Survival is all about a good cup of tea

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Stuart

Full Member
Sep 12, 2003
4,141
50
**********************
This is an idea which I suppose was born from a conversation I had with Mors about a year ago. we were sitting by the fire discussing Mors favourite beverage coffee, when we came to the conclusion that as long as you had what you needed to make a cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate you could make yourself very comfortable in the wilderness.

I thought back to this conversation recently whilst trying to form a lesson plan for teaching civilians (not survival/bushcraft enthusiasts) preparation and initial action plans for becoming lost in the jungle.


"FOR GOD'S SAKE MAN, DO SOMTHING!"

The primary mistake made by individuals who suddenly realise that they have become disorientated is to assume that they must do something immediately about their situation, even if they are not sure what exactly they should be doing.

This overwhelming urge to do something often leads to people choosing a random direction which they assure themselves is the right way, setting off and continuing to wander with increasing panic until darkness falls and they are forced to stop and endure an extremely uncomfortable night out.

of course the correct action would be to stay put, relax and think about the situation whilst preparing for the possibility of an extended stay, once you have relaxed and taken the time to think about what happened and observe your unfamiliar surroundings things often become clearer (this takes at least an hour) you may suddenly realise exactly where you went wrong and be able to orientate yourself with your surroundings.

if you don’t take the time to sit down relax and think, and instead simply push on without knowing where you are or where your going you are just making it harder for people to find you as the chances are high that you are simply walking further and further away from you planned route.

there are of course acronyms use for training the military which cover the correct actions in this situation:

S. stop
T. think
O. orientate
P. plan


however it has been my experience that the desire to be doing something to help the situation is so strong that many people will continue to wander aimlessly hoping they will find there way even whilst repeating to themselves Stop, think, orientate, plan. they have convinced themselves that the initial minute and thirty seconds that they stopped and looked around as it dawned on them that this wasn’t where they were supposed to be, constituted the stop, think and orientate portions and that deciding to walk "Thaddaway" constituted a plan.

what I felt was needed was a simple and familiar task which required little or no cognitive thought and which would occupy the individual satisfying their need to do something whilst at the same time forcing them to stay in one place long enough for them to relax and return to a rational state of mind.

this task would ideally be something that was static and took time to complete but which every individual knew how to accomplish without thought or any special training, it would also be beneficial if the task went some way to preparing them for an extended stay if necessary.

"TEA, TWO SUGARS PLEASE"

and thus I decided to tell my students that they should at all times carry a small pouch on their belt when heading out which contained all the items necessary to make a cup of tea in the bush and as soon as they found themselves outside there comfort zone they should immediately sit down and start brewing.

this action whilst satisfying the need to do something forces the individual to stop and prepare a fire, then boil some water, have a warming drink and a think, all without consciously thinking about it

in doing so they have created a fire which will provide them with warmth, cooking, water purification, light, a rescue signal, and psychological security.
They have hydrated themselves and provided warmth internally via the tea and more importantly the action of making a cup of tea is a familiar one and undertaking a familiar task makes the situation feel less threatening and goes some way to making the person psychologically more comfortable.

In addition to all this the ‘cup of tea’ method deals with a fundamental part of such situations which is often overlooked in survival and rescue training…. cultural attitudes and social stigma.

“WHY DON’T MEN ASK FOR DIRECTIONS?”

A fundamental factor when explaining why people acted the way they did when faced with the realisation that things were going wrong (and one which most effects men) is caused by social and cultural conditioning.

It is well known to search and rescue institutions the world over that lost men (its almost exclusively males) will sometimes deliberately hide from the search teams and some will deliberately injure themselves or freign an injury when they realise they are about to be rescued.

WHY? It’s the case of a simple five letter word which plays a big part in the physiological approach to a survival situation especially with males:

PRIDE

In the first instance they hide from the rescue teams because they are still convinced that they can get themselves out of this situation without the perceived shame and ridicule of having to be rescued, often they feel that they if they can quietly follow the rescue teams without being noticed they can get out and announce confidently “Lost? Me? Never! I knew exactly where I was, I didn’t need rescuing”

In the second instance people who are simply lost will injure themselves deliberately or fake an injury as they realise rescuers are coming for them, this time to avoid the perceived ridicule of being “an idiot who got lost and had to be rescued, by real men” with an injury (fake or otherwise) they can claim “yes I was making a daring ascent of the north face in whiteout conditions when I was caught in a rock fall and injured, I therefore had to await rescue whist enduring the harsh conditions and my injury, Lost? No not at all.”

