Are you planning for war or disaster?

[woof woof]

Mrs WW is worried about WW3 and has been watching Youtube vids about foods which last a long time in storage and has been pestering me to build up a stock. Yesterday she showed me a video about planning for a sudden evacuation. The guy said to have a backpack (rather than a bag so you can keep your hands free) ready to go as you might not get much notice and then went through what to have in the bag. It all seemed to make sense until he showed a knife that looks like it was fit for killing and skinning a bear, not much chance of that being legal in the UK.

I'll probably go along with her and agree to the backpack and food in store ideas and hope neither are ever needed. I think I would have needed some more urgent and disturbing news stories to think about doing all this but when Russia invaded Ukraine I did buy a wind up radio, it was garbage and went straight back. I might see if I can find a better one.

Is anyone else doing this or anything like it?

 

[cambsno]

Overkill IMO - if there is a serious war there is the risk that it could turn into one that wipes us all out anyway. But that in itself is a deterrent as leaders know that.

In terms of war, yes, i guess it will be like covid with everyone rushing to buy flour & loo roll.

But a bag to evacuate, evacuate to where? With what?

 

[woof woof]

Overkill IMO - if there is a serious war there is the risk that it could turn into one that wipes us all out anyway. But that in itself is a deterrent as leaders know that.

In terms of war, yes, i guess it will be like covid with everyone rushing to buy flour & loo roll.

But a bag to evacuate, evacuate to where? With what?

The bag guy was American so I suppose might be more at risk of wild fires or earth quakes and other nasties than us in the UK but who knows? As to what's inside, you can find these vids on Youtube but everything he said seemed sensible enough to be a help when trying to get away from any local danger to any safe area.

We don't know what could happen in any future war or disaster but one thing that occurred to me is that having a stock and a bag might at least give us more options than we'd have if we didn't. The cost of the emergency bag wouldn't be much and the food in storage could be rotated so that's not a cost at all. We have our camping gear so if power is cut we could still cook hot food easily. Water could be a problem and we don't have a bath or any large containers but we could save some 4pt milk bottles I suppose.

I just wondered if anyone else or their other halves have been doing this.

 

[Dave Canon]

Mrs WW is worried about WW3 and has been watching Youtube vids about foods which last a long time in storage and has been pestering me to build up a stock. Yesterday she showed me a video about planning for a sudden evacuation. The guy said to have a backpack (rather than a bag so you can keep your hands free) ready to go as you might not get much notice and then went through what to have in the bag. It all seemed to make sense until he showed a knife that looks like it was fit for killing and skinning a bear, not much chance of that being legal in the UK.

I'll probably go along with her and agree to the backpack and food in store ideas and hope neither are ever needed. I think I would have needed some more urgent and disturbing news stories to think about doing all this but when Russia invaded Ukraine I did buy a wind up radio, it was garbage and went straight back. I might see if I can find a better one.

Is anyone else doing this or anything like it?

Nothing. If we are evaporated in the first strike, no need to worry. If not, I am now too old to survive a post nuclear world so no point in worrying about that either. We went all though this in my youth when the threat of WW3 seemed more immediate than it does now.

Dave

 

[lindsay]

YT is full of preppers in the USA etc. They are big on EMCOMMS and Bunkers etc over there, not without reason considering the number of extreme people who would love an excuse to run around with guns and zombie knives.

Here, I am reminded of the cold war days. My dad was a civil defence warden whilst that was a thing, with a tin lid and stirrup pump. We had a plan: if the alarm goes off, he would likely be "at work" at GCHQ, so we should grab our bags (just a few personal things) and high-tail it to the family farm in shropshire as our place of safety. If there wasn't time, then pull all the curtains (to protect against glass fragments) and throw a blanket over the dining table and hide under it (old WW2 thing as dad lived through that).

The questions to ask are:
- where would you run to?
- what do you really need to take with you?

Usually it will be better to stay at home and protect yourself within that place. Good first aid kit; tins of food; dried food; bottled water; camping stove with fuel; dry cell batteries; ;personal hygiene kit.

Have fire extinguishers - a hose is good but depends on continued water supply.

