London based newbie. Any prepper groups in London?

[Nattykaddy]

Hello all
I am newish mother with a partner and a baby aged 7 months. Motherhood has made me become way more responsible so I want to develop a good skill set and have a plan and a 'bug out bag' ans food incase of anything shifty. I am increasingly getting concerned that that europe is heading for economic collapse and I dont really trust the government to look after us if anything happens. Not paranoid. Just skeptical. Plus personal responsibility is always preferable.

So I am ready to start 'prepping'

I have some questions:
1. Which books are essential for prepping and specifically the urban environment? And countryside in the uk?
2. Do you know of any groups in London or nearby I could join that would like a new recruit? I am definitely volunteer time to the cause..?
3. Recommendations of the best places for 'bug out bags' ?

Thats it for now!
Thanks
Natty

[pseudonym]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

[Jamesey1981]

Hi and welcome.
For books, there's a few I would recommend, first is "Food for free" great little book that can start you off foraging, that's a little Collins gem one, so it's cheap and fits in a pocket. "The SAS survival Guide" another Collins gem, I doubt you'll need to use a great deal of what is in it, but full of useful info and it's cheap so why not, and it's something of a classic. Another good one that is a bit more expensive but well worth having is "The Edible Seashore" now published as a river cottage manual, loads of information on how to get free food from the sea and coastline, great book. Finally one more that might be hard to find as I think it's out of print, but the companion book to "A cook on the wild side" by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, covers all kinds of basic foraging and even recipes for wine and beer, a surprisingly useful book.
The LDS preparedness manual has loads of info on food storage, that's available for free, it does have a bit of religious stuff in it but if you look past that there's loads of useful info, I posted a link to a PDF download of it in the books section on here.

For a bug out bag if you want one, don't buy a pre made one, you'll pay double what you need to pay for everything that's in it, and it won't necessarily meet your needs very well, so I would suggest making your own, there's a sub section in the equipment section on here for bug out bags etc, so have a look on there, and also have a look on YouTube, loads of info there.
I would suggest having a look at Dave Canterbury's channel to start with, wilderness outfitters, lots of survival techniques on there, he explains stuff well and he has loads of videos covering everything from making a fire to blacksmithing, Ray Mears also has a huge number of informative videos on everything from firelighting to knife sharpening and it's well worth watching his videos and taking some notes, you might not be planning on going to live in the woods, but a good knowledge of survival techniques can be adapted to whatever environment you find yourself in, and it'll help you decide what kit you want to buy in case of emergency.
One other thing, if you can get the travel Channel on your TV, Les Stroud does a series called survivorman that's being repeated at the moment, well worth watching as he demonstrates what you can do with very little equipment, you really want to be better prepared than he is, he deliberately goes out with very little, but it shows you what you can do with very little kit if you have to.

[Nattykaddy]

This sounds great!
Is there a section of groups I could possibly get involved with?
I am keen to join a group

[Briggs 2.0]

This sounds great!
Is there a section of groups I could possibly get involved with?
I am keen to join a group

I think you've already found a good group, albeit online. Maybe get to know a few people on here first and you may find some will be open to private messaging and potentially meeting in person. There are several threads on here with excellent advice covering all aspects of urban prepping, bugging in, bugging out, and generally being much more self-sufficient. Enjoy!

[Jan Smits]

Hi,

Good books already mentioned, I had at least two of them from before the time I consciously thought of prepping. Before buying loads of books though, don't forget the internet has a lot of free stuff, if you can sort the quality from the rest. There's no shortage of guides online, I got a lot of mileage out of this one:
http://readynutrition.com/resources/52- ... _19072011/

I'm not really one for rules so I didn't do the weekly thing, but it took me through stages and helped me focus on what I needed to think about.

Think about likely scenarios before getting into the more unlikely. Top of my list are power cuts and civil unrest. As far as bugging out goes, it may be more likely you need a bag for staying at a hotel or with friends for a few days, sooner than all the kit you'd need to head for the Brecon Beacons for a month.

Don't rush it, it's all about thinking and making decisions now with a clear head rather than in the heat of a situation. Good luck.

[Jamesey1981]

When it comes to groups, you'll struggle with that a little bit as preppers are a pretty secretive bunch, and you should also think about keeping your preps quiet, if there were to be an event that meant food is short then you don't want people that you thought were friends knocking your door down for their share, you'll be amazed how quickly people can change when time are hard, might seem selfish, and to be honest it is, but you are preparing for yourself and your family, not to give away everything you have to someone that didn't bother, help someone out by all means, but not at the expense of your own survival.

