I'm Stormboy, based near the Southdowns. Funny thing labelling yourself a 'Prepper'. I've been lurking around this site for a couple of months, and discovering exactly what I have been doing all this time. I guess my 'prep' started in 1995 with the 'eco' thing. Y' know, energy saving light bulbs, diesel cars, solar ovens, solar water heaters, energy efficiency etc... Then the camping thing kicked in a few years later, and then moving out into the country. Power cuts, bad weather and a wood-burner helps focus the mind, but all that came to a head with the bad snow last year.
Our village was cut off for three days...
Amazing, the British people. It was like a Bank Holiday until the 2nd day and then siege mentality kicked in. Not so much an orderly queue, but in times of crisis it was curious to watcch why so many people bought so much milk an bread! Must have been giant bread puddings. Fights actually broke out! Scary. Police weren't about, couldn't get here.
They say you are only 9 meals away from social breakdown. But we were baking our own bread and thought let's do more stuff, get organised.
The third day, tempers were fraying and the novelty of 8 inches of snow and abandoned cars was wearing thin. People were exhuming their cars from their drives, only there was no-where to go. The elderly were stranded, and in -7C you'd have to be fit to get about. We helped where we could.
My wife and I got our 'gear' together. Lights, solar chargers and batteries, organised our fuel for heat, camping stoves for cooking. A Radio, with 90hrs battery life... Candles and the list then went on.
We charged batteries and already had voltage inverters, rigged 12v lights. Started getting calculations on how long our freezer would last, and what food stuffs would keep long term. Full on Prepping ensued after the thaw and now we are growing more food (we have a 1/3 acre), even 12v charger for the netbook I'm using now, 10 and 17ah power stations for portability (great for camping), LED lights. Overall a much smaller energy footprint. I've bought books and boned up on a host of stuff I'm experiementing with. Low-Tech is fun and useful.
With energy and food security becoming ever growing issues, I'm not waiting for the Nanny state to look after me and mine if it all goes pear shaped. The way things are going, it might.
It's a like a shadow in the back of your mind isn't it? Something there, but you shrug your shoulders get on with your life and get on with good times, family and friends. But with all things there has to be an end. Civilisation is just the polished veneer for something less civil.
Well, at least the world didn't end today.
It would spoil a nice weekend.
S.
HI!
