a personal comment on this stockpiling

misb

If there are serious outages of power and water will there be any broadcasts at all,wind up radio or not?
Similarly ,no water to flush the loo,what use loo rolls.Whats to be done with the waste!
Or am I catastrophing as usual.

In childhood we lived in my gran

dparents house which had no plumbing, no water, and no flush lav. We all used a bucket under a wooden seat in the outhouse, and buried the contents in the veg garden.

We still wiped our bottoms ( with squares of newspaper).

In the 1990's my next door neighbour still lived in the house he was born in; with no plumbing or water supply. He also had no outhouse. He peed in the bushes and used the traditional method of shitting on a newspaper, folding it up and burning it on the kitchen range.

I just mention this to help you all in the dark days.

Re flushing the loo.

Assuming it’s not a drought period, we would have several water butts, hopefully full.

If we were desperate, would have to boil it for drinking also.

misb

If there are serious outages of power and water will there be any broadcasts at all,wind up radio or not?
Similarly ,no water to flush the loo,what use loo rolls.Whats to be done with the waste!
Or am I catastrophing as usual.

Yes. AI response
• Broadcasting House & Key Facilities: Major production and key operational centers like BBC Broadcasting House and primary transmitter sites are equipped with backup generators to maintain limited, critical public service broadcasting during a power outage.
• National Transmitters: Major transmitter sites (such as Droitwich, Westerglen, and Burghead) feature large diesel backup generators designed to keep essential emergency radio channels on the air for extended periods.
• Prioritization of Services: In a severe national power cut or emergency, television and standard commercial stations are typically scaled back or shut off to conserve power, while key national radio services—specifically BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4—are prioritized to relay government emergency information.
• Local vs. National Coverage: While major national infrastructure and primary hubs have robust generator cover lasting days or weeks, many local radio stations have limited backup power lasting only a couple of hours.

JenniRen

Desdemona

Dandelions are the way to go, you can eat every part of it and make coffee out of the roots apparently.

Perhaps now is the time to take a foraging course.

But won't you spend a lot of time rushing to the loo?
That's another problem if there's a water shortage, flushing the loo.

Dig a deep hole at the end of the garden, use that as a toilet and cover with a plank of wood or a stone slab between uses. Water couldn't be wasted flushing loos if "the s##t really hit the fan" to coin a phrase.

Not sure about people living in flats though?

I seem to remember Guide Camp and the task of digging latrines.
DH once designed an off grid glamping site, he is now very knowledgeable on composting toilets and reed cleaning of waste water, so I’m leaving the toilet issues to him! Should we need them.

^ many local radio stations have limited backup power lasting only a couple of hours.^

Wind up radios would then be of little use?!?

Stockpiling tinned and other non perishable foods wont help if we have nothing to heat/cook them on. Are we all going to live on cold baked beans, lentils, cold soup etc. Can't see how it will work if we have no gas or electrcity.

Judy54

Stockpiling tinned and other non perishable foods wont help if we have nothing to heat/cook them on. Are we all going to live on cold baked beans, lentils, cold soup etc. Can't see how it will work if we have no gas or electrcity.

Camping stove BBQ

GrannyGravy13

petra

Am I the only one that finds the thought of burning books abhorrent 😱

I could never bring myself to burn a book, even if I disliked it or disagreed with the content, it’s a big no from me.

Me 3.

Books are not Holy.

I wouldnt burn a Bible.

BlueBelle
I’ve got some lovely borage coming up.
Yum yum 🙂

Haha and I have spinach springing up Petra

Another makeshift way to use the loo is to line it with a double layer of strong bin liners, and keep a bag of cat litter next to it. Wee in a bottle and tip outside, and for other use sit on the seat as usual, poo in the liner and cover with a scoop of cat litter. Tie the bin liner at the end of each day and dispose of it in the outside bin until collections resume, then reline the loo.

Let's hope things don't come to this pass, but it's probably better than going in a hole in the garden.

I can survive on cold beans if necessary.
I always have a cupboard full of a variety of these anyway.

We don't have to enjoy living like this for a short while - we just need to endure it

Exactly, NotSpaghetti, and we may as well try to be as comfortable as we can in the circumstances. three days will feel an awfully long time if we are sitting in the dark with nothing to eat.

I'd rather have cold beans and room temperature water from a plastic bottle than be cold and hungry.

Doodledog

Another makeshift way to use the loo is to line it with a double layer of strong bin liners, and keep a bag of cat litter next to it. Wee in a bottle and tip outside, and for other use sit on the seat as usual, poo in the liner and cover with a scoop of cat litter. Tie the bin liner at the end of each day and dispose of it in the outside bin until collections resume, then reline the loo.

Let's hope things don't come to this pass, but it's probably better than going in a hole in the garden.

This is a good idea, and much better than going outside - especially if it is chilly or you have nosy neighbours!

I still have DHs hardly used commode and liners. And a useful small oval shaped bucket.

Doodledogs suggestion is really good. Must get a bag of cat litter for DD before the supermarket runs out.

At least we can be prepared even if we never have to use it.

Calendargirl

A news item featured a woman who had ‘stockpiled’, ‘prepped’, …whatever you want to call it.

She opened cupboard after cupboard filled with everything you could need. Packet after packet of rice, pasta, tinned stuff, camping stoves, battery chargers….

Plus various spices, herbs, flavourings, as she felt stuff would get ‘boring’ after a while.

And two huge empty containers which I assumed she planned to fill with tap water.

I felt most of it would be long out of date before she used it, but then dates don’t really matter in times of crisis.

But OTT.

I just date my tins rotate.

Doodledog

Another makeshift way to use the loo is to line it with a double layer of strong bin liners, and keep a bag of cat litter next to it. Wee in a bottle and tip outside, and for other use sit on the seat as usual, poo in the liner and cover with a scoop of cat litter. Tie the bin liner at the end of each day and dispose of it in the outside bin until collections resume, then reline the loo.

Let's hope things don't come to this pass, but it's probably better than going in a hole in the garden.

Good idea👍🏻
I think passengers on a cruise ship that had had a fire (all electrics were down) were asked to do this. Also to wee in the shower, but of course the pumps are electrical so wee was just sloshing around, & no air con so the stench would have been unbearable!
The Poop cruise. Netflix.