Saying that though, there is an RVs and meets section on here that you'll get access to once you've got enough posts, (forget how many to be honest) and once you've got to know some people on here a bit then there may well be people that would be up for meeting up.

[Deeps]

When it comes to groups, you'll struggle with that a little bit as preppers are a pretty secretive bunch, and you should also think about keeping your preps quiet, if there were to be an event that meant food is short then you don't want people that you thought were friends knocking your door down for their share, you'll be amazed how quickly people can change when time are hard, might seem selfish, and to be honest it is, but you are preparing for yourself and your family, not to give away everything you have to someone that didn't bother, help someone out by all means, but not at the expense of your own survival.

Saying that though, there is an RVs and meets section on here that you'll get access to once you've got enough posts, (forget how many to be honest) and once you've got to know some people on here a bit then there may well be people that would be up for meeting up.

Wot he says, Oh and welcome by the way. You can't assume that just because someone else is a prepper that you'll suddenly be BFF's, like any section of a community there will be some you gravitate to more than others and some you'll just not like. I've mentioned it on here before (sorry for boring those that have read it) but you already have a community, your neighbours and friends and depending on what incident occurs you have a ready made group that will have a vested interest in collective self preservation or at least the properties and area. They'll not all have tons of gear but you'll already have a better idea of them and what they're about. Something to consider too is that even if you get a group of preppers if things do go pear shaped then other halves might not be keen on leaving etc. It really will depend on what the scenario is though and there's no harm in forming groups to learn and enjoy whatever form your preps will take but don't assume that everything will go to plan with them.

You seem very keen on a bug out bag but if you've got the wee one bugging out might not be the best thing especially in the London area, there could well be a lot of people trying to do the same thing. What is it that you intend to prep for ? Is it a collapse of infrastructure or civil unrest or flooding or......whatever. Bugging in is generally the preferred option on here, and having the means to carry on life as normally as you can, ie water, food, cooking etc and only bugging out as a last resort. Then are you going to be 'grey' or all camo'd and tooled up ? If you've got lots of gucci stuff you might become a target. You need to figure out YOUR priorities, not what someone on Youtube or here is prepping for. Its great to learn and swap info and tips but only you know what will work best for you, there's loads on here that you can use or tweak to work for you, I've learned so much but personally I don't have a bug out bag although I could knock a few together if I had to out of stuff I have. Have a look at the HOB's (Hotel bag) (as they've been christened on here), a bag that you can grab if you need to evacuate to a hotel for some reason, much more likely than running off to the hills, at least you've got to hope so. Enjoy it too and bear in mind that you'll not get everything you want in a week (or a year for that matter, most of us are always adding or changing our stuff).

[Jamesey1981]

I agree with Deeps there when it comes to friends and neighbours, and as an added bonus they stay fresh for a while and can be eaten in an emergency.

One other thing if you haven't done it already, get some first aid training, you hope to never have to use it but if you do then it can literally save lives, and having the training helps with the natural panic in an emergency situation as well.

[Alloneword]

Hi Nattykaddy like you i'm living in the smoke and have never meet another one of us in person, so god knows about groups as such i think you will be very lucky your best bet i'd suggest is maybe join a few more forums and find people who live in London and maybe chat to them either via private message or phone or if close enough meet in person in a public place with you and your old man.
So much depends on whay and why you are prepping (I hate that word).

As you know London is a massive place and so much depends on where you live, not much in common with Peckham and Hampstead i'm sure you'd agree, if you can without giving too mmuch away let us know what is your concern, money problems/riots like we had a couple of years ago it gives us an idea of what to focus on.

Bugging out when you live in London is how can i say without being rude "A Dream" Jesus we can't move in London on any day of the week let alone if the s1t hits the fan and you need to run, like hundreds of thousands will be doing just like you it will be gridlock, you only real option of moving is on a bike either push or motorbike and i'm sure your'd never do that with a toddler, if your close to the river a boat is a good option if you can gain access to the river, so bugging IN would e a suggestion at this point but as i say alot depends on where in London you live.

No idea on books sorry.

Someone mentioned neighbours and friends, IMO i'd stay well away from neighbours and friends, work on your own reason i say that is just trust that is all and i personally trust nobody with what i have or what i'm doing, less people know the better IMO, only my opinion you understand.

Try to give us more info as i say but not too much if you get my drift also is the old man on board with your thinking or does he think your a nut job, it would so much easier if you can get him on board and on the same wavelength.

All1