Forum Topic

Preparing for Winter

Okay - so what should we be buying in now before the snow sets in?Cat litter v's rock salt?  Where can I get a good snow shovel?What should I carry in the boot of the car?

Sarah Felstead ● 5417d16 Comments

"Check larder for staples in case housebound for several days." I heard that stapling your stomache to reduce food intake can be painful and dangerous. :-(

Steve Taylor ● 5364d

Thanks Sarah.

Keith Iddon ● 5365d

Seccombe's deliver bags of rock salt - £8.50 a bag - free delivery for locals.  Bought for us and a neighbour.

Sarah Felstead ● 5365d

I feel for both of you - even a short spell with no computer is hard to live with for me!

Audrey Walton ● 5404d

Blimey, the Osterley signal must be working this moment.Flowers took a hammering with that first frost last night. Shame!The heron visited yesterday too and injured one of the fish...his long beak somehow got through the secure netting. Heron must be extra hungry anticipating the cold snap.So for the winter..I need Pipex to sort my technology out. Know how yoi feel Sarah!

Jim Lawes ● 5404d

My PC broadband is still u/s and Pipex are taking weeks to fix it..so use thos new smartphone to try to post sometimes.York Road is not the same now that Fran has moved too...but what a fascinating connection between Audrey and Fran..posters on opposite sides of the Atlantic.Has the palm tree survived Fran? That had an interesting cyberspace link up tooI'll press the button...will it work?Generally it doesn't!

Jim Lawes ● 5404d

Hi Fran I hope you are pleased with your move from York Road. I have very happy memories of my growing up there - doctor visiting me in the air raid shelter in the garden when I had chicken pox (at least I think that's what it was), putting shillings in the gas meter without falling down the cellar stairs etc etc. Our next door neighbors, both sides, were wonderful, even calling out that it was starting to rain when we'd got a line full of washing out! Happy days indeed; good luck with your new home Fran.

Audrey Walton ● 5405d

Hi Audrey,We sold our house (your parents house) in York Road in April. I remember you telling me how cold it was in your childhood in the house with no central heating etc. and the fires that are still in the house that heated the whole house with also blankets against the doors. I don't know if your dad's rose bushes are still there but I enjoyed your dad's rose bushes in the 15 years I lived in your home.Fran

Fran Naughton ● 5406d

Hi Sarah - yes it is becoming very popular to have these prescription return events, also firearms! We have a gas fireplace so we would have heat in our family room but no heat in rest of house. We have hot water bottles somewhere so could have a warm bed! Quite honestly we haven't had a really bad winter in many years but it wouldn't be a hardship if we were homebound for several days - think of the knitting I'd get done..Now that said - being without the computer that WOULD be a hardship!

Audrey Walton ● 5407d

Hello Audrey!  You have some serious winter weather, don't you.We have had the boiler serviced but there is a worry that if we have a power cut, we have no way of heating the house.  It would be nice to have a roaring fire and we still have our chimneys, so that is a possibility.I like the checking cupboards idea, a good time to check the dates on the boxes and tins at the back of the larder.  I like to watch the overnight news from the States and you recently had a a bring back out of date and unwanted medicine day which I thought was a brilliant idea - son hurt his back recently and somebody kindly gave me some ralgex for him to spray on his back.  I joked about the sell by date, as I took it and forgot to check for myself.  After son used it and said it didn't do much I checked the date - you can guess what comes next, but I bet you can't guess the year!..........October 1993.PS my PC is still out of action.  :-(

Sarah Felstead ● 5407d

Hi Sarah here is some of what we do:Light the furnace pilot lightTurn on the pilot light for the fireplaceCover the a/c unitCover all outside faucetsCk & clean gutters and downspoutsCheck larder for staples in case housebound for several days.Check all windows are latchedCheck cars for windshield washer fluid etc Those are just some of things we've already done for this winter.

Audrey Walton ● 5413d

Electically heated socks!

George Knox ● 5415d

While I was in Australia I bought a pair of Uggs - just in case!

Vanessa Smith ● 5416d

Leg warmers are back in fashion Keith and Mother nature appears to have an abundance of fruit on our bushes and apple trees this year, Tim.

Sarah Felstead ● 5416d

Honey,lemons whisky and cloves.Oh,and a pair of long johns...

Keith Iddon ● 5416d

Stealing a post from uk.sci.weather :"Looking at the Met Office Ensemble-mean maps for Dec/Jan/Feb, they areforecasting temperatures between 1°C & 1.5°C above average.http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/science/specialist/seasonal/ensemble/ens_mean.htmlAnd looking at their European long-range probability maps  for thesame period they are forecasting the following probability;http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/science/specialist/seasonal/probability/glob_seas_prob.htmlTemperatures above average 60-80% confidenceTemperatures average 20-40% confidenceTemperatures below average less than 20% confidence.So on both counts the Met Office are forecasting a Mild Winter.Will they have Egg on their Faces 2 years in a row? "But don't let me stop you buying the rocksalt.

Tim Henderson ● 5417d