Anyone planning on buying a wind up FM radio?

Surely if we're in the 'oh dear my primary wind-up radio is buggered - best get the reserve out' territory, the only thing that will save you is guns or a predilection for violence?

Sorry to hear that. I live in another city now and in thirty years have had water out for two hours once unplanned and once for the morning planned with leaflets through the door warning us. I never keep bottled water just in case. Power and water have always been secure.

I will prepare this weekend, but I dislike being told this is normal. It really isn't.

In emergency (etc) situations, communication is extremely important and often underestimated.

No. Just get on with your life and stop listening to this crap. Qué, sera, sera. Too much anxiety nowadays.

Is it though? I'm not sure rolling brown / black outs count as a genuine emergency situ. If the shit genuinely goes down - one's two wind-up radios would be best employed as clubbing instruments.

I bought a couple. Rechargeable ones. Sound is ok. For storms as much as anything.
My in laws were without electricity for a week a few years ago after a storm, so good to have. Solar, wind up ones.

We live in London and have approximately 35 (no exaggeration) places to buy water and non perishables within half a mile of our house so the only thing we do is make sure we have a some cash in the house in case of a cyber attack that effects banks and paying by card - after an unpleasant experience in Spain a few years ago when you couldn’t pay by card anywhere or use ATMs for several days and we had no cash.

I've just bought a couple of long handled lighters & gas so I can light my gas hobs in the event of a power cut & I'm saving glass jars to put tea lights in so I can use them safely. I've got loads of tins & packets in my cupboard & a full freezer which will last me until it defrosts, the only thing I don't have is water but I don't drink tea or coffee so probably 5 litres would last me 2 or 3 days, in the event of things looking dodgy I would fill my bath up for flushing the loo & washing in preparation. I have a fully charged powerbank & am considering buying a large one that you can plug in mains appliances, the one I'm looking at will power a microwave or air fryer for an hour if needed & charge a mobile phone 12 times.

I must be reading different sources. It's preparing for disruption caused by grid instability, cyber attacks and attacks by foreign powers.

Allowing drilling for gas has increased my respect for the government. Rosebank next please.

What do you do about using the toilet? Put a carrier bag in the toilet and poo in that?

Have you used it? Is it any good?

Why use the loo if not a receptacle for the immediate disposal of human waste? Better off shitting in the garden surely? Or if in a flat - straight in the bag and out the window. Don't turn your house into a biohazard.

I have a battery one. Somewhere.

@HowLateItWasHowLate I am disabled. I couldn't manage shitting in a bag. And I have a small garden. Even if I could I am not shitting outside in front of neighbours.

Very short sighted. The reason you have 30 shops is because you have a huge population in the local catchment. That population will trip the shelves of those 30 shops in a matter of hours. What do you plan to do once the shops are empty and can’t be resupplied? How are you even going to get to the shops once the rioting and looting breaks out, which is what will happen in the major cities once the shelves are empty?

Same with a wind up torch, I used to keep one in my boot. When I needed it, it was almost useless. Loads of winding for a very dull light.

I might look for one that works on usb because I have a solar battery pack that could run it.

Find it interesting that the Government are putting out all these instructions to people, but not telling us exactly what they are doing to prepare. If they think there might be a war etc for example, are they planning on establishing any air-raid type places, or emergency centres. Are they planning to strengthen the fire services, or adding extra provisions for the NHS. Its all well and good them telling us to buy in some extra tinned food - but what's their plan! That's what I'd like to know.

I have got a wind up grammar phone and some 30s Jazz records.

If the shit does go down - I'll bring the gin.

We are exactly the same.

A war? Air-raid shelters?

Any war fought now that the UK was involved with would not feature local ballistics.

It would likely be cyber - at best - at worst - take your pick - either way - air-raid shelters and corned-beef would not help you.

Have you looked for it?

Their plans are published you know. Do you expect a minister to come to your house and talk you through it, line by line?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-advice-from-uk-cmos-during-a-national-power-outage/water-and-sanitation-scripts-for-broadcast-media

In a true national power cut where water goes off too and the sewage system doesn't work, yes, poo in a bag is basically it (or some variation).

I don't think they are planning for war, at least not in the way you imagine. They're planning for infrastructure to be sabotaged. It's mind boggling that you think being asked to keep in a few days' food is "them" expecting you to do everything. This is partly of the planning, and from some of the responses here it's shockingly necessary.

As for them not telling you what they're doing, do you take any interest? Wes Streeting was talking about some of the measures only yesterday. There's the Planning and Infrastructure Act enacted last year, the Critical Undersea Infrastructure (CUI) Security white paper published this month, the National Resiliance Campaign, just a cursory Google would tell you loads.

What are you expecting to see?

Im with you on this one. I worry about meds. Some are life saving. And they will run out as doctors are pretty strict about when you can renew so no stockpiling.