What have done towards your prep?

[Mortblanc]

You started with PTMD because that was probably the first song in whatever book the teacher was selling.

The kids in England usually bought the books printed by that Weedon guy. Over here it was a fellow of equal taste named MelBay.

Oh My Darlin Clemintine, She'll be Coming Round the Mountain, Moma's Little Babies Love Shortening Bread and such.

I grew up in the south of the US, in Nashville. Moma Maybelle Carter's kids went to school with my mom, I went to school with the Carter grandkids, we lived adjoining their back garden. They had an estate, we had a "back yard". First music I actually remember was Mama Maybelle sitting on her back porch playing while she watched us kids in the sandbox.

I took guitar lessons for about a month, then they held a "bluegrass festival" on the town square.

100,000 people showed up. I spent a couple of hours back stage there, which is a strange place. Groups of musicians that have never seen each other jamming like pros, strangers actually forming groups backstage to run out 15 minutes latter to preform for money!

I learned more about music in two hours than I would have learned from a lifetime of paid lessons!

It is amazing how much trouble learning 4 chords can get one into!

My problem was that I learned to play during the "folk music scare", learned all those silly songs and grew bored with them the second time I played them. I soon got hooked on "country blues", partly because my parents did not yell at me for playing Mississippi John Hurt, Elmore Johnson and Robert Johnson for some reason.

I progressed to electric blues when I first heard the Stones, playing my country blues and acting fools.

Autumn of 2018, before the "pandemic" hit I made the pilgrimage. I drove down and started at Graceland in Memphis. made a left turn out the driveway and headed down highway 61. I went to see the home of Mississippi John, spent the night in Indianola, MS where BB King grew up. Stopped and left a quarter on the gravestone of Robert Johnson. I stood on the "Crossroads", the real one not the commercial one a couple of miles away, where so much of the music that shaped out generation began.

Last trip before the pandemic, and I have been glad I made it so many times. I see that Mississippi Delta stretching out to the horizon each time I hear one of the old blues songs no matter who sings it.

I know that we "preppers" tend to be a stay-at-home lot, but when all of this restriction is over leave the house and GO SOMEWHERE!

And yes Paul we know you never go anywhere or do anything, we got that covered long ago.

[bigpaul]

not true that I never go anywhere Mort, pre the pandemic I went to a lot of places that are not local to me, but for the last two years the safest place has been the local area within a 20 mile radius.

[Straight Shooter]

I am about 75% done checking through the food preps .....up to now I have set aside 28 tins ....mostly corned beef and a few tins of potatoes .....pretty good ! ...the final disregard will come at the end when I will open and test ....if good I will turn them into pasties ........onwards !

[Pete Grey]

I read somewhere the government kept stocks of corned beef seven years, I’m sure with keeping the tins in a cool dry environment most of us can equal or better this. SS I look forward to reading you test results.

We found a tin of sweetened condensed milk bbf 2015, funny brown colour, other out of date stuff when opened was fine and was used.

[bigpaul]

the only food stocks the UK govt has is in the supermarkets and the delivery warehouses.

[Straight Shooter]

Ordered some sprouting jars and some sprouting seeds off the net , they arrived yesterday....I will add them to my existing set up ......also ....my new rake arrived ! It’s a heavy duty nutter bastard ! .

Off to the farmers market to pickup some replacement handles for my spades and forks .....getting ready for a major assault ! .

[Straight Shooter]

Times are a changing ! .......Abergavenny market reduced to eleven stalls ( outside ) and the inside market lots of stalls have gone out of business ....loads of empty pitches ....my hart just sank as I walked about .....family businesses shot to pieces .....even last week was the same , we did expect a improvement being early in the year ...I wonder if things will change ? I am beginning to doubt things will go back to anything like the past ! The tool guy has given up ! I was told so no handles for my gear ......not much better in town either , going to take a trip up to Hereford tomorrow to checkout the market there .

[LAC]

(11 January 2022, 17:38)Straight Shooter Wrote: Times are a changing ! .......Abergavenny market reduced to eleven stalls ( outside ) and the inside market lots of stalls have gone out of business ....loads of empty pitches ....my hart just sank as I walked about .....family businesses shot to pieces .....even last week was the same , we did expect a improvement being early in the year ...I wonder if things will change ? I am beginning to doubt things will go back to anything like the past ! The tool guy has given up ! I was told so no handles for my gear ......not much better in town either , going to take a trip up to Hereford tomorrow to checkout the market there .

Sorry to hear that SS, very sad. Know of a few pubs closed down but most local shops near me seemed to have survived. Is it possibly because of the stricter lock down measures in Wales?

[bigpaul]

"The High Street" has had it, due to covid and internet shopping habits have changed.
when the weather improves I may go up to Sedgemoor Market(Somerset) and see if that survived.
went to a Farmers Market last month, maybe a dozen stalls in a small town 20 odd miles away, but managed to get Goat Meat, Venison mince, and a Gammon joint which we had for our Yule/Solstice meal.

[Straight Shooter]

Well that was a waste of time ......Hereford market is on a Thursday and Saturday ....should have checked myself ! But a nice runout .....although I did hold wild child’s hand on the radiator for ten minutes before she admitted to the wrong day .