However, we are not doing any of this explicitly - we have some resilient supplies in case of power cuts since we are rural and in a windy location. I charge up the solar batteries if a storm is predicted but they don't last a long time, I also have a couple of LiFePo batteries for important UPS requirements. We have several battery-powered radios and I've built a few valve radios as it happens which run off batteries too (not deliberately as part of a plan but these are EMP-resilient).

 

[munch]

A backpack will help you survive how? You are in reality not going to be able to carry much in even a 60litre rucksack. Could you actually carry it any distance? What are you going to do about water? Where will you go? What clothing are you taking?
I am sorry but apart from giving you a warm feeling I don't see what you will actually be achieving?

My wife and I were brought up in the country so always have a reasonable amount of food in the house. Their is a cooking stove in easy access in the loft and several spare cylinders. I have an adapter for my battery power power tools so I can charge phones etc. Not much point in moving away from our house. Mind you I am likely not to last longer than a month if I can't get my medicines.

 

[woof woof]

A backpack will help you survive how?

There's two things here as I thought I'd made clear in the OP. Firstly there's the scenario of a war or other major event causing a significant breakdown in systems and possible shortages or not being able to leave home and secondly some less extreme local emergency in which you need to evacuate quickly.

The stored food is for the first instance and the backpack is for the second and yes, I think that a shelf full of stored food plus the normal shopping we have in could be enough for several weeks or even more and a backpack containing a couple of bottles of water, energy bars, nuts, ID, a phone charger and basic 1st aid bits and bobs to get you through 24 / 48 hours could be a help in some imagined possible scenario in which you need to move quickly away from where you are to a safer place. Clothing wasn't mentioned but as we're close to the hills and moors I did think about some heavy duty plastic bags and/or a fold up plastic raincoat for resting or even sleeping rough in the countryside or when making our way on foot to a major road.

Where we live there used to be a couple of massive chemical plants but I think they're much reduced now plus there's a nuclear power station not very far away. I suppose they were or maybe still are, hopefully, a more realistic worry. We have cars but if for whatever reason they're not an option we could be over the hill and into a pretty empty wild space in a couple of hours on foot.

This is all really to please Mrs WW. Today we cleared a shelf in the kitchen for some long life foods which will be rotated in and out and we'll put a couple of backpacks together and again rotate the water and foods in and out.

 

[Box Brownie]

The one thing I recall reading that was good advice (in general) was to keep in a secure location near the most logical exit point was a grab bag of basic documents & payment methods. NB plus anything needed for an emergency overnight stay.

Nothing to do with WW3 but a precaution against more natural disasters e.g. fire, flood etc.

The number of times one hears in the news of folks literally only having the ( nightwear?) cloths they are standing in under such duress situations is IMO marked.

Have I/we done that........not yet(?)

 

[woof woof]

The one thing I recall reading that was good advice (in general) was to keep in a secure location near the most logical exit point was a grab bag of basic documents & payment methods. NB plus anything needed for an emergency overnight stay.

Nothing to do with WW3 but a precaution against more natural disasters e.g. fire, flood etc.

The number of times one hears in the news of folks literally only having the ( nightwear?) cloths they are standing in under such duress situations is IMO marked.

Have I/we done that........not yet(?)

In the vid I saw about the backpack he did labour the point that you may have little notice and time to prepare, thus the prepacked backpack idea. He did make the point about only taking essentials and not running about grabbing sentimental things which are going to slow you down.

It seems like people think this is OTT or that they'd rather just... die, but I suppose having food and a backpack at least could give you some options, give you time to get you mind in the right place, say your prayers and your goodbyes. I have emergency bags in the back of two of my cars in case of breakdowns so I suppose having some extra long life food in the kitchen and a couple of bags ready for some hopefully never needed reason isn't too much of a pain. and if it keeps Mrs WW happy, why not?

 

[Dale.]

I think it's easy to get overthink things, there's also a lot of sensationalism on YT, which creates curiosity and fear, same with the news.

That said, I don't think there's anything wrong in having extra provisions at home, tinned foods and suchlike. We bought extra tins at the begining of Covid, not because we thought it was end times but because we weren't sure on availability, mainly due to the panic buying, as well as potential disrupted supply chains etc. We switched to toilet rolls on subscription too, as that was at the time the only way we could get them. We've actually stuck with that for convenience.

