The Government advice re emergency packs

We all have food cupboards and tins and packets and a freezer which you could use food from.We have a gas camping stove as we have regular power outages every Winter and two battery charged lamps for the same reason.Nobody needs anything else.It’s the most ridiculous nanny State scaremongering.

Silvershadow

People have mentioned wind up radios and lights. Are these readily available? Would it be a camping shop that stocks these?

Amazon stock them, and they aren't expensive. I think I paid about £15 for one which will run on batteries, wind up power, plug-in AC power and has a (tiny) solar panel on the side. I don't have a lot of faith in the solar power thing, as I suspect it would take hours to charge it in high summer, and a pipe dream in the winter, but who knows. I charged it before putting it in the box, and have enough batteries if the charge has been lost before I have to use it (if ever).

Again, I am neither fearful nor panicking. I don't know why people jump to conclusions like this. I don't see it as any different from keeping a first aid kit in case one of us cuts ourselves, or paracetamol in case we get a headache.

According to the News, people are being advised to share with their neighbours. I would happily have done so until reading this thread - now I'm less sure if I'd be keen to share with those who are wilfully unprepared and scoffing at those who have made the effort.

I would share anything with anybody who needed it.

Silvershadow

People have mentioned wind up radios and lights. Are these readily available? Would it be a camping shop that stocks these?

There are lots of them for sale online (on Amazon etc) Most of them have more than one source of power - USB, mains socket, wind-up handle. They can be used in "normal" times as well as if the grid fails. It is a good idea to make sure they are kept charged up ready before the power cuts start, though, and only need top-ups with the wind-up handle, or you will start with a lot of handle turning to find out what has happened.

greyfur16

I would share anything with anybody who needed it.

So would I, probably, but would those who have been scoffing at the prepared be willing to ask?

I am not prepared and not anxious ( well maybe a bit about the zombies)

Doodledog

greyfur16

I would share anything with anybody who needed it.

So would I, probably, but would those who have been scoffing at the prepared be willing to ask?

I'm sorry, I'm getting lost with the thread of this.

Personally, I'm not preparing. But certainly if a neighbour or friend needed something and I had it, I would share.

We have a couple of lights similar to these. They are literally brilliant and light up a room, but can easily be carried around.

You all mocked me last year when I said that I had bought a generator instead of Gucci boots!!!

My useful bit of kit will run three freezers, a computer and have some extension leads wth USB. I can always unplug a freezer for 30 minutes if I want to do something else!

LPG hob, camping stove & water purifying tablets (if I can find them!).

Must get some more dog food, though.

has this been mentioned?
water is more important than food.
if you have a garden, install a water butt.
use the contents to flush the toilet, & if necessary with disinfectant tabs, to drink.

I have bought a couple of packs of bottled water, but I heats Jeremy Vine today saying that they have a sell by date as after a while the plastic will make the water unsafe become unsafe by discharging chemicals, who knew? Not me.

As for women panic buying, I fear most men will just expect an emergency pack will have been sorted by the lady of the house.

Thanks for the ideas. I’ve ordered a radio and will order some lights tomorrow.

Should we not ensure we have an extra month's worth of our prescription meds as well? That is at the top of my list

I don’t think our surgery would take very kindly to that Tinygranma.

Bazza

I have bought a couple of packs of bottled water, but I heats Jeremy Vine today saying that they have a sell by date as after a while the plastic will make the water unsafe become unsafe by discharging chemicals, who knew? Not me.

As for women panic buying, I fear most men will just expect an emergency pack will have been sorted by the lady of the house.

It's true that bottled water doesn't last forever, but it wouldn't be on sale if it were going to kill anyone or make them ill. It's better to ingest a tiny amount of plastic than dehydrate, IMO.

Also, space permitting, you could store old bottles outside and use them for washing/flushing when you replace them with new ones.

Google tells me that the water is fine for up to 2 years after bottling, and that after that the water is safe but might take on a faint plastic odour and the taste might not be as good. Again, better than dying of thirst . Google also advises that it's best to store plastic bottles in a cool dark place if possible as that slows down any deterioration.

AB is now on Gogglebox.

Is he playing with politics?

If it turns out that we have to get prepared, instead of him getting the country prepared with defence, it will feel like it quite soon.

Tinygranma

Should we not ensure we have an extra month's worth of our prescription meds as well? That is at the top of my list

Now there's a thought, but we've been asked to cope for 2 days, so it depends on your meds stocks and whether you have any spare and if monthly meds are due, and I do have 4 days because sometimes the chemist is slow.

Having virtually nothing stocked up - I don't bother except for bits and bobs- the most important thing I bought today was an Inverter Power supply which fully charged lasts a long time and has the possibility of using a 3 pin plug in. £80. That and water matter most, so I bulk bought enough water.

Tinned oranges, tinned green beans, tinned wild salmon and will make up packs of carbs like rice and other similar.

Got candles, radio takes batteries, and just reckon a camping stove would do the job.

Now what have I forgotten?

fancythat

AB is now on Gogglebox.

Is he playing with politics?

If it turns out that we have to get prepared, instead of him getting the country prepared with defence, it will feel like it quite soon.

Yes, that was absolutely clear in Question Time last night. all the parties there agreed, its not just AB playing some kind of political game, as its the government in charge of fire fighting the virus.

Two days, and don't forget to get yourselves on the special needs list if you are old enough or disabled for water and energy.

(I really recommend you watch the catch up on Question Time fancythat becuase the first question was on defence and again, all the parties agreed on the necessary strategy and the vital importance of action and what kind of action and defence, given matters like the Russians currently attacking undersea cables. Wes Streeting was very good but see for yourself.

Tinygranma

Should we not ensure we have an extra month's worth of our prescription meds as well? That is at the top of my list

Unfortunately Tinygranma, you can’t order more than one months supply - at least not on my NHS app you can’t - it won’t let you.

Unfortunately Tinygranma, you can’t order more than one months supply - at least not on my NHS app you can’t - it won’t let you.

I have two months worth of meds delivered. It was suggested by the pharmacist at my annual review two years ago.

I order monthly, they phone me to do the order as it varies and they will do it early for me if I ask as I'm "trusted". No apps.

But surely it's wise to ask for a few days in hand? Often as simple as the chemist not having them and having to order?

The supply of clean water from the taps depends on the supply of electricity

fancythat

AB is now on Gogglebox.

Is he playing with politics?

If it turns out that we have to get prepared, instead of him getting the country prepared with defence, it will feel like it quite soon.

While whoever/whatever he has organised for defence is getting on with defending us, someone or something could still be wrecking the software that manages our utilities. They could heat up the freezers in our supermarkets, pollute our water, block our petrol supplies, switch off our electricity, scramble our phones and email communications, and confuse our railways and airports. Some of these inconveniences we just have to control ourselves.

It might not be a human-led invasion. El Nino or some other natural event could interrupt our taken-for-granted utilities and leave us with no more piped-in light, heat, water, or contact than a medieval peasant in a mud hut thatched with reeds, with an open fire in the centre of it but no chimney, a stream half a mile away and a privy at the end of the garden.

Oh well, if the government is advising us "explicitly" then it must be real.

We can always trust the government, can't we? Like we did during the Covid years........