Emergency Prep - Floods

''Fail to prepare, prepare to fail"

With me being, well…me, it would be unusual to think I’d be prepared for anything. Just the other day my manager gave me a funny look when I said ‘I’m not that last minute’. So it’s interesting to know I have a little ‘emergency bag’ all packed and at the bottom of one of my wardrobes – just in case. I don’t know why it seemed to be high on my priority list seen as: I’m not in a flood risk zone, the earthquakes we experience where I’m from don’t manage to wake me up and there’s never been a storm bad enough to cause that much destruction in my area. But I just wanted to make sure that I was prepared in case something happened and I had to leave in a hurry – like a fire, a fire seems plausible.

                I have a small hold-all (small enough to carry on to a plane)which is BRIGHT pink and contains the following: Some jeans, some vest tops in case it’s the summer, but some layered items (a jumper and a huddy) if it’s a chillier season.  A mac – no not the computer, but a little rain mac - like the ones you get in a theme park when you go on the log-floom  or some other water ride (am I making sense here?) then to finish off the clothing I have the usual essentials – underwear, socks..yada yada. Extra things I have in there for those  ‘just in case’ moments would be: hand sanitizer – you never know when you’ll be able to use soap and such again and it’s easy and compact enough to use on the go. A spare toothbrush and travel toothpaste.  An empty water bottle. Sanitary products – unless you’re a female, you wouldn’t realise how vital these are.  I have photocopies of my ID (birth certificate, passport and driving licence) and a few loose photos of my family. Maybe this might give someone out there some ideas on what they might want to put into a little emergency pack?

Now, it only makes sense for me to write about what I know.  That just so happens to be floods. I work for a water company so I’m basically first in line to hear about flood warnings, flood disasters and so on. It’s only expected. So I thought I’d use my own little space to put some things out there that just might help someone someday (I hope anyways) seen as its coming round about flooding season now.

These are going to be a few hints and tips instead of facts and figures cause not all of that would be relevant to some people that read this. So first things first:

1.       If you know you’re in a flood risk zone, keep  important things high up - on a higher floor maybe, or a higher shelf. I know it’s a little bit of common sense and probably doesn’t need saying but it’s best to put it front of mind. You don’t want lose important possessions.

2.       Remember your pets. If a flood hits your home, make sure you move your family AND pets to higher/safer ground. We sometimes forget about our fury companions but chances are they’re going to be just as terrified as us, if not more.

3.       Put the plug in – this goes for baths and sinks alike (then weigh these down with something heavy). On a similar level, plug water inlet pipes with towels if you don’t have non-return valves in your home. This will help stop water coming in through the pipes under your sink/bath and any other water pipes connected to your home.

4.       Avoid walking or driving through water – as little as 6 inches of water can knock an adult down,  and 2ft of water can easily move a car.

5.       As soon as water enters your home, turn off water, gas and electricity off at the mains, but do remember to not try turn off the electricity if you have to step into the water to do so…you don’t want to put yourself at even more risk.

I think they’re the most helpful ones that I can think of. You can find more, as well as creating a flood plan at :Prepare For A Flood

One last thing, I would like to draw your attention to a video I came across on TED about a project that some young people put together to touch up photos and save memories after the tsunami hit, enjoy: 

Fortress Tour 2013 - 22/10/13

I think it was obvious to anyone who saw me in person or that had some visibility of my online presence that I was over the top excited for the Fortress Tour 2013. I don’t see how you couldn’t be excited: first off there was Halestorm – I have the biggest girl crush on Lzzy Hale, I think she is pure perfection and I would give anything for a day with her. Second – Alter Bridge were headlining, this meant amazing people, amazing music and let’s be honest, Mark Tremonti’s guitar skills are enough to do strange things to a girls ovaries. But the best thing for me, the thing that really did make my heart flutter was that I was finally going to see my all-time favourite band – Shinedown.

I didn’t want to miss out on anything so I took a few days off work, and myself and a friend travelled to Manchester on Monday night and stopped in the Holiday Inn Express until early Wednesday morning – the first mistake was letting me be in control of the map, I’m not very good at navigating around Manchester in the dark. But after a 15 minute walk we made it. The hotel was super lovely and the people that worked there were amazing, they really couldn’t have been more helpful and the rooms were gorgeous. I was in love with my walk in shower, the shower was awesome. But anyway, let’s not get into too much detail about my hotel room – not the time (though I do recommend The Holiday Inn Express in Manchester Centre if you ever want a cheap little get away / somewhere to stop over)