I bought a portable power station just over a year ago but I bought it because it's a handy thing to have, it will run wattages of up to 1.6kw, so packs a punch but it was bought to help with the frequent powercuts we get. The power station allows us to have light, run a PC/laptop, even grill a small, hot meal on an electric griddle if it came to it. The power station will also come in handy for photography trips.

IMO, there are much more likely disaster events possible than WW3, I'm hoping those are not famous last words but I do think it's factual that we are more likely to face other events that could cause problems than a major war (local storms,etc). Currently, there is a lot of conflict in the world, that's for sure but nothing is really connecting it all at the moment, on the ground. A major war like that is much more likely to start by accident than actual intent.

The news plays a large part in causing anxiety around potential big conflicts, it's sensationalised too as that's what sells news, as well as being 24/7.

Live in the moment, enjoy life.

 

[munch]

In the vid I saw about the backpack he did labour the point that you may have little notice and time to prepare, thus the prepacked backpack idea. He did make the point about only taking essentials and not running about grabbing sentimental things which are going to slow you down.

It seems like people think this is OTT or that they'd rather just... die, but I suppose having food and a backpack at least could give you some options, give you time to get you mind in the right place, say your prayers and your goodbyes. I have emergency bags in the back of two of my cars in case of breakdowns so I suppose having some extra long life food in the kitchen and a couple of bags ready for some hopefully never needed reason isn't too much of a pain. and if it keeps Mrs WW happy, why not?

Yes I think it is OTT (but each to their own) Is dying such a bad thing, in the sort of scenario you are thinking about?

 

[woof woof]

Yes I think it is OTT (but each to their own) Is dying such a bad thing, in the sort of scenario you are thinking about?

In the scenario of a local event isn't dying a bit extreme and a waste of your life if yomping a few miles could save you and yours? Each to their own but potentially saving the life of Mrs WW seems worth the effort of storing some extra food and packing a bag with a few basics to last 24/48 hours for me. Maybe you have no one relying on you and if I was single maybe I wouldn't bother and... none of this was my idea I'm just going along with her and TBH I do think that planning for both scenarios (serious system wide and local) really won't take any real effort. It's just a shelf in the kitchen and a couple of bags.

 

[lindsay]

I think the most likely catastrophe scenario we can foresee, aside from utility cuts, is the effect of hybrid offense - cyber warfare. If we lost the international internet backbone that runs/used to run out of the City of London; if we lose connectivity within the UK. The effects are potentially loss of internet access to banking, companies facing supply chain disruption through inability to manage just-in-time ordering of stock. I'm not one to advocate hiding cash in the mattress, but I do think that having a decent amount of cash in an accessible but secure place is a good idea, in case ATM's are disabled. Also having cash deposits in addition to stock investments.

 

[woof woof]

I think it's easy to get overthink things, there's also a lot of sensationalism on YT, which creates curiosity and fear, same with the news.

That said, I don't think there's anything wrong in having extra provisions at home, tinned foods and suchlike. We bought extra tins at the begining of Covid, not because we thought it was end times but because we weren't sure on availability, mainly due to the panic buying, as well as potential disrupted supply chains etc. We switched to toilet rolls on subscription too, as that was at the time the only way we could get them. We've actually stuck with that for convenience.

I bought a portable power station just over a year ago but I bought it because it's a handy thing to have, it will run wattages of up to 1.6kw, so packs a punch but it was bought to help with the frequent powercuts we get but the power station allows us to have light, run a PC/laptop, even grill a small, hot meal on an electric griddle if it came to it. The power station will also come in handy for photography trips.

IMO, there are much more likely disaster events possible than WW3, I'm hoping those are not famous last words but I do think it's factual that we are more likely to face other events that could cause problems than a major war (local storms,etc). Currently, there is a lot of conflict in the world, that's for sure but nothing is really connecting it all at the moment, on the ground. A major war like that is much more likely to start by accident than actual intent.

The news plays a large part in causing anxiety around potential big conflicts, it's sensationalised too as that's what sells news, as well as being 24/7.

