Calling all female preppers

[Rudolf]

I suppose what I'm also interested in is: are there different types of preppers? I think in the mind's eye, people (non preppers) think of preppers as extreme Rambo types, living in the Red states in America with a collection of guns under their bed.

I get the feeling that not all preppers want to be identified with these kinds of preppers.

There is also a perception that all preppers are men and in their 40s and 50s and ex-army; additionally - that preppers do not work "ordinary" jobs - i.e. office jobs.

Is prepping something new/growing/shrinking in the UK?

As a prepper, has there been a pivotal moment for you when the lightbulb went on, so to speak. Have you always been a prepper by nature or did something that happened to you or that you watched on television, for example, change your outlook.

What would you say to the cynics whose knee jerk reaction to preppers is: "They're mad/paranoid"? I've read the comments on the bottom of quite a few newspaper articles and there does seem to be a lot of scepticism. In the course of researching this piece, I have mentioned it to colleagues and some friends - the knee jerk reaction from a lot of them was: "It's never going to happen." When asked what they meant by "It", they usually said something like nuclear war.

What, in your minds, would constitute a situation you would prep for? I know that different preppers have different motives and different ideas about how the future might pan out: artificial intelligence, natural disasters, pandemics - preppers have mentioned these concerns to me: are there others?

What, in your view, should the average person just have at home in case of emergency?

When you talk to friends and colleagues about prepping, what is their reaction? Or do you keep prepping to yourself?

Thank you!

[unsure]

i will admit to being between 40 and 50 and male .
its not about pandemics or nukes .
its about getting through day to day problems that every one goes through , illness , loss of income for what ever reason . even bad weather .
i see it as simple as ,, you have home insurance ,car insurance . its just another form of insurance , one you hope you never need but it gives me peace of mind to know that if i lost my job or was unable to work , then any money i do have can go to paying my bills until i get sorted out .

[digi]

99% of people who drive a car have 'prepped' (a real word? lol). They have a spare wheel, preparing themselfs for needing it in case they get stuck due to a flat tyre caused by any number of things, shrapnel in the road, random vandal with a sharp spike, blowout from not keeping an eye on the tread levels, etc

if they didnt have a spare, and they needed it, they would be screwed. if it wasnt normal to carry one, those not carrying one would justify it saying 'ive never needed one, so why bother' untill they need one, and theyre screwed, and from that day, they would ensure they had one going forwards

the number of people who can actually change a spare though is a topic for another thread lol

[Yorkshire Andy]

99% of people who drive a car have 'prepped' (a real word? lol). They have a spare wheel, preparing themselfs for needing it in case they get stuck due to a flat tyre caused by any number of things, shrapnel in the road, random vandal with a sharp spike, blowout from not keeping an eye on the tread levels, etc

if they didnt have a spare, and they needed it, they would be screwed. if it wasnt normal to carry one, those not carrying one would justify it saying 'ive never needed one, so why bother' untill they need one, and theyre screwed, and from that day, they would ensure they had one going forwards

the number of people who can actually change a spare though is a topic for another thread lol

But how many of these check the said spare tyre its not unusual to go to the car and find it flat / very low on pressure... ...

Then look at most new cars they come with a can of goo and a pump........ and don't even come with a jack or brace

[digi]

99% of people who drive a car have 'prepped' (a real word? lol). They have a spare wheel, preparing themselfs for needing it in case they get stuck due to a flat tyre caused by any number of things, shrapnel in the road, random vandal with a sharp spike, blowout from not keeping an eye on the tread levels, etc

if they didnt have a spare, and they needed it, they would be screwed. if it wasnt normal to carry one, those not carrying one would justify it saying 'ive never needed one, so why bother' untill they need one, and theyre screwed, and from that day, they would ensure they had one going forwards

the number of people who can actually change a spare though is a topic for another thread lol

But how many of these check the said spare tyre its not unusual to go to the car and find it flat / very low on pressure... ...

Then look at most new cars they come with a can of goo and a pump........ and don't even come with a jack or brace

yep this is true.

last month a got a brand new van, and getting home and looking over the new toy, found that it didnt have a spare wheel in the cage underneath, so after speaking with the dealer, was told that a can of foam was behind the drivers seat (which i had found). After a very short conversation about how much had been spent etc, a brand new wheel was soon in the cage.

[jansman]

Rudolf says she gets the feeling that not all preppers wish to be identified along with the 'Rambo' types. This is very true. Trouble is, when journalists get hold of a story about us, they ALWAYS twist it round so that we look that way! Sorry to be cynical- but that is how it seems.

