GB Govts Advice on disasters??
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We used to have the Civil Defence, complete with Scientific Intelligence Officers, a network of bases and secure communications network. The end of the Cold War more or less made the whole thing redundant, especially with the advent of cheap, high speed, ubiquitous, computer, internet and telephone electronics.
cheers,
Toddy
We used to have the Civil Defence, complete with Scientific Intelligence Officers, a network of bases and secure communications network. The end of the Cold War more or less made the whole thing redundant, especially with the advent of cheap, high speed, ubiquitous, computer, internet and telephone electronics.
cheers,
Toddy
xylaria
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
http://www.preparingforemergencies.gov.uk/
There is a spoof site called preparingforemergencies.org still lurking out there somewhere too which very funny.
There is a spoof site called preparingforemergencies.org still lurking out there somewhere too which very funny.
Most lists tell you to do the same thing, stock up on canned and dried food, medicine, water, candles, fuel for a stove/ lantern, bin liners, radio and spare batteries etc.
A lot of people say they have loads of food in the house, maybe they do, but look at what proper meals you could prepare with what you have on hand; look at the basics like sugar and salt for instance as one pot of salt won't last long or a bag of sugar for that matter
A lot of people say they have loads of food in the house, maybe they do, but look at what proper meals you could prepare with what you have on hand; look at the basics like sugar and salt for instance as one pot of salt won't last long or a bag of sugar for that matter
Always a good idea to have somethings in stock, as i have found out to my cost in the past. Dont wanna go cold and hungery again, thanks very much !
One time it snowed real heavy for England, proberly about 14", and everything stopped ! No food in the local shops, no police parols, as there cars couldnt hadle the snow, so they were asking for 4x4's on the local radio. I walked most of the day to get some food from the shops, and ended up with jaffa cakes, so not all bad, and the walk kept me walk LOL
So, a few bits and bobs when you go shopping, stuck in a box can make all the difference.
Just my take on it
One time it snowed real heavy for England, proberly about 14", and everything stopped ! No food in the local shops, no police parols, as there cars couldnt hadle the snow, so they were asking for 4x4's on the local radio. I walked most of the day to get some food from the shops, and ended up with jaffa cakes, so not all bad, and the walk kept me walk LOL
So, a few bits and bobs when you go shopping, stuck in a box can make all the difference.
Just my take on it
Good advise Spikey, and its good to see that the price of things like canned chickpeas, blackeyed beans etc have come down as they have become more popular; home dried onions and mushrooms, can of dried pulse, can of corn dog and you have a quick and tasty meal
Also at the moment the inflation in price on food is greater than any rate you can invest at so it makes sense to invest directly in food.
Find someone who has a cash and carry card or get one yourself (really not too difficult) and buy food with a long storage life that you regularly eat e.g. corned beef. If you eat a tin a month three flats of twelve tins will last three years. The price of corned beef in three years time I guarantee will be a lot higher than today, think of the saving you will have made as well as having that buffer in your pantry.
Downsides: you need the money today to invest it in the food and somewhere to store it all. That is difficult for some I know.
Find someone who has a cash and carry card or get one yourself (really not too difficult) and buy food with a long storage life that you regularly eat e.g. corned beef. If you eat a tin a month three flats of twelve tins will last three years. The price of corned beef in three years time I guarantee will be a lot higher than today, think of the saving you will have made as well as having that buffer in your pantry.
Downsides: you need the money today to invest it in the food and somewhere to store it all. That is difficult for some I know.
Shambling Shaman
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
jaffa cakes are not my cuppa tea.We (mainly because of were we live) have plenty of staple stuff - breed flour - paster etc
SimonM
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
We keep large bottles of supermarket own brand water in the loft. Storage life of about 2 years but its not a problem as I rotate them by taking one camping with me each time.
Tinned meat, dried onions, etc are always in the cupboard.
Open fire to cook on & heat the house, which is located way above river level. Candles always in courtesy of pyromaniac wife, again always in. More stoves than I can shake a stick at.
I estimate that we have enough food & water for about 7 days in the house...after that its tiddles curry followed by guinea pig kebab and rabbit pie! 
Last time I checked government advice was to be self suffient for the vague time of "several days". After that, hopefully the system will start working again!
My big worry, is folk that don't prepare...Family will soon catch on that we have food & water and so come visiting... 7 days turns into 2!
An interesting website is run by the Home Office... http://www.ukresilience.gov.uk/preparedness.aspx
Simon
Tinned meat, dried onions, etc are always in the cupboard.
