Store cupboard - in case of emergency

Owain_Moneysaver

picklepick wrote: »

Haha valk-scott i went to the war museum in manchester and they had the videos of 'Protect and Survive' playing and they were nothing short of hilarious. Things like telling you to 'hide in a doorway' if a nuclear blast comes. Likes that gonna save you!!

Also having a fall-out room in your house. Short of lining it with lead and having enough food for 25 years im not sure how that would help either!

It helps because more of the bodies would be in their own houses and in one room in the houses, making them (you) easier to identify post-mortem.

Also makes the population think they are doing something and takes their mind off rioting or asking awkward questions.

picklepick

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

It helps because more of the bodies would be in their own houses and in one room in the houses, making them (you) easier to identify post-mortem.

Also makes the population think they are doing something and takes their mind off rioting or asking awkward questions.

Thats also why you have to put your hands on your head in the 'brace' position in a plane crash! To preserve your teeth for dental identification?

What a cheerful thread this has become :rotfl:

dandy-candy

picklepick wrote: »

Thats also why you have to put your hands on your head in the 'brace' position in a plane crash! To preserve your teeth for dental identification?

What a dreadful thing to say....you've got me in stitches tho!!

lostinrates

DH and I tested this the last time we were on a plane together (discretely under the guise of messing with our hand luggage under the seats in front) and realised neither of us could do brace position as the chairs in front (in upright position) were too close for use to get into the position. Neither of us is tall so....I guess we'll have to wear mouthguards if that's the purpose He'll be relieved we've been wonering what we'd do since that flight

purpleivy

I wouldn't say I'm a prepper particularly, but I don't enjoy food shopping much and hate running out of stuff, so I do tend to keep a reasonable amount of non perishables in the house. We use UHt skimmed milk a lot of the time and I have powdered milk in that I use for cooking. Veg in the freezer. Some canned/frozen fruit. I shop for fresh fruit and veg and dairy once a week as a rule, occasionally nipping in for a top up if use has been heavy. I'm not saying we would have an absolutely balanced diet if I couldn't get to the shops, but we definitely wouldn't starve for some time.

Last winter I was a over a week without going to the shops when the weather was really bad. I just couldn't be bothered!

We have batteries, candles etc in as a matter of course.

picklepick

lostinrates wrote: »

DH and I tested this the last time we were on a plane together (discretely under the guise of messing with our hand luggage under the seats in front) and realised neither of us could do brace position as the chairs in front (in upright position) were too close for use to get into the position. Neither of us is tall so....I guess we'll have to wear mouthguards if that's the purpose He'll be relieved we've been wonering what we'd do since that flight

do you all know why you have to put the blinds up when you take off and land at night?

I'm all for spreading the joyous answer to that too.... :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

You may mock :rotfl: if a building is falling down, standing under a doorway might save you, as the doorway is stronger than the ceiling, so standing there prevents bits of masonry falling on your head

My Mum was bombed out twice during the last war and both times she was in the cupboard under the stairs She hated the shelters and would never go down in them.Second time she was dug out she was clutching her children and her beloved wireless to her chest and thats what she managed to rescue from the building.She also took it rather personally that she had been blitzed twice.She always kept a store cupboard of tinned stuff and some thieving toerag nicked her stash when we were all sent to the local church hall .I have a storecupboard and my fridge freeezer is always far too full at times and I am trying to run it down before Christmas so I can defrost it

katholicos

JackieO wrote: »

My Mum was bombed out twice during the last war and both times she was in the cupboard under the stairs She hated the shelters and would never go down in them.Second time she was dug out she was clutching her children and her beloved wireless to her chest and thats what she managed to rescue from the building.She also took it rather personally that she had been blitzed twice.She always kept a store cupboard of tinned stuff and some thieving toerag nicked her stash when we were all sent to the local church hall .I have a storecupboard and my fridge freeezer is always far too full at times and I am trying to run it down before Christmas so I can defrost it

That is truly awful that someone would do such a horrid thing as to steal in such circumstances...rotten at any time of course, but when a mother tries to put some food by to sustain her family in a time of great need...well, it is just despicable IMO.

