To think 'prepping' is just shopping to ease anxiety

[JeffsanArsehole]

The likelihood of something 'happening' that prepping would have helped is pretty small isn't it?

Isis/alien invasion/zombie apocalypse - all pretty unlikely.

Apart from the pack of candles, a torch, and a 4 pint of milk in the freezer I'm not 'prepped' for anything.

So maybe people just buy 400 tins and a generator to ease anxiety?

That's what I do too, atticus. I do hope we get our board, so we can discuss in peace.

We live a bit rurally - only 5 miles from town, but always have full cupboards in the winter as can get blocked in proper for 2 or 3 days when it's snowy, but have to avoid the roads for a few days more as they then block up with idiots 'coming to look at the snow' and then getting stuck.

We have food and water, and a log fire if needed - the hob is bottled gas so we have heat I the power goes off. We also have a wood so plenty of logs.

Longterm - and this is always the bit that worries me - we have an arable farm. Right now in the shed we have about 600 tonnes of wheat and 250 tonnes of barley. We also have a dozen sheep, a few chickens and a couple of cows. Which is a nice idea, and technically (if we borrow a bull) we have resources to feed quite a lot of people for quite a long time assuming that we can get fuel. But in reality I expect that everything would be stolen within a few weeks, leaving no seed for the following year, and no chance of breeding more animals etc etc.

Sadly I don't think that rationing the british public would work in the way it has in the past and we rely too heavily on imported food - while it might make you feel more secure to have stockpiles to see you through a couple of weeks, long term we're all doomed!

I'm age 59 and lived through the 3-day week and constant power cuts.
I know the State can sometimes not be able to provide the essentials for quite a while. And what they regard as an acceptable minimum to sustain life is far below my minimum comfort standard.

My view is that most prepared citizens can survive the more likely disasters, but not "End of Civilisation As We Know It" where desperate bands of looters are smashing into all the houses - or where we are all breathing heavily radioactive air.
So, I take sensible precautions; same as I have good house insurance really.

Possible disasters (UK):
. Floods or temperature extremes (climate change)
. Energy gap before new power stations come on line. The contingency plans might not work, if all the EU is chasing the same limited energy supply.
. Our entire society is now far more dependent on technology.
So, a cyber attack, or even a major bug could disrupt power supplies, transport, hence food distribution & storage
. Major terror attack, even a dirty bomb or poisoned water supply. All could disrupt society massively, without being immediately fatal to those further afield.

I have stocks of food, candles, cash etc for at least several weeks and I live where I can expect to top up water stocks with rain, if need be.
I use bicycles for normal transport anyway.
I have solid steel doors and a cellar.
My stocks would enable me to stay indoors, if need be, whether it be to avoid civil unrest, queues or just deep snow & ice.

Long term we are all doomed - we all die. I prepare for emergencies where we might be cut off or have no food for a few weeks, or the taps stop working for a while, or we have no electricity. Long term I am banking on the government sending aid, restoring power, etc. But historically even with small emergencies there has been a lag before the government are able to help. It was days before they restored any kind of normality to New Orleans. If you were still in the city and your house flooded what would you do - no running water, no shelter, no food. After a few days it would be pretty crap.

And my point is that they did restore normality to New Orleans but ir was several days before they could even start to help. In that period people were on their own. Hopefully I'll never need my go bag and never be in an emergency but if I am, it's good to know im ready to leave at a moments notice and be reasonably comfortable for a while.

I am really surprised at some of the comments on here.

I am very emergency-minded, and am slowly taking more of a prepper path as regards medium-term supplies.

It is not zombie invasions, or floods, or flu that bothers me, it's the fact that, seven years ago, Britain came whisker-close to an entire British banking system collapse. Alastair Darling, the Chancellor at the time, has since made it clear that Britain was a few hours away from total disaster.

Here's his take ....

"The risk I have always seen is that people forget just how close we came to a complete collapse and the thing about a collapse of the banks is that it wouldn’t just have been the banks in ruins, it would have been complete economic and therefore social collapse. People without money can do nothing – you can’t buy your petrol, you can’t buy your food, anything."

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2415003/ALISTAIR-DARLING-INTERVIEW-Britain-hours-away-total-social-collapse--Former-Chancellor-crisis-erupted-FIVE-years-ago-week.html

What is very notable is that people working in and around the Treasury during that time have since come out with typical prepper comments: for example, Damien McBride's tweets on Black Monday.

If you have Gordon Brown's former spad coming out with prepper style advice, it's probably a good idea to consider it.

The big econimic crash is the only thing that concerns me werks, because I think it's a certainty.

In the South East bad weather doesn't bother me, we don't live in a flood area, a vast terrorist attack may happen but I'm not convinced, some kind of pandemic may hit but again I'm not sure it will, etc with other scenarios.

A fnancial crash I think will happen, just a question of when.

A fnancial crash I think will happen, just a question of when.

I agree, but I don't like to think about it, even though on some level I do and have made some preparations.

Power is also a concern. Apparently, this winter, we are going to run awfully close to the line. We no longer have a reasonable reserve capacity.

To be honest, I think it would be worth a thread on basic family preparedness.

Surely then prepping as a community is the best option?

of course that would ideal.

As you can see though, lots of people don't see it as something they need to do.

If I was snowed in, of course I would share with my neighbours. If it was something that would last longer probably not.

Also you don't want to tell to many people. You will be a target.

Oh another way I prepare a bit is too keep the cars full of petrol.

Done that since the petrol strikes.

to

Timely article in The Guardian

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/30/inside-the-uks-only-one-stop-apocalypse-shop?CMP=fb_gu

The UK has its first preppers store!

We may not prepare as a community exactly, but when it snows, we come together as a community and have a BBQ on the green. There are about 3 gas bbqs on the street, and they get pulled out with everyone bringing something from their kitchens to cook. And the kids have a ball playing in the snow while the adults chatter, drink hot wine, and supervise. Everyone gets fed, and then everyone retreats indoors once the darkness starts to fall.

But we are a pretty friendly street, and tend to do a lot for each other anyway, which is not necessarily the norm in our city.