National Risk Register/National Resilience Update - Nothing new to us.

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It’s the most common and available weapon that I’ve seen in various insurrections, rebellions. I tend to think of it as “the people’s weapon”.

I hate them.
 
As a sidenote, politics do run the country. It's politicians who influence the very subject of this thread, so it's difficult to discuss the National Risk Register and various points introduced, removed or omitted, without touching the subject of those who decide its contents.

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I cant disagree with that - BUT... previously similar useful threads have become closed and shut down by the Forum moderators ( doing their job ) because people have been unwillingly/unable to stop themselves from commenting in areas of politics even when politely asked and advised to do so.

Which is a shame and a loss.
To all.

As a useful tool/analogy I try to think its like discussing the concept of a library without having to refer to the librarians themselves in person - we are here to discuss the books available in the library and not much more.
 
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I cant disagree with that - BUT... previously similar useful threads have become closed and shut down by the Forum moderators ( doing their job ) because people have been unwillingly/unable to stop themselves from commenting in areas of politics even when politely asked and advised to do so.

Which is a shame and a loss.
To all.

As a useful tool/analogy I try to think its like discussing the concept of a library without having to refer to the librarians themselves in person - we are here to discuss the books available in the library and not much more.
I get your point, and I won't be mentioning politics again. Although anything could be taken to refer to politics one way or another, so I'll have to really think twice and be extra careful with wording :smile:

My luck just reminded me its presence; in an incredibly well-timed power cut we are currently experiencing in the glen, we all just went outside and had a blether with the neighbours. The powercut map shows an area way bigger than Edinburgh, yet there are just 100 properties affected, probably 300-400 folk. The joys of the sticks!
 
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I don't think it's politics so much as an urban culture of total utter reliance on 100% reliability of everything always being there on tap, at the press of a button. Also a focus on "stuff" as a form of social status. Maybe a side effect of too much affluence? Also dependency, someone will always come and make it better, we are entitled to it!

When you live an hour drive from the nearest supermarket via roads which get snowbound every winter, and electricity is a single cable up valley and regularly blows down in storms, the calculus changes. You pretty soon keep a stock of food and can cope in a power outage- or you move back to the city.

When I'm was a bairn, we lived rural, shopped once a week and the power went off every winter storm. And we got snowed in quite a bit. Bit that is a rare background. I learned pre teen how grim it is being snowed in and running out of coal to heat the house...... (too skint to buy a couple of tonne in the autumn, buying as we needed it).

Those who were raised in urban places post 1970's just have no experience as a reference point. Also things like the grid are badly understood- I had to explain grid inertia and then black start to an engineering colleague the other day. He just assumed if the windmills turned locally, it would be ok there.......

Resilient culture vs dependent/entitled culture. Thats the divide..... add in people of different world views and its gonna be rough in a lot of places if we get rolling power outages this winter

GC
 
It's also a very prevalent attitude that they will get nessasary stuff later. I have one female friend who has nothing prepared and I've been asking every now and then for the past two years how she's doing on the list I gave her. She admitted again this week she hasn't done anything except buy some puzzles to keep entertained.
. I do hope she doesn't come knocking on my door, but I do have an ikea stove, a box of matches a bag of twigs, and some candles put by for her if the worst happens. The rest is up to her. She's had two years to sort things out. It's realy annoying! Im not her mother!

Other friends are now beginning to realise what I've been talking about and are now getting into gear,all be it a bit late in the day. But at least they are trying a bit harder now.
I've always had the habit of stocking up everytime something is on offer, just two tins at a time., today was two tins of peaches, trawling the charity shops as often as possible for woollens, blankets, candles, or anything that can be used in a power cut, or go into an off grid kitchen.
Today's wool scarf and stove top fan were an excellent buy. I almost missed the fan, as it was on a low down shelf, but I thankfully saw it just as I was about to leave.
I thank heavens im able to go to my local charity shops every day, and pick up the bargains. It can take months to find what I need sometimes, but it always seems to appear at the right time.
 
