Water - Isn’t that one of the things the Romans did (or at least improved) for us?

 Prepping seems to have become mainstream of late.  Government Ministers, no less, are exhorting us to try and buy a little extra so that should something go awry we each have an additional degree of household resilience.  I think that is what Dame Angela Eagle was suggesting.  In all fairness the Government website can’t be accused of going over the top - link below (though I’ll come back to water later):

https://prepare.campaign.gov.uk/get-prepared-for-emergencies/?title=household%20emergency%20plan

The emergency kit they suggest for homes includes the following:

• Battery or wind-up torch – torches being safer than candles.
• Portable power bank for charging mobile phones. It’s not that we can rely o landlines now.
• Battery or wind-up radio to get updates during a power cut – a car radio can be used, however in severe weather it might be safer to stay inside. 
• Spare batteries for torches and radio and a backup battery for any medical equipment you rely on.
• A first aid kit (or some first aid items)
• Hand sanitiser and wet wipes
• Bottled water – there is no standard figure for this as emergencies can vary in duration and people use different amounts. A minimum of 2.5-3 litres of drinking water per person per day is recommended by the World Health Organisation for survival. 10 litres per person per day will make you more comfortable by also providing for basic cooking and hygiene needs. Additional water might be needed to make up baby formula, for medical devices and for pets.
• Non-perishable food that doesn’t need cooking, eg ready-to-eat tinned meat, fruit or vegetables (and a tin opener). As with water, how much you need will vary based on your own circumstances. Don’t forget food for pets.
• Baby supplies such as nappies and baby formula – ready made or ‘ready-to-feed’ formula is best as you may not be able to boil water or sterilise bottles.

It’s difficult to criticise that little lot beyond its vagueness (though I will come back to water later).

Some of the press have expanded a little.  Going a little further re stocking up on tins, dry goods and bottled water (I’ll come back to water later).  

Another article expanded on the radio point - preferably crank operated to avoid the need for spare batteries.   Power banks = good, generators/portable solar panels/portable power stations = better.  Camping stoves with gas canisters, torches/head torches, compass, can opener, Swiss Army knife - they are all up there.  

I’m trying to forget I ever saw the advice for a chain saw - I mean who would ever think that would be a good idea for any household that does not have a specific need, training and experience with them, before any emergency.  It’s just a disaster waiting to happen!

Then we get on to bug out bags.  Personally, up to the point where we have a genuine and realistic expectation that something might happen, I’m inclined to work with knowing where the items I might need to incorporate in such a bag are and leaving it at that but hey, each to his own.  

I confess I am not entirely sure what emergency some are expecting.  A bit of bet hedging seems to be going on.  Supply chain issues, I think, may well be a thing and it doesn’t take much to get me on to food security concerns.  Wind me up and you may be forced to listen for hours!  

Are we really expecting WWII style rationing?  That’ll sort the obesity problem!  Will we be back to digging for victory?  Most likely not with Lincolnshire’s grade A agricultural land covered in solar panels, wind turbines and housing estates (see, I told you it is best I don’t get started).  We’ll also be pretty stuffed on that as regards a house to house or garden to garden basis when we have a hose pipe ban.  Though I will come back to water later.  

When we get down to it, from the video footage I’ve seen of those poor people whose houses were caught by the wild fire in Stourbridge or the flood in Nepal, none had the chance to grab, even the best prepared, most conveniently placed, bug out bag.  They certainly didn’t have chance to admire their carefully stored oats, rice, lentils, tinned veg and bottled water.   Though I’ll get back to water later.

If the emergency is limited to a phone warning not to light disposable barbecues on dry grass most of us will be fine though there are far too many for whom any such warning sound is not necessarily benign.

There was one article I read in a main stream newspaper (the one that mentioned the chain saw - that I am hoping everyone ignores unless trained/experienced and has a specific need) talked about needing a 2 week’s supply.  Even where I live the emergency services can usually make it, with a bit of help from Sat Nav, well within 2 weeks!

Now, on our own terms (ie we have water and power just can’t leave the house ie a pandemic style emergency) we’ll be fine, probably bored but fine.  I get that does not go for everyone but at this point and for the purposes of this blog post I’m looking at my own household.  If we do not have water and/or power things start to look a little different.  

No power and obviously frozen and fresh food is under threat.  If we have water we can still heat the house (most of it and we have the most basic of food heating facilities available - though I really don’t want to heat baked beans in my Le Crueset on an open fire in the living room) and hot water.  No water and we cannot heat the house as we risk blowing the immersion heater at the very least and very possibly the back boiler.

As to food with no power; we have potential BBQ/wood oven/camping stove options.   The extent of which will be wholly dependent as to where we are on stocks at the time and whether we are able to get out to use a BBQ/wood oven.

Regardless, everyone should be grateful that I would be unlikely to be able to blog/phone/text/WhatsApp in such a circumstance as I would, doubtless, be complaining about the amount of bottled pears/gooseberries/blackcurrants/applesauce that I am having to actually eat rather than just preserve and store (‘cos it looks and feels good).

….and then we get to water.   Had to come eventually!  For reasons that really don’t warrant going into, beyond it just doesn’t taste right, we have defaulted to bottled water for drinking and cooking over the last few days.  This is not a huge deal, we have water to shower, wash hair, wash up, brush teeth etc.  It just tastes off so we have been using bottled water to drink and cook.  Rather more water than we expected it turns out.  Over the course of a couple of days, between the two of us, for drinking and cooking alone (excluding soft drinks - there have been a few, S is powered on Diet Coke) we got through around 17 litres.  I can’t say we were conserving it but factor that  up for a fortnight and who has that storage space?  We don’t, short of giving over living space for water bottle storage and I am not doing that unless I am told there is a serious need to.  Frankly, at that point, given the distance we are from the supermarket, we are stuffed!  Plus it can’t just sit there waiting until the date of some unknown emergency.  It needs to be rotated, used and replaced.  A tin of beans has a much better shelf life.  We keep in, just in case, around 30-36 litres, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.  So that’s four days for the two of us then, assuming we have water for everything else other than drinking and cooking and we are being careful.  Could be worse, however, even the Government website is talking up to 10 litres a day per person and right now I can see where they are going on that.  So that’s us ok for a day and a half then!    …..and there are only two of us. I am just guessing here but I suspect we may well be holding more bottled water than many.  We also  have a hot water tank, which is no longer commonplace for new builds/new boilers, but does have the potential to help us out if needed.  

Now I am not of proper prepper stock by a very long chalk.  I am, however, very much of the ‘build a bit of resilience into household supplies’ mentality.  A spot of waste not, want not, preserve the garden harvest and I will keep some bottled water in for emergencies.  

We are, however, (supposed to be) a first world country and whilst I will make some provision for emergencies there really does come a point when one wonders exactly why we are paying for basic facilities that seemingly no one can guarantee can be fixed within a few days.  Right now, I’m actively avoiding any conversation about filtering the water from the well so we can be assured it can be safely used for the house as well as for the garden.  It served the house well long before we arrived and it has helped us out this year in the garden but really???

Whilst we do live out in the sticks I really do not know how we reached the point where we are actually considering these things (semi +) seriously. 

P.S.  I don’t have a Swiss Army Knife.  Should I get one? Do I need one?  Will I get arrested if found with one?  They are certainly smaller and lighter than a bottle of water but …..