What would be the trigger to bug-out of work/bug-in at home?

northernraider · Post by **northernraider** » 30 Sep 2012, 21:17

Tarrel wrote:NR (and others); would you mind me asking, how have you got your family into the mindset? Is this something you've brought them up with? If not, at what point did you introduce it as a way of life, and what was their reaction?

Sir, looking at your fascinating blog your family are preppers by default, on the forum I normally inhabit we have an elderly gent of 80 plus years living up in the western highlands and he by his lifestyle in such a remote location ensured that he also had to become much better prepped.

The Eco and prepper communities from Findhorn to those on Skye all have to live to some extent as preppers by default also.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 30 Sep 2012, 23:12

Thanks for the kind comment about the blog. The thing is, I see our change of lifestyle as prepping, but my wife sees it as, well, just a positive lifestyle change. She is naturally practical and, for example, we always have a decent level of foodstuffs in the cupboard. Ive talked about Peak Oil, etc, and the big change coming, and I think she gets it, but not to the point where she is ready to start making active preparations. We are organically moving to a prepper lifestyle, as you say, in small ways (devoting prgressively more of the garden to growing food for example).

If I was to take things to the next level (bringing her into a discussion on bug-out plans, etc, creating seriously long-term stashes of food,etc), I'm not sure how she would react.

Your posts spooked me a little, in that it's no point us being well prepped at home if she happens to be 35 miles away in Inverness on the day TSHTF, with no plan in place for how we deal with that. Thanks for the wake-up call!

I think I'll gradually keep creeping towards a prepped state and use practical, everyday events as a justification (e.g the fuel fiasco of a few months ago, as a reason to always keep tanks topped up).

northernraider · Post by **northernraider** » 01 Oct 2012, 08:48

[quote="Tarrel"]

If I was to take things to the next level (bringing her into a discussion on bug-out plans, etc, creating seriously long-term stashes of food,etc), I'm not sure how she would react.

Your posts spooked me a little, in that it's no point us being well prepped at home if she happens to be 35 miles away in Inverness on the day TSHTF, with no plan in place for how we deal with that. Thanks for the wake-up call!

Cheat a bit

Complain bitterly about irregular cell phone signals and how people complain about the reliability of the land lines then raise the subject of PMRs CBs etc

.

The kids got no say I just added extra kit to their school bags and sewed a few " extras" into the lining of the bag

Gripe incessantly about the state of the roads and say " Next Vehicle" has to be 4x4

, Show her stories about motorists being stranded for 18 to 24 hours in blizzards as a reason to put an uprated GHB in the car.!!!

northernraider · Post by **northernraider** » 01 Oct 2012, 08:53

BTW love the blog, my wifey is green with envy? best we managed was rural Co Durham, We know a few preppers up the top of Scotland on Skye, On the NW coast, near Fort George and Findhorn, I just wish they would start doing blogs. One of them does go beserk about the shipping costs so now when he knows he is getting visitors he give em a shoping list to bring with them

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 01 Oct 2012, 08:59

Hmm..Thinking about it overnight, perhaps we're better prepped than I thought. We have the 4x4 (winterised for cold climate), my son and I are both amateur radio license holders, and have portable and base-station short wave kit, and wife tends to take a "be prepared" approach when she heads out in the car. We also tend to be home-based MOST of the time, so chances of being away when SHTF are lower. (Shouldn't get complacent though).

northernraider · Post by **northernraider** » 01 Oct 2012, 09:07

Tarrel wrote:Hmm..Thinking about it overnight, perhaps we're better prepped than I thought. We have the 4x4 (winterised for cold climate), my son and I are both amateur radio license holders, and have portable and base-station short wave kit, and wife tends to take a "be prepared" approach when she heads out in the car. We also tend to be home-based MOST of the time, so chances of being away when SHTF are lower. (Shouldn't get complacent though).

So you are one of us eh? bit of a shock?

our group has just spent 2 months thrashing out specs for a prepper CB and Ham system its in the files in SUK if your interested.

Post by **clv101** » 01 Oct 2012, 11:45

Tarrel wrote:H...my son and I are both amateur radio license holders, and have portable and base-station short wave kit...

We just got an FT-857D today, first HF rig.

Welcome to the forum northernraider!

BeardyMan · Post by **BeardyMan** » 01 Oct 2012, 13:47

Kentucky Fried Panda wrote:When trouble strikes in normal times other people will help you. They band together under their shared experience.

Really?! You obviously weren't in London for the riots. Or any other city where they occurred. You ever broken down by the side of a busy road? How many people stopped to "help you"?

It's a nice fairy tale to think that "other people" will come to your rescue - unfortunately it isn't reality.

extractorfan · Post by **extractorfan** » 01 Oct 2012, 13:52

BeardyMan wrote:
Really?! You obviously weren't in London for the riots. Or any other city where they occurred. You ever broken down by the side of a busy road? How many people stopped to "help you"?