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It's also a very prevalent attitude that they will get nessasary stuff later. I have one female friend who has nothing prepared and I've been asking every now and then for the past two years how she's doing on the list I gave her. She admitted again this week she hasn't done anything except buy some puzzles to keep entertained.
. I do hope she doesn't come knocking on my door, but I do have an ikea stove, a box of matches a bag of twigs, and some candles put by for her if the worst happens. The rest is up to her. She's had two years to sort things out. It's realy annoying! Im not her mother!

This is almost certainly the attitude of the vast majority of people. I can understand why to an extent.

If you lived a life of not really having to worry about things like this why would that attitude change?

Coupled with the general perception of preppers as a bit mad I can understand the viewpoint for sure.
 
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I'd also suggest that there isa generational aspect. Those of us who grew up during the 60's and 70's come from a very different world. Shops for instance were not open 24/7 - you had to plan in advance. Likewise, there was not a service available or someone to call on for all of life's problems - you had to know how to do basic things like fix stuff. Also, during the 80's we really did live through a tangible existential threat - the Cold War was getting warm. Today it's totally different - knowledge is just a Google away, everything is available pretty much on demand etc. As stated, it's understandable why having to prep for things cause a lot of people to ask "why?"
 
This is almost certainly the attitude of the vast majority of people. I can understand why to an extent.

If you lived a life of not really having to worry about things like this why would that attitude change?

Coupled with the general perception of preppers as a bit mad I can understand the viewpoint for sure.
But they can all see life has changed, even admit it.
Friday, in my sleepy hollow
18 armed police,, 2 ambulances
Attempted armed robbery on the surgery pharmacy by a "foreigner " less than 100 yards from my home.
Nothing on Avon and Somerset website. Nothing on local Facebook..
Radio silence, apart from the locals watching the chase telling others what they saw....he hasn't been caught.
No wonder the busies don't want that on their local incident page..
I've been saying its coming to our town. Finaly it has. I saw a hooded foreigner sitting on a bench a few yards from the surgery, just messing on his phone, for hours last week. Thought it a bit odd.
Also saw him parked up by our church on Sunday. Again head down, hoodie and phone in hand. Told not to worry
I mentioned it to our local pcso on saturday, before i saw him by the church, Told I was imaging things, he was probably totaly innocent.
The following Friday...... armed robbery on the surgery.


See something, say something,
..nah, don't be stupid ...he's just an innocent foreigner..

Note also the word foreigner being used, too afraid to use the correct term.

Also, not a million miles away, 70 yr old arrested for fraud, home search found suspicious substances and bomb squad called, hundreds of homes evacuated.
This is the reason we need bug out bags. Not the bushcraft run to the woods type, but one or two nights away just in case your evacuated. We've now seen this happen twice in a week in the UK.
 
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This may well have been mentioned, but in case not, a stock of cash would be helpful if you can manage, because if the power or Internet are down buying things becomes more basic.
Last year I stopped at a small, rural filling station. The owner said that she could only serve me if I had cash as the Internet was down.
 
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But they can all see life has changed, even admit it.
Friday, in my sleepy hollow
18 armed police,, 2 ambulances
Attempted armed robbery on the surgery pharmacy by a "foreigner " less than 100 yards from my home.
Nothing on Avon and Somerset website. Nothing on local Facebook..
Radio silence, apart from the locals watching the chase telling others what they saw....he hasn't been caught.
No wonder the busies don't want that on their local incident page..
I've been saying its coming to our town. Finaly it has. I saw a hooded foreigner sitting on a bench a few yards from the surgery, just messing on his phone, for hours last week. Thought it a bit odd.
Also saw him parked up by our church on Sunday. Again head down, hoodie and phone in hand. Told not to worry
I mentioned it to our local pcso on saturday, before i saw him by the church, Told I was imaging things, he was probably totaly innocent.
The following Friday...... armed robbery on the surgery.


