Northeast Mutual Support Group

[K9medic]

Mutual Support Group (coffee club) Northeast

It would seem that at least 3 of us are Northeast (England) based, is there any more?

I tend to hangout on another UK based prepper related forum where we have MSG set up, the idea being we can help each other if and when there is a problem (ok we occasionally meet up for a coffee, natter and to swap ideas, well mainly coffee to be honest).

This has got me thinking about running this Topic along the same lines. A dedicated place to share local finds or post warnings relevant to the Northeast.

Thoughts on this?

I have grandparents from the Durham mining area, is it like passports for obtaining entry and do I qualify? Please

The Northeast bit is pretty loose, to be honest. But I do highly recommend you look at starting a MSG in your own area as well. It's a great way of sharing local-based information such as blocked roads or which fuel station is open.

I’m thinking though I need to get in with your guys just incase we need to bug out up North (;

Although with the petrol prices being how they are I might need to get training to be able to make the walk!

Just a thought leading on from LittleMissPreppy's post about bugging out, but does anyone have pre-marked maps?

I have a cheap road atlas that I have marked notes and highlighted areas of interest.

So for example the river Tyne is a natural bottleneck if I was traveling north by vehicle, I have highlighted the crossings as Red, Orange & green. The Tyne Tunnel is red for example because it would block easily. Heading west from the coast is some green points (for a car) bridges that either cross the Tyne at small villages or on country roads.

Other points in green are campsites such as the one in Keilder Forrest if I headed west it would be a great stopping off point (though the midges in summer make it an Orange)

Any thoughts ?

Cross over further west, out towards Hexham.

Ooh I love my road atlas. I've not marked it up yet, but have thought about doing something along those lines. (I have a snazzy pack of small coloured dots at the ready)

And DD asked me yesterday if we could book a holiday lodge in Kielder during summer hols. Nope, was my answer. Not in July.

I'm just going through my seeds and wondering what to plant. Dad has already made his usual head start (we have big poly tunnels and a few greenhouses) Probably sticking with the usual faves. We've built up a lovely collection of heritage tomato favourites over the past 3 or 4 decades.

when if we have the usual massive glut this summer, I shall put out a quiet alert for anyone who would like to take any surplus. (We never learn - especially with courgettes!)

Sometimes we need to look at the map to see other points (such as the Bywell bridge) but to also stay fluid in our plans. For example, if it's an industrial "Event" we want to avoid then using a map to see the big picture helps.

Also if you wanted to meet someone at a pre-arranged point, its more secure to say blue 3 than Amble Links if you are using a CB or PMR radio.

This is the only reason of consider driving again, I'm decades of of practice but it makes mea but antsy that I couldn't grab MiniFool and go if it was needed.

*I'd consider driving b again, I'm decades out of practice but it makes me a bit antsy...

Driving is possibly the biggest skill you can have in life. I've been driving for 33 years. If you are decades out of practice, then you need to act now. And I say that as someone who has been in two awful car crashes that weren't my fault. Both left me with horrendous anxiety about speed and that of others around me. If I hadn't got right back behind the wheel again, I never would have. Easier said than done. Especially if you currently have other means, or someone who does it for you. However... and this is a big issue. A lot of people my age and older rely on their partners to drive. Relationships can break up, health conditions can occur. And in the case of prepping, you really can only rely upon yourself.

I'm a single parent with Autism and disabilities. But my 'driver' is the same. If I needed to get Mini Rainbow out, I could - and I have had to do this. I've had both a fire and flood (one a risk to life) in the last 5 years. Possibly those experiences made me into a full on prepper.

Steeltown here. May I join. I have food which I rotate regularly. I can drive. I have water purifying tablets somewhere. I haven’t been doing this for long, but I moved from down south to a place where it snows in June!
Also an Autistic Zebra!

Waves at ZebraRainbowWarrior.

If anyone is looking for a UK based book on prepping i can highly recommend "Bugging in Bugging out" BY David Crossley. I chat to him regularly on a forum.

Waves to Gilead

I'm supposed to be doing important paperwork today, but I'm making beeswax candle jars for my powercut stash instead.
Wind is up again! I know there have been mutterings of possible cold snap end March / beginning of April, so I keeping an eye on OYBBKs weather threads.

Hopefully getting home on the weekend. Am going to browse for wood burners. I have a gas fire in the sitting room but am increasingly thinking I might be better off with a woodburner.

Looks like security levels might be updated and there have been a couple of incidents in the last hour or so. ITV stopped broadcasting about 12 noon due to suspected bomb threat. Also a hospital in Bristol having a similar concern.

So much uncertainty in the world right now. Always felt a bit safer up here, but feeling rather uneasy about what else we might be faced with.

Ds lives and works in London and I don't feel comfortable about it, but it's his dream, so nothing I can do. It's always a worry though.

Gilead, our woodburners got us through the aftermath of storm Arwen. If we hadn't had those we would have really struggled. They kept downstairs warm (apart from the kitchen and utility which are baltic anyway) and the heat went up the stairs meaning the bedrooms were chilly but manageable.

Our sweep recommended the portway arundel when we wanted a 2nd putting in. It is defra compliant and it belts out the heat. It seems much hotter than our old one even though they both 5kw. It has turned our ice box of a front room into something that is actually habitable.

If you have or get a woodburning stove I recommend getting one of the heat-powered windmills that sit on top, they really help the heat circulate around the house if doors are left open

I have this Defra approved, 4.6kw clean burning stove. It's amazing. I have neighbours who have wood burners and their chimneys seem to pump out tons of smoke. This one is so clean burning, you never see or smell anything coming out of the chimney. Mind, I'm careful what I burn.

I think this will be a definite for next winter. I have a shed to store wood and/or enough garden to put a wood storage area.
Hopefully installation will be a wee bit cheaper over the summer. Feel free to recommend firms please.
My thinking is (put me right if I need it) is that if I pick up a couple of bags of logs per week from Aldi/Lidl through the summer I should get off to a decent start. Or have I got it all wrong?

chimneyservicesne.co.uk/ is my sweep. Lovely guy and did a great job with installing the woodburner. Not sure how wide an area he covers though.

It is more cost effective to see if you can get someone who delivers dumpy bags of logs, rather than the lidl bags. You may have to chop them up a bit but it is cheaper overall. Or my mother swears by the briquettes from www.calidologs.com/ They deliver by the pallet load and burn really well.

I got my stove from www.stovefitterswarehouse.co.uk/collections/wood-burning-stoves-portfolio after another company let me down. They had excellent customer service.

@LittleMissPreppy

Wish I lived in the NE: will have to make do with watching the thread instead (:

Same here!

Hello, please can I join? North East based and a secret prepper.

@Bobbobbobbing thank you, I can’t chop but will bear this in mind.

Hi@Grumbleandgrouch!