What arrangements have you made for cooking should the energy be turned off?

Perhaps I'm imagining it but I'm sure you could buy them from camping shops.
Mind you, we haven't been camping for years

Ah that might be it.
I watch a lot of alternative living videos, and pretend I'm a nomad.
I've perhaps seen a couple on those videos.

MissAdventure

I'm sure there is a contraption that heats up without gas or electric.

How can that be, or have I made it up?

Yes, I'm sure it's battery operated and will heat up a cup of water, cup a soup etc.

I'm sure there is a contraption that heats up without gas or electric.

How can that be, or have I made it up?

One of our "5 a day", NanKate

Oh I forgot the crisps MissAdventure good thinking.

Cold house, cold food - some older people might get chilled right through and succumb to hypothermia.

If power cuts are planned it makes sense to keep hot soup, hot drinks in a thermos.

Me too!
I would need crisps, though.

I could live on biscuits/bread and cheese, bananas, nuts, cereal topped with fruit and yogurt. Iced coffee is nice too.

You don’t need to cook food ever, let alone for the length of a power cut. The supermarket is full of food which you just unwrap and eat. Salads, fruit, raw vegetables, bread, cakes, cheese, cooked meats if you eat them, chocolate, hummus, coleslaw, yogurt, tinned stuff etc etc etc
I haven’t used my cooker since July. I do use my microwave but could easily live without it.

Preparation and forethought are useful. We used to camp and use mountain huts in our younger years and had to carry any cooking fuel and food so got used to minimum cook meals. Couscous is a very useful base - soaked in stock and kept warmish in a suitable insulated or plastic mug (about 5 minutes) then added to tinned saucy mackerel.

If you can pre-heat and store (flask) hot water then you could make hot drinks, coddle eggs, take the chill off a small tin/ jar of cooked food, make instant porridge. I got some Bovril powder in a small tub from a large online store- its lovely!

I think we'll be fine as we have a gas hob (the safety cut off is a heat activated bi-metallic strip, so the gas only cuts off if the gas goes out - it can be lit manually, and the knob held in for several seconds to let the gas in until the burner is lit and warm.)
We also have 2 multifuel burners (one for each end of the house) and a small stock of coal and dried wood so should be able to keep us warm and could be used to finish cooking on if already alight.

Our central heating runs on tank gas (refilled by a Calor lorry) and we run out most winters - despite ordering as early as we possibly can. This almost always happens in the worst coldest weather when deliveries of fuel are disrupted. It takes a good few days (despite the old walls) even in freezing weather, for the inside temperature to drop as low as outside so a mere 3 hours without heating for those reliant on electric heating should not be too bad - with extra clothing/ blankets etc, for most healthy people. I hope that is reassuring!

We can light our gas hob with a match (bottled gas) and we have a wood burner with a flat top so we can use that too. I got an enormous stack of wood in two years ago because I could see all these problems coming. And here we are.

I have a couple of portable gas rings that I keep in my beach hut to boil the kettle & make bacon sarnies.

We have a camping stove which we can use during a power cut

In our holiday home abroad we have unannounced power cuts at least twice a week and similarly lose water supply. Sometimes the two things go simultaneously. Not to plan for these eventualities isn't an option because not planning can be dangerous. We use LED camping lights, torches etc with rechargeable batteries and ensure they're charged and working at the start of each visit. It is possible to light a gas hob with a match and hence to cook and make a hot drink.

I don't advocate the use of candles, they're dangerous especially when being carried, and it's not just the flame but the hot candle wax which can give a nasty burn.

Losing electricity isn't only about not being able to cook but also about keeping power to our fridge/freezer, mobile phones, and toilets that have a macerator (though we don't actually have one). Cooking is the least of our worries andeasily dealt with by having cold food and fruit. More important is the ability to communicate, and to keep mobile phones powered we have power banks always charged. Flasks full of hot water to fill a hot water bottle or too are also useful for when the heating goes off and the room temperature drops.

If we're given notice of power cuts we can all manage perfectly well - I guess many of us did that anyway during the miners' strikes. And as we're fairly cosseted in the UK I can't imagine any power blackouts without notice.

Quote icanhandthemback
Can you get your mum a Kindle ( can get with back lights )
Just a thought ..

Have a gas cooker so be ok with electric off, have lots of tin foods to have sandwiches etc if gas off ( not sure if they can cut the gas on and off?

One thing I did think if we got to the point where it was going off for more hours is checking on family and friends' letter (I'm A). Where they are different, we could spend time with them if cold is the problem.

The Area Letter is at the top of your bill.

I'd go out for a meal!

I have a few motion sensing lights in stands, they can be charged by usb from my power bank. Very useful for safety in the dark, stairs, tripping, bumping into things. My power bank is anker and it held almost a full charge for two years. I am now using it to re-charge anything that needs charging via usb as the anker needs to be just about empty to re-charge, at least for the first charge.

Unfortunately, if we have no electricity, we also have no water as we have a bore hole & the supply is pumped to the house. It's easy enough to store supplies for drinking and flushing the toilet isn't always strictly necessary...but sometimes it is! We still have a working generator from our farming days which can be pressed into service if push comes to shove. In the meantime we have a logburner which we can boil water on so it's Pot Noodles all round!

I have a rusty old bbq on which to cook .
I'm so glad that I didn't throw it out !

I have two camping stoves and lots of gas canisters. Open fire and plenty of wood. Torches and bike lights with ample spare batteries, rechargeable PIR lights, solar table lamp and hanging lights, dozens of candles and tea lights, three paraffin lamps (and paraffin!), and lots of matches. Power bank to charge my phone, or I’d charge it in the car.
And most canned food can be eaten cold if necessary.

Esspee

I thought cookers today wouldn’t allow the gas to flow if the electric ignition wasn’t functioning. It is a compulsory safety feature, so I was told.

Yes, pretty sure this is a thing. I've tried using my hob in a power cut and it won't light with a match, only with the electric ignitor.
In a power cut, if I really need to cook anything, it'll have to be the barbecue out in the garden. Wouldn't be the first time - we never used to have a grill so could be found barbecuing lamb chops outside in the snow!

I have a gas hob, so that should be ok to light manually. But we bought a camping gaz thingy and topped up with more canisters after the war in Ukraine started. I’ve put by bottles of water and tins of soup. Strong flour and dried yeast if push comes to shove, some ‘survival’ and ordinary crackers. Wind up torches and radio. Granted we’d all be blown to smithereens if Putin goes nuclear, but we’re ready for another lockdown if Covid or anything else rears its ugly head. It’s just a gradual stock increase over the weeks so no ‘panic’ buying.

We were worried in last lockdown because we had to shield and couldn’t initially get a regular supermarket slot so supplies were a bit ’hit and miss’, but now we have peace of mind and although neighbours are younger than us, we can help out if they run short - oh and we have good stocks of toilet paper too [?]