What Preps are you doing this week? Part 13

[Frnc]

Cancelled BT landline
Cancelled old Talk Talk Broadband
Set up new EE Broadband only

£125 up

All due to BT's crap website kept crashing

Just waiting on the new hub to arrive in the next couple of weeks.

I was with Talk Talk. My account got taken over by Utility Warehouse. They sent a new router. Had no issues apart from them trying to sell me mobile package etc. I assumed the whole company had been migrated, but apparently not.

[Peter]

We were with the Post Office, very good, taken over by Shell who sold it to Talk Talk, lots of problems.

[Peter]

We had a text this afternoon from the National Grid about potential power cuts, if they are concerned about cuts
in summer we can expect and must prepare for a long cold dark winter.

We didn’t use the multifuel stove last winter, getting to old to lug buckets of coal about, but we have about
half a ton of smokeless coal for emergencies. We have propane for cooking would like more, price including
cost of cylinder is getting silly. We have a small solar set up for lighting and battery charging, we will have to
manage the freezers as best we can adding extra insulation when power is off, and laundry will be hand washing.

So with this in mind we are starting to put together a plan.

[Frnc]

Ordered some Nikwax DWR for my cycling soft-shell jacket. Wouldn't deliver this item to Post Office. I will be keeping a close eye on the delivery. If they change the date, I won't be happy. I ordered it because it said it would be delivered on a certain date, not maybe, or by, and certainly not after. It's not urgent, but I'm making an exception for this. I don't want to waste my summer waiting whole days for Amazon deliveries, and getting messed about, as I have been recently. They don't even bother trying a neighbour some times. They even leave things on the doorstep when I'm in. It's got really bad, and has to stop.

[pseudonym]

Ecoflow Stream microinverter ready for the 27th.

[Yorkshire Andy]

We had a text this afternoon from the National Grid about potential power cuts, if they are concerned about cuts
in summer we can expect and must prepare for a long cold dark winter.

We didn’t use the multifuel stove last winter, getting to old to lug buckets of coal about, but we have about
half a ton of smokeless coal for emergencies. We have propane for cooking would like more, price including
cost of cylinder is getting silly. We have a small solar set up for lighting and battery charging, we will have to
manage the freezers as best we can adding extra insulation when power is off, and laundry will be hand washing.

So with this in mind we are starting to put together a plan.

Keep your eye on Facebook local selling page for 2nd hand bottles whilst not technically permitted to resell the bottle I've acquired a few that way over the years to avoid paying the initial deposit.. to be fair 2 I got out of ditch bottoms on my way to work but you dont see them dumped much these days

[Frnc]

Nikwax has arrived, so I can DWR my cycling jacket. Just need to clean a spray bottle to dampen it first.

It came two days early, which is annoying. Delivery was Saturday, not 'by Saturday'. I need to order a rug, but I'll wait 'til after my next bike ride so it's not critical what day it comes. I've ordered a plant, but they let me specify a day.

I've touched up the damage to the floor in the front living room. It's come out reasonable, but I think the room will look better with rug anyway, and a plant.

I'm also going to wax the wardrobe dark like mine, and drawers a bit lighter. This is a spare room I just use to dry clothes on a rainy day, but could become a lodger's room if necessary.

[Arzosah]

I'm catching up on things that I more or less abandoned when the worst of the heatwaves were on (I've just heard we're due another next week, but at least I've more or less caught up) - regular driving, repairs to wifi and mobile connections, a bit of cleaning in the house, that sort of thing. It's been really difficult with the weather so hot for so long, I'm really not good in the heat these days.

[GeraldTheBonzai]

I'm catching up on things that I more or less abandoned when the worst of the heatwaves were on (I've just heard we're due another next week, but at least I've more or less caught up) - regular driving, repairs to wifi and mobile connections, a bit of cleaning in the house, that sort of thing. It's been really difficult with the weather so hot for so long, I'm really not good in the heat these days.

In the same boat - I used to live in a hot country and worked in many more in years gone past. Never used to bother me. Now, its just too hot to do anything other than sit in a sweaty puddle. Down here in the South, we've not had that stuff that used to come out of the sky (rain?) for so long it feels like a distant memory. Tried to put a fork into one of the vegetable beds yesterday - not a change - was like concrete.

Saying that, at some point I need to try and have a go at adding a bit of water proofing to the conservatory roof - just want to get through another winter, then having the whole thing replaced next year. So going to try and use the heat to my advantage - bitumen strips nice and soft in this weather.

[Frnc]

Yes, another heatwave next week. Actually it starts tomorrow! 27 here tomorrow.

Did my first Amazon collection from Post Office. Is a pity some things can't be sent there. Chippy is on way home, so that's my day's calories blown. Their 'small' chips is 360g, which is 770 calories! My backside is out of condition, so I can only do about 40 minutes easy cycling at the moment. That's about 150 calories. Blimey. But I am determined to get out more often.