The slow decline

[FindingMeno]

Is anyone else twitchy?
It seems a variety of different pressures are causing problems in so many areas.
The fuel crisis and supply chain problems are worrying enough.
But I notice getting a gp appointment is harder than ever, postal deliveries are slow and sporadic and library and bus services have been cut in some areas.
Should we continue with optimism and trust that it will all even out, or watch events closely?

I'm getting twitchy. Especially as it was mentioned on the news yesterday.

I'm not really sure I want to prep for a totally normal lifestyle if this is going to be prolonged. I have restocked my freezer and rotated out my emergency stash of can not live without things. But to be honest I'm totally mentally prepaired to live off beans and toast if I have to which will not be hit by the C02 situation.

News was talking about importing meat. Its depressing. I will buy my Christmas food next month though.

I have also ordered six camping lights after the fire in the cables to France. If we was to face more power cuts I needed something safe for the kids

I'm more the kind of prepper who welcomes a swift death in the case of nuclear war though so maybe I'm not hard core enough.

Also I'm getting worried that I increasingly cant find kids clothes like uniform or underwear. I might get some supermarket uniform for next year. That's been bad for a year and seems to be getting worse

I'm not the only one then @Legoandloldolls.
I can't help but think now is the time to be evaluating our household power usage and looking into alternative options. Growing food if we can. Trying to be as fit and healthy as we can as individuals. And basically trying to become as self-reliant as we can.
With the housing crisis and inevitable rising costs of living, its not a time to take risks or spend frivolously. It's time to save for a rainy day.
I sound so pessimistic.

It's a massive outlay but I have been thinking about solar roof panels. It seems a minefield because if leese them some lenders wont offer mortgages on the house so that would impact selling the house.

Too many things relying on one component going wrong in the modern world and it starts falling apart.

Mood, as the younger people say.

I feel like the soothsayer of doom at the moment, because everyone seems to be carrying on like everything's normal, but it feels to me like it's all collapsing round our ears. I work in the NHS and I've never known it as bad as it is at the moment - even through the pandemic. We're going into a very challenging winter, imo, and I don't see any respite on the horizon.

I'm not organised enough to be a prepper, but I'm quite glad I've got my almost- converted van with plenty of solar. Mind you, heating is reliant on LPG, so I'll freeze to death if I head to the Highlands when the shtf.

I wouldnt worry about school uniform. If things get that bad then no one will have the proper uniform.

Other stuff like food, yes.

@DrinkingWishingSmokingHoping I think a converted van sounds like a bloody good insurance policy.
I think so many people think unless an apocalypse happens with a bang, everything will be OK.
I personally think now is the time to pre-empt how challenging things could become, and take steps accordingly. It may not be the end of days, but a bit of looking down the line now, would be better than wondering why you didn't put 2 and 2 together sooner.

Doubled up on winter fuel and trying to stock up on over counter meds but noticed getting short on things here in ireland, Xmas shopping all done so no worries about that. Think the biggest problem for nx year will be the amount of crops which have been destroyed either by fire, flood or human conflict

I’ve stocked up my freezer and cupboard basics. Made sure we have some candles and bought a few Xmas pressies so in the worst case scenario DC will at least have a couple of gifts. Working on being healthier, cutting down on sugar and fat, doing a bit of exercise. We could probably survive for several weeks if we had to. I’d have bought a frozen turkey but they’re not in stock yet!

The problem is, if everything truly goes to shit we’ll probably get burgled for food and have no petrol to drive to work. Prepping won’t be much help!

I would definitely be getting private health insurance at this point if I had the means.

I think the pandemic has speeded up an inevitable decline for the UK (and the west as a whole) as the way we live (and are encouraged to live by capitalism) is unsustainable on a long term basis.

We can’t continue to consume resources like we do forever.

Things like the gas crisis and food shortages feel like warning shots to me.

Well this thread is rather dramatic

Not for preppers. It makes a lot of sense to me.

@RosyPoesy (sorry, found the thread in Active, I'm not often in these parts), Farmfoods has frozen turkeys if you have one nearby.

I bought our Christmas meat this week and frozen it. Hopefully we won't lose power and it's ruined before Christmas!

Oh dear, I wish I hadn’t opened this thread. I think I’m quite suggestible. I’m usually a bit of an ‘it’ll probably all work out in the end’ ostrich type. I now feel rather gloomy, and convinced of the inevitability of the world collapsing in a heap. Maybe stockpiling chocolate is the way forward…

@HunkyPunk

Oh dear, I wish I hadn’t opened this thread. I think I’m quite suggestible. I’m usually a bit of an ‘it’ll probably all work out in the end’ ostrich type. I now feel rather gloomy, and convinced of the inevitability of the world collapsing in a heap. Maybe stockpiling chocolate is the way forward…

And wine!!

