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?

Evening all, how is everyone tonight?

Carrying on from BarrowinFurnessRailwayStation's post above, what is everyone's "Go to" for boiling water?

I must admit I do prefer a kettle (I'm looking for one of the old enamel for the top of my woodburner, but it has to be Red) if I am making hot drinks or heating water to wash stuff.

For heating stew etc, I would love to get an old brass jam pan

We don't have an electric kettle as we have Aga-type cooker and I have a lovely copper kettle for the hob. When the electric goes out I can use it on the gas hob we have as a back up but it is much, much slower to boil and the handle gets very hot.

Also in my stash is a Kelly kettle cos I'm a sucker for a gadget.

must admit I'm tempted to get a Kelly Kettle

I have a kettle for my gas hob as a back up, it’s a useful bit of kit.
Just looked at Kelly kettle, mind!

I've got an old fashioned Italian coffee pot which goes straight on the gas hob or wood burning stove. I've got my eye on a lovely little Polish stove stop kettle too. My water boiling backup plans go like this; if electric is off, boil pans on gas stove or Wood burner. If need be, decamp round the corner to Mam and Dads as their Aga covers most eventualities. Last ditch plan is the camping stove or Barbecue.

We may need to get a badge made with the image of a Kelly Kettle on it, just so we recognise each other on the street

Some long term prepping happening today. Our utility room is single skin brick and freezing. Today we put in our planning permission for an small extension which would mean it would no longer suck the heat out of the house plus I could also get an esse bakeheart as part of the re-design.

Hiya NE coastal lurker here. I'm a preper by default rather than intention. Skills in water and sanitation in emergencies and have worked in enough natural disasters/war zones to know how shit goes down. Following with interest!

Hi, there must be something in the water around here the number of people in the NE who are prepping

@K9medic the cynical part of me thinks that it is down to a region knowing it'll always be at the bottom of a national politician's agenda so we know we'll be on our own til we creep high enough up their agenda.
@DogDaysNeverEnd welcome!

You mean Politicians really do think London is the center of the universe !!! Never surely not

New camping stove arrived today and had a chat with folks who’ve lived here all their lives, they all reckon it’s a wise idea so goodbye new sofa, hello woodburner! In my defence it has been known to snow in June here!

My Kelly kettle kit arrived today. All neatly packed up to save space. I took it out to have a look and could I beggar get it all back in again. Looking forward to trying it out.

I’ve looked at the wood burners but it would cost about £4K to install as I have no chimney. My next door neighbour isn’t keen either, our houses are really close together and as we’re in good terms that’ll have to go on hold. Hot water bottles filled by Kelly kettle it is then!

I’m fortunate enough to have a chimney. Gas fire is in situ but can be sorted.

Does anyone have solar here? I'm thinking of getting it installed but not sure how much energy it would generate in the north? We have a south facing roof.

My mother has a solar set up, she lives north of the border.

I know it was worth her doing it, but could not tell you how much electricity she produces for the technical spec of her panels.

If you know what info you need let me know and i will ask her

Like K9medic my parents have solar but I dont have details. They are in north Cumbria and are big fans- Mum is always telling me how much she's made on an overcast winter's day.

Quick heads up for anyone traveling through the Morpeth area. Morrison has no fuel (both Petrol and diesel).

The Shell garage at the Northen (where you join the bypass from the A1) has fuel, but diesel is £1.79 / lt.

I used to work in Morpeth.

The fuel situation is crazy. Must be a nightmare when you drive distances. I've got DD off poorly and she's only managing to eat toast so I've had to dive to the corner shop. Was pleased to see that they also had plenty of her favourite pasta in stock. As well as sunflower oil, flour and other stuff that folk are reporting missing or hard to find in the supermarkets.

The supermarkets are being very good at "hiding" the spaces on the shelves.

And to be honest, so far I have not been unable to find what I was looking for, though not always the particular brand or size that I normally buy.

I must admit Morrison being out of fuel in Morpeth caught me by surprise. It is a bit cheaper than Shell, but I had not seen any big ques there.

I tend never to let the van drop below 1/2 (I prefer to top up if it drops below 3/4, to be honest) as with 1/2 a tank I figure I could get home from most places.

Dh has been looking out his old civil defence magazines. We've ordered a bucket loo and have plastic bags and cat litter. He's got a radiation detector.

I vaguely remember those magazines, and to be honest I kind of miss magazines. Yes, I know forums are quicker, etc, but there was something about waiting for each month's installment to arrive.

I'm preparing more for fall out than blast. At the moment it is something I can achieve, to a certain extent, where if the detonation is close enough that I need to worry about it, I really can not protect against it at the moment. This of course does not mean I wouldn't try to, just I have not got the house the way I want it yet.

I think.surviving fallout is achievable. Of course it depends on whether the military are able to keep the infrastructure going to be able to support the population - safe water, some electricity, shelter, basic food and medical help.