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

Norah

Callistemon21

We bought a pack of these. That's it, really.

Brilliant. You have plenty to share!

And a refill! ?

Callistemon21

We bought a pack of these. That's it, really.

Brilliant. You have plenty to share!

We bought a pack of these. That's it, really.

Franburn
Thank god for another voice of reason.
The worry about power cuts ( that we might not get) seems to have replaced the worry about covid.
At our ages we could possibly be dead before it happens, if it does ?

Yep, my words - but - as has been said, never let reality get in the way of a response!!!

No, I do not have ANY camping equipment, nor would consider purchasing or using that. Have a couple of rather elderly jug flasks - bought for some 12 years ago. I AM actually one of those people who would be considered as I am in my80's with several medical problems.

However, I really can keep myself warm for a few hours should CH go off. If it is longer, I could take myself to bed - never have any heating on during the night.

I just find it incredible that people are paying out good money for camping equipment, etc. when so many people are really worried (not about outages) about heating and eating NOW. Definitely no extra money to spend on such equipment to use as a MAYBE.

If people have all that extra money - and wish to spend it that way, it is definitely their right to do so, but this 'fear of future' attitude can frighten far too many people who are just not able to make these arrangements. By the time we get to next April I do wonder how much of this equipment will have remained unused!!1

As for me going to neighbours for help - well, all I can say is that the reason I did not reply very speedily as that I have spent the last couple of hours at a neighbours flat helping her and sorting out arrangements for her as she was worried about something wrong with her gas boiler. IF......repeat IF there is any outages I will be one of those people checking on my neighbours (many who are very elderly) making sure they are all okay.

No more to be said. Will come back next April to hear all your experiences.

as they are going to be planned 3 hour cuts so we will know in advance the time of the 3 hour cut it will not be too difficult to cope with ,

Thanks everyone who put on such helpful posts. I have benefited from them. This now seems to have turned into a different sort of thread - the type I try to avoid. So, I'm off to do something more interesting - perhaps on another thread although there is baking to be done but once again, thanks for all the tips and ideas.

MawtheMerrier

Ahem
@DaisyAnne - as you will have realised those were not my words but Franbern and while I said I agreed with them, , I did not say them
But hey, never let the facts get in the way of a pile-on .

You quoted, you agreed and then you complained or are you now saying Franburn is responsible for your posts? If Franburn had been the one to complain, I would have replied to her.

Elegran

Here is a link to the actual plan for sceduling powercuts, should they become necessary.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/995049/esec-guidance.pdf
You can find out what reference letter your house comes under from your power bill. It will be " a letter, often boxed, located near the top. Note that not every energy supplier will include your load block on your energy bills, so if this is the case you will need to contact them directly to find out." When you have this, look in the rota tables.

I just had a look at this, Elegran and it seems to be a version which was Revised in November 2019.

Surely it must have been updated since then, as other events have changed the likelihood of outages?

I’m nothing even wasting my breath thinking about it to be honest!

DaisyAnne

Thank you for the link Casdon. It used to be a British characteristic to "be prepared". It will be good if we are moving back to it. This sounds as if at least some of them are moving back to it.

I can't see a link to the actual plan though.

We were all Girl Guides and Boy Scouts, weren't we?!

Well, Brownies or Cubs at least.

Be Prepared is our motto ?

Try not to worry Icanhandthemback, care homes always have to be mindful of eg cpap equipment.

karmalady, I hope my Mum's home has back up generators as the home is in the middle of nowhere! It is beautiful and peaceful but with her dementia, I am not sure how Mum will cope if she hasn't got a book to look at. I know that sounds strange (and needy) but a book grounds her in a way nothing else does.

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.

Mine can be lit with a marptch or gas lighter as can the fire.

We just ordered new gas lighters.
That's about it, really.

We have a barbecue and, if necessary, DH can cook on there.
If it's just electricity then we have a gas hob, we thought of changing to one of those new electric hobs but luckily didn't get around to it.

