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And great for the bees too, even if it does dominate the first round of honey....

Not sure Tengu, I'll log on to AOL, maybe Ask Jeeves will take me to a relevant Yahoo Geocities page, and I can share the results on Friends Reunited/Bebo/Myspace? ;) As the internet gets more watered down with regurgitated computer generated content, I can easily see finding useful information...

I don't care about origin, I buy anything which is organic. Much more 'extra virgin olive oil' gets sold worldwide than there are olive trees to produce it! It's notorious for counterfeit, a good chunk of what it on the market is watered down with chemically extracted oil, or other vegetable...

In my view, a great many preppers would have a more realistic view if they studied the very many historical examples of abrupt and less abrupt societal and civilization changes brought about by various catastrophes natural and manmade.

I take it you're asking if I would be involved in a job of dealing with human waste? Not something I'd choose for an everyday bread earner if I had the choice, however if I live in a densely populated area and there was a major disaster, I'd happily pitch in dealing with human waste if it...

Absolutely, and assuming no one else will be running to the 5 acre wood just outside Birmingham to attempt to live off the land.... My comments about composting human waste were clearly stated to be easy and straightforward outside of towns and cities. But it certainly could be done in...

It's fascinating, isn't it? I find the observation of prepping psychology, approaches, and mindsets just as interesting as the practical side of being as self reliant as possible. As you say, all manner of things can trigger it- I am sure some people are naturally hard wired that way, others...

My thoughts on your thoughts....! We've had the word 'mindset', you're suggesting 'culture'- trying to simplify things, how about 'approach'? Or 'approach to life'? This approach in my case is formed by listening to my basic primal human instincts for survival (the absolute need for water...

Nah, 25L container, sawdust covering material. One treck every week to the community hot compost heap/bucket washing station. Even if society doesn't break down however, the organisation which makes compost or composting toilets mainstream is going to make very, very serious money. Not only...

Very true @Falstaff- it's an odd mindset really, just burying things and considering them dealt with, but humans tend to think on a very short term! Bones are an interesting one- I unearth them occasionally at my place, which is very rural. In the past they were specifically collected in towns...

@Woody girl All I will say is that there is a huge amount which goes on which we don't and may never understand. I used to get a recurring dream as a child when feverish, which involved a small derelict building in a wood. In my twenties I moved across to the other side of England and was...

Agreed, but only in densely populated areas, anybody with a garden is sorted. Towns and cities would require organised communal setups. I haven't used a water closet at home in the best part of a decade. Compost toilet, which can be as simple as a bucket with a lid, to which sawdust etc is...

Just over ten years ago I carried an English meadow scythe, grass hook, reap hook ('sickle') and two billhooks via train from the West Country to East Anglia, including the London Underground. Everything except the scythe handle was wrapped then tied up in my rucksack and even these days I'd...

But that's what makes it all so interesting, many favoured approaches to the same end. The huge plus in my mind, is that a Kelly-type kettle will boil water outdoors with reliability in any weather, no matter how much wind. Sometimes that's a great benefit.

Looking at your setup the top part of the Kelly Kettle seems unrequired weight and bulk to me though for solo camping, given you can boil water in the pot.... Replace the complete Kelly Kettle with a twig stove which fits inside the pot and you've got a setup which will still do the same. It's...

Horses for courses as always. A Kelly Kettle or similar is great for car camping especially with a big group or with little ones where lots of hot water is required. I'd never take one out and about for anything less than the above though. A collapsible stainless steel TLUD gassifier (costing...

I've bought several Kelly Kettle pattern models from car boots over the years, two of which were from owners falling out of love after burns from losing concentration and just lifting off the fire by the handle...

Petromax make a version which is better thought out all round, as they have a proper lid so you can carry water in it*, fold out legs so you don't need to carry something to prevent ground scorching, and decent handles rather than the daft rickety handle-and-chain juggling setup. Stainless, too...

@Laurentius how does the net on those work, does it need propping up with a brimmed hat?

I was wondering whether to chip in or not as my reply won't likely be helpful, but why not. I was in a a similar position last year with my new place- wondering whether to buy a good quality or el cheapo polytunnel. In the end I obtained two large greenhouses- 10x8 and 12x8'- from freecycle and...