I once helped a man who collapsed in the street, although it was xmas eve. I helped an old fellow once too after a fall.

I've never needed help before so I don't know, but it does happen.

BeardyMan · Post by **BeardyMan** » 01 Oct 2012, 13:54

extractorfan wrote:
BeardyMan wrote:
Really?! You obviously weren't in London for the riots. Or any other city where they occurred. You ever broken down by the side of a busy road? How many people stopped to "help you"?
I once helped a man who collapsed in the street, although it was xmas eve. I helped an old fellow once too after a fall.

I've never needed help before so I don't know, but it does happen.

Would you rely on someone else coming to the rescue though? I certainly wouldn't...

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 01 Oct 2012, 13:55

Anyone remember a slight issue with fuel supplies a few months ago?

I take KFP's point about cash though. It can probably deal with a lot of eventualities. I wouldn't want to rely on it 100% though, and certainly not cards.

Remember the ash-cloud business a couple of years ago? The papers were full of "hero-stories" of people who had made their way back from all over Europe overland in the absence of flights. In actual fact, many of them just seemed to have thrown their credit cards at the problem, in some cases taking a taxi across a whole country!

extractorfan · Post by **extractorfan** » 01 Oct 2012, 14:01

BeardyMan wrote:
Would you rely on someone else coming to the rescue though? I certainly wouldn't...

No I wouldn't, hope I never need to but you never know.

Catweazle · Post by **Catweazle** » 01 Oct 2012, 14:52

I don't lug around a bag of survival equipment, it's just not practical most times. I always have my wallet with me though, in which is always plenty of cash, a couple of aspirin, and my Swiss Card tool which has a small knife, tweezers, screwdriver, pen, torch, scissors. I have credit cards and my driving licence too.

I nearly always wear hiking shoes, and if I could add one small item it would be a space-blanket which could also be used as a waterproof jacket in a downpour.

Whilst this small collection won't allow me to trap wild boar or fashion a tree-house, it will do most small tasks associated with a travel disruption and has never caused me any problem on entry to pubs / clubs and even the HOC. I haven't tried it through airport security.

Back home I'm a lot better equipped and wouldn't have to venture out for months if necessary.

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 01 Oct 2012, 18:29

BeardyMan wrote:
Kentucky Fried Panda wrote:When trouble strikes in normal times other people will help you. They band together under their shared experience.
Really?! You obviously weren't in London for the riots. Or any other city where they occurred. You ever broken down by the side of a busy road? How many people stopped to "help you"?

It's a nice fairy tale to think that "other people" will come to your rescue - unfortunately it isn't reality.

I was working in Manchester City Centre when they kicked off and I've seen better riots trust me.

Motorists are not people, they're all morons, but get them out of their cars and they're generally nice folk. If I break down, I can usually fix it myself, service my own cars/bikes and engines.

I did once crash a motorbike near a busy intersection and a young couple picked me and my bike up, then took the pair of us all the way home.

So you've never been in a dangerous situation with some strangers and given or received the milk of human kindness?
If not I really feel sorry for you, because people are not inherently bad. If you think they are, you're probably so cynical and jaded that you're beyond hope.

You also have to be prepared to help other people in the same situation as yourself, push cars off the road, carry something for a weary traveler. Far too many situations to list, but an open mind and a keen pair of eyes will take you far when the chips are down.

I have seen people do some unspeakably horrible thing to each other, but they're still not all bad in my eyes.

MrG · Post by **MrG** » 01 Oct 2012, 22:18

KFP has a point here.. most people are basically good.

I can think of plenty of examples of times that myself or people I know have been helped out by complete strangers.. often in vehicle related incidents.

The time I was stranded on the side of the road after a car accident, sat in the lttle chef making a cardboard sign to hitch home and the chef insisted on droving me to the nearset town and I did exactly as KFP says and used my credit card to sort it out.. hotel, train home, week later moved in with the woman I got stranded with and we were a couple for 5 years! The time we beached the van in a ditch and got pulled out by two elderly ladies. The time a guy in my work was knocked off his motorbike and a passer by saved his life by sitting on his chest in the middle of two lanes of speeding traffic at great risk to her own saftey and prevented him from worsening his injuries by moving. The time my father was unable to get home due to crazy amounts of snow and complete public transport shutdown and holed up for 48 hours in the pub.. landlord let him sleep in his bed.. by the way his GHB consists of a torch and 2 bottles of frosty jack.. he absolutely won't leave home without it!! Be prepared and all that.

I could go on. I'm always relying on the kindness of strangers. It's an occupational hazard of being a complete muppet. Thing is I'm always up for helping anyone. Ask for help, give help, don't be scared of all your fellow human beings. That will help you more than any bag full of tools.

London riots? Yeah well London's on a different planet isn't it?

Different rules apply