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Wednesday 22 May 2024

Thanks but we've already taken care of that


As we know, there is a certain amount of media attention currently being devoted to the government emergency preparedness website apparently aimed at promoting anxiety in the general population. Coincidentally, shortly before a general election.

We made our preparations some time ago because of Net Zero and the swarms of dolts who have yet to work out that it isn't going to work. 


Put together an emergency kit of items at home

This could include:

  • Battery or wind-up torch – torches are safer than candles.
  • Portable power bank for charging your mobile phone.
  • Battery or wind-up radio to get updates during a power cut – a car radio can be used, however in severe weather it might be safer to stay inside.
  • Spare batteries for torches and radio and a backup battery for any medical equipment you rely on.
  • A first aid kit (or some first aid items) including items such as waterproof plasters, bandages, a thermometer, antiseptic, eyewash solution, sterile dressings and gloves, medical tape for dressings, and tweezers.
  • Hand sanitiser and wet wipes for hygiene purposes when the water is off.
  • Bottled water – there is no standard figure for this as emergencies can vary in duration and people use different amounts. A minimum of 2.5-3 litres of drinking water per person per day is recommended by the World Health Organisation for survival. 10 litres per person per day will make you more comfortable by also providing for basic cooking and hygiene needs. Additional water might be needed to make up baby formula, for medical devices and for pets.
  • Non-perishable food that doesn’t need cooking, such as ready-to-eat tinned meat, fruit or vegetables (and a tin opener). As with water, how much you need will vary based on your own circumstances. Don’t forget food for pets.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just browsing through that list I can tick most off. First aid kit required, that's all. I think it's commonsense to have these things put by, although the government now admit that they've made such a mess that they become essential. Happy days ahead, I think a rewatch of Doctor Strangelove will go down nicely this evening.

microdave said...

Insane "Eco" policies & "Renewable" energy are leading to an alarming reduction in Grid stability. Combine that with BT/Openreach's determination to get rid of old copper phone lines (and any broadband still carried on them) means that neither landlines or fully charged mobiles are likely to be much use in a major outage. Virtually all the "Street Corner" internet cabinets (both BT & Virgin), as well as mobile phone base stations, rely on local mains supply, and have limited battery backup. Of the latter, only those sited at telephone exchanges and data centres with diesel generators are likely to be working, and they'll probably be saturated with calls.

As for the the internet we are so dependent on, while the "Backbone" will mostly continue to function, users access to it will die when the batteries in those cabinets go flat - even for people like me with our own backup power. Should radio transmitters and their feeds still be functioning, many programmes are now produced in presenters home studios, so there might not be much to listen to, even on a battery or wind-up radio!

Vatsmith said...

Don't forget a wood burner with a log pile (with or without an ethnic minority person in it).

A K Haart said...

Anon - ha ha, but it's all very grim. A rewatch of Doctor Strangelove while picturing Joe Biden running things should give the flavour of things.

Dave - interesting, so much for resilience. It's a pity issues like this aren't part of public debates instead of the insanely trivial gossip which clogs up the media.

A K Haart said...

Vatsmith - good point, maybe the government prefers to avoid stressing the value of a wood burner while it is still pushing heat pumps. What a shower they are.

Doonhamer said...

I am thinking that he has called a surprise election because he knows that things will get worse.
Too many political, demographic, health, world and local economic and miltary, concerns reaching real crises points.
Perversly, the one thing that is not heading for a crisis is Global Warming, Boiling, Armageddon, aka Climate Change. But even this is a negative for which ever Government is in power when we reach the Tipping Point when the majority of the voters realise it was a massive scam.
The Experts misled us (Lied to us, allegedly?) about, covid, covid "vaccine" (changing the definition of vaccine), Postmasters, NHS safety, water supply and sewage safety, blood transfusion safety, Smart Motorways, Super H2S railway, immigration, features of our children's education, who our real enemies are in the world, how we could save the planet by de-industrialisation while the Global Majority laughs at us, while flogging us windmills, big exploding batteries and solar panels.

dearieme said...

We have a couple of wind-up torches. But where did I put them?

A K Haart said...

Doonhamer - I think you are right, he has called a surprise election because he knows that things will get worse. He probably also knows that Starmer and Labour have no hope of solving anything before it gets worse, so Labour has little chance of winning the following general election. It's dire, but in their eyes it's probably a viable plan.

dearieme - items such as wind-up torches are almost always to be found at the back of the cupboard under the sink. Otherwise they tend to be in the kitchen drawer which is so crammed with odds and ends that it is best left unopened.

Scrobs. said...

We bought a fabulous oil lamp in Villedieu-les-Poêles, (France), many years ago!

Only the other day, Senora O'Blene asked me if it still worked, so I will investigate summarily...

Just as an update, I'll soon be planting out the leeks for our winter soup extravaganza, as there will be nothing in Tesco, and we'll all die...

Sam Vega said...

No emergency kit is complete without a laminated guide to correct pronouns.

johnd said...

Living in New Zealand, we have the ever present and real threat of earthquakes.So just to be sure we have emergency supplies ready, The most difficult part is periodically remembering to check expiry dates and replacing as necessary.

Scrobs. said...

Some years ago, I went to an event where Trevor Baylis was the speaker. He demonstrated his wind-up radio which was invented for use in places where there was no electricity...

It was an engaging talk, and we all left afterwards, with the distinct impression that everything he'd try to do in the first place had been flattened by the dead hands of the civil service at every turn. Unqualified 'experts' said it'd never work, export 'experts' refused to let him go ahead - the list of their failures went on and on!

But he won out in the end...

A K Haart said...

Scrobs - the oil lamp sounds like a good idea, although when we lit ours we realised how dangerous they are compared to candles. I bet the Trevor Baylis talk was memorable, a character we no longer seem to produce.

Sam - good point, although it may need regular updates so the kit doesn't become offensive.

John - that's something we don't consider in the UK, although a tremor could cause disruption I suppose.

microdave said...

"Had been flattened by the dead hands of the civil service at every turn"

The typical British "Not Invented Here" syndrome. I visited the Midlands Air Museum earlier this year, and watched a fascinating 40 min video about the development of the jet engine. Suffice to say, intransigence by the MOD nearly cost us the war, and Frank Whittle had to put his own money into developing a working engine before they changed their mind. This took the best part of 2 years...

dearieme said...

How could intransigence about the jet engine "nearly cost us the war"? It came into play so late that the war was already won.

A K Haart said...

Dave - interesting, I've never visited it but it sounds worthwhile. There is a Sir Frank Whittle Road in Derby, but I wonder how many people know who he was. Probably not as many as a few decades ago.

dearieme - the Messerschmitt Me 262 also seems to have been too late to have any effect too.

Scrobs. said...

M.Dave,

He showed us, and, read out the actual letters he'd had from the same dead hands!

A pin dropped in a soundproof room about three miles away, and we all heard it...

A K Haart said...

Scrobs - a book could be written about the possibilities those dead hands have rejected. A number probably have already - worth a trawl.