be very useful in dire emergencies post SHTF. When I started my food preps I thought it would be a good idea to have a limited amount of 'feelgood' factor food s like CHOCOLATE as I honestly can say my life would not be worth living without it! So I bought a few bars to put away ... and guess what? I seem to have a few holes in my preps too and my hips seem to be expanding???????? Hmmmm! Thank you for your welcome I look forward to squeezing every last drop of knowledge out of you too! Boudicca Hi, Boudicca! Your intro made me a bit dizzy...You've ben working hard to get prepped! I look forward to reading your posts and following your progress. Your fast pace might just cause me to get my own butt in gear. In the past 2 weeks, I've filled a few holes in the pantry and it looks as though we've made a few new holes at the same time! Link to comment
Virginia Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hello to you. We might be related, since my paternal relatives came from England, and I think my maiden name is fairly common in England, though not here. Always thought it would be lovely to visit there, but with things across the pond in such an upheaval right now, think I better stick closer to home. From watching TV, it seems that many homes in Europe have little storage space, and they seem to shop for food often. Don't know if that is accurate in your area, but if it is, doesn't that make prepping even more difficult? Link to comment
Boudicca Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi Virginia! Yes indeed, I am English born and bred although my roots are Celtic as my ancestry heralds back to Wales in the west of the UK. I think things here are, on the surface, okay but you only need to look at what happened in August to see what kind of violence can errupt and with a police force that can't police properly because if it did, someone somewhere might have their human rights contravened. It is very disturbing. Sadly, I think you are most definitely well advised to stay put right now! England is not the country it once was You are right, everything here is in much smaller scale than in the US! I live in a tiny fishermans cottage (the fisherman has long since departed!!!) which is 200 years old! And although it's small, I'm a great believer in the old motto ,where there's a will, theres a way'! Ideally, I'd live in a farmhouse with plenty of land to house animals and all my preps but I don't and so I will adapt to what I have! Cache -ing (it didnt look right written as one word!) is something that I will do in the future and as long as some metal detectorist doesn't discover my stuff, its a way that I can still prep only utilising land that is off site. Here in the UK people tend to shop weekly or a couple of times a week and that is another reason why if the SHTF its so disturbing since our food supply chain is rather fragile. For instance, last winter we had much more snow than we do usually, not huge amounts but, the local councils ran out of grit to keep the roads clear and because of that the local shops in town soon ran out of things because the trucks couldnt get to them. It was ridiculous, people started panic buying almost immediatly! Now at that time I would not have classified myself as a prepper but I have always had supplies to last a couple of weeks or more. All of this does make prepping more difficult. My concern is keeping a low profile, I dont want to be seen as being prepared even for tomorrow! However, I think the 'sheeple' are so used to the nanny state pandering to their every need they pay very little attention to what's going on in the world, let alone me ... Thank goodness! I have found it difficult starting out prepping as I don't know of anyone personally that is doing so. I have been to a few of our UK prepping sites but have not found them conducive to my needs ... Too many wannabe Rambos jumping up and down trying to dominate EVERYTHING!!! That's why I am so pleased to be here and to be talking to sane people like you ! ttfn Boudicca Hello to you. We might be related, since my paternal relatives came from England, and I think my maiden name is fairly common in England, though not here. Always thought it would be lovely to visit there, but with things across the pond in such an upheaval right now, think I better stick closer to home. From watching TV, it seems that many homes in Europe have little storage space, and they seem to shop for food often. Don't know if that is accurate in your area, but if it is, doesn't that make prepping even more difficult? Link to comment
dogmom4 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Boudicca! I like your enthusiasm! So glad you decided to join us! Link to comment
Jeepers Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi and WELCOME! England doesn't sound too much different from the U.S. Most people grocery shop once or twice a week here and do not prep for hard times at all. The ones who do usually keep it private. You said England is not the country it once was....I feel the same way about this country. But, it sounds like you are well on your way to preparing yourself for whatever may come along! You will find so much information here and lots of good people to try to help answer questions. So glad you joined in! Link to comment
