Wednesday 23 January 2013

Dress for survival success: The Pashmina.

Chances are you'll have heard of the Pashmina. More a style of cloth than a garment, the material is available in a variety of sizes from various vendors both on the high street and online.
I bought mine from amazon, but I cannot find the exact item I purchased, and so cannot provide a link.

At approximately 70"x20", there are a number of ways to use the Pashmina, as both clothing, shelter, and improvised cordage.

I this article I will be going into the uses as a clothing item only, as the other uses are fairly obvious.

1) Belt/Sash.

This is fairly simple, but in the event that an item of clothing loses it's fasteners, or additional clothing has to be improvised from other materials, then the Pashmina can be improvised as a belt. The cloth is strong enough to be tied tightly, whilst being soft and smooth enough not to rub against the body and cause irritation.

To tie the sash, fold the Pashmina so it is roughly a hand's width. Hold the Pashmina a third of the way along it's length just below your belly button, so that the longer piece is to your left. Wrap the rest around your waist, and fold over and around, pulling tightly. Unless you have a very large waist, there will be a significant length left hanging. This can either be left, or tucked and tied along the length of the belt sash for added security.


2) Turban.

Quick disclaimer; I'm not a Sikh, and this is not a religiously accurate turban. It is only called such because of the physical resemblance. This method works best with cropped or shaved hair.

This is a really warm alternative to a hat, which I've worn both in summer and winter, and found quite pleasant in most weathers. It also protrudes a little forward of the face, which, combined with the remaining cloth tied over the face kept most of the snow out of my eyes.

First, place one of the short edges roughly halfway down the back of your head, with the rest of the material hanging over the face. Loop the corners of the short edge around the head and tie across the forehead. Flip the length back over your head towards the rear. Twist the rest of the material into a "rope". Wrap around the head, and tuck through the start of the "rope". This will leave sufficient material hanging down the neck to wrap across the face shemagh style.


3) Under shirt.

This will cover a similar area of you torso as a vest. It is often seen being sported by women at pools and beaches in the summer to cover their upper body whilst not in the water.

Hold the Pashmina at two corners, so that the long edge follows the line of your arms. Bring the cloth under your arms, so it is tucked under the armpits. Wrap the corners you are holding across your chest, and tie them behind your neck.


4) Underwear.

Looks kind of like Gandhi's lioncloth.

Hold one end of the Pashmina just above the genitals. Loop the remaining length through the legs. Wrap the garment around the waist, ensuring it covers the cloth in front. Tuck and tie the garment at the rear.


5) Skirt.

Nice and simple. Place one corner on your hip, so the short edge hangs down the leg. Wrap the Pashmina around the waist, ensuring it is tight. Tuck the top corner into the waist. For additional security, use a second Pashmian as a belt (see above) or belt with anything you have which will work.



Other uses for the Pashmina are, a standard scarf, a blanket, a flag for signalling, camouflage (if suitable colours are purchased), a sling; either for wounds or carrying young children, a stretcher; if secured to sturdy enough posts, or really anything you can think of.

Monday 21 January 2013

Things you should stock pile but aren't: #2 Grit/Rocksalt

This should be obvious, given the kind of weather we've had for the last few days. It seems everytime there is the slightest little snow fall, all of England shuts down for a week. It's also rare that we don't have a week or so (and sometimes more) of moderate to heavy snowfall in a year, and people do sometimes end up trapped in their houses.
And yet, whilst I see people with shovels, I rarely see people spreading grit to clear their paths. It's a lot less time and labour intensive, as well as being safer than shovelling alone, which can sometimes leave a thin sheet of ice over your path.

A cursory google search brings up a number of sites which provide salt for de-icing:
http://www.onlinerocksalt.co.uk/
http://www.rocksaltshop.co.uk/
http://rocksalt.co.uk/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Arock+salt&keywords=rock+salt&ie=UTF8&qid=1358767124

As rock salt has an almost infinite shelf life, it will store most places until it is required.
In a pinch, normal white table salt can be used in lieu of the more specialised rocksalt.

Don't forget, if you stockpile rock salt for path clearing, don't clear only your path and leave your neighbours to struggle through, be a good person, help if people need it, especially with elderly neighbours.

Wednesday 16 January 2013

New Years Competition

So, here's the idea; I will be running a non-fiction writing competition during the month of February. Entries must be survival related, and based on personal experience of techniques guaranteed or known to work, but after that it's up to you. Articles could be on food, hunting, construction, or any number of subjects.
Entries will be accepted from now until 1/3/13, with the winners announced on all three feeds Sunday 10th. Entries will be judged on their subject matters legitimacy as survival advice, as well as the quality of their prose (Although articles will probably be edited before posting). Entries should be of suitable length for the site. Images may be included, but sources and references must be sent unless the image is owned by the entrant.
Winning articles will be posted, with full credit (including links to Entrants own site), on consecutive Sundays after the announcement of the winners.
Unfortunately, entry will be restricted to the UK for this contest, due to budget constraints regarding p&p, and my unfamiliarity with shipping regarding things.

Entries must be in Windows Word 97-2003  (.doc) format, and should be sent attached to a facebook message with the name you wish to be credited with as well as any referenced sites and a list of any other references used.

Winners will receive:

1st place - Entry posted on the site with full credit. Monkey fist survival defence device in neon green.

2nd place - Entry posted on the site with full credit. Monkey fist survival defence device in neon green.

3rd place - Entry posted on the site with full credit.

Apologies.

Sorry I've not posted since last year, I had two weeks of 20 hour days, then spent Christmas until about the 9th completely drunk, so I've not been that productive.
Information regarding the non-fiction competition will be going up today.