We used to have camping equipment but got rid of it years ago.
When we first moved in here the power used to go off frequently, a fault which the electricity board eventually discovered and rectified but we had our Gaz stove then.

If you want people to treat you like a pleasant person joining a reasoned and helpful conversation to get hints and tips, I think it is worth posting as if you are that person - not someone out to antagonise others

Such good advice - pity more people don’t take it! .

icanhandthemback

I think I'll rely on cold food for shorter periods because, unless you have something that cooks foods through properly, there are risks to "warming" food. We do have a Gas BBQ so if things get more lengthy, we can cook.
I am not worried for us, I am worried about how the Care Homes will cope.

locals here would rally round the local care home, although I do expect that they would have generators. Nice to be in a caring and close community.

Franbern

I am not making any arrangements. IF.......and it is still a very big IF, I get a three hour outage, I think I can manage to survive without having to worry about no 'hot food'!!!

Assuming we have notice of these outage (should they occur - (and will probably not), I may consider filling a jug flask with hot water, but that will be all.

THREE HOURS!!!! -honestly folk - are you going out and spending money on purchasing camping cooking items for that sort of outage time???? I will save that money and use it for keeping my flat nice and warm the rest of the time.

@DaisyAnne - in case you are not familiar with the Quote facility - you will see the author of the relevant post at the top.

Ahem
@DaisyAnne - as you will have realised those were not my words but Franbern and while I said I agreed with them, , I did not say them
But hey, never let the facts get in the way of a pile-on .

My worry is being caught out by an unexpected power cut in the evening and not being able to find things suddenly in the dark. Can't keep everything constantly on view. At the mo camping lantern, wide necked thermos, candles etc are in the garage - no room for bulky extra items in utility room.

DH claims that one decent-sized torch kept downstairs and one upstairs will be quite sufficient - but I say Hmm.

I well remember the '70s with 3 young DDs underfoot and how trying it was even with notice, so have bought a couple of cyclists head torches for ease of moving about in the dark and am wondering where to keep them. ...

MawtheMerrier

^The plan is there for you to see. You seem to think it is big and clever to remain ignorant of the facts. Elegran summed up the plan^

That’s very personal and insulting DaisyAnne - I don’t claim to be “big” or “clever” just pragmatic. Oddly enough I am not ignorant of the facts either.
For what it is worth, I have several Thermos flasks, regular and wide necked (used to use for making yogurt) which I can fill with boiling water or tomato soup - as long as we know in advance.
I can live on bread and cheese if necessary while it lasts, and make my own preparations for an outage . Worst case scenario I get the kettle barbecue out of the garage We are quite used to power cuts where we live, anyway. I have candles, torches and nightlights, and know to keep my fridge and freezer shut in the event of a power cut .
Yes it might be inconvenient and I am not denigrating Elegran’s helpful information, but to accuse me of thinking I am “big” or “clever” is way out of order. Calm down.

I have looked back at what your post said. The "THREE HOURS!!!! -honestly folk " set the tone. The tone of that post was one of deprecation, personal insult and belittling.

You were talking to people as if they cannot work out for themselves what they, not other people, need. In a pleasant and reasoned conversation, posters considered the possibility of anything from the odd shutdown to continuous, possibly increasing, three-hour energy shutdowns and how it would affect them - personally. They hoped to get ideas that suited them - individually. They looked their needs in a world that has changed dramatically from the quoted 1970s, as have our ages.

If you want people to treat you like a pleasant person joining a reasoned and helpful conversation to get hints and tips, I think it is worth posting as if you are that person - not someone out to antagonise others.

Christmas Day meal timings could be interesting.

Some of the comments on here remind me of the league of gentleman sometimes. I don't think it matters what 'others' are deciding to do. Why are people taking everything so personal? Do you think it's because we feel insecure at how the world is atm and it becomes difficult to be rational? (I am being serious)

I can’t speak for anybody else but I have not condemned anybody!