Open fire to cook on & heat the house, which is located way above river level. Candles always in courtesy of pyromaniac wife, again always in. More stoves than I can shake a stick at.
I estimate that we have enough food & water for about 7 days in the house...after that its tiddles curry followed by guinea pig kebab and rabbit pie!
Last time I checked government advice was to be self suffient for the vague time of "several days". After that, hopefully the system will start working again!
My big worry, is folk that don't prepare...Family will soon catch on that we have food & water and so come visiting... 7 days turns into 2!
An interesting website is run by the Home Office... http://www.ukresilience.gov.uk/preparedness.aspx
Simon
I'm a truly sad git. Last year I went down to Aldi and spent nearly ten whole quid on easily heated "just add water " type grub, pasta meals, rice , noodles , plus some tastier bits and bobs. I added a camp stove and a small camping gas cannister and it all sits nicely in a cool box. There are a couple of large water bottles sitting next to it ( l worked on allowing 3 litres per person per day). Total cost to me about £15 . If there was no power , water etc or if I had to throw the lot in the car there is enough in there for me and the missus for five days.
My missus thought I was mad and I told her it was "for when the floods come". She laughed lots. Then much of the country flooded the week after. We weren't affected but her attitude changed, she still takes the pxxs but accepts its a good plan. Its not a "world comes to an end " box , just a precaution to help me and mine be more comfortable should what has already happened to many people in this country within the last 12 months alone happen here.
Keeping a sensible ammount of cash is also a worthwhile precaution. I attended an emergency planning meeting earlier this year that focussed on the scenario of large scale flooding. One likely scenario is lack of electricity ( remember the power station that came within inches of flooding last year?) and the resulting inability to get cash from cash machines or carry out transactions using switch, credit cards etc.
My missus thought I was mad and I told her it was "for when the floods come". She laughed lots. Then much of the country flooded the week after. We weren't affected but her attitude changed, she still takes the pxxs but accepts its a good plan. Its not a "world comes to an end " box , just a precaution to help me and mine be more comfortable should what has already happened to many people in this country within the last 12 months alone happen here.
Keeping a sensible ammount of cash is also a worthwhile precaution. I attended an emergency planning meeting earlier this year that focussed on the scenario of large scale flooding. One likely scenario is lack of electricity ( remember the power station that came within inches of flooding last year?) and the resulting inability to get cash from cash machines or carry out transactions using switch, credit cards etc.
I don't do the whole TEOTWAWKI scenario, but I'm an old fashioned Scots housewife. I have a pantry, and it's full.
I grew up thinking everyone did, it astonished me when I realised that most folks don't I can't imagine not having anything more than the contents of the fridge and the breadbin.
cheers,
Toddy
I grew up thinking everyone did, it astonished me when I realised that most folks don't
I can't imagine not having anything more than the contents of the fridge and the breadbin.cheers,
Toddy
I'm actually embarrased that I know what TEOTWAWKI is.
I hope thats not how my post came across. I'm not planning for the end of the world, just for a few days without connection to the grid and the infrastructire of everyday life.
I hope thats not how my post came across. I'm not planning for the end of the world, just for a few days without connection to the grid and the infrastructire of everyday life.
No not at all, this type of preparedness is just common sense to me. The thread has been quite constructive without descending into the hoarding for the millenium type thing.
It's interesting to see the sorts of things folks keep by for the 'just in case' happenings.
cheers,
Toddy
It's interesting to see the sorts of things folks keep by for the 'just in case' happenings.
cheers,
Toddy
Seems to me we are probably better off following our own advice. I should think the gov. issues their advice taking it from the point of view of crowd control and to prevent unrest rather than the individual needs.
I try not to have to rely on a single source of power such as electrics. We had a power cut 3 days ago in the evening that lasted about 3 hours, so no lights and no cooker. I keep a camping gas stove in the kitchen so we could still cook, we have plenty of candles so had light and the wood stove in the lounge went on so we had heat and light.
I think its just sensible to have a few stocks of things around in case. I am not thinking end of the world either. Just a few days when things go pear shaped with the infrastructure or the weather, or both!
Food and water is another thing though. I need to sort something out.
I try not to have to rely on a single source of power such as electrics. We had a power cut 3 days ago in the evening that lasted about 3 hours, so no lights and no cooker. I keep a camping gas stove in the kitchen so we could still cook, we have plenty of candles so had light and the wood stove in the lounge went on so we had heat and light.
I think its just sensible to have a few stocks of things around in case. I am not thinking end of the world either. Just a few days when things go pear shaped with the infrastructure or the weather, or both!
Food and water is another thing though. I need to sort something out.