Live in the moment, enjoy life.

We have a power station for camping but it's a bit OTT for powering a phone and a radio and it's a bit big, ditto the car jump starter/torch/powerbank I have in the back of a car. I've seen some smaller power banks which would be ok. I might buy one or two or just go for another car starter / power bank depending on how much room there is in my back pack.

I really don't know how she got into this as she usually just watches cooking, camping, keep fit and Buddhist monks. I suppose she just watched something that appeared on screen as things do and then watched another...

I think the most likely catastrophe scenario we can foresee, aside from utility cuts, is the effect of hybrid offense - cyber warfare. If we lost the international internet backbone that runs/used to run out of the City of London; if we lose connectivity within the UK. The effects are potentially loss of internet access to banking, companies facing supply chain disruption through inability to manage just-in-time ordering of stock. I'm not one to advocate hiding cash in the mattress, but I do think that having a decent amount of cash in an accessible but secure place is a good idea, in case ATM's are disabled. Also having cash deposits in addition to stock investments.

These are things the backpack promoting guy went into. I hope supply chain issues are the worst things we'll see.

 

[Garry Edwards]

My take on this is simple.
There's no point in worrying about or preparing for things that I cannot change, simply because I cannot change them.
And there's no point in worrying about or preparing for things that I can change, because all that I need to do is to change them.

 

[sk66]

It seems like people think this is OTT or that they'd rather just... die, but I suppose having food and a backpack at least could give you some options, give you time to get you mind in the right place, say your prayers and your goodbyes. I have emergency bags in the back of two of my cars in case of breakdowns so I suppose having some extra long life food in the kitchen and a couple of bags ready for some hopefully never needed reason isn't too much of a pain. and if it keeps Mrs WW happy, why not?

Pretty much every expert would advise you to have at least a couple days of provisions on hand that are not dependent on electricity/outside supply. Having somewhere else to go (preferably already stocked) that isn't likely to be exposed to the same risk at the same time is also great; but actually getting there could be problematic.

Beyond that it really becomes more of a question as to what are you actually willing to do to survive? And is it really worth it?

 

[woof woof]

My take on this is simple.
There's no point in worrying about or preparing for things that I cannot change, simply because I cannot change them.
And there's no point in worrying about or preparing for things that I can change, because all that I need to do is to change them.

But assuming we're not vaporised before we know what's happening and assuming our houses are still standing then preparing a shelf full of long lasting food doesn't seem a big deal to me. In the local evacuation scenario a bag or two with some essentials doesn't seem like too much trouble either although all this does I suppose depend on what happens and the weather too. Walking a few miles up and over the hill can be a nice experience in good conditions and dangerous in others as I've found in the past.

I ignored her for weeks but now I see how little effort it takes I'm happy enough to go alone in the hope that it'll all never be needed.

 

[munch]

In the scenario of a local event isn't dying a bit extreme and a waste of your life if yomping a few miles could save you and yours? Each to their own but potentially saving the life of Mrs WW seems worth the effort of storing some extra food and packing a bag with a few basics to last 24/48 hours for me. Maybe you have no one relying on you and if I was single maybe I wouldn't bother and... none of this was my idea I'm just going along with her and TBH I do think that planning for both scenarios (serious system wide and local) really won't take any real effort. It's just a shelf in the kitchen and a couple of bags.

Make your mind up, first your on about WW3, now it's a local event. I said in my first post on this subject, if I cant get my medication I won't survive long regardless of any planning I do or don't do. I am just being a realist.

 

[woof woof]

Pretty much every expert would advise you to have at least a couple days of provisions on hand that are not dependent on electricity/outside supply. Having somewhere else to go (preferably already stocked) that isn't likely to be exposed to the same risk at the same time is also great; but actually getting there could be problematic.

Beyond that it really becomes more of a question as to what are you actually willing to do to survive? And is it really worth it?

I can imagine not wanting to live but as I'm married it's not just my choice alone and as I mentioned above if there is a major event we don't want to live through or after at least some basic supplies might give us time to decide how we want to go out. That's the worst case scenario. The emergency bag is I think a very different scenario and I think it's reasonable and not too much trouble so why not?

