Stormy Weather

[Maz]

Watch out for the weather for the next few days - high winds apparently, as @Vanessa1 mentioned on another thread. What's confusing is I've seen it called Storm Austen in the news but my alert from the powergrid calls it Storm Boelo

 

[Vanessa1]

Storm Austin was the first named storm of the season on Friday, mainly affecting Cornwall before it moved north. Storm Boelo is the second storm that's going to be mainly north England and Scotland with even stronger winds. Keep safe everyone Ness

 

[Lovelyness]

Back to back storms ️ Yippee …not Has anyone put together their emergency kit recommended by the UK government? My food cupboard always has tins of beans and Longlife milk in it anyway. I did get a wind up torch/radio/charger and a small first aid kit. I have some bottled water coming in my supermarket delivery on Monday. Better to be safe than sorry, I guess Reading different articles, it seems the UK is way behind on its emergency prep

 

[Maz]

Thank you for explaining that Vanessa. I hadn't been watching the news. Lovelyness, yes I decided to do the preparations last month after reading about it. Just tins and packets of food, dried milk, we get bottled water anyway so just got extra to put away. It all takes up space. Also bought a wind up torch radio (did I link that on here before? I have a vague memory of doing that) - which I have already mislaid No idea where it went and it's not that big. I noticed the same one now costs £11 more than it did before, so that looks like profiteering under the circumstances to me.

I got them a few weeks ago, one was for stepson to take to university with him. Also got him some tins and packets for him to keep for an emergency,

Curious as to why we need a sewing kit though? I mean is that in case we're without power for years and have to make do and mend!

 

[Lovelyness]

Yes @Maz you did put a link to the wind up torch/radio, but by the time I came to buy one, the price had already gone up, so I got one somewhere else Any excuse for profiteering! I hadn’t seen anyone recommending a sewing kit The latest advice is to have enough for 3 days, so I can’t really see the need for a sewing kit in that timeframe. Most people wouldn’t know how to use it anyway

 

[Socks' Mum]

It's in case you lose so much weight living on toast and tomato sauce your clothes need taking in

 

[Socks' Mum]

Or finishing up the odd appendectomy

 

[Maz]

Or finishing up the odd appendectomy

Oh my goodness, horrible thought! Yes it's awful they bumped up the price of that wind up torch radio so much. I need to find mine now as don't want to have to pay that for another one. We actually have a little battery powered Roberts radio that is just long wave, medium wave and short wave (not sure if it even has fm). It was the only thing that worked during storm arwen when fm and dab were down as well - I think all we could get was the world service! It was quite nice to listen to at the time though. I also bought a stash of batteries!

 

[Lovelyness]

Or finishing up the odd appendectomy

I’m not coming round to yours in the event of an emergency lol

 

[Lovelyness]

It's in case you lose so much weight living on toast and tomato sauce your clothes need taking in

What!??! In 3 days?? I think most people will be living off crisps and chocolate so they’ll need to let their clothes out lol

 

[Maz]

I'm thinking anything that is an event could be more than 3 days. When Storm Arwen happened we had nothing for four days and the village up the road had nothing for a week. No electricity or mobile signals. So I'm preparing for a week! It might only be 3 days in some areas but rural areas it can be longer.

 

[Socks' Mum]

What!??! In 3 days?? I think most people will be living off crisps and chocolate so they’ll need to let their clothes out lo

Oh my goodness, horrible thought! Yes it's awful they bumped up the price of that wind up torch radio so much. I need to find mine now as don't want to have to pay that for another one. We actually have a little battery powered Roberts radio that is just long wave, medium wave and short wave (not sure if it even has fm). It was the only thing that worked during storm arwen when fm and dab were down as well - I think all we could get was the world service! It was quite nice to listen to at the time though. I also bought a stash of batteries!

That is an amazing little radio, a collector's item now. Hang onto it, it's precious Can you get overseas stations? It's bad if FM goes, then we have nothing

 

[Maz]

That is an amazing little radio, a collector's item now. Hang onto it, it's precious Can you get overseas stations? It's bad if FM goes, then we have nothing

It's not actually that old either - I bought it for OH about 14 years ago - Roberts radio still made them. Unfortunately they don't any more. He has another one he prefers but I love it because it reminds me of my first tranny (transistor radio) as a 13 year old. It's about the same size - maybe slightly larger - and has dials and knobs for tuning I might have to requisition it for myself seeing as he isn't interested in it any more But yes I do think it's worth keeping. The reason for getting it was it had short wave and most radios didn't even then. I never understood why it was called "short" wave when the broadcasts tend to be from longer distances

Anyway hope everyone is coping in the storm. The wind has really been horrendous here - the noise! Quite terrifying - I'm wondering if our windows will survive! I went down to check on Higgins in the night and he was sensibly tucked up in bed.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Aw Higgins, bed is the best place. Gosh, I hope your house will be OK We're not set up for so many storms in succession Yes, we had a small (although regular by today's standards) multiwave radio and we had a big one in a veneered wooden case on legs. I had a few with short wave and some could get foreign broadcasts, very exciting but difficult to understand The serialised novels in the early evening were better than television, but when TV came along I was addicted to that instead

 

[Maz]

As a small child we had a large portable Roberts radio but it had to be plugged in I remember! It was still called a "wireless" even though it needed to be plugged in! Maybe it could run on batteries, I don't know, but it was always plugged in. I did once buy an old 1930s bakelite radio in a junk shop (they are collectible now I think) - it had valves and a lovely sound. I don't really listen to the radio much these days, but OH does. Still, during Storm Arwen a little radio was all we had and it was quite nice to have.

But yes we have a couple of old sash windows. I hope they survive!

 

[Socks' Mum]

The "wireless" got its name because telephones and telegraphs needed to be wired to an exchange. Morse code and radio gave rise to the wireless operators of WWII and radios were adopted by the general public and called wirelesses until the American "radio" became the universal term

 

[Maz]

I didn't know that

Fix for the windows - cardboard! Stuffed into little gaps. I consider the little gaps to be natural healthy ventilation but in these winds - risky! Because it's literally shaking the window frame. I was worried it would break last night or the glass come crashing in!

This bedroom has had a wild time the last few months - first the heatwave (the bedroom was the worst), then the bat (it came back a few times getting out of the loft) and now the windows nearly being shaken to bits!

 

[Socks' Mum]

I didn't know that

Fix for the windows - cardboard! Stuffed into little gaps. I consider the little gaps to be natural healthy ventilation but in these winds - risky! Because it's literally shaking the window frame. I was worried it would break last night or the glass come crashing in!

This bedroom has had a wild time the last few months - first the heatwave (the bedroom was the worst), then the bat (it came back a few times getting out of the loft) and now the windows nearly being shaken to bits!

Ah, cardboard is a brilliant idea. Yes, it is an effective shock absorber and very window friendly

 

[Maz]

Ah, cardboard is a brilliant idea. Yes, it is an effective shock absorber and very window friendly

Doesn't look very glamorous but it's temporary.

 

[Socks' Mum]

El Nino should be gone soon