See something, say something,
..nah, don't be stupid ...he's just an innocent foreigner..

Note also the word foreigner being used, too afraid to use the correct term.

Also, not a million miles away, 70 yr old arrested for fraud, home search found suspicious substances and bomb squad called, hundreds of homes evacuated.
This is the reason we need bug out bags. Not the bushcraft run to the woods type, but one or two nights away just in case your evacuated. We've now seen this happen twice in a week in the UK.
It has always occurred to me that the preppers on you tube are too polite and too up front, the reality is nobody gives a damn what is legal and what isn't once law and order has broken down. I have read my Thomas Hobbes. No dramatic events near me recently, possibly we have a former murder suspect on our allotment according to the local gossip and there was one hell of a kerfuffle kicking off down the co-op. A shop lifter legging it I guess. You should have heard the language, and that was the shopkeeper. Sooner or later some workman or other is going to report me for having too many swords on my wall. I don't do tacticool I do full on medieval :)
 
It has always occurred to me that the preppers on you tube are too polite and too up front, the reality is nobody gives a damn what is legal and what isn't once law and order has broken down. I have read my Thomas Hobbes. No dramatic events near me recently, possibly we have a former murder suspect on our allotment according to the local gossip and there was one hell of a kerfuffle kicking off down the co-op. A shop lifter legging it I guess. You should have heard the language, and that was the shopkeeper. Sooner or later some workman or other is going to report me for having too many swords on my wall. I don't do tacticool I do full on medieval :)

When would you say events have occurred where Law and Order has most definitely broke down?

Can you name the events ?
 
This may well have been mentioned, but in case not, a stock of cash would be helpful if you can manage, because if the power or Internet are down buying things becomes more basic.
Last year I stopped at a small, rural filling station. The owner said that she could only serve me if I had cash as the Internet was down.
That's a really good shout - more and more we are being motivated to be moved to a purely cashless system and once we have blips to that system , that anticipation of a system we have been accustomed to working relatively flawlessly.

Bit of a rude awakening when that is gone sideways.
 
When would you say events have occurred where Law and Order has most definitely broke down?

Can you name the events ?
I would say 1381 and 1642 for sure, Northern Ireland in the latter half of the twentieth century. I don't think we are quite there yet quad bikes on the estates notwithstanding.
 
We had this happen about a year ago. Internet down for 24 hours. No cash machine, petrol or shopping unless you had cash.
Several people who use their phone to pay for everything couldn't buy anything as they had no cash on them.
I think I've mentioned it before. Young lass, 3 hungry thirsty kids, no petrol couldn't even phone hubby for help.
I got the kids a bottle of water and a pack of apples, then after a gentle reminder that she should have drinks and food for the kids in the car on a day out, and some hard cash on her at all times, I left her to it. Sorry, felt for the kids, but not for her. Hope she took it on board.
Summer or winter, I always had an appropriate emergency kit in the car, food, water and always always carry some cash. Enough for petrol to get home, Plus snacks , a brew kit, and sleeping bags. Having spent 18 hrs waiting for recovery over two years with my banger reliant, I soon learned!
 
We had this happen about a year ago. Internet down for 24 hours. No cash machine, petrol or shopping unless you had cash.
Several people who use their phone to pay for everything couldn't buy anything as they had no cash on them.
I think I've mentioned it before. Young lass, 3 hungry thirsty kids, no petrol couldn't even phone hubby for help.
I got the kids a bottle of water and a pack of apples, then after a gentle reminder that she should have drinks and food for the kids in the car on a day out, and some hard cash on her at all times, I left her to it. Sorry, felt for the kids, but not for her. Hope she took it on board.
Summer or winter, I always had an appropriate emergency kit in the car, food, water and always always carry some cash. Enough for petrol to get home, Plus snacks , a brew kit, and sleeping bags. Having spent 18 hrs waiting for recovery over two years with my banger reliant, I soon learned!
I think bushcraft or even just camping make people become preppers in one way or another. Nothing nasty needs to happen; it's just the feeling of living out of very limited means, the realisation of the limitations of our kit, how long we could go on for if we got stuck, things like that. A week in Knoydart knowing it's you, your mate, and everything in your rucksacks. All it takes is a few hikes like that in Britain's finest weather, and one soon starts to go through various scenarios in their head.
I always find a very strong correlation between non-preppers and folk who shun our favourite activities.
 