 

[woof woof]

Make your mind up, first your on about WW3, now it's a local event. I said in my first post on this subject, if I cant get my medication I won't survive long regardless of any planning I do or don't do. I am just being a realist.

Instead of being argumentative why not just read and understand? I'm talking about two scenarios. I can't see how you find that impossible to understand.

Over and hopefully out. I see no point in going over and over this with you as you are clearly not interested in understanding or talking reasonably.

 

[munch]

I can imagine not wanting to live but as I'm married it's not just my choice alone and as I mentioned above if there is a major event we don't want to live through or after at least some basic supplies might give us time to decide how we want to go out. That's the worst case scenario. The emergency bag is I think

My wife and I have already had conversations about dying, Having both had cancer, so as I said earlier I am just being a realist.

 

[benc98]

I'll make sure I have enough film in the fridge and chemicals, so I can document what's going on

Seriously though, I was in the Madrid in spring last year when the Iberian Peninsular lost electricity for most of the day. That was crazy / surreal, lucky it was just one day. I'm not sure how we'd cope in the UK if we had something similar lasting more than 48 hours, the veg isle is basically empty most of the time at my nearby asda

 

[munch]

Instead of being argumentative why not just read and understand? I'm talking about two scenarios. I can't see how you find that impossible to undrstand.

Over and hopefully out. I see no point in going over and over this with you as you are clearly not interested in understanding or talking reasonably.

Sorry if you think I am being argumentative, I did say each to their own.

 

[woof woof]

Sorry if you think I am being argumentative, I did say each to their own.

There's a perceived tone, or at least one perceived by me and the fact that you don't seem to accept that I'm talking about two scenarios. Hopefully no damage or offence has been taken.

 

[Mostly Vintage Cameras]

Preparing for war? No

If it’s a nuclear war it’s not something I would care to survive anyway.

In truth I would bet we are all “preppers”. I’m sure you have “the torch” in a kitchen draw or something similar that everyone knows stays there and is not used to fix the car or whatever. It’s there in case the lights go out. Or you have a box of matches and few candles, maybe a few cans of soup in the back of the cupboard, just in case.

Having established you are in fact already a “prepper “, are you a good prepper?

The idea that society, government, distribution of goods and law and order will collapse all at once for a sustained period of time is fanciful. People who have bows and arrows, field craft knives and a bug out location in mind are kidding themselves, at least in the UK. If SHTF as these people like to say and they run off to the woods about two weeks later when all the food and firewood’s run out everyone becomes a forager and heads out into the woods. Sooner or later all your fellow townsfolk will have moved out to as far as your special location. Whatever you have you can’t hold back 50 of your close friends and neighbours if they want to take it. Live off the land, there won’t be any cotton tails or squirrels left in a couple of months time.

If you do want to prepare for total collapse in the UK, get a passport and stock pile whatever currency or precious metal you think will be most stable. At the very least you will have some savings for when the wind blows your roof off, try paying the builder with the shelf stable rations you spent your money on!

On the other hand some level of preparedness is sensible. I do have a backpack by my bed, an old camera bag in fact. Inside is a pair of shoes, a change of clothes, laminated copies of insurance and other official documents, a telephone number list, a couple of hundred quid, a credit card and spare house and car keys. If I wake up to find my house on fire and I have to leave via the window in my night wear I know I won’t be naked for long, I can travel to a hotel and pay for it. I can call relatives and insurance companies as soon as the office is open in the morning.

The Red Cross say the most requested item after some kind of issue forcing you to leave your house is shoes!

Speaking of fire, do you have a proper fire extinguisher at home, like the one you use at the office to prop the door open with? You’re more likely to set your kitchen on fire than need to run from an invading force.

Do a first aid course, one that includes burn treatment and catastrophic bleeding management. In my car, camera bags and my laptop bag I have what preppers like to call an IFAK. I have had to use it on one occasion where someone got a bit hurt but fortunately not too seriously, quite a lot of blood though.