[mushroom]

Rudolf - have you tried Mumsnet... they have just started their own dedicated Preppers Board... job done!

[Arzosah]

I suppose what I'm also interested in is: are there different types of preppers? I think in the mind's eye, people (non preppers) think of preppers as extreme Rambo types, living in the Red states in America with a collection of guns under their bed.

Yes, there are many different types of preppers. Lots of Rambo wannabes join this forum and drift away when they realise none of us are like that.

I get the feeling that not all preppers want to be identified with these kinds of preppers.

You're right I wouldn't want to be anywhere near any of that lot, I think I'd be very uncomfortable around them.

There is also a perception that all preppers are men and in their 40s and 50s and ex-army; additionally - that preppers do not work "ordinary" jobs - i.e. office jobs.

I'm female, I'm self employed, but I *used* to work in an office, if that helps And I have my own office at home

Is prepping something new/growing/shrinking in the UK?

Well, think of the BBC TV series Edwardian Farm, or Victorian Farm, any of those - we've had an industrial sector for a long time, but even today there are smallholders and crofters who carry on growing and preserving their own food, and its a sizeable proportion of what they eat. In the last 20 years, maybe, the Just In Time culture has meant that there's less and less slack in the system - but there are sometimes breaks in the water main, or a drivers' strike, or a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, or a cyberattack on a bank website, and Just In Time can't cope with it - so most preppers on here (I think! I should only speak for myself) make sure that short term problems can be coped with.

Lots of the fiction is apocalyptic, its true. Fiction is nearly always more intense than real life - look at EastEnders, Albert Square is like no other square in East London that's what fiction does.

As a prepper, has there been a pivotal moment for you when the lightbulb went on, so to speak. Have you always been a prepper by nature or did something that happened to you or that you watched on television, for example, change your outlook.

Arthritis, and viral illnesses that saw me being investigated for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Not a Rambo in sight.

What would you say to the cynics whose knee jerk reaction to preppers is: "They're mad/paranoid"?

Reading the articles that prompt such comments, I'd say those comments were the only sane response. The vast majority of articles are contemptuous of the interviewees, to an extreme degree.

I've read the comments on the bottom of quite a few newspaper articles and there does seem to be a lot of scepticism. In the course of researching this piece, I have mentioned it to colleagues and some friends - the knee jerk reaction from a lot of them was: "It's never going to happen." When asked what they meant by "It", they usually said something like nuclear war.

Well, absolutely. I don't think there's going to be a nuclear war either.

What, in your minds, would constitute a situation you would prep for? I know that different preppers have different motives and different ideas about how the future might pan out: artificial intelligence, natural disasters, pandemics - preppers have mentioned these concerns to me: are there others?

I've no idea if there are others, and I'm absolutely not prepping for artificial intelligence, I don't even know how the two concepts can be linked. I'm prepping to stay as healthy as possible over this winter; this time last year the British public was told there was a 10% chance of power cuts - I don't want to have a cold house for days, which would lower my immune response considerably.

What, in your view, should the average person just have at home in case of emergency?

A first aid kit, a bit of food and water and ways to heat it. You could do worse than look at one of the local authority resilience forums, like this one, which gives flood advice for people in Lancashire: http://www.lancsresilience.org.uk/Pages ... oding.html or this one for Londoners: http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly ... resilience. The preparing yourself for emergencies page: http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly ... mergencies is pretty good. As far as what to keep at home - 3 days worth of food and water seems to be the mantra, but I'd say it should be 7 days of tinned and dried foods, and a camping stove of some description to heat things up. Preppers generally have more than that, but thats the bare minimum of common sense, in my view. For instance, my mother lives hundreds of miles away, and only 50 yards or so from an area that the Environment Agency covered in red during the floods at the start of 2014. It could have been difficult to get to her, by the time we knew she needed help. 7 days gives a safety margin.

When you talk to friends and colleagues about prepping, what is their reaction? Or do you keep prepping to yourself?

I talk about it a bit - with quite a few people, the reaction has been, "ooh, I didn't think of that. And they double up on their shopping for a bit.

Thank you!

You're welcome. All of the above is on this forum here and there, so I'm just collating, really.

Will you let us know what you write? Will you bring the link to what you write to this thread? Will you stay around to answer questions about what you've written?

[mushroom]

Will you let us know what you write? Will you bring the link to what you write to this thread?

Trouble is Arzosah that The Times is 'pay to view' online!!

[Arzosah]

Will you let us know what you write? Will you bring the link to what you write to this thread?

Trouble is Arzosah that The Times is 'pay to view' online!!

We'll see the first couple of paragraphs tho - that should give a bit of an indication ... and there are libraries