Hello to everyone here, who, like me, presumably have been reading the signs and not liking them.  I'm a student of history, and things are looking ominously like they did at previous periods of history, just before social collapse, civil war, or inter-state wars.

Hopefully it won't happen.  Or if it does, maybe 'something will turn up', or the government will take care of us. Always look on the bright side of life, as the elevated gentlemen in Life of Bryan counselled us.

But ... just in case the worst happens, why not be prudently prepared? For a few hours of your time, and a few hundred pounds, you can increase your chances of surviving, or surviving in relative comfort  (okay, in relative non-discomfort) for a few weeks or months.  So why not do it?

No one knows the future, and we can imagine a whole range of unpleasant situations, from 'the end of the world as we know it' Mad Max scenarios, to just having to remain indoors for a few weeks while our Highly Competent Authorities sort out the situation and get the electricity turned back on and the supermarket shelves re-stacked. And anything in between.

In most of these situations, even a bit of prepping, so you and your family can remain indoors instead of being forced to venture out on the mean streets, would be well worth it.  So why not? At worst you'll have some supplies you never need, and the small burden of remembering to eat up the food going out of date and replacing it. And a bit less storage space. And a reputation as a nutter (but I already have that).

Anyhow, that's how I think. As for who I am ... an old American who has lived in the UK since before Mrs Thatcher, pbuh; with a BA in history from an American Ivy, an 11B10 in killing people from the US Army, an MSc and PhD in Computer Science from the UK National Council of Academic Awards. I tutor kids in maths and science and used to teach at university, mainly database. I'm a not-stupid and I read a lot, both books and journals and serious websites. It's because I read a lot that I'm a 'prepper'.