Prepping for Brexit thread

Nargleblast

I tried some Aunt Bessie frozen mash a while ago and it was surprisingly palatable.

[Deleted User]

As some of you probably know I'm on the Prepping thread anyway, have been for years and it's something that makes me feel a tiny bit more in charge of life in an increasingly uncertain world. I guess that to the majority of people the idea of preparing for anything verges on lunacy and I'm an idiot! well all I can say is we've been through some difficult times in our life and having in enough food and spares of most kinds has seen us get through the hard times without having to take loans or run into debt, we even managed to stay head above water on one wage when the mortgage rates soared to seventeen and a half percent and I was at home with very young kids. So although life today is as comfortable as we could want and we have no need to use prepping to live it well and happily I am aware that things can change and sometimes they can change so quickly it takes your breath away. I guess preparing just in case isn't fashionable any longer but it makes sense to me so I'll carry on doing it, for Brexit or for any other happening that might occur in the future. It hurts no one, it makes me feel a little more secure and I don't think anyone has been prosecuted for hoarding baked beans since wartime? never mind me, I just do my own thing and always will no matter what anyone else thinks, says or does!

maryb

You go girl!

lessonlearned

Even without political upheaval or whatever, life can turn on a sixpence. Redundancy, sickness, death of a loved one, a spell of harsh weather, the car breaking down or being written off in an accident.

All of those things are out of our control. Without being unduly negative any one these events can happen at any time and when they do, they can have a significant impact on our lives. I have experienced every single one of these scenarios at one time or an other.

As a new bride in 1970, moving away to a different area and with no real domestic skills, I was thrown into a world of uncertainty, strikes, shortages, power cuts, the three day week etc. It was a learning curve.

For the most part when we had power and light life was easy enough but when the lights went out it was indeed like living in a third world country. In fact it was like going back to the Dark Ages. And of course the power cuts were always in the depth of winter. Where we lived at the time (Scotland) lows of -15 were not uncommon. I remember sitting in my office at work, big thick Shetland sweater, wool coat, fur lined boots, and still being freezing cold.

It's easy to scoff but there could be harsh times ahead of us. And those that have some experience of getting through hard times understand the importance of trying to be prepared for whatever life throws at us.

I think that, on the whole, most of us in The West have had it easy for decades now. Yes of course there are exceptions .....there is still poverty, there are food banks and there are still homeless people but, in general terms, life has been relatively secure and easy for most of us.

Again I dont want to be a gloom and doom merchant but in addition to the "Perfect Storm" that I mentioned earlier that might be lying in wait - there is also the prospect of another recession waiting in the wings. The economy has been relatively bouyant for several years now, but the good times won't last for ever. Boom and bust are a built in feature of global capitalism. And I think the next recession isn't all that far away.

I never did join the girl guides but I do like their motto "Be Prepared". :rotfl:

So just as soon as I take possession of my new home I shall start getting organised in readiness for what may lie ahead. I have deliberately chosen a house with a couple of open fireplaces and which enjoys more than one power source. Never again will I buy a house that is all electric - I learned that little lesson the hard way.

And like my wise mother before me I will lay down sufficient stocks of warm clothing, food and fuel. It will be much like my usual winter prepping but just taken up a notch.

mardatha

I think a lot must depend on where you live.... I have a lot more challenges than a person in a high rise flat in the middle of London or a cottage on the south coast.
I've had temps of minus 19 here, frequent powercuts including one of 5 days. Water been off three times and the nearest shop to buy bottled stuff is 15 miles up the road. Only one main road in and out of here, which gets closed often due to accidents (very twisty dangerous road) and has snow gates just north of me.
If I were all electric then I'd be in trouble. I use coal for heating and Calor gas for cooking.
What I'm trying to say is, being a prepper doesn't mean being a raving nutter and going over the top. It means using the brains you were born with to think of ways to keep yourself out of trouble.

maryb

Maratha what happens when the snow gates are closed? Are they just closed to through traffic or do locals find their way barred as well? And what do they do in those circumstances?

maryb

Ooh predictive text has come up with a new name for you! Beats Mad Arthur:D

maryb

Tongue in cheek article about prepping for Brexit

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/project-fear-morphing-project-near-time-get-organised/

[Deleted User]

Apparently there was last night on the Newsnight programme suggestion from the government to stockpile for the few weeks following Brexit in March, I didn't see it myself but it's a slight shock to the preppers system to hear of things like stockpiling being advised on mainstream TV in a conventional news programme on the BBC and not in a 'fringe' production on one of the distinctly alternative channels that are only normally (I use the word tongue in cheek here) watched by oddballs like us! Perhaps we're not quite as odd or out step with reality as it has been suggested we are? perhaps we might even have always had a small shred of common sense and inhabit the same real world as 'normal people' do???only time will tell!

Hobsons_Choice

Whether or not you believe there will be shortages after Brexit, as others have said, prices are always on the rise and - with this hot dry summer - it's almost certain there will be price rises and/or shortages of certain things.
Therefore, in my opinion, it makes sense to add a little extra to your weekly shop when it's on special offer and start building a stash of "essentials". How does that make anyone on here 'odd'? Do your research, listen to the ...erm...experts (not MPs then) and add to your weekly shop. Where's the harm in that?