COULD EVERYONE WHO THINKS PREPPING IS STUPID, [INSERT MH INSULT], USELESS AND WEIRD PLEASE FORM AN ORDERLY QUEUE.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Yes, I shouted. Sorry to your internet ears. Just hide the bloody topic.

Anyone else sort of looking forward to the Zombie Apocalypse now? We can eat all the mean non-preppers. That is a joke in case any special snowflakes think I will actually eat them.

I suspect most come across the threads by seeing them in active. I also use MN by pressing the active button constantly and only go into topics when I'm particularly hunting for something.

Stratter5 - I didn't search for it, this thread came up in 'active convos' in great big capital letters - can't really miss it.
I never search for anything, I just look on active ( like most people I'd have thought. )
Plus the thread title was inviting my comments.

Fine, so you saw it in Active Convos and thought, oh that looks useless to me, I'll just nip in and tell them so. Why? I don't get this at all, why would you even bother?

Well, I thought it was really interesting. I know about American survivalists- and I wondered what you were all prepping for.

why do we have to be prepping for anything . why does there have to be a reason for everything that we do? i don't have to justify myself to someone, not if it doesn't directly impact on them. people do all sorts of unusal things, some of which aren't exactly savoury but that is their business. if it doesn't hurt anyone, let them get on with it.

Why do people like the January sales? 'tis a mystery to me.

This is a fabulous interest. At the moment I'm learning all about the Cascadia fault, earthquakes and tsunamis.

Did you know that one Geography A Level student saved a whole beach full of people after spotting the warning signs of a tsunami? You just never know when this stuff might be useful & if not it is great fun.

Of course you don't have to justify yourself. But doesn't the word preparation imply preparing for something? Maybe it's just a loaded word because of the extreme Americans. I like a full freezer and cupboards. I like knowing I can do stuff. But it's for now. Not for some possible future event.

Actually you would be amazed how little most people have in the way of a short term food stock / water for power cuts, breakdowns, medical needs and so on.

Sounds to be like you are secretly ONE OF US.

There's lots of stuff I think is weird on MN but I would never dream of barging in and being insulting as some people have with the prepping threads even if I did see it in Active. Having said that it does seem to be a trend on here at the moment for people to think their way of thinking is the only right one and it is ok to insult others who think differently

I have enjoyed reading the threads and even bought a torch and batteries yesterday just in case

I've actually learned quite a lot from this thread...I thought prepping was making sure I had enough wine and Doritos in for a Friday AND Saturday evening

I actually hate the term 'Prepping', and I think the name isn't helping. I don't think any of us are in any way comparable to the extremes you see on television; it's more a mix of posters who want the reassurance that they've thought of what they need if they get snowed in, or there's a longer than usual powercut, to those who know they're a flood risk, and are thinking ahead for that, and the slightly fewer of us who are interested in being more self sufficient for whatever reason.

No bunkers, or castles here. No zombies, no scary homemade weapons

Here it is. Got it slightly wrong - it was a ten year old! Now that is being prepared.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1480192/Girl-10-used-geography-lesson-to-save-lives.html

Stratters - Exactly. Its actually a discussion by people who have thought about potential future risks that most people have not even considered.

I sometimes ask people to do a thought experiment. What happens if tomorrow morning a major bank fails, the Govt closes all the cash machines, you cant use your credit card. Your salary doesn't get paid.

Most people simply assume it will never happen. Well it more or less happened in Greece this year.

You live in the countryside. Most people live in urban areas with continuous services available. I have lived in the countryside. I know people get cut off in snow storms. I know the electric can go off for days. I know sometimes people die.

People in urban areas feel themselves generally to be insulated from such risks. There is a cash machine round the corner, a bus up the street every ten minutes, a 24 hr corner shop if you run out of milk and a pizza delivery only a phone call away.

But... but...but.... look how the UK falls apart the minute we have a few inches of snow. Perhaps we could do with some serious thinking about being prepared as a nation.

:o Maryz if you're checking out the kindling for your non-existent wood fire you're soon going to be looking at getting a fire to match the kindling, then at a cabin in which to place the fire, etc. Get out now while you still can!

people prep' without even realising. has noone noticed how the shelves are cleared the minute there is a rumour that something is going to run out. so many examples. salt is one of many (when it is icy), rumours of petrol running out (queues everywhere with all local petrol stations having run dry even though it was all based on rumour as there wasn't even a petrol delivery strike. bottom line is that alot of people have a fear of running out and panic. we are storing up randomly (without the panic and without the rumours) .

My DS was on holiday in NY when the hurricane hit and it made me realise all the things we take for granted. They were in a hotel and had expected to fly home before it so had nothing useful like a torch, cash or a way to charge their phones when the electricity went. Since then I try to think a bit ahead of what could happen and have a few bits in just in case but would love to be better at it

In my former job my colleagues used to fly to certain parts of the world carrying blood plasma, large amounts of cash in case they had an accident or got caught up in a coup. They were prepared.

Living in the UK we don't have severe weather to any serious degree and we have stable government and in general an efficient orderly society. Hence no one preps for anything but a continuation of an orderly society.

In other places people are ready for events BEFORE they happen. They don't hope to rush out to Sainsbury to stock up if they hear its going to snow and then stay at home until it blows over.

Yup. See you at the 72-hour hike. Don't forget to maintain op-sec.

Thanks to this thread I now have a week long meal plan consisting entirely of long-life foods or things I could make from long-life food. I also have a "preppers" shopping list on Tesco.com. I already had a "bug out" wishlist on Amazon of all the things I'd like to collect but I've added a few bits to it. Now I've just got to convince DH that we do actually need a stash of food. I think I might have him swayed by suggesting that I could make a fruit cake every few months so we'd have a treat if we did get stuck but he'd get to eat it when I made the next one for rotation.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3312548/Inside-word-s-biggest-luxury-private-bunker.html

Come on, own up, who does this belong to?

I am the most unprepared person ever but have the makings of a prepper after finding you lot. I freely admit, TWD may have influenced me a lot tiny bit, and DH and I have a thing for apocalyptic/dystopian films but with the world in the state that it is, it's not a huge leap to wonder how you would cope if the SHTF, even just if the power went out, which is quite likely. I have started small with stocking up on candles, and I am in the process of getting my passport sorted. When it arrives it is getting put in my ofrs. When I get round to getting one.

Also I have a machete. It was my granddad's and I feel safer knowing it is in the house. Hidden and out of reach of small people, obviously.

I was a bit shocked at the vitriol elsewhere on mn for prepping. Do you think it's fear that makes people mock and insult prepping? I do. Far easier to bury your head in the sand and mock than think about the prospect of things going tits up.

We live in a place that is just subject to Mother Nature's mood swings. I am finding this topic most interesting. I also, just really dislike the asshat behaviour from some poster's opposed to this topic.

Fancy sharing the meal plan AGnu? I'm in awe of people who have always done these plans, it's taken me 3 days of my annual leave to sort 4 weeks of plans and I'm sure worried I shall just ignore it when I'm back at work.