Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

NewShadow wrote: »

That's a question - if skynet were to take over the civil service, with the goal of undermining the governance of the country, do you think anyone would notice?

There speaketh a person in a state of disenchantment............:rotfl:Wasn't it Belgium which spent the best part of a year recently without a government at all, and the country rolled along just fine?

Perplexed Pineapple, my particular part of southern England used to be two whole kingdoms (now mostly falling inside one county boundary). I think we should seceded from the rest of the UK, as there is a historical precedent. Cornwall could secede; the peninsula is relatively defensible, as the Romans could testify, plus charging tourists to just enter would generate a substantial revenue stream - I love Cornwall.

Re the wonders of technology, I would cast a very cynical eye over them. Just because something is possible, doesn't mean it's economically viable. I could easily see ashphalt bandits waylaying those dinky little drones and the automated delivery carts, stealing the payload, joyriding the vehicle and crashing it in the canal. Never underestimate the power of humanity to use things inappropriately.

Plus, if a substantial amount of us are going to be unemployed, there will be a lot less shopping going on, and a lot more crime, neither of which circumstance will be business-friendly. And if unemployment benefits are stopped or reduced to bare survival levels, there will be mahoosive civil unrest, so TPTB will have to keep a lid on things or the proles will kill them.

MTSTM, the kind of chains which sell for nearly £2k weigh about 40 odd grammes and are as thick as your little finger in 9 ct gold, slightly daintier in 18 ct. Seriously blingy. I suspect a smallish woman would have owned something rather more delicate, but your gift to Hoxfam would have achieved goodness in the world and that's a moral satisfaction.

Gold fans tend to be derided as goldbugs, but very traditional financial planning has long advocated having a small position in physical gold (5-10%). This is because if it all goes horribly wrong, you're not wiped out entirely and have preserved some wealth. A backstop, as it were, against disaster.

Gosh, I'd've been better served if my parents had bought a gold sovreign in the year of my birth for £4.50 instead of some £1 premium bonds which have won nowt in 50-odd years. That sov would be good for about £200 today.:rotfl:

mardatha

I'm reading a lot of stuff on prepper forums about investing in gold (and silver), which is up to the individual. But if you had kept that sovereign for 50 years and then were starving....you might end up having to trade it for a cottage loaf and half doz eggs GQ. Maybe the £200 would go further lol

GreyQueen

Hell, Mar, given the devaluation of the £ over the last 50 years, £200 might well be the everyday price of those items in another 50........ I'm still p'd off that the premium bonds have never come up, though.:rotfl:

maryb

New Shadow I was thinking something similar. Because both my parents were born in Ireland I am already entitled to Irish citizenship so would only need to apply for a passport. My girls need to get on the Register of Foreign Births because I was not born in Ireland and, as you say, that is the expensive bit. Provided they do that before they have children of their own then their children could also go on the Register and apply for
Irish citizenship. I am assuming that the Common travel arrangements won't change even if there is a Brexit as they predate the EU and go further Ie rights to vote. But there is a risk. It used to be the case that my DH could have qualified for Irish citizenship based on marriage to me but they changed that about ten years ago because of the number of citizenship applications. So maybe do it sooner rather than later in case they restrict it to a prarent born in Ireland.

Half the Australians working in London are here on Irish passports based on having an Irish grandparent so much cheaper and easier than applying for a work permit

thriftwizard

Wasn't it Belgium which spent the best part of a year recently without a government at all, and the country rolled along just fine?

Yes, but they did still have a civil service...

Re the wonders of technology, I would cast a very cynical eye over them. Just because something is possible, doesn't mean it's economically viable. I could easily see ashphalt bandits waylaying those dinky little drones and the automated delivery carts, stealing the payload, joyriding the vehicle and crashing it in the canal. Never underestimate the power of humanity to use things inappropriately.

Plus, if a substantial amount of us are going to be unemployed, there will be a lot less shopping going on, and a lot more crime, neither of which circumstance will be business-friendly. And if unemployment benefits are stopped or reduced to bare survival levels, there will be mahoosive civil unrest, so TPTB will have to keep a lid on things or the proles will kill them.

Trouble is, they'll take the decision as to what to invest in according to conditions at the time of the decision, therefore they'll go for automated systems because they are (currently) cheaper, and attempt to "bolt on" solutions to problems that have yet to arise after the event. Despite the fact that common sense would have told them what will happen... Look at what's happened since they got rid of bus conductors! Now buses have to stop for 5 minutes at each stop that anyone's getting on at whilst people fumble for change, and there are no brakes on bad behaviour, littering and so forth because the driver can watch the road OR the passengers, and can't actually do anything about anything whilst driving. CCTV is only useful after a crime has taken place; it does very little to prevent that happening. So people, particularly older people, don't feel safe on the buses any more, and don't use them.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Newshadow, yes the power stations use low grade coal...and I am sure I heard they buy ( or used to) buy loads from Russia as it was alot cheaper than British coal..

I am just wondering when the open cast / coal mines grade the coal, the bulk of it went to the power stations, and then the ' peacock seam' went for house coal?
Just wondering what the supply would be like in a few years when most of the mines close as I know the likes of Walters/ Celtic energy as they own the mineral rights are looking at going down the fracking road. On opencast land

moneyistooshorttomention

Okays...I've had my first cup of coffee for the day - but my brain obviously is still in half-asleep mode at the moment.

So - I gotta ask then:

What is the reason why someone might want a Southern Irish passport - as well as/instead of a British one? What purpose is served by that? (Not that I'd be entitled to a 2nd passport anyway - unless Cornwall seceded from Britain and I could then claim a Cornish one - but wouldn't bother).

GreyQueen

Having conductors on buses isn't fool-proof or I would still ride around on trains. The reason I don't take the train up from the hometown to the city anymore is because of a very unpleasant 45 mins in the company of a gang of drunken, harrassing men.

The ticket-collector had no ability to control the situation and gawd knows he tried, they were running amok, things were so bad that the transport police were waiting for them on the platform at the other end, but it didn't make the journey any more pleasant.

I'm not one of life's nervous nellies but being trapped in a moving carriage with drunken, sexually-harrassing a-holes wasn't high on my list of enjoyable life experiences. The barstewards were totally out of control on that early evening service .

MTSTM. Eire is an EU member state. A person with a passport to that country would still have the rights of an EU citizen if the UK exits and they are no longer a citizen of an EU state. If they want to exercise those right, it could be handy.

moneyistooshorttomention

Okays - I think I figured they could claim to be an EU national - but what would they use that status for (ie from the position of being in Britain or Southern Ireland)? In what way might it be useful?

Add in - that if (when!!!) the EU breaks up anyway (which its all the more likely to do if Britain leaves it and sets a precedent) they would have "nationality" for a "country" that no longer exists iyswim?

I understand why people of other nationalities claim "British nationality" and get a British passport if they move to Britain - but they are actually living in Britain iyswim.

Karmacat

MTSTM - I know three sets of people currently living in a country other than the country of their birth, because of persecution ... it happens. And when its necessary to move is usually when its become impossible to get the right papers.