Random Conversation

[J]

I just returned from the UK and wanted to share a conversation I had with one of my friends over there. We were watching the news and it was going on about one catastrophe or another, and the subject got onto prepping. When I admitted I was a prepper, there was a comment jokingly made about making me a tinfoil hat.

I then mentioned the flooding that has been goin on in the southern UK this last winter: yes, they were familiar with that situation. So i asked him, if somethign like this happened in his area and he had to clear out in less than a half hour, what would he do? As with most over there, he keeps very little in the way of food on hand, shopping every few days. This is a matter of necessity, as he lives on a houseboat. I asked him if he could gather all of his necessities within said half hour time limit and get out of town before traffic would gridlock with other people trying to do same.

This got his attention and he started actually asking questions and my opinion about what he might need and how to go about it, and explained that it was much more likely to be involved in such a situation that and extinction level event type this (yes, they have Doomsday Preppers on over there). I made a few recommendations and it seems he was very open to the concept of prepping now.

I wanted to share this as an example of how to discuss the subject without getting the tinfoil hat award : )

[Echo5Charlie]

Nicely done. One thing I have used a few times is to ask if their grandparents had a pantry. Then follow up with, why did they, did they experience hard times, what type of things did they go through, what type of thing have we already been through etc etc. My generation has gotten away from having those type of items on hand, but those before us knew better.

I used this method to get my wife on board as well. Since we bought this house we have been through two seperate 2 week power outages and 2 near misses by tornadoes that damaged our neighborhood and friends homes.

Prepping isn’t just for the EMP/solar flare scenario.

[Muleskinner]

J;

Excellent work! It very could be that just the little information you shared will save his life.

[PJ]

Great job. Most people who have a decent amount of common sense can make minimal changes which will greatly increase survivability for a period of a week or two. Pack a bag or two, stash away a few hundred dollars worth of food and make a few contingency plans…

[bigpaul]

yes this is a typical attitude over here in the UK. most people have no more than 3 days worth of food in the house at any one time and no water stored at all, no “alternative” heating, cooking and lighting, very few people even have a torch(flashlight), unless they live in an old house they don’t even have a chimney, all new build houses in the UK are electrically heated, a few have gas heating but the controls are all electric so the same applies if there is a power failure. people don’t (or more likely wont) put anything aside in case of emergencies, we have this new thing over here called a “foodbank” food donated by charities, as soon as people are made unemployed( it takes a few weeks for any welfare checks to start) they run to the foodbanks because they have no food in the house and no money in the bank(most people in the UK are in debt).

[Brandon]

Yeah, Bigpaul, that sounds just like how it is over here. Unfortunately, most people have to learn things the hard way. And even then, it’s not long before they go back to their old ways.

[bigpaul]

that’s the trouble, a few people start “prepping” in an emergency but as soon as the panic is over they go back to their old wasteful ways.

[Capt. Mac.]

The comment about Grandma’s pantry made me smile 🙂 I remember my Great Grandma’s pantry. It was the size of a small bedroom and was STUFFED with goods. Both store bought and home made. Talk about prepping!

To give you all an idea of her and living conditions; I once saw her scare a black bear out of the back yard at night with a BB gun.

The family made her move into town after they caught her digging a new septic tank by hand. She was 77 at the time.

Thanks For The Memories Echo5

Capt. Mac.
Pandemonium Airlines
“There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane.”

[Echo5Charlie]

Not a problem bud. Your granny sounds like a great gal. I bet she was a character.

[Author]

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