Ploughing my own furrow and wondering where the British stiff upper lip went

 

 So there I was steadily reducing my grocery bill and starting to make just a little room in the freezer and food cupboards.  Can’t say it was exactly moving at pace but it was moving in the intended direction.  Then we woke up last weekend to news of an assault on Iran which now appears to have snowballed across the Middle East.

As the week has moved on various news apps have started to run advice articles on how to survive a drone strike and what to stockpile/buy now.  As a habitual doom scroller I’ve read the advice as to how to survive a drone strike and concluded that in a direct hit on my house, I’m dead.  That should render obsolete any concerns as to what I may or may not have stockpiled.

Why anyone would waste a costly drone on my house (or even find it) is beyond me but certainly no one is going to waste an even more expensive interceptor to avoid such a hit.  I, together with my stock of preserved fruit, stored in the cupboard under the stairs, would definitely be expendable.

With hindsight, looking back over the week, there has been something of a sense of increased urgency from others but I hadn’t really paid much attention to it until Friday afternoon.  It is not unusual for someone to want something done urgently when there is no apparent urgency required which is probably why I didn’t notice.  This individual, however, had a complete meltdown about having to have something done immediately as they had to have everything sorted before WW3 started.  

Now it’s not that I don’t view the present situation seriously, of course I do.  However,  no one is sharing intel with me, I have no influence and, like most of us, all I can do is keep an eye on the news, hope those we know in areas currently affected stay safe and keep my fingers crossed this conflict or, at the very least, its intensity is over soon.  

Which brings me back to should I actually be preparing and, if so, what for?  

I watched one YouTube video of a supermarket haul for a “prepper pantry” by a Brit frugal blogger living in France.  Now she is streets ahead of me re frugality but as regards pantry stocks at home……..   We will be able to eat for longer, a lot longer and these supplies need reducing aka eating or I risk my cupboards falling off the walls.  It’s a new kitchen, only in its third year and this would upset me greatly.  It would not, however, be the first time a food cupboard has fallen off the wall in this kitchen and we are not doing 2013 again!  

I also discovered a deluxe 72 hour emergency bug out bag for 2 on Amazon for £336 inc VAT.  It has biodegradable spoons.  Obviously in WW3 every household should continue to protect the environment.  It has had 5,920 reviews and has a total score of 4.8 out of 5.  I haven’t read the reviews so I do not know of the exact conditions the reviewers faced in which they formulated their opinions.  I find it reassuring that, having been in such difficult circumstances for 72 hours, people are able to find the time and device charge to give feedback on their Amazon purchases.  Presumably after the nuclear apocalypse we can rely on not only there being cockroaches but also Amazon Prime next day delivery.  Good to know!

For my part three of our vehicles are currently 3/4 or more full fuel tank wise (though that won’t last long where we live and with our commute) and we have most of the stuff on the Mail Online’s “Experts” recommended list of essentials.  We don’t have a generator though we do have various fully charged lights, battery torches and candles.  Our open fire provides heat and hot water and we have a stock of BBQ charcoal, apple logs for the pizza oven/smoker and a camping stove with a number of gas canisters.  We do have chain saws though I am more than a little surprised and rather concerned that these are being promoted as emergency essentials to the general population in a national newspaper.

I have bought a pack of 16 loo rolls (it’s on the experts’ list) but that was because we were actually starting to run short.  No idea how that happened but it did. 

I have sown some more veg seeds in the greenhouse and done some weeding.  I have also made three batches of ice cream - banana and chocolate chip, rum and raisin and ginger - and some chocolate cornflake cakes.  There is little that is not improved by a chocolate cornflake cake (you will gather we are not following Lent).  More importantly, washing/ironing, changing bedding and cleaning bathrooms aside I was looking for ways to avoid cleaning the house or dealing with the garden beds.

Overall I have reached the conclusion that the existing plan to use the stuff we already have and cut the grocery bill is the way to go.  I see no reason to change anything already in place or make any new plans/purchases.  We will continue to work towards those items on the ‘to do’ list with little expectation that it will ever actually be completely ticked off and certainly not before WW3 if it turns out to be as imminent as some appear to fear.  

I hope everyone who has to travel or those who have to stay put do so safely.  I also hope this conflict is short in duration with as few further casualties as possible though I fear that might be a little unrealistic.  In the meantime I am entirely relaxed that there is nothing I can do beyond staying off my pension plan app, so as to moderate my own anxiety levels, and keeping some sense of proportion in line with the safe and privileged position I, most of my family, friends and just about everyone I know, have in the World.