BLACKOUT : tonight at 9pm Channel 4

[guineapiglet]

What would happen if the lights went out!?!

Looking forward to watching this, it has had good reviews. Good night on TV tonight with Under the Dome afterwardsmakes up for all the rubbish on Saturday night Anyone else giving it a go?

[happybubblebrain]

It was a good ending, highlighting the prejudices we have. The dodgy looking tagged man was the hero, the nice middle class man a looter and a murderer. The camera shake made me feel a bit seasick though.

[happybubblebrain]

I didn't know Kwik Save still existed. I doubt Tescos, Asda and Sainsburys wanted their names associated with bare shelves.

[TheOrchardKeeper]

That creeped me out...and I'm usually really bored by 'what if' type programs but this was done surprisingly well!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

It was good. Though I'm not sure why everybody jumped in their car at the beginning of the week.

Before the riots I would have poopoohed how quickly things collapsed in the program, not any more.

Lessons learned:
Don't invest in a genny.
Be discrete with bbqs
Collect water.
Eat the cats food.

[hashtagwhatever]

this is done so well

[twistyfeet]

where is my oh fuck rucksack?

[HeadFairy]

I enjoyed it... Quite relieved that my crap house keeping has resulted in an inordinate amount of tins and dried goods in our cupboards. We have plenty of wood so we could cook on the fire place in the living room without pesky neighbours coming over all jealous. Rain butt would do for the water if I boiled it first.

Yeah, we're sussed. If it went on longer than a week we'd take the kids to my mum and dad's 6 miles away, much more rural, far from thieving thugs and with a lovely large veg patch and chickens and ducks.

[RoonilWazlibWuvsHermyown]

Well I am terrified. Why do I watch stuff like this?! Shat myself almost at the shop man and I can't calm down because I'm worrying about house security. I am a numpty for watching :(

[BMW6]

V interesting and thought provoking. Depressing how inevitably some loot for non essential stuff.
Was it my misunderstanding, or did shrieky sister use electricity for her filming in the temp ICU ???

Lesson to be learned - if anyone is prepared for this kind of catastrophe, keep it to yourselves or some other fucker will steal it from you!!!
Ironic that the family guy had a generator, but when it came to it he couldn;t use it for that reason.........

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Last night I was wondering how many neighbours Id end up inviting in to keep warm with our woodburner.
I'd be rubbish at survival as I'd feel bad for everyone else.

[lirael]

Knackered this morning as spent half the night doing a mental inventory of my food cupboards and wondering whether we'd be OK because we've got a gas Aga and a campervan

[SuperiorCat]

I was too much of a wuss to watch all of it and switched off just as generator man found the burglars.

So just out of interest do we have a definitive list of contents of an OFRS?

[teenagetantrums]

My DD has gone to college and left me with a list of food I must buy today in case the power goes out, she takes these things far to seriously. We would be ok for about a week I reckon but no way of cooking anything.

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

Oo, will have a look for this

Just watched a series on netflix where the power went out, was called Revolution :)

[twistyfeet]

I do sometimes lie awake wondering about this sort of thing . dd is totally dependant on modern technology to stay alive. She is tube fed and relies on medication so could go a few weeks before those ran out. So she would survive the 5 days Blackout scenario but any longer and she'd be fucked. And then what? There was that scene in 'The Mist' where the dad thinks there is no hope so he shoots his little boy and then the bloody army show up to rescue everyone. That scene still haunts me and brings tears to my eyes. Because of dd.
So we would be ok with out coal fire and my obsessive tin habit but I am haunted by wondering whether I would have to kill my very vunerable child in a societal breakdow situation. Obviously not a Blackout cyber attack as that can be fixed eventually, even by a Govt as shit as ours.
Remember that line from Die Hard 4 'It took FEMA 5 days to get water to the Super-Dome'
Scary

[Sparklysilversequins]

ALL the kids were bloody annoying if you ask me. Perry spilling the beans about the generator and JJ going on about the mans leg tag. I think survivalist man, while annoying was just totally desperate at the end, his kids were sick and hungry, he just lost it.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

We have a camping stove with enough gas to last a few days. (though I might see if millets have got any special offers at the moment!) Key I think is quick cook foods like cous cous, noodles and tinned stuff.

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

Yay, its on 4OD here

[LatinForTelly]

Twistyfeet I have a child who is tube-fed and I worry about that too.

I hadn't heard of this programme until I logged on to Mumsnet today, but am now strangely compelled to put myself through it on 4oD. Just like when I watched The Road. And then read the book

[SilverApples]

We all watched it, but I was brought up with a survivalist attitude and seriously already have both a plan and the supplies, so my children sat there smugly ticking things off.
They have two uncles, different sides of the family in different parts of the country who both happen to live off the grid all the time. No mains.
DD was very pleased that tagman turned out to be a good bloke, she's sick and tired of the lazy predictability of helpful stranger = psychopath in narratives.

[TheOrchardKeeper]

Not going to lie...After watching this last night I am now going to slowly get an emergency bag together! It'd make me feel better, even if it never sees any action

[RoonilWazlibWuvsHermyown]

Do you know scares me the most about it? Its the fact that it would sort of be every man for himself. People you say hi to like neighbours etc would kill you if it meant their children ate.

[expatinscotland]

Water is the big problem.

[Abra1d]

I think it would be easier where we live, in a village, where everyone knows one another and there are strong civil and church relationships, so that people could be encouraged to share resources. In an inner city sink estate it might be harder. The good people would be intimidated by the thugs.

Basically you want a few people who've been in the police or army or security forces who still have firearms and know how to keep order. And have ethics.

[Bowlersarm]

Roonil I think that it would generally be strangers who would be feared and dangerous.

I read somewhere (that elusive 'somewhere'!), that groups of people who are neighbours and know each other relatively well actually do come together for support, trade, sharing of skills etc in time of absolute crisis. A close knit group would be able to defend their properties from outside looters, thieves and general trouble makers etc. and generally do much better than individuals would in getting through a national crisis.

One tip that stayed with me (I sometimes read the 'when the shit hits the fan' forum on money saving expert) is to stock up on non perishable items, like loo roll, matches, toothpaste, tampons, alcohol etc etc that you could use to trade with someone else who has something you need. Clearly it would seem a bit daft to go and fill your spare bedroom with these things, but if some sort of trouble looks like it's brewing, it would be possible to stock up a bit in advance.

I think the crucial thing would be not having to leave the home and face outside danger, or if you do have to travel do it immediately before it becomes more dangerous.

I'm scaring myself now

I honestly don't spend too much time thinking through Armageddon scenarios....(and I definitely don't tell DH, he doesn't take it seriously, at all)