I don’t expect the local supermarket to close its doors long term but I do have more food and consumables at home than my immediate needs require. Buying in bulk saves money but more importantly at some point the Daily Hate or some other publication will run a story. “Supply of bananas, baked beans, Mars bars or whatever is expected to be disrupted”. What happens, the super market is overrun with the type of people who buy bananas, baked beans or Mars bars. I don’t want that hellscape to be the day I run out of coffee!

Live in a house? Worried about flooding? Why not keep wellies on the first floor? If you come down stairs one morning and find you have a burst pipe having your wellie boots floating around by the front door won’t help you much, you are going to get wet getting to the wet weather footwear!



How much does all this cost? A first aid and fire marshal training course, about £150 mostly paid by work. The price of fire extinguisher or three, £60-£100. First aid kit(s) £300. Cellox, Israeli bandages and tourniquets are surprisingly expensive.

Most importantly Don’t panic and know where your towel is, if you know, you know.

 

[sk66]

The emergency bag is I think

There aren't many situations one could just hike several miles to get out of; and if it is that localized then supplies would be available outside the affected area. Having a load-out bag is really only about having supplies needed to get from one point to the next. Hopefully you would have some advanced notice and evacuate beforehand; then you wouldn't have to hike or spend a couple days trapped in your vehicle/home.

But you could get lucky and be on the very edge of a disaster zone... someone usually is.

 

[lindsay]

Most importantly Don’t panic and know where your towel is, if you know, you know.

and wear pyjamas and dressing gown...

 

[woof woof]

I'll make sure I have enough film in the fridge and chemicals, so I can document what's going on

Seriously though, I was in the Madrid in spring last year when the Iberian Peninsular lost electricity for most of the day. That was crazy / surreal, lucky it was just one day. I'm not sure how we'd cope in the UK if we had something similar lasting more than 48 hours, the veg isle is basically empty most of the time at my nearby asda

We normally have food in which could last us maybe a couple of weeks to a month if we're careful. Water could potentially be an issue though. Stocking a shelf and using our camping gas ring could mean that we'd be able to eat hot food for maybe another month assuming we have water and gas.

There aren't many situations one could just hike several miles to get out of; and if it is that localized then supplies would be available outside the affected area. Having a load-out bag is really only about having supplies needed to get from one point to the next. Hopefully you would have some advanced notice and evacuate beforehand; then you wouldn't have to hike or spend a couple days trapped in your vehicle/home.

But you could get lucky and be on the very edge of a disaster zone... someone usually is.

That is the point. The bag isn't something to sustain you for weeks it's something to get you through a yomp or drive to get out of the area.

What people in more well connected locations might not realise is that you could be in a village, town or conurbation and be miles from the nearest major road. If there is an incident where will the route out and help be? Miles away? Maybe. Potentially. Any help could be a day or days away from arriving.

The what could happen is all conjecture. Lets hope none of us live to see any of this.

 

[the black fox]

As I’m 80 next week . I’m not in the least bit bothered . . If the world goes tits up so be it .. hopefully the cost of living will be less expensive afterwards

 

[woof woof]

In truth I would bet we are all “preppers”. I’m sure you have “the torch” in a kitchen draw or something similar that everyone knows stays there and is not used to fix the car or whatever. It’s there in case the lights go out. Or you have a box of matches and few candles, maybe a few cans of soup in the back of the cupboard, just in case.

Having established you are in fact already a “prepper “, are you a good prepper?

If you do want to prepare for total collapse in the UK, get a passport and stock pile whatever currency or precious metal you think will be most stable. At the very least you will have some savings for when the wind blows your roof off, try paying the builder with the shelf stable rations you spent your money on!

Yes, I think we all have a level of prep. Mrs WW is Thai so we have an out there if the UK is sinking whilst Thailand isn't and if we have time and the opportunity to fly.

Most importantly Don’t panic and know where your towel is, if you know, you know.

If the end times come I'm sure I'll be lynched for my sense of humour or singing if nothing else.

 

[woof woof]

As I’m 80 next week . I’m not in the least bit bothered . . If the world goes tits up so be it .. hopefully the cost of living will be less expensive afterwards

In the past few years I've become much more of a Christian, involved in the local church. I think I've come to terms with death and at the moment I don't fear it but I'm responsible for another life, Mrs WW, so it's not just me any more and her wishes need to be considered and she wants to do this.

