Stacey Dooley: Face to face with Armageddon

[Doingreat]

It's on bbc iplayer right now.

Has anyone watched this programme about people prepping in case of natural disasters, nuclear war, 9/11 style attacks? Does anyone think this is a sensible approach or ott?

I did find it made me anxious that I would be woefully inequipped to deal with any sort of emergency situations.

You're right basil. I would not want to be alive for the things these people are preparing for. That was my thought also. The saddest thing is that their kids have been born into this lifestyle.

I may be being really stupid here, but what was meant by 'leaving the rings on' the jars?

@WhispersOfWickedness - the documentary showed people who had stored home canned food. Home canned actually means put in Kilner type jars that have a screw top ring holding down a lid. They are pretty expensive here but cheap in the US. You preserve food in them using what's called a pressure canner (not a pressure cooker). Or you can do what's called water bath canning depending on the food type. For example, meat stuff is generally processed using a pressure canner. We don't really do that here in the UK and the pressure canners are an expensive import - I saved up for one.
Anyway, after the processing/"canning", you remove the rings and are left with a vacuum sealing disc on the jar/"can".
If you think of a jar you buy now that has a full lid and sort of pops when you open it first time.
It's a traditional American way of storing food and not mad and redneck at all. Preppers do it to save home prepared food. Like freezing only without the freezer in case the power goes and you lose everything.
I have one. It's good fun but you need to do it properly. I have loads of official info about this to be on the safe side.
Boring if you are not interested

Ohhhh, thank you, that makes a lot more sense now I have seen the programme, but couldn't remember what type of jars were used, I also had no idea Kilner jars could be used like that, I have only seen them with the rings on so didn't realise there was another way of using them
I am a prepper of the small scale variety, we have a camping gas stove, enough water for a few days, candles, enough food for a couple of weeks. We've been snowed in before (rural) and had lots of power cuts, so it's more those things we are prepared for than a full on nuclear disaster. We'd probably keep more food if we had the space.

@WhispersOfWickedness - with a big enough pot it's possible to water bath can. There is a school of thought which says you can water bath can meat if you process it by water bath canning long enough - talking hours, here. I don't do that.
Another alternative is dehydrating which is much cheaper and easier to buy in the UK. Take a look at back packing meals on n YouTube.
I grow a lot of my own veg in my little garden)seriously little) and don't have the freezer space. So I dehydrate stuff and put them in sterilised reusable jars with an oxygen and moisture absorber. I can stick the contents into a soup or something.
That was the other thing about the documentary - no one seemed to grow their own or farm in anyway. Even indoors. Not sustainable.

Yes, I noticed that too, it was definitely a specific type of prepping i.e the underground bunker type, rather than just people who are aiming to be self sufficient.

It's a pity that most people think prepping is rocking backward and forward ina bunker with a tin foil hat on.
People are missing opportunities to be a bit more self reliant and to learn some new skills. If things get tricky, it gives you scope to try and problem solve without living in fear.

Yes, exactly, that's how I feel too, nothing wrong with being a bit more self sufficient, you don't need much money or space to be a little more prepared.

I think it’s sensible to have some extra food in just in case, but ultimately if the real shit hits the fan i’d rather go out early tbh.

I only saw a bit of the Stacey Dooley documentary on Gogglebox and agree with the poster who said they already looked like they were living post-doomsday. Why did they have a pen of dogs? What kind of protection is a trailer in extreme weather/nuclear war?

I like the point that prepping should be seen as being more self sufficient. I think the most important thing for any of us is to learn to grow our own food. Most people nowadays wouldn't survive without supermarkets and that's a very vulnerable position be in.

Exactly @Doingreat .