Sounds crazy I know but any S&R personnel will confirm the above, Male pride is a powerful thing (powerfully stupid)

The other social aspect is the stigma attached to carrying survival equipment, many people fear that when Joe public asks “what’s in that pouch on your belt” and receives the reply “my survival kit” they will imagine them to be a Rambo wannabe who is probably a little strange and sleeps in camouflage pyjamas.

Even those that own survival kits often don’t carry them because “it’s only a day walk, I wont need it” the perception being that survival kits are for jungle expeditions and mountaineers

How does the cup or tea approach combat this then? Well the feeling that you must do something often stems from the fear of how you will be ridiculed if you don’t get yourself out and have to be rescued.

As an example scenario the group that I was teaching in Brunei were all expatriate workers and participants in the Hash, for those not familiar with Hashing it is a weekly social event which involves cross country running along trails marked with paper followed by much consumption of alcoholic beverages (often called a drinking club with a slight running problem).

Where ever there is an expat community there will be a hash club and the runs cover what ever terrain the country offers in Saudi Arabia the runs are done in the desert and here in Brunei they take place in the jungle, the participants don’t actually know where the trail goes they just follow the paper.

The combination of often harsh environments, the runners not actually knowing where they are going, and the often poor preparation of the participants who run off into the desert or jungle late in the evening wearing football boots, shorts and a t-shirt carrying only a 1lt of water means that becoming lost is common place and deaths although rare have occurred on hashes.

People who do become lost can look forward to the well established tradition of being ridiculed for the rest of the evening and forthcoming runs until the misfortune of someone else moves the focus of attention.

Hash clubs are a perfect example of the worst conditions for the social pressures which lead to serious survival situations.

Even though they are about to run a route they don’t know into the jungle/desert, runners don’t carry survival equipment because no one else does and they don’t want to appear odd, peer pressure at its best.

When a runner loses the trail they often don’t sit and wait to be found because this will entail ridicule, instead they wander desperately trying to find the trail again in the failing light.

In these often testosterone rich environments the cup of tea approach often works where others fail, by short circuiting the whole “Oh **** must do something, must find the trail, don’t want to look like a fool, I’ll go thaddaway” scenario.

With my students I simply instilled the understanding that if anyone asked what was in the pouch it wasn’t a survival kit, it was a brew kit for making a cup of tea when they took a rest stop. This doesn’t seem as odd to Joe public and seems positively normal if you happen to be English.

if you find yourself lost and disorientated with a sudden urge to do something and a fear of being ridiculed after rescue, STOP and make a cup of tea, since you haven’t wandered too far of course and you now have a fire someone will probably be along shortly and when they do happen upon you, your not lost you simply stopped for a cup of tea, would they like to join you? You can walk out together after.

And if no one finds you tonight, well you have a fire going, some water purified and enough tea for tomorrow and most importantly your not thrashing your way though the jungle in the dark, thirsty and exhausted with no idea where your going.

Survival, it’s as easy as making a cup of tea.
 
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cronos

Tenderfoot
Nov 6, 2005
52
3
54
Norfolk
As an Army survival instructor, when teaching I always employ the following;

Survival Requirements:

a. Knowledge – Know what equipment you have at your disposal and how to use it.
b. Equipment – Remember one item can become multi rolled in this type of situation. Some thing that may seem like rubbish in every day life can become a life saver in a survival situation.
c. Will-power – You may have all the gear and all the knowledge, but without will-power your chances of survival are extremely limited.

Immediate action plan:

a. Stop
b. Think
c. Orientate
d. Plan

Survival Priorities:

a. Protection – Attend to medical needs, Shelter, Fire
b. Location – Prepare signalling aids; Construct your own navigational aids
c. Water – Find sources, Collect, filter, purify
d. Food – Identify, Acquire, Prepare, Cook, Preserve.

But you are right survival should not be hard as long as you take the correct approach to it, yes its like making a cup of tea.

Cronos
 

nooky

Nomad
Oct 26, 2005
271
1
53
Watton, Norfolk
Stuart I think that does sum it up really well and it makes it so simple that it is easy to remember and do when needed. :)
I think that deserves a rep point too.
Andrew.
 

Joshua

Member
Dec 13, 2005
16
0
44
Oregon, USA
I remember hearing an odd story about survival as taught to the RCMP. The story goes that each man was given a small paper bag and a teabag and told that if he gets lost, the first thing he should do is brew up a cup of tea. The idea was that going through the motions of making a cup of tea would do two things; one, it would force them to take some time to think about their situation. Two, it would provide something familiar and comforting. I don't have any clue if the story is true but it follows the same idea.
 

