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  • The awesome MakerMoot is coming up (13-15th Nov 2026), Visit the TORM & ARM markets,and have space back at camp to work on projects and enjoy great company. PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
  1. slowworm

    National Risk Register/National Resilience Update - Nothing new to us.

    Tethered to someone who lost their sight looking at the meteor shower?
  2. slowworm

    Worst witnessed Bushcraft injury.

    Not fully bushcrafty but I managed to give myself a bad burn when making charcoal. I was burnt by some flaming plastic so quite a deep burn. I didn't have much clean water to hand so now I make sure I have water and a gel burn dressing. I've also had a deep bite from a German Shepard whilst...
  3. slowworm

    What wildlife did you spot today?

    I went for something a bit slower. It's a  caterpillar or should that be a kittenpillar...
  4. slowworm

    National Risk Register/National Resilience Update - Nothing new to us.

    If you don't have mobile coverage then your landline phone supplier should give you a battery backup free of charge. The one I was eventually sent should last over 6 hours. Whilst not long enough to cover some of the outages we get, it could be left off and only turned on when you need the...
  5. slowworm

    Watering the crops

    There an old thread that might be useful here: https://bushcraftuk.com/community/threads/water-storage.161693/ I actually think our storage tank is closer to 2,000 litres and we now have 9 butts so that's another 2,000. However, as we're establishing quite a few plants and growing (too many)...
  6. slowworm

    National Risk Register/National Resilience Update - Nothing new to us.

    I thought I'd have a quick look through the register and, as expected, I think it's written too much as an exercise without much real thought and practical knowledge. For example, telling people to use their mobile phones when many people don't have mobile access. I think it would be useful...
  7. slowworm

    National Risk Register/National Resilience Update - Nothing new to us.

    I think people are more interested in the political side rather than the practical. There didn't seem to be any interest when I posted up a link to the useful government emergency advice. Anyway a link to the BBC article. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3x37lw1ndo It's amusing to me...
  8. slowworm

    Phone line replacement

    They've surveyed the old pole at least twice, tried to replace it at least once and finally only managed to put the new one in when the team leader spoke to me and we agreed what to do. Still waiting for the change over but we have been promised the old pole! I expect the other condemned pole...
  9. slowworm

    Plug & Play Solar

    Sorry, I'm confusing things. Looking at the return you might get on a plug in panel has encouraged me to look at the costs of a full setup (not a simple plug in). I've never been a fan of the FIT but panels must be getting cheaper and as electricity seems to be getting more expensive there...
  10. slowworm

    Phone line replacement

    I'm not at home at the mo but they do seem to be leaving coils and just attaching to the poles. A non-BTOR company did the same sort of thing when they put in fibre to some properties, now it seems to be BTOR. The poles are technically on our land and as the contractors have been wandering...
  11. slowworm

    Plug & Play Solar

    I do have a change over switch but I'm more likely to put a battery and any generation on separate circuits. But we tend to lose power during storms in winter so solar wouldn't help anyway. A decent capacity battery would be the first thing to sort. Going back to the plug in panels, a quick...
  12. slowworm

    Phone line replacement

    Does anyone know who to contact or where to find out details about work on their phone lines? There are workers puttting up a new cable on our telegraph poles. However, they don't speak English or know much about the work. Their contact number is not UK based or helpful. Our supplier doesn't...
  13. slowworm

    Plug & Play Solar

    I know, thanks. DNO have been good, fitted monitor, agree power goes out of legal range etc. But because they may do work for free when they improve the supply wiring I've not got round to chase them as I need to do some things first.
  14. slowworm

    Plug & Play Solar

    I've not really looked if it would save money, resilience would be the main driver. We don't use much electricity in the summer and in the winter we'd get less generated. Getting an EV would make solar more appealing.
  15. slowworm

    Plug & Play Solar

    Yes but then at a huge cost to ourselves. If we keep the grid connection then I'll chase the DNO to sort out the problems. Our main problem is getting the time at the moment to sort everything out, one job depends on another etc. The power lines come up the side of our property and there's...
  16. slowworm

    Plug & Play Solar

    That's my conclusion. Although I think we'll need to invest in something to sort out the poor grid power supply we get. As it is I doubt we could charge an EV for examp!e. Our main concern at the moment is the phone line, it's been so poor we've sorted out other options and don't need the phone...
  17. slowworm

    Plug & Play Solar

    I'd be very interested if anyone knows of any schemes to move away from the grid. Our house is at an end of a run and all the wiring needs to be upgraded and other bits done. I guess it will go through the DNO's books as several thousands of pounds of work and they've already spent thousands...
  18. slowworm

    Plug & Play Solar

    Has anyone with plug and play solar checked with their house insurance to if they are fully covered if anything goes wrong? I also wonder about the impact of the grid if a large number of houses start feeding small amounts power back into in. We often get way over 250v and sometimes 260v in our...
  19. slowworm

    Horse flies: what are they for?

    Or rather the the OP resembles a horse! Sorry, no offence intended by some of their descriptions says they prefer horses to humans. They do seem to prefer some people more than others. I've rescued several of the 1" long giant horse flies again this year, I'm quite fond of them and I expect...
  20. slowworm

    Garden Herbs - not for cooking

    Sweet woodruff is a nice little creeping plant that's useful dried as a strewing herb or added to potpourri. We also use a lot of mint for mint tea. Hops, if you have the room, can be used in sleep pillows. My best discovery is sage flower wine, it went a bit wrong and turned out as a sparking...