I have a cupboard full of bottles of red wine, just in case there's a shortage.
On a less flippant note:
Official Emergency Planning Site.
On a less flippant note:
Official Emergency Planning Site.
Keeping a decent supply of dry, preserved and tinned goods is a fairly sensible precaution.
Consider for example how long the food in your freezer will last if the power goes down and also what cooking facilities you would have left if either gas or electric fail.
You only have to look at the chaos caused by a few angry truckers and farmers a few years ago to realize how quickly things could turn pear shaped. Not because of any real emergency but just because people that are ill prepared tend to panic.
I suspect most of us have a camp stove of some kind but how many have clean water stored away?
Consider for example how long the food in your freezer will last if the power goes down and also what cooking facilities you would have left if either gas or electric fail.
You only have to look at the chaos caused by a few angry truckers and farmers a few years ago to realize how quickly things could turn pear shaped. Not because of any real emergency but just because people that are ill prepared tend to panic.
I suspect most of us have a camp stove of some kind but how many have clean water stored away?
TEOTWAWKI this would be when calmac decides that they're not going to run any more ferries that day.
We always have plenty of food in the cupboards spare water and cooking materials (stoves wood fire etc) in the house.
Also we have a big moat surrounding us (so when the zombies come) we're organised ish...
We always have plenty of food in the cupboards spare water and cooking materials (stoves wood fire etc) in the house.
Also we have a big moat surrounding us (so when the zombies come) we're organised ish...
I have a few litres of water in bottles due to a main water pipeline fracture earlier this year, we were told not to use the water for drinking as it had become contaminated from drawing earth into the water pipeline. The fracture was fixed in a day or two but it took a while for the water to run clear due to header tanks in loft spaces being filled with the contaminated water.
Tins wise, we always buy too much. This is something I talked to my wife about seriously, explaining that if a problem arose such as a petrol strike (remeber the last one and the panic buying?) or another flood we may have problems getting food in local shops. I own an optimus nova+ and have a diesel car parked out front that I could drain fuel off of to keep it going if needs be. The car is filled up and rarely used at the moment, I think the last time I used it was when I went to the Midlands Meet!
We don't have enough flour or sugar, that much I know for sure. We both drink tea and the girls can have a small cup once a day if they've been good (they like a nice cup of tea and a biscuit!) and so we do go through sugar and milk like thgere is no tomorrow. I have powdered milk, but not lots, just enough to keep going for maybe two days if we take it steady. Have a fair supply of porridge oats, rice and beef jerky! Plenty of spices, herbs and bouillon/stock cubes, maggi, and other things to help make a meal slightly more interesting, and I also have permission on two farms and an air rifle! Might have to get a break barrel rifle though, PCP air will run out and I still haven't got my dive bottle filled up yet!
Good thread, I'm not one that buys into TEOTWAWKI, you would be herded up by the Govt/Armed Forces and put to work to supply the food required for survivng members of the Royal Family, etc. There wouldn't be any wandering off into the sunset with a packed horse and your family in tow.
Tins wise, we always buy too much. This is something I talked to my wife about seriously, explaining that if a problem arose such as a petrol strike (remeber the last one and the panic buying?) or another flood we may have problems getting food in local shops. I own an optimus nova+ and have a diesel car parked out front that I could drain fuel off of to keep it going if needs be. The car is filled up and rarely used at the moment, I think the last time I used it was when I went to the Midlands Meet!
We don't have enough flour or sugar, that much I know for sure. We both drink tea and the girls can have a small cup once a day if they've been good (they like a nice cup of tea and a biscuit!) and so we do go through sugar and milk like thgere is no tomorrow. I have powdered milk, but not lots, just enough to keep going for maybe two days if we take it steady. Have a fair supply of porridge oats, rice and beef jerky! Plenty of spices, herbs and bouillon/stock cubes, maggi, and other things to help make a meal slightly more interesting, and I also have permission on two farms and an air rifle! Might have to get a break barrel rifle though, PCP air will run out and I still haven't got my dive bottle filled up yet!
Good thread, I'm not one that buys into TEOTWAWKI, you would be herded up by the Govt/Armed Forces and put to work to supply the food required for survivng members of the Royal Family, etc. There wouldn't be any wandering off into the sunset with a packed horse and your family in tow.
The problem with most TEOTWAWKI scenarios is that all the people that have made preparations will be overwhelmed by all the people that haven't.
So you get the "If there's a flood/famine/war I'm coming round yours" then too?The problem with most TEOTWAWKI scenarios is that all the people that have made preparations will be overwhelmed by all the people that haven't.