Razorstrop

Nomad
Oct 1, 2005
314
6
North West
Probably the single best post that I have ever read on here. Make it party of a sticky thread containing similar high quality, common sense advice that everyone knows and rarely remembers.

Kudos Stuart

Mr Strop
 

mark a.

Settler
Jul 25, 2005
540
4
Surrey
I agree with the others - top post. Very simple, something people are likely to do (unlike pack bit survival kits or even first aid kits), and very sensible too.

Does it matter which tea, though? ;) It has to be Barry's for me!
 

RovingArcher

Need to contact Admin...
Jun 27, 2004
1,069
1
Monterey Peninsula, Ca., USA
Stuart, thank you for the well written and very informative post.

When I was growing up, my mentor, who drank tea, would take us into the woods until dark and then light a fire and start heating up water. I never asked why he always did this and just assumed that it was the thing to do in the woods. Later on, when I got turned around during a severe thunder storm, while on a hunt in the Sierra Nev. mtns., I figured out that he was preparing me for that day. Building and lighting the fire gave me a sense of security and safety. Boiling the rain water that I captured gave me a sense of purpose and putting my favorite hot beverage mix into the hot water and relaxing with my hot brew calmed me so that I could think clearly and without fear entering into it and putting it all together gave me the confindence to reason and implement a course of action.
 

Phil562

Settler
Jul 15, 2005
920
9
58
Middlesbrough
Well done stuart,

I have been in a few situations in life, all in the military, where sitting down and having a brew has made the way forward clearer and the perils insignificant - well almost :p
 

philaw

Settler
Nov 27, 2004
571
47
42
Hull, East Yorkshire, UK.
A very good post, stuart. Think about how many times you've had to explain that you have a knife because it's a tool, not because you're pretending to be a soldier. Presentation is important. As an ESL teacher for 3 year olds, I have to present new language in just the right way to get the kids to pick it up and want to use it. It's the same for you bushcraft teachers!
The word 'survival' is quite understandably tainted by the people out there that seem to want the world to collapse so they can come through it grinning. I think you really need to call it something else when you talk to average people. 'Preparedness' is an okay word, but it's best to avoid labelling it at all and just go through the survival stuff as part and parcel of being outdoors. When my wife insisted, against my advice, on walking in a forest at night with just two other non-outdoorsy women, I just checked their kit, gave her and her friend torches, hung a whistle round her neck, put my first aid kit in her pocket, and told her to be careful. She's chinese, so next time she'll get a green tea kit in a belt pouch. :)
 

JimH

Nomad
Dec 21, 2004
306
1
Stalybridge
Superb post Stuart.

Highly remeniscient of Horace Kephardt's advice to the lost, but with a cracking "excuse" to sit down, calm down and think.

'Course I don't get lost or suffer from hubristic machismo, but sage advice for all the fools out there...

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

(not much, I don't :rolleyes: )

Jim.
 

gregorach

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 15, 2005
3,723
28
50
Edinburgh
Gotta echo everyone else - superb post Stuart! And also excellent advice - I pretty much always have the makings of a brew if I'm out on the hills. It's essential for comfort. :)
 
Good advice! I'm sure that lots of people who know what the acronym STOP stands for - still won't actually stop unless they have something to do by stopping!
I have to admit that I've really had to concentrate on the way that I do things, now that my grand-daughter isn't with me and I'm back to going out alone. Everything now is back to being slow and deliberate. So I can sure see how difficult it is for many to slow down even after they realize that they have a real problem.
 

JM

Forager
Sep 9, 2003
132
2
Left
Good read , thanks.

Priorities, I think the rule of three is the easiest from what I have read so far to remember.

- 3 seconds : The maximum time you have to escape or take action on an immediate danger.
- 3 minutes : The average time you can survive without breatheable air.
- 3 hours : The time before you start dying from hypothermia or hyperthermia in a stessful and extreme situation.
- 3 days : The time before dehydratation can claim your life because of lack of water.
- 3 weeks : The time before you cannot do any daily necessary task because of lack of food.
- 3 months : The time without meeting anybody else before a solid depression catches you.

The scale is more important than the numbers, (like one can live more than 7 days at 19 C without water...) but it is the scale that is interesting.


Sorry, my 2 cents...
 

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