Hello from the Midlands

[Rasolam]

Hello everyone.
I am new to the site (obviously)
I am 32 (will celebrate my 33rd during lock down) and a small time prepper.
I have been prepping for 2 years by myself and this is the first time I have reached out to the prepper community.
My preps have been towards social unrest and collapse of the worldwide economy.
As you all know we are going through a serious issue at the moment and for better or worse it has opened my wife's eyes.
I suppose at this stage my only question to all is has this happened to you where a close loved one has come on board and how did they find the transition.
Thanks for reading
Ras

[Nurseandy]

Hi Ras, welcome, my wife has always been on board to a degree as we get snowed in occasionally.
Fully on board now and kids are reassured that we're as ready as can be for the future and that we have a comfortable months worth of supplies without rationing. We've been lucky though and the only preps we've to dip into was the toilet roll.
I'm still not allowed to hunt the rabbits in the field behind the house though.

[pseudonym]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

[Oakelm]

Welcome Ras from a fellow midlander

My OH has recently admitted he has always found my prepping a little odd but it never got in the way and his words I could have a weirder hobby than this. So hasn’t been totally on board but he has learnt so much about my prep and backups since the lockdown to the point he has said we probably could do with this/that for the next time. And planned some more dedicated storage for it.

[Arzosah]

Welcome to the forum, Ras. Can't help you with the partner issue, sorry - but with wider family, I'm surprised to learn about the level of stores some hold. Pleased, too! Good luck with your future prepping, look forward to hearing from you.

[Rasolam]

Thank you for the welcome and kind responses nice to speak to like minded people.
This may not be the best place to post but I'm looking for advice on the following.
For years I have been searching for decent prepper books. Not e books paperbacks. I have purchased a few seco d hand and whe they were OK they were not great. I do not want to list them so as to not break any fourm rules so could you maybe say what you have found useful (links not needed) just the name of the book or recommendations.
If this is not allowed I apologise in advance
Thanks
Ras

[cbp125]

Thank you for the welcome and kind responses nice to speak to like minded people.
This may not be the best place to post but I'm looking for advice on the following.
For years I have been searching for decent prepper books. Not e books paperbacks. I have purchased a few seco d hand and whe they were OK they were not great. I do not want to list them so as to not break any fourm rules so could you maybe say what you have found useful (links not needed) just the name of the book or recommendations.
If this is not allowed I apologise in advance
Thanks
Ras

I like this book, by John Seymour. It is a homesteading style book. good guide to most things

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Complete ... Sw7dReg4wW

[jennyjj01]

I suppose at this stage my only question to all is has this happened to you where a close loved one has come on board and how did they find the transition.
Thanks for reading
Ras

Hi Ras, and welcome.
I started prepping quite secretly at the time of the coinciding Brexit vote and US election. Call me paranoid, but I foresaw bad omens. I was deeply uncomfortable at the 'deceit by secrecy' of bringing loads of rations into the home and secreting them away. Ration stockpile of half a tonne, took some hiding
I saw it as a logical, zero cost, insurance with the added benefit of bulk buy savings. I never expected the OH to appreciate my 'paranoia' and didn't want to be seen as loopy. Along the way I also embraced the idea of esoteric, low meat and experimental soya meals, and prepping practices like de-hydrating, which would allow transition to living off rations.
Only recently, I've sought to out myself just to him and reveal OUR considerable food reserves by progressively allowing them to come to light That was proving successful and though eyebrows were raised, I was pleasantly surprised by how much my stash was accepted. I never did reveal the full extent of our 'extended pantry,' and I certainly never 'fessed up' to three years of secrecy, but we reached an unspoken understanding.
Now with the s*** hitting the fan, I'm able to bring out foods with confidence and say things like ' We have plenty of loo roll and beans'. Apart from hiding the evidence of long gone expiry dates, it's gone very well. And though I'm not panic buying or stripping the shelves, I get no push-back now, when I suggest buying a freezer shelf of meat rather than enough for one meal.
What I think I'm saying is that there will be no better time to get the OH on board. Deception by secrecy gnaws away at you and is to be avoided. Better to open up, even if it causes some 'debate'.
BUT BE SURE THAT YOU AND SHE BOTH KEEP SCHTUM You need to agree who not to share your secret with. That's the next hurdle I'm hitting.

Take care.
J

[Arzosah]

Joh n Seymour's books are wonderful. In a charity shop a while back, I found a very old BBC book entitled something like "Victorian Kitchen Garden", thats about bringing a walled garden of a big old country estate back into productivity.

In most sections on here, you'll find people mentioning books - just keep looking and you'll find them. I got The Thrifty Forager by Alice Fowler, that was good. If I think of any others, I'll come back.

[Rasolam]

Thank you all for the replies and advice on books and my original post much appreciated. Look forward to hopefully advising you all on anything I can help with.cheers
Ras