Parents starting an air raid shelter

I don't think the understand what a military attack on the UK would involve.

It's not like sheltering from doodlebugs in WW2.

There's absolutely no point in them building a shelter; if they want to prep for a cyber attack then yes, get some cash together, water, packet food etc .

If they think they will survey an actual attack, or even want to, then I find that a bit naive.

That's just how they get us to increase our defence spending, not saying we shouldn't.

That's so cool. There were still a few around during my childhood in the 1970's. I never really understood how they could protect anyone, either but I saw an explanation on a TV documentary recently. Most injuries were caused by flying debris (and blast) so they were made to keep people safe from that rather than direct bombing.

I grew up near Portsmouth, big naval/military area. Nuclear war with Russia felt like a very real possibility during the Cold War. We used to do drills at school. I once asked my dad what the plan was in the event of a nuclear strike and he said 'nothing, they will bomb Portsmouth straight away and we won't know anything about it.' I am still not sure if that made me feel better or worse! 😂

Those that know about these things and who are able to talk/write about the issue reckon the current Russian ballistic missile subs pose a very credible threat...

Next thread from OP.

Council told parents to remove bomb shelter, as they don’t have planning permission.

In theory they do. After the cold war it was actually discovered that half their missiles didn't have warheads and the other half would probably have blown up in the silos. And as for thier subs, we know they are death-traps that our systems can pick up easily. I know it would only take one or two hit their targets to cause horrendous destruction (many times bigger than nagasaki), but half the threat they posed was bluff. I'm not convinced they are as big a threat as they'd like us to think now either, perhaps that's just wishful thinking!

Unless they are being hysterical and frightening people over Sunday dinner with tales of anarchy after a war and having a debate about would they turn to cannibalism and eat nice Mrs Smith down the road if it came to it just let them crack on.

If I had the room I would probably do this myself, but for my own use when I need a break 😂

If they are happy, leave them to it, they aren't hurting anyone

It does sound extreme but this is obviously a worry they have and rather then sit around stressing about it they have decided to do something practical, maybe it is helping with their anxiety over it. They are not harming anyone and potentially enjoying it so leave them at it I'd say.

It is actually quite a good coping mechanism for anxiety - make a plan for the worst case scenario and then you feel more in control of a situation that is ultimately out of your control.

Like alot of preppers I think they have too much time and money to waste.

Well. I think if Russia or anyone bombed then a cellar probably wouldn't be deep enough. A week's supply of food etc wouldn't be enough, either. There could be other reasons to prep though so not an entirely bad idea, but it shouldn't become obsessive either.

They’re watching Sky News. My parents are the same…

YABU for yet another nonsense post hyping up a war none of us want

I’d also rather go out in the first hit In The event of global nuclear war.

Being a prepper is fine, but they might want to consider what is likely to actually happen. If Russia bombs us, we bomb them. Mutual destruction- so that’s not how they’ll attack.

We are much much more vulnerable on the cyber front. All you have to do is set traps in the stock control systems of all the major supermarkets. Three days later our country would be on its knees.

Yeah, it really is. My partner was horrified - and shocked they showed us at school. Three tears younger than me.

Do they have planning permission?

Do I think someone will nuke us? - NO

Is it possible for a Russian nuke to reach us? - absolutely

Would it be shot down ?- no, hitting a moving target that is travelling at the speed an ICBM moves would be very very difficult.

But they have advanced warning systems. - That is so we can retaliate and this threat is what insures MAD (mutually assured destruction)

OP - if I was your parents I would be happy to go out in the first wave, but as you or someone else said an attact might not be nuclear and I can see how they might want some comfort about that.

Annie Jacobsen is a very interesting woman to listen to if you don't scare easily.

Russia can park a sub armed with conventional weapons about 30 miles of our shore and hit us in less than a minute warning. They don’t need to come from Russia. And Iskander missiles do have enough range to travel from Kaliningrad to the UK.

Hope they painted their windows white and took the doors of their hinges !

If they are British, they will most likely have seen threads in the 80s. It’s on BBC iPlayer and watched it recently and it scared the shit out of me.

That’s really made me laugh (the traffic warden bit). I can’t believe they let kids watch Threads, I saw it recently and fuuuuck it’s bleak. I’m a little bit too young to have watched it when it was out originally, but I do remember the 80s.

Children, children, let me tell you...'during the COLD WAAAAR' those of us of the Nena era were specifically educated by the UK government as to how we, as schoolchildren, could save ourselves in the event of the (99 red) balloon(s) going up...

You MUST paint your windows white (against flash, for fire reduction)
Do not stand near them
Remove internal doors and place them at an angle and place mattresses against them (blast and shrapnel protection)
Fill the bath with water
Shit in a bucket
Lie face down with your head towards the blast, preferably in sunglasses
Put dead grannies in bin bags and tape them up

...stopped remembering so googled 'Protect and Survive' official pamphlet:

http://www.roc-heritage.co.uk/uploads/7/6/8/9/7689271/protectandsurvive.pdf

Watch Threads as well - they made us watch it. It's truly frightening - One woman wees herself and a traffic warden becomes an even bigger cunt than normal.

That's if you want to survive. Not sure i'd bother. We used to discuss all this bollocks in the playground - four minutes warnings, radiation sickness, nuclear winter.. the 80's were shit.

I've seen enough post disaster TV shows to know I'd rather die within the first few seconds of said disaster!

My Dad did this many years ago. He stockpiled so much stuff, that we lived on Cheese and Onion soup for months when we first got married!