AIBU to wonder whether the three day emergency advice is serious?

[Mich1986]

I know I might sound crazy, but is anyone else worrying about all the posts about stockpiling and prepping for 3 days that the government is telling us to do? Is anyone actually taking their advice and buying torches, extra water and wind up radios? I just don’t know whether to take it seriously?

No. The loft is fully boarded out and there's never been a sign of critters up there.

@Error404FucksNotFound got any treats to lift the spirits?

@PennGarnet I want to know the same

I do not need to be informed

what do you reckon to the 75 year old down the road who isn’t online and doesn’t read newspapers regularly?

Yes. Currently. I'm enjoying it immensely. 😁

I lack the willpower to store treats.

I should add some packet cake mixes to my stash.

Don’t forget to check under your bed in case there's a Russian hiding there 😆. Seriously though, it’s obviously sensible to have a few emergency supplies, especially if you live rurally, but the rest of it is nonsense.

@Error404FucksNotFound 😆 I bought biscuits & choc I don’t like so I won’t eat them!

DS has a daily medication. We have gradually built up a stock pile by ordering a few days early each time. Eg the last prescription says I can reorder on 8 October. It takes three days from the request to it being available to collect in the pharmacy. So I order on 4 October, the request goes through and I collect on 7 October. Keep doing it and you start to have a bit extra on hand - very useful for holidays, school trips or supply issues.

I lived on the West Coast of lreland for 7 years. Right on the Atlantic. Every year we had at least 7 power cuts so we were always prepared. When we built a new house we put in emergency lights that came on when the electricity went..powered by batteries. While we had an electric hob we had a back up gas one in the Utility room. We were always stocked up with torches, matches, candles, spare blankets etc and we used them. Then we moved inland to a warmer area and never have a power cut so we let all that go. Maybe l will start again. But l never know where to start with tinned food as it would just sit there and go out of date. As a coeliac l need certain cereals/ bread so l always have a supply of these.

So you don’t think Russians are behind any cyber attacks on the UK?

@PennGarnet I am also one of those who needs essential meds every day. I get a private script once a year for a month's supply and always have that in reserve. I'm sure they'd give me more but a month is enough for now. I am quite willing to pay for it as it's so reassuring to have it indoors, or when going abroad, in the event of a delay getting back etc.

There may be a way around it on NHS, but this is what I do.

You sound well prepared. Where abouts are you…? 😆

If i wanted to store biscuits and choc i dont like I'd have to travel to the 17th century and buy ship's biscuits before coming back home via Mexico and stocking up on chocolate covered locusts and even then there's less than a 50% chance I wouldn't have a go at them

Im not telling you. What if there's a zombie apocalypse and you make your way to my house to steal my supplies and feed me to the undead?

It’ll be me and 70 million other people 😆

😆😆

yes, it’s those pesky Russians again.

Sometimes it’s Iran. But it is also Russia.

How about the arson attack targeting Starmer?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8r2l352z2do

I mean if that’s the best they’ve got then I’m struggling to get very concerned. It’s complete amateur time.

I've always been a prepper. What bothers me is how the govt has always been very unbothered about our preparedness, almost keeping quiet to avoid panic, but recently that's changed and it's being pushed. Why have they suddenly started taking it seriously? 🤔

I have:

Candles
Battery torches
Rice, flour, sugar and salt by the sack
Drums of cooking oil
Tinned evap milk, corned beef, beans, tuna, peaches
Water tablets

& a multifuel stove to keep warm, boil water and cook on.

Should keep us going for a while

Right, so you’ve gone from Russia isn’t a threat to it’s an insignificant threat in the space of one news story. Do you think there aren’t others?

Medication wise my husband has parkinsons and cancer so he is on a lot of different tablets, liquids and creams. I have managed to build up about a months extra of everything he is currently on. I simply ask for a few extra days here and there plus ask his consultants for extra medication I can collect from hospital pharmacy rather than asking GP. His various consultants trip over themselves to try and help life easier for us plus don't pay much attention to the maths of when he last got a prescription. Obviously the situation is too our advantage in this case compared to most people. Makes a change.

I actually would naturally ould collect a large stash of medication even if no government warnings. At home I always have a stack of ibuprofen, paracetamol, etc. That is my personality, to be prepared for anything then I can relax and just enjoy life.

“I don’t know if to take it seriously”

Well, the government has issued advice, do you think they’ve done it for a laugh? What is the reason not to take it seriously, and how big is the effort involved in adding some bottled water and ambient goods to your weekly shop?

Pretty much every country in the world gives their citizens the same advice so that they can cope with anything like flooding, power cuts, water cuts, pandemic, a broken leg etc.

What will you do if there’s no water coming from the tap, you have young children at home and it might take 2-3 days to restore supply?

Sometimes I genuinely worry that hardly anyone would cope in a seismic event. Then again I come from a long line of war and famine survivors so maybe I just think different.

If there’s a sign that says ‘electrified fence, don’t touch’ or government travel advice is ‘do not travel to Iraq’, should I take them seriously or is that just for a laugh as well?

Rant over but questioning official advice that’s super easy to follow, just to be a rebel and let others down if there was a true emergency, just makes me upset. We’re not in year 7 anymore breaking school uniform rules to be cool, this is real life and real consequences, not a video game or evil conspiracy.

I don't understand how anyone doesn't have 3 days of food in the house. I guess we could eat well for a week without going shopping and eat for a month or more just short of fresh veg. Do people really shop every day?

Just my opinion but I believe the general thought in the past is we know we have some good allies that will rescue us if worst comes to worst. This is what happened with food supply when idiots panic brought during covid, certain other countries redirected their own goids to resupply UK supermarkets. However currently some of our allies are struggling them and others the government have alienated in the last few years. Therefore in an emergency we as a country are more on our own than ever before.