A short post to (re)-introduce myself. My name's featherstick, I live in North Kent with wife and 2 small children, work in London.
I've been a prepper for a LOOONG time, I realise, albeit perhaps not a very consistent one. When I was a kid I had a survival kit and FAK built up on instructions in a Hardy Boys book, I think. We were on the fringes of the self-sufficiency movement too, so I gained a lot of practical skills and a certain mindset (anyone need any goats' hooves trimmed?) Dad was a cabinet maker, so although I'm not a skilled woodworker I can do some basic work and keep chisels and planes sharp.
I started prepping in serious when becoming aware of Peak Oil, then of course the financial crisis. I was on Ludlow Survivors for a time but found it a bit stale for a while. I recognise some of the names on this board. I've gone through the whole BOB, GHB, BOL, BOV thing before calming down a bit and learning some lessons.
For me the major threats are financial and economic crisis, and I firmly believe we are well on the Long Descent that Orlov and Kunstler write about. We've seen this in my family - gradually losing income as my wife lost her job and then the maternity payments ceased, rising prices, and increasing social unrest on the fringes of Europe, not to mention the riots in the UK. As a response, we have looked at ways of saving money, protecting our savings, reducing outgoings, and growing, making and recycling/upcycling more of what we need. We have an allotment which provides us with a fair amount of food, we forage especially for fruit, we've moved to a house with a larger garden and in a less fraught neighbourhood where we can build up good relations and a sense of community. I volunteer for the Master Gardener programme which is a nice way of making contact with people and helping to skill them to grow some of their own food too - my practical response to the Peak Oil/Transition Town movement. Prepping isn't only about going bunkers, for me it's about having a community too.
Of course we are prepping for other eventualities too. We have Bug-Out Bags although they need an overhaul, we have decent FAKs, we have a good library of practical and useful information from Where There Is No Doctor to Herbal Antibiotics to Vegetable Growing Month-by-Month. We have a stock of water and tinned food, various meds and other supplies. I have mapped out my route home from work and carry an extra bit of kit that would help if I needed to get back without public transport - mostly £50 in cash for a minicab, and some Snickers bars and a bottle of water
We look after our health, eating well and getting exercise, and are trying to bring the kids up to be resilient and helpful (feels like a bit too much to ask occasionally!). I've been trying to broach the subject of "what would we do if we were flooded?" with SWMBO, but she has just replied "We won't be, we're too high". She's basically right but it would be nice if she took me a bit more seriously occasionally : ) She has lived through a societal collapse in 1991 so doesn't really want to think too much about it but is happy to support me, up to a point.I've joined the board to share some thoughts, pick some brains, have a laugh, and rekindle the prepper behaviour that has been a bit slack lately. I'm looking forward to talking to people and to having a laugh and learning something.
