AIBU to think my friend is overdoing emergency stockpiling?

Clearly I live under a rock but what exactly is it we are supposed to be stockpiling for?

Oh good plan. Are you going out and stealing and killing cows the minute the power goes off, after day three or day five?

And those people had no toilet paper.

I’m stockpiling nothing. There’s a field of cows at the bottom of our road. One of those buggers will keep us going for a week or two.

wanted to add, in case anyone believed I might have gone soft,
requests were denied on all occasions, first neighbour firm No
gas ring bandit summarily dealt with by OH

We are resolved now to be much more neighbour aware with our
stored goods, taking our own advice and from this thread, thanks

It’s a good idea to keep quiet about storing food water and equipment

We have a well stocked cupboard, freezer in cool storeroom with shelves
for toilet paper shampoo, cat and dog food, water etc. and an old but
serviceable fridge for drinks and drugs (animals) lotions and potions.
See, organised, as we used to live in the middle of nowhere so well trained.

A neighbour came round as I was putting away a large monthly delivery,
tins, rice, lentils, pasta, etc. and remarked on my ‘Armaggedon supplies’
I had promised her 6tins for the Harvest Festival hence the one and only
and for her, well timed visit. She is ‘active in the community’ a retired
person I have always instinctively kept at arms length.

that very weekend I had a text from her asking could I let her have a bag
of pasta and two cans of chopped tomatoes until she could shop on
Monday and if I could spare a pack of bacon that would be grand

the next week two other people commented that they would know where
to come in the event of shortages, said with a laugh

then! said neighbour texted to say she was in the village hall for the
Harvest lunch - they had run out of vegetables so could I go around there
with tins of veg, as they were waiting but frozen would be better

A friend brings us toilet paper/kitchen roll/useful stuff from Costco occasionally
in heavy duty non see through black plastic bags, even backs his car up to the garage doors, for security reasons, he says, making this a furtive exercise

In summer a friend loaded up her capacious car boot with (empty) boxes,
12 pack of toilet paper in the back seats, all left on view.

Neighbour asked where we going camping?? Friend on cue says no we are
emptying the storeroom at last, there is too much, I’m taking it all to the BHF
so Fru Fru can have a walk in closet. Essential lies told for my peace of mind.
Friend drives off, dumps boxes at recycling centre, flings Andrex in the boot.
Under cover of darkness, brought it back in the house in a black dustbin bag

We felt this pantomime well played when another neihbour asked me was I
enjoying my freshly painted dressing room now I have too many clothes?!?
Apparently her husband who has never even said hello in 7 years, asked OH
was he getting rid of gas rings and spare gas refills as he could take them off
our hands

This is life in a cul de sac

HTH

I have around 8 months supply of food and water and underground facilities off
-grid if needed. I think it's just being prudent and hope others prepare similarly. Good luck to everyone!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp931m8n3p5o

There is also up to date guidance on gov.uk (prepare)
Some people - myself included - also feel this is being publicised more because of possible cyber attacks, which happen all the time but are usually managed.

I know I could google so apologies…. But what exactly are we prepping for?

I think there was a middleground of people who didn't have food stores at home and who also didn't panic buy.

what does ‘goes rank’ mean? how does this manifest itself?
as in degrades?
because it is in plastic? does it smell badly?
I have a couple of 5l flagons from Tesco when it was 99p, now
something like 1.50£ so do you think I should open it?
We had nowhere cool to store anything like water, even the
solid garage floor was warm.
I will be miffed if its gone off, I could have been watering salad
and fruit bushes with it in the drought!

@OriginalUsername2 We have a hedgehog that visits, you can cover them in mud apparently and bake them underground. There is a huge Maine Coon a few doors down he could feed us for a week but I like him so I think the Sparrow killing dick of a cat across the road can go first.

And what are you planning to do after eight months? Kill and eat your neighbours?

I have around 8 months supply of food and water and underground facilities off
-grid if needed. I think it's just being prudent and hope others prepare similarly. Good luck to everyone!

@OriginalUsername2 We have a hedgehog that visits, you can cover them in mud apparently and bake them underground. There is a huge Maine Coon a few doors down he could feed us for a week but I like him so I think the Sparrow killing dick of a cat across the road can go first.

I was asking what the goverment had said and why, I can’t see that answer clearly