Christy Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Blimey Boudicca, you're a lively lass! Hello from your side of the pond, a bit to the right and stop swimming, I'll put the kettle on Great to hear you're so actively involved in educating yourself and honing your skills. Don't over do it all at once, 3 new things a week sounds really a lot to me. Other than that, welcome here and enjoy. Link to comment
Boudicca Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Boudicca! I like your enthusiasm! So glad you decided to join us! Thank you Dogmom4! Ive said it before and I'll say it again... I'm very happy to be here ! Nice to meet you! ttfn Boudicca Link to comment
Boudicca Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi and WELCOME! England doesn't sound too much different from the U.S. Most people grocery shop once or twice a week here and do not prep for hard times at all. The ones who do usually keep it private. You said England is not the country it once was....I feel the same way about this country. But, it sounds like you are well on your way to preparing yourself for whatever may come along! You will find so much information here and lots of good people to try to help answer questions. So glad you joined in! Hi Jeepers and THANKS for the welcome! I like to think that you folks over the pond are a little bit more together than we are over here and so Im sorry to hear that you feel the same way about your country Yes, there is so much useful insight and information here for me to draw on ... Excellent! ttfn Boudicca Link to comment
Boudicca Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Blimey Boudicca, you're a lively lass! Hello from your side of the pond, a bit to the right and stop swimming, I'll put the kettle on Great to hear you're so actively involved in educating yourself and honing your skills. Don't over do it all at once, 3 new things a week sounds really a lot to me. Other than that, welcome here and enjoy. Hello neighbour! Next time Im down at the beach I will wave! ... Its a bit on the chilly side for me to take a dip right now but keep your eye trained to our coast and watch out for a small woman waving a big Union Jack with a big fat furry cat on each shoulder (supervising) ... that will be me! I think I have Prepping Fever ... I think it will clear up once I feel a little less reliant on TPTB! I hope so anyway! My 3 things 'to do' dont all have to be enourmous tasks ... buying a can of beans, reading a 'How to ...do something or other' and finding instructive videos on You Tube and elsewhere are 3 simple things. Building a solar still may qualify for a months worth of prepping! How are the Dutch and Germans preparing? Are more people going in that direction? I hope so! Its nice to know I have nice neighbours nearby Christy thanks! ttfn Boudicca Link to comment
Mother Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hello and welcome to Mrs. S, Boudicca. I'm so glad you joined us. I am a long time prepper of almost fifty years except when I started it wasn't called that, it was just considered prudent to have a 'pantry'. Like you, I set out to learn skills that would provide me with self sufficiency, many of which were the skills of our ancestors. Though my age and my health has taken a toll on my practice of those skills now, they were all well learned and will be there when I need them in the future and I keep my hand in just enough so I won't forget. Learning three new skills a week is very ambitious and I look forward to following your posts to see how and what you are learning. Do you have a list yet? I'm pretty sure you will find a lot of ideas here on Mrs. S. Be sure to ask whatever questions you need to help you prepare. On Mrs. S we have always prided ourself in our belief that there are no dumb questions. I must admit, though, that once in a while we give silly answers. All in fun, of course, for we can't let the prepping life wear us down to the point we don't enjoy the present. Again, Welcome to Mrs. S. Also, welcome to all the other new members who I've missed. It is so good to have people join us in trying to be prepared for an uncertain future. Link to comment
snapshotmiki Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi Boudicca! And another welcome!!! May I ask what you do for self employment that keeps you running around like a crazy person? I think many of us here are self employed. My pups are all rescues too! I look forward to hearing from you!!!!! Link to comment
Christy Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Aw Annarchy bless, you are tired. Have another cuppa strong mocha-macha double whipped cream op top coffee. And here's the welcome cake-trolley for Boudicca. Link to comment