@CatrinVennastin

I think the pandemic has speeded up an inevitable decline for the UK (and the west as a whole) as the way we live (and are encouraged to live by capitalism) is unsustainable on a long term basis.

We can’t continue to consume resources like we do forever.

Things like the gas crisis and food shortages feel like warning shots to me.

I have to agree with you Catrin.

@CatrinVennastin

I think the pandemic has speeded up an inevitable decline for the UK (and the west as a whole) as the way we live (and are encouraged to live by capitalism) is unsustainable on a long term basis.

We can’t continue to consume resources like we do forever.

Things like the gas crisis and food shortages feel like warning shots to me.

Agree.

Anyone who thought we’d bounce back after covid hasn't been paying attention. We're in a right mess here

I don't think that we're heading for the End Of Days, but we are currently suffering from a pandemic, inflation and a damaged supply chain, and a Government that seems to be doing little to make this better. Until they do, then our supply chain will continue to be problematic. With that in mind, it seems sensible to consider how that will impact our everyday lives, and to take steps to mitigate the risks until stability is achieved again.

I've got a few months' supply of coffee :-)

@FindingMeno

I'm not the only one then *@Legoandloldolls*. I can't help but think now is the time to be evaluating our household power usage and looking into alternative options. Growing food if we can. Trying to be as fit and healthy as we can as individuals. And basically trying to become as self-reliant as we can. With the housing crisis and inevitable rising costs of living, its not a time to take risks or spend frivolously. It's time to save for a rainy day. I sound so pessimistic.

No you sound wonderful. Well until the tone changes near the end..

Many of us eg pensioners and disabled have learned to live well and simply within limits. Your first three lines are excellent, I have wriiten this in detail elsewhere but it is my permanent lifestyle. And I enjoy it.

I have been trying not to panic and to be honest, I'm fed up of bloody panicking! I did go to my local supermarket yesterday in the evening and it was pretty well stocked, but I am definitely keeping an eye out, I have certainly noticed lots of things increasing in price.

My main issue is Christmas and birthday presents for the kids. I want to get it done and normally do in the months before December, so it's not unusual for me anyway, but I feel if logistics and supply issues continue to be a problem, food will obviously win out over toys! I also don't want to be buying stuff when the prices have gone up due to limited supply. These companies will rip people off if they can.

I said to my OH yesterday that if we don't have a Christmas (again for some) people will regard Boris Johnson as the worst PM in history - as the Grinch that stole Christmas. He said he already is the worst PM in history anyway.

I am thinking the same as a previous poster though, we do need to consume less crap and have a simpler life. Capitalism hasn't worked well for many people in its current format and there seems to be more inequality than ever - it feels we are going backwards. The kids will get less stuff this year and I will be getting them more activities/clubs instead. I'm trying to buy less and saving more as I'm worried about hyperinflation. It is the only way to reduce the huge national debt we are in (which ten years of austerity didn't fix and COVID added to it), so it feels inevitable.

Thank god I’ve found this thread. I was looking at the active threads and no one seems to be talking about WTF is going on. The news about BP tonight and a report on sky news ‘Is Britain running on empty?’ has got my attention. It feels like we’re being prepared for a hard winter but the messaging is so conflicting.

My local M&S food hall was packed this afternoon, full trolleys and depleting shelves not usual for a normal Thursday afternoon at all. The chilled aisles have all been ‘reconfigured’ clearly to push items they have availability on to hide the gaps.

Denial is everywhere, colleagues and friends seemingly oblivious to the disaster we’re slowly creeping towards. My concern is if people start panic buying the supply chain will not be able to catch up fast enough. Utter madness.

I don't think it will be a disaster.
I do think it will be:
Less choice in the supermarket
Normal to have patchy supply (so the supermarket has products a-w but X,y and z are out of stock for a few days/weeks, then a, b and c go out of stock etc)
Higher prices
More seasonal food, less all year round provision
Higher energy prices.

Some of these are good for the environment. A gradual adjustment to harmful consumerism and using less energy would be a good thing. I am worried about those on a low income though. Very worried.

CatrinVennastin

I think the pandemic has speeded up an inevitable decline for the UK (and the west as a whole) as the way we live (and are encouraged to live by capitalism) is unsustainable on a long term basis.

I guess it takes us all different amounts of time to come to accept this.

Its interesting cos people are so used to live getting better through improved technology, healthcare, food production etc. There are so many things (objects, food, drinks...) around today that my grandparents wouldnt recognize.

Yet now we're looking at reduced choice, lengthy delivery times when we've all grown used to instant delivery and satisfaction.