Just heard this drama on Radio 4

[Pipbin]

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07btcbg

It's only 15 minutes long, but worth a listen.
Although I don't think of myself as a prepper it did make me think how tenuous our society is. I do like to have about 2 weeks worth of dried and tinned food in stock at any given time.

[cozietoesie]

Have you actually seen the two documentaries, Pipbin? Both the American and the U.K one are on YouTube, I think.

You might like to take a look - but best not last thing at night.

[Pipbin]

Which documentaries?

[cozietoesie]

On YouTube, one's called American Blackout and one's called (if I recall) Britain Blackout. Sorry I can't link to them directly (temperamental device tonight) but perhaps another poster might be able to.

[cozietoesie]

You'll see some interesting items in the YouTube sidebar as well.

[cozietoesie]

Ah - my device has decided to coo-operate albeit temporarily.

Here you go.

[cozietoesie]

co-operate

And the second

I believe that the British Blackout is also on Alt 4.

[cozietoesie]

All 4

(This is clearly only a pretense at co-operation on the part of my device! )

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

Thanks OP. Just listened. Do you really think society would break down so quickly?

I have heard that in the time of a crisis with something like that going on, you are safe to travel for the first three days before panic has kicked in with the general population, and after that it's unsafe to be outside. Sounds so drastic!

[cozietoesie]

I'm afraid, Through, that I know adults who can't imagine life without their phones and have never known what it is to be without power. At all.

I doubt it would take 3 days for the first effects to be felt - maybe the 3 days is fair enough in terms of safety but in terms of societal paralysis? I doubt it would be that long.

[cozietoesie]

Much would depend, I think, on the message being put out from the centre about restoring supply.

[HildurOdegard]

There are currently fuel strikes in France...

I had a 7 hour power-cut a couple of weeks ago. It happens.

[cozietoesie]

Oh Yes - it does happen. Unfortunately, there are people who have never experienced one. (At least one lasting more than a second or so.) City dwellers mainly, in my experience.

[Pipbin]

In my last house, in the centre of a large town, we used to get powercuts about once a month. We got so used to it that all rooms had candles. We were a terrace with no front gardens so when the power went off we would pop out of our front doors and have a chat.
One day this happened and a woman who had just moved in over the road ran into the street screaming. We all rushed over to find out what had happened. Nothing other than she had never experienced a powercut before and had no idea that such a thing could happen. She thought it was the end of days.

There was a thread a while ago where the op could not comprehend how people drove to unknown places without sat nav.

[cozietoesie]

The youngsters in my own family don't understand - I mean simply don't understand - how it's possible to live without a mobile phone. Their faces go quite blank if you talk about arranging to meet and waiting if someone hasn't arrived. (Waiting. Waiting?? What do you mean?)