 

[Steep]

Probably as important as the content of the bags is a plan. Where would you go? do you know the area, the people in it etc.

 

[woof woof]

Probably as important as the content of the bags is a plan. Where would you go? do you know the area, the people in it etc.

Main routes are a good walk away assuming cars aren't an option in this imagined scenario. The hills are within walking distance and could shield from blast if the local chemical works or whatever goes bang but gives us enough notice or if there's a tidal wave heading our way. Where to go and in what direction depends on what the problem is and where it's coming from I suppose. Maybe the hills or the beach are a good option, maybe they're the worst.

Years ago I was up the hill taking pictures in the snow. I stepped onto what looked to be flat ground and suddenly I was upside down in a hollow filled with snow. On the walk home my clothing froze and when I got home I thought I couldn't have gone another step. My camera and lens looked like a block of ice but they survived. In conditions like that a distance which is a nice walk out could become very difficult, impossible if injured or unfit.

It's all ifs and buts but as above, if a shelf of food and an emergency bag keep Mrs happy then why not?

 

[Garry Edwards]

But assuming we're not vaporised before we know what's happening and assuming our houses are still standing then preparing a shelf full of long lasting food doesn't seem a big deal to me. In the local evacuation scenario a bag or two with some essentials doesn't seem like too much trouble either although all this does I suppose depend on what happens and the weather too. Walking a few miles up and over the hill can be a nice experience in good conditions and dangerous in others as I've found in the past.

I ignored her for weeks but now I see how little effort it takes I'm happy enough to go alone in the hope that it'll all never be needed.

Fair comment, if the idea works for you.

Speaking personally though, I live partly near a city and partly on a very rural farm in North Yorkshire. We have plenty of long term food stored there, not in case of war but in case of prolonged snow, which does happen, we're 4 1/2 miles from the nearest shop and sometimes even our big tractor can't get through, so the Scout motto works for us. But, in case of WW3, even though there are far more sheep than people, if we had supplies they would soon run out, thousands of other people would make their way there and we would soon run out of sheep to eat, so completely pointless. Also, at the age of 80, the weather and lack of shelter would soon get me

 

[sk66]

I like MVC's bedside bag... it covered most of the realistic necessities and the possibility of having to go out a window in the night.

 

[woof woof]

Fair comment, if the idea works for you.

Speaking personally though, I live partly near a city and partly on a very rural farm in North Yorkshire. We have plenty of long term food stored there, not in case of war but in case of prolonged snow, which does happen, we're 4 1/2 miles from the nearest shop and sometimes even our big tractor can't get through, so the Scout motto works for us. But, in case of WW3, even though there are far more sheep than people, if we had supplies they would soon run out, thousands of other people would make their way there and we would soon run out of sheep to eat, so completely pointless. Also, at the age of 80, the weather and lack of shelter would soon get me

We're between Middlesbrough and Redcar with the hills just a walk away, the beach too. It's not exactly the middle of nowhere but in a not quite worst case scenario we're still miles from the A19.

 

[gman]

A wood burning stove and a decent supply of wood on-site is a very handy thing to have if not already in place. It gives you heat, light and something to cook on, whilst also being within shelter, should the power go out. That's three critical survival essentials taken care of for such an event.

As for an escape bag for getting away from a location, it really just needs to be something to sustain you until to can get to a pre-planned safe place. Regardless of how effective or not the bag and contents are for its intended purpose, if it provides some comfort and reassurance then it still provides a positive function.

I do enjoy some of those YouTube bunker videos; they can be rather creative, although often full of design flaws.

 

[woof woof]

I do enjoy some of those YouTube bunker videos; they can be rather creative, although often full of design flaws.

I'd never seen one before Mrs showed me the backpack one.

As some men like making lists and tasks I will sort of like doing this but hoping it's never needed

 

[f/1.2]

This is maybe the maddest thing I have seen on here.Are you on a wind up.

If my missus said that to be I would be more likely to take her to see a doctor rather than help her with food prepping.

 

[Al1944]

A tiny bag with a couple of suicide pills would be preferable in my opinion