I have nothing but admiration for those who, like your family, endured the bombings during WWII.

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As or me, I don't go in for American style prep, and i couldn't afford it even if i wanted to. However, I do believe that it is a good thing for me to have enough grocery supplies put by, for even harder times (can they get harder? :eek:....answer: yes, probably)...for carrying us (me and my family and friends) through times of ill health and inability to get out and about. I do have a significant amount of food stored, plenty for at least a couple of months if push comes to shove. Most of it purchased from clearance food websites at comparitively little cost really. No fresh fruit and veg, but i dehydrate fruit and veg in a BIG way...buy it when it is MEGA cheap and store it dried. Of course the nutrients would be diminshed, but i take multi vitamins each day anyway so hope they go some way to redress any imbalances.

This year i grew a fair amount of my own veg and have lots stored in a dry, dehydrated state ready for rehydration when required...so yes, i like to have a couple of months worth of food/loo rolls/etc put by, but i do think that some people go a bit far with 'food prep'...but each to their own.

I suppose if i had the space and finances to extend my pantry, I would do so, but not maniacally!

natlie

Because of xmas and the fact that I made Delias creole xmas cake I have enough booze for one mahoossive party if there is a disaster lol about 18 bottles of wine 4 bottles of champage 3 bottles of vodka, various other spirits and liquers etc etc So you can all come to my house - just let me know when lol I also have 4 catering 2kg tubs of hot chocolate a 500g tin of coffee and a kilo of coffee beans 25kg of flour enough minemeat for 200 mince pies, a xmas cake , 6 xmas puddings and a sack of spuds ther are various other goodies stashed about the place but not torch, lots of candles though and battery fairy lights

Nat

oh and 27 toilet rolls - offer in co-op

Loanranger

rosieben wrote: »

I remember a WVRS lady coming to our school when I was 14; gave us a lecture about what to do in the event of a nuclear blast; it terrified the life out of me and gave me nightmares for weeks but there was a very real threat of nuclear war then. I seem to remember that the first thing to do was whitewash the windows

I don't stockpile for the end of the world scenario but I do like a good store cupboard for all sorts of practical reasons, strikes, fuel shortages (no deliveries to stores), bad weather, illness etc and I've been very glad of it many times in the last few years

I do love those american sites though, there are some amazing pictures of their store rooms, how organised do they have to be to stockpile food for the year! but then people like the Amish do that as a matter of course, that's how they live.

eta- and I had it figured out that if an nuclear blast was imminent I would get as close to GCHQ as I could and go out with the first blast!

I remember this too and like you I was terrified afterwards. The WRVS lady told us to think of a place in our house with no windows and no exterior doors. That would be either the airing cupboard or under the stairs. Airing cupboard thought inappropriate for family of five plus big dog.
After going under stairs, first thing to do would be to boil a kettle, having first found a plant pot, upended it and then to light candle underneath. Plastic plant pots and electric kettles were not much in evidence in those days. It would take one hour to boil the kettle or the pan of water.

She told us that in the event of a nuclear attack the epicentre of the direct hit would be instantly annihilated and likewise everything up to four mile radius. Given that we were just under four miles from the centre of a major industrial city the outlook was not good.

There was also much talk of the Four Minute Warning being sounded, rather like an air raid siren which they tested occasionally!
As we got a little older and more blase, as is the norm for teenagers, we joked about we'd do in those four minutes. Cue much ribaldry.

All this was in response to the standoff in 1962 / 1963 (?) between Kennedy and Krushchev over the Cuban missile crisis. The whole world held its breath and that was particularly so for me. Kruschev blinked first and life went on but I never forgot how frightened I was by that WRVS talk.
Protect and Survive in the late 70s and early 80s seemed positively tame.