Boudicca Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hello and welcome to Mrs. S, Boudicca. I'm so glad you joined us. I am a long time prepper of almost fifty years except when I started it wasn't called that, it was just considered prudent to have a 'pantry'. Like you, I set out to learn skills that would provide me with self sufficiency, many of which were the skills of our ancestors. Though my age and my health has taken a toll on my practice of those skills now, they were all well learned and will be there when I need them in the future and I keep my hand in just enough so I won't forget. Learning three new skills a week is very ambitious and I look forward to following your posts to see how and what you are learning. Do you have a list yet? I'm pretty sure you will find a lot of ideas here on Mrs. S. Be sure to ask whatever questions you need to help you prepare. On Mrs. S we have always prided ourself in our belief that there are no dumb questions. I must admit, though, that once in a while we give silly answers. All in fun, of course, for we can't let the prepping life wear us down to the point we don't enjoy the present. Again, Welcome to Mrs. S. Also, welcome to all the other new members who I've missed. It is so good to have people join us in trying to be prepared for an uncertain future. Hello Mother! Thank you for the warm welcome and the hugs! To have been conscienciously prepping or as you say taking care of your pantry for fifty years is, to me, inspiring! I am not so sure that 3 new skills will be learned each week but, I would like to achieve at least 3 poitive steps forward and part of that progression is to be aware of the skills which I believe will be useful to me in my current situation. For example although I have my bow and arrows, there is no way that I will become a good shot in a week! Likewise, making arrows is definitely a skill and with anything trial and error will come into play so again, just by accessing the material and know how for me is the start, the development of my skills will take much longer! By setting myself three things I believe it will keep me on track and in focuus! I will difinitely post about what I'm doing and I can guarantee I will be asking lots of questions too! I have several lists! And I have BIG trouble prioritising! I have read quite a few threads on here that have helped me in this area alot! Water is at the top of my list. I will post a compiled version of it on a new thread and hopefully everyone will chip in and give me some tips! In the last few days since the tragic sinking of the Costa Concordia off Italy, I have been reviewing my EDC and I plan to improve in this area too. It's a small thing but potentially life saving and so, important. I hear what you are saying about "we can't let the prepping of life wear us down" I wholeheartedly agree with you. I see prepping as a challenge, one that I will enjoy too! Thank you for your kind welcome, Boudicca I Link to comment
Boudicca Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi Boudicca! And another welcome!!! May I ask what you do for self employment that keeps you running around like a crazy person? I think many of us here are self employed. My pups are all rescues too! I look forward to hearing from you!!!!! Hi Snapshotmiki! Thank you for the flowers! I work in outsourcing. Your pups are gorgeous! Everyone here seems to have rescued cats and dogs! That is great! Maybe someone here can rescue me!!! ONLY JOKING! Thank you again, Boudicca Link to comment
Boudicca Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Aw Annarchy bless, you are tired. Have another cuppa strong mocha-macha double whipped cream op top coffee. And here's the welcome cake-trolley for Boudicca. Awww thanks .. Mines the chocolate eclair ... delish! ... Link to comment
MomM Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Welcome Boudicca! Very glad you've found us. This is a wonderful site, filled with very caring people. For me, "9-11" was the event that destroyed our "age of innocence". Such a different world we are living in compared to the one I had as a child. But, with all the gloom and doom, I have hope. Just welcomed our 6th grandchild into our family, and our last two children are getting married in Feb. and May. Looking forward to your posts. Link to comment
Ambergris Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Welcome, Boudicca! Are you knapping your arrowheads from stone, old glass bottles, or what? Don't forget to do leaning pull-ups to build up your bowstring-pulling muscles. Set a bar or a sturdy one-inch pipe (or the metric equivalent) across the seats of two chairs, lie on your back on the floor between the chairs, reach up, and pull your chest up to the bar. Keeping latex exercise bands on you is a good idea because you can exercise while standing in line. While I was doing this at the post office today, two other ladies looked at me and pulled out exercise bands while another woman produced a pair of pink hand weights. We joked that all we needed was good music, so some guy with a phone-iPad-thing played some kind of electronic song I didn't recognize--but it sure had a beat. Link to comment
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