            After a day wondering around shops and being reunited with my beloved bobo tea, it finally hit the time to go and get to the arena. Being lazy and looking at the weather forecast, I suggested a taxi (even the guy behind the front desk was a little taken aback when I asked for a taxi number, he replied with ‘oh…it’s…um…really not that far’). Though it was a good call because it absolutely chucked it down just after we left. We bumped into a couple in the lobby who were wearing Tremonti/Alter Bridge merch, so offered them a taxi share after over hearing their talk on walking. It’s such a nice thing to experience people that have such close interests and have similar tastes, so much so that getting into a taxi with complete strangers didn’t feel awkward at all. The female even offered to pay the £3 taxi fare for our kind offer for the lift – see this is one of the reasons I’m into the music that I am, it’s a weird connection between fans that you just don’t get with mainstream music.

            When we got into the arena, I went absolutely crazy on the merch stalls. I bought myself an Alter Bride long sleeve sweater, a Shinedown shirt, guitar picks, a shirt for my friend – gig’s all in all put you ridiculously out of pocket! But I don’t care, I treasure them completely.

            A family (mum, dad and son) were in front of us and we instantly got chatting. They asked if we knew anything about the supporting bands – they had obviously come just for Alter Bridge. After expressing my love for Shinedown, we waited for the verdict after each set. After Halestorm played, they turned to us and gave an appreciative head nod and a ‘not bad, not bad’ kind of response. But after Shinedown: ‘THEY WERE FUCKING AWESOME. I DON’T KNOW HOW I’VE NOT LISTENED TO THEM BEFORE. YOU WERE RIGHT, I CAN SEE WHY THEY’RE YOUR FAVOURITE. THAT FRONT MAN IS A PROPPER SHOWMAN ISN’T HE’. It was like a sense of pride just washed over me. Its so lively when people appreciate your favourite things. And yes, Mr Smith is one heck of a Showman and one hell of an inspirational speaker.

            Jumping back a little here, but to Halestorm’s set, they started off with ‘love bites-so do I’ which was fantastic. I’d been singing it all day around the shopping centres so it was such an unreal experience to go from mumbling it to myself then to having Lzzy Hale screaming it back at me. As amazing as Halestorm was, with an incredible drum solo mid performance, nothing made me more excited that when they started the set up for Shinedown to come on. I was practically buzzing and I couldn’t stay still.

couldn't get over the amount of people
who share the same passion

            Then it happened. On they came. My heart could have imploded there and then. The best thing is that they sound the exact same live as they do on a recording. One of my unfeasible wishes is to have Brent Smith sing me to sleep every night, because golly gosh is that man’s voice a thing of the gods, but after hear him speak…it’s now a dream to have him just talk to me…all day. I felt so inspired. Everything he said had so much meaning and heart…I found part of his speech on tumblr, he changed it a little from venue to venue but here’s the gist:

So, why are we all here tonight? For the music, for the songs. See, the way we look at it is there are so many different genres of music all over the world, so many different styles. But, you see, it’s never gonna stray too far from drums, bass, guitar, badass vocals and a killer song, am I right? You see, what I’m talking about is the beauty of rock and roll.

Think about how many times rock and roll has been there for you when you needed it most; when the world and everything in it, and everyone in it, didn’t just quite understand who you were and where you were coming from. What were those songs that lifted you up? That made you feel alive again? What were those songs that made you want to fight?

Now, you see, when someone tells you that rock and roll is just a genre of music, you say, ‘No, my friend, no. Rock and roll is a way of life.’ ”

I remember him adding: there’s something in the room right now. You can’t touch it, see it, you can’t smell it or even hear it. But it’s there, and it’s in each one of us. Its love my friends. It’s pride. It’s strength, it’s hope, IT’S HONOR! IT’S ROCK AND ROLL. AND IT’S A WAY OF LIFE. Every one of us has this, you are never alone.’ And it was so god damn passionate that you couldn’t do anything but cheer and I swear to god I almost cried. It’s that kind of emotion that I’m talking about right there.

                I was incredibly jealous of the girls at the barriers for when Brent decided to hand out roses. With special little comments like ‘oh I do love a red head, here you go sweet heart’ and ‘you, don’t be shy, come closer. Has anyone told you that you look beautiful tonight? I think you look absolutely stunning. Would you like a rose?’. His way with words is phenomenal. It’s gotten to the point where I think I should stop because I’ve rambled on so much about complete nonsense because I just can’t articulate the way I felt that night.

                Oh, one other thing was it inspired me to start making music again. My guitar has finally come of its corner and started to be played again. I’m even looking into getting myself a Custom PRS Tremonti - which if everything goes to plan, I will be able to order on the 15^th.