But they can all see life has changed, even admit it.
Friday, in my sleepy hollow
18 armed police,, 2 ambulances
Attempted armed robbery on the surgery pharmacy by a "foreigner " less than 100 yards from my home.
Nothing on Avon and Somerset website. Nothing on local Facebook..
Radio silence, apart from the locals watching the chase telling others what they saw....he hasn't been caught.
No wonder the busies don't want that on their local incident page..
I've been saying its coming to our town. Finaly it has. I saw a hooded foreigner sitting on a bench a few yards from the surgery, just messing on his phone, for hours last week. Thought it a bit odd.
Also saw him parked up by our church on Sunday. Again head down, hoodie and phone in hand. Told not to worry
I mentioned it to our local pcso on saturday, before i saw him by the church, Told I was imaging things, he was probably totaly innocent.
The following Friday...... armed robbery on the surgery.


See something, say something,
..nah, don't be stupid ...he's just an innocent foreigner..

Note also the word foreigner being used, too afraid to use the correct term.

Also, not a million miles away, 70 yr old arrested for fraud, home search found suspicious substances and bomb squad called, hundreds of homes evacuated.
This is the reason we need bug out bags. Not the bushcraft run to the woods type, but one or two nights away just in case your evacuated. We've now seen this happen twice in a week in the UK.
So you saw someone that presumably didn't have white skin and a crime happened nearby so it must have been him?
I don't want to go down the political route but this sounds remarkably like you're falling into the trap of a certain political party that paints anyone that doesn't have white skin as 1. "Foreign" 2. A "threat"

Even the barest modicum of research would reveal that foreign nationals account for a relatively small percentage of actual crime figures in the UK.

Don't believe the hype dodgy FOREIGN billionaire funded, Russian sympathising, bribe accepting wastes of air tell you.
;)



Atb
Andy
 
So you saw someone that presumably didn't have white skin and a crime happened nearby so it must have been him?
I don't want to go down the political route but this sounds remarkably like you're falling into the trap of a certain political party that paints anyone that doesn't have white skin as 1. "Foreign" 2. A "threat"

Even the barest modicum of research would reveal that foreign nationals account for a relatively small percentage of actual crime figures in the UK.

Don't believe the hype dodgy FOREIGN billionaire funded, Russian sympathising, bribe accepting wastes of air tell you.
;)



Atb
Andy
So, 6 local people who i know well are not telling the truth??? Jumping to conclusions because of skin colour???
Careful language ,as we know is rife for a good reason.
You don't know my community, I don't live in a big town. Strangers in town are known.instantly.

Employees calling the police and an armed response to a non local, instantly noticed, foreign looking person demanding drugs at knifepoint in a small rural comunity.
Of course we jumped to conclusions, and we're proved right.

If you arenot local in this community, you will be noticed.. you don't need to be of foreign origin.

my comment was more about 18 police with firearms were not able to catch the oik!!!!! And the police website is silent about the incident. As are local papers.
This is a highly unusual incident round here.

Maybe for those who live in more populated areas, its sadly normal behaviour, and not at all remarkable.

Ps, two of my best friends are not white and live in town, so your remarks are out of order! Only comment on what you know, not conjecture, and for one who didn't want to be political, you definatly were!
We are trying to stay away from that, you should know better!

If you are being toungue in cheek, or cynical... you need to make it a wee bit more obvious. Xxxx
 
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