What Preps are you doing this week? Part 9

[Arzosah]

I dono about anybody else but I get a real feeling of things getting serious and serious preppers moving up a gear.

Agreed.

In my personal circumstances, I think back 2 years to the start of the pandemic, and the holiday I had booked, that only ended a week before the first lockdown - it gave me good memories and I still was able to use that week before we all had to cope with lockdown.

Now, I've just had a short covid-safe holiday in Dorset as opposed to a foreign holiday. It feels the same, but worse: a last gasp before holidays become impossible. The future is starting to feel oppressive.

[daylen]

I dono about anybody else but I get a real feeling of things getting serious and serious preppers moving up a gear.

100%. Whatever the cause, things will become much more expensive. I don't think we've hit the tipping point yet but I think this winter will be the point where the S hits the fan in real terms for a majority of people. I really do dread to think what this winter will be like.

[jennyjj01]

I dono about anybody else but I get a real feeling of things getting serious and serious preppers moving up a gear.

We seem to have a consensus.

There's the enormous threat of WW3 oozing out of Ukraine.
There's the relentless rise in energy prices and the threat to some countries of shutdown of supply. Consequences unthinkable.
Inflation is increasing to levels not seen in decades. 2% to 6.2%. I don't see that as a 4.2% rise, but as a tripling.
An actual threat of food shortages, silly things that we take for granted like oil and cucumber and wheat.
And covid never went away. Nor did US politics which will bite the world's ar5e in November.

We have all the ingredients for global and national unrest. All clear and present danger.

So..... Back on topic. What am I doing this week.....

Mostly worrying. I'm struggling to focus. Going through a bad phase where I just want to hide under the duvet.

I've started to pop a few of my bigger tomatoes, okra and aubergine into growbags. Decided on growbags and pots on a shelf rather than setting into planters. Made the shelf from pallets. Very quick and simple.
Did some veg swapsies with neighbours. Bought more 5l bottles of water. Had our big tree pruned to let some light in on the garden.
Acquired some free part rotted leaf mould for the composter, which is nearly full again and hotting up nicely.
Started pulling together my solar project, just waiting on the battery. More lamps and batteries ordered.

[Nurseandy]

Been doing possibly the most important prep & building relationships with our new "neighbours", I use the term loosely- they're the closest people to us but still about 1/2 a mile away
Been chatting about the private water supply, I gave them some seeds, they gave me some veg plug plants.
Their parting shot was "nice to know there's a nurse on the hill"

[Winterprep]

Adding food to the stores. I’m going to spend any excess cash on food just now and I’m considering using a £1000 from my savings,it’s just loosing value sitting there while everything increases in price to do a big shop this week.

Ordering some service parts for my daughters car so I can give it a good service and check over once she comes home from university.

[Jerseyspud]

I join in the consensus thst it feels like everything is more serious again

Used cherryz for the first time for food delivery today and am really impressed with it and price for tinned stuff.

I don't have cheap supermarkets over here. I'm going to do another order

[jansman]

I fished today. Because of the holiday,I couldn’t get hold of ‘ modern’ bait, so I went Old School.My compost heaps are full of red worms,and the pantry full of sweetcorn. And so it was to be. I caught fish,lots of fish. To anyone not familiar with fishing , the standard is to use barbless hooks.They are kinder to the fish. Welfare is the watchword.

Now fishing with worms on barbless hooks is difficult,because worms wriggle and come off easily.Sorry if that upsets anyone,but I am in prepping mode now. In this country,eating freshwater fish is no longer popular.That is mainly because of sport fishermen ( like me) who frown upon it. When Eastern Europeans migrated here in the 2000’s they fished to eat,and in many places they literally cleared fisheries,so the conservation angle hardened still more.

However, it seems now that we may be facing economic problems,even collapse. Freshwater fisheries could become a food source. I for one would exploit it if my back was against the wall. I would do well,because I am good at angling. Back to barbless hooks though. It’s rare for a fish to ‘throw’ a barbed hook ,unlike barbless.So in a survival situation barbed will be the way to go.I have a few in appropriate sizes knocking about,but I am going to lay a few more in ,just in case.I have plenty of monofilament line in, but I shall do an inventory this week.I remember an article in The Anglers Mail in 1980 ? by the prominent angler Roy Marlow, who suggested that oil shortages could mean a restriction of availability of monofilaments. The way it’s going now in 2022, his thoughts may become reality. One good thing is that right now it can be sourced quite reasonably,and like most things,kept cool ,dark and dry,it lasts .It’ll be an inflation insurance too.

Given the amount of game out there today as well , need to check my .22 ammo too!

[pseudonym]

At a leaving function in Iraq I had the tastiest Carp meal. IIRC it was grilled.

[jennyjj01]

I join in the consensus thst it feels like everything is more serious again

Used cherryz for the first time for food delivery today and am really impressed with it and price for tinned stuff.

I don't have cheap supermarkets over here. I'm going to do another order

I'd never heard of cherryz. So. does it use regular Royal Mail (or Jersey equiv) or Hermes to send the parcels? Their delivery prices seem incredibly low. Cheaper than our supermarkets with their fleets of vans. Though their range is quite small, prices are low and on par with big supermarkets? I cannot understand how they can do it at those prices. And then they run discount schemes and an affiliate scheme!!!

[jansman]

At a leaving function in Iraq I had the tastiest Carp meal. IIRC it was grilled.

Carp is the traditional meal in several European countries.