Power cuts - are you prepped?

I bought a good new thermos flask last august, even now I fill it up when I have my first hot drink and it remains hot enough for a few more drinks during the day.

I decided to get another identical flask and guess what, it is now 60% more £££

I have also been a bit slip shod about power for kindles, phone etc so have bought a power bank.

I read somewhere that we should have a reasonable amount of cash handy, in case of some sort of bank/cash machine failure/hack.

I would grab my small suitcase, which contains everything for `dying tidy` to help my children. All the important paperwork but certainly ok to leave where it is here, unlikely to have a fire or flood here. If I were in a flood-prone area, that case would be very handy as would a clothes grab bag

I did start to move a couple of things to my small cosy room upstairs, my heavy makita radio is up there now as is a makita worklight. I shall probably shift a few things around and make space for my kindle and some small folding tabletop space for food etc. Btw, DAB takes up a lot more electricity than FM. FM radio will make a battery last very much longer

It is all `just in case` I would rather sit downstairs but once a house gets cold then it takes a lot of consistent heat to warm the fabric of the house up again. Ask anyone who had windows replaced in winter

This list is from The Red Cross
www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/prepare-for-emergencies/prepare-an-emergency-kit

Jaxjacky

What are the suggest contents of such a bag kircubbin2000 and to go where?

I think that it’s suggested things like passport, vital medication, cash, charging bank for phone etc.
I’ll see if I can find a link or something
I’ve no idea where you are supposed to go, but I can see it being helpful for people in flood areas

I had a good hunt and found the candles left over from the power cuts that happened during the 3 day week . Our children loved the sing-a-longs we had round the open fire .

Oopsadaisy1 did you forget that the Cell Towers run on electricity too. They could well be off. Hopefully not all in the same area but then everyone will be trying to bounce off the same ones.

Doodledog I suggested that (using phone to connect to laptop or iPad) on a different site and was told that if there are overall black outs the Cell Towers may well be off too.

I have my iTunes collection downloaded to my old (10 years) iPad so I will just listen to that until the battery goes flat. 3 hours or even 4 will go quite quickly, I think. They are talking 4-7pm which is most difficult for the people with young children really. I suggested Picnic by torchlight and maybe missing bath for one night. At a push if it is not the whole town at once I could go to a friend or my daughters.
If they are any longer, I might check my daughter 35 minutes away and go there good excuse for an extra visit.

What are the suggest contents of such a bag kircubbin2000 and to go where?

Our local new feed is advising we prepare a grab bag in case of emergency. Do they know something we don't?

"considerable care" is apparently taken to make sure cables avoid fishing zones, anchoring areas and other dangers. (from Volver's link) Hmmm. Was someone fishing where they shouldn't have been?

I think the front of the net is held open by a solid framework. Maybe that caught the cable.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-63337473

I never knew that nets had cutting tools on the bottom. Those cables would have been thick armoured cables

That's a relief. But a pain for the people of Shetland.

It was a fishing boat.

We get a lot of short power cuts here. It's why I bought a camping gas stove.
So I just need to prepare for longer cuts. Off to buy more candles today.
It's all a bit ominous, this cutting etc. of cables.

They probably are looking at these incidents, along with the report that a Russian plane fired a missile near an unarmed British plane in international airspace over the Black Sea on Sept. 29 "due to a malfunction". UK defence minister Ben Wallace sai it was in an apparent accident and not a deliberate escalation of tensions. Worth investigating, even so.

www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-defence-minister-wallace-russian-aircraft-fired-missile-near-british-plane-2022-10-20/

No, but shouldn't MI5 be looking at this? First the big boys, the two underwater gas pipelines, and nowthe cables between Shetland and the rest of the world. Shetland is not as key in the oil and gas network as it used to be, but an easy target.

karmalady

Here we go: a critical inciedent today. An important infrastructure cable by the shetlands has been cut

"We expect it will be fishing vessels that damaged the cable but it is very rare that we have two problems at the same time."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-63326102?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Not time to call out the guard just yet.

Here we go: a critical inciedent today. An important infrastructure cable by the shetlands has been cut

Surely we all go through life looking ahead and planning for the events that we know or think might happen.

It is not as if Armageddon is expected. Just power cuts. If you have ever lived in a rural situation or a village, even in the crowded South East you should be used to power cuts. Usually they are short, but now and again they get longer.

A few years ago we were faced with a fortnight in November without gas, followed by a very unreliable supply for the rest of the winter until, in the summer, they could undertake the major repair necessary.

I quite enjoy these events, living differently for short periods is quite a mental stimulent. i do like to think that I can deal with anything that comes.

I did loads of prepping for the pandemic too, which is just as well as, for various reasons, we could barely leave the house for two years.
I sincerely hope that your prediction is correct, and not mine Franbern, but if it’s not, at least I know that I have done my best

FannyCornforth

I honestly think that it will be worse than the ‘three hour’ thing Franbern
I think that we are being drip fed information so as not to panic us, but to give us sufficient information to plan and prepare in a timely manner.
Mr FC recently received a letter from our service provider telling him that he was a ‘priority customer’ because of his health conditions (I’ve yet to read it though )

Starlily I’m glad that it was helpful

Just like they did in preparation for the pandemic!!!!

Well - in six months time we will see which of our forecasts is more correct

I honestly think that it will be worse than the ‘three hour’ thing Franbern
I think that we are being drip fed information so as not to panic us, but to give us sufficient information to plan and prepare in a timely manner.
Mr FC recently received a letter from our service provider telling him that he was a ‘priority customer’ because of his health conditions (I’ve yet to read it though )

Starlily I’m glad that it was helpful