Preparedness for when

moneyistooshorttomention

Frugalsod wrote: »

The problem is that the UK has been made up of foreigners for a very long time. So if you want to restrict access to services to the indigenous Brits you might find most of us would be excluded. Even Margaret Thatcher had Viking ancestry so boot out her decedents to Denmark. The Royal family are German so off they go as well. Many Aristocrats might be French or Viking, so off they go. There really would be very few who could have a pure indigenous background.

Passports are a relatively modern for most people as we simply did not travel very far.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passport

So many foreigners arrived in the period up to the First World War without passports so what do you do about anyone descended from them?

Also with many government computers being linked up already there really is no need for such system. You will probably have files with doctors schools and councils long before you need a passport.

I am referring to "illegals" - ie those who have no legitimate right in Britain - as they've got in via clambering on lorries from Calais or the like. I am not referring to legitimate citizens of any nationality - as long as they have a British passport.

Frugalsod

I do think a group has a much better chance of succeeding. You could guard crops as a minimum. You also get the specialisation of labour which makes things more efficient and achievable. You never know what happens with group dynamics. You could get a domineering persona take over and ruin things for everyone as they would be out of their depth and hate to admit it. It happens all the time.

[Deleted User]

Frugalsod wrote: »

You never know what happens with group dynamics. You could get a domineering persona take over and ruin things for everyone as they would be out of their depth and hate to admit it. It happens all the time.

There's also the problem, of deciding who will be in charge.

Valuable time can be wasted, debating who is best qualified to be in charge, and there's no guarantee the best person will be chosen, at the end of it.

moneyistooshorttomention

Group dynamics are indeed an issue.

I am viewing things in my own (very very immediate neighbourhood) and there is a problem with someone who feels the need to be seen as The One In Charge regardless and wheeling and dealing behind the scenes to maintain their opinion of themselves as Someone Who "Matters".

This then goes "clash bang wallop" with the philosophy of someone else involved (errrm....that would be me then....) with a philosophy of "If it involves a group of people/whole community then EVERYONE but everyone is gonna be told everything - and in nice clear language and accessible manner and if they are a stakeholder, then they WILL have their say. Its a democracy - so that's how things are - the only way things are".

Cue for blazing rows between Person Who Thinks they personally are Important and the "This is supposed to be a democracy - so ALL facts will be on the table and everyone but everyone involved will be told whats what" person. Yep....glares at dawn etc...

Those who are determined to be seen as "Important" are just not going to be convinced they are "just another person = equal to all others" no matter what is done to try and show them that fact....

Frugalsod

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I am referring to "illegals" - ie those who have no legitimate right in Britain - as they've got in via clambering on lorries from Calais or the like. I am not referring to legitimate citizens of any nationality - as long as they have a British passport.

I fully understand that but remember what these people have done is just what many are planning from here, to go and live somewhere else when the SHTF. The fact is that many people are leaving desperate situations in war zones and are refugees. The fact that billionaires are planning to migrate to New Zealand is no different. While they might bring money most do not bring anything else useful. Also remember it was not that long ago that we took in millions of refugees from all over Europe during WWII and we may not have survived unless it had been for all the migrants from Poland and the rest of Europe who help defend us during the Battle of Britain. Also most of these people will be working and trying to get on in life. They will not be on benefits unless they are forced to by the regulations.

moneyistooshorttomention

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

There's also the problem, of deciding who will be in charge.

Valuable time can be wasted, debating who is best qualified to be in charge, and there's no guarantee the best person will be chosen, at the end of it.

...and I've seen that one recently in another context when a "Determined to be In Charge person" got toppled from their self-made pinnacle and then everyone promptly turned round and either asked who was the one "in charge" now or just assumed I was.

Both lots promptly got told the exact same message, ie "We ALL are now. This is going to be co-operative from here on in and we will all make joint decisions". It did cause some mental re-aligning to some to find we are all on an equal basis now:rotfl:

nuatha

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

I have enough here to see us through maybe 6 months if we are not damaged (property or us!) and if that was through the winter months we'd be able to grow enough to see us through the spring and summer. If the 6 months were the spring and summer I'd maybe be able to squirrel away enough to see us through the autumn and winter but what shape we'd be in after a year is questionable. Working on the assumption that business as normal was a thing long gone and not likely to return in a hurry how would you all cope in the second year of a situation that changed society as we know it irrevocably?

I generally aim to have 6-9 months of general stocks, though admit the diet would get seriously boring as time went on. Gardening has been a write off this year due to other demands on our time and I need to unearth the garden from cleavers, dandelions and comfrey. If SHTF I could get at least part of the garden productive in fairly short order, certainly I would get winter crops and back into production for next summer. However we don't have enough garden to be anywhere near self sufficient.

Since we'd now relocate to MiL's the bulk supplies will be there (at least they will be in another week or three) and we know her neighbours fairly well, I think we'd be in a position to organise communally. There is a central grass area that could be made over to food production as well as a former coppice.

I will run into problems around the 2 year mark, by then I'll be out of medication with some fairly serious consequences. That's assuming we've made it that far and want to try to continue.

nuatha

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I am referring to "illegals" - ie those who have no legitimate right in Britain - as they've got in via clambering on lorries from Calais or the like. I am not referring to legitimate citizens of any nationality - as long as they have a British passport.

By your definition, I'm an illegal.

thriftwizard

Gardening has been a write off this year due to other demands on our time and I need to unearth the garden from cleavers, dandelions and comfrey.

Cleavers, dandelions & comfrey are all edible! IIRC you wouldn't want to eat too much comfrey, over too long a period, but comfrey leaf fritters are rather nice. However elderflower fritters are better still. Cleavers - use the tips only - steamed don't taste of anything much but are full of useful vitamins & minerals, and dandelion leaves in a salad (preferably before flowering) are perfectly acceptable. But best of all are nettles, with a lovely deep green taste and full of goodness, cooked well to destroy the stings & eaten before they flower, or after they shoot again in autumn. I dry the leaves & crumble them (with a gardening glove on; drying doesn't destroy the stings) into soups & stews.

Weeds are only plants in the wrong place. Still trying to work out what to do with a) bindweed (apart from using it instead of string - keep well away from soil!) and b) Japanese knotweed, though...

nuatha

thriftwizard wrote: »

Cleavers, dandelions & comfrey are all edible! IIRC you wouldn't want to eat too much comfrey, over too long a period, but comfrey leaf fritters are rather nice.

Thank you.
I have tried all of them, even ersatz coffee which I wouldn't recommend.
Under the cleavers are several currant bushes, a couple of gooseberries and a raspberry bed as well as the raised beds that generally get used for roots, salads and squash.

Weeds are only plants in the wrong place. Still trying to work out what to do with a) bindweed (apart from using it instead of string - keep well away from soil!) and b) Japanese knotweed, though...

I grew up hearing that expression, generally about my grandmother's roses, regarded as weeds by my uncle. (he thought the rose garden would make a perfect lamb nursery)

Normally I garden for the table, and enjoy flavour, unfortunately other things have really got in the way this year and I can't see much changing in the next month or so.