Just Curious, you understand....

[MaryN]

O.K., you lot, I'm just being nosy, but what started you off into this prepping lark? I can tell by some of the writings that some of you are very serious, but was it some event or just a natural progression?

[NorthernRaider]

In my case it was during the Cold War and I was on exercise in Germany, sat in a hole one evening having a brew our company got chatting about our role in the BAOR ( Brit army of the Rhine) and our job in trying to hold back 2.5 million soviets and 3000 T72 tanks with 55,000 brits and 300 Cheiftain tanks.

Our OC explained that we had NBC suits, masks, atropine pens, over pressure vehicles, bomb proof prof command structures, and millions of pounds worth of other stuff to help us survive a nuclear war. He then proceeded to tell us about the super bunkers in the UK for the senior military staff, damned royal family, senior ministers and politicians etc including one in Canada to house the Brit government during a major nuclear war.

This sounded great until one of the NCOs asked " Sir, what facilities and kit to protect our families back home ( both UK and Germany) if a nuclear war started? "

The officer told " Nothing, theres no provision for the shelter, protection and welfare for your families or the population back home, the government have decided its NOT COST EFFECTIVE to protect the population in general but theres no shortage of money to protect the Royals, prime minister, his cabinet and his hangers on !!!"

That was the moment three things happened to me, 1 I became a republican 2 I lost all loyalty to the UK and 3 I decided if the government would not protect my family I bloody well would. not long after that I found a copy of Guns n Ammo in Darlington indoor market and there was an article by a guy called Mel Tappan and he was writing about the survivalist movement in the US, that was it about 1978 / 79 ish I became a survivalist ( now called prepper , but I think its completely unsuitable these days)

[Barneyboy]

yeah good one ,for me my nan and grandad aways had stored food ,as i was brought up by them it rubed off on me and the state of things now aways liked having stuff put away

[Highlander]

I started in a similar way to NR,..it was in the Army that the seeds were first sown,.. but to be honest I didn't realize it at the time,..and I don't know how those seeds grew, it was a very slow process.

We, [Bracken and I ] didn't really start putting what we wanted to do until years later when we purchased the house were we are now,.. we started with things like solar power to the house, cavity wall insulation, and multi fueled heating

So to answer the question, it was the Army training that first started it off,..and knowing things that the `sheeple` didn't,...it was scary stuff in those day.

[NorthernRaider]

(15 February 2013, 20:57)Highlander Wrote: So to answer the question, it was the Army training that first started it off,..and knowing things that the `sheeple` didn't,...it was scary stuff in those day.

Fooking terifying for me esp when I ended up in a TA RMP unit and we were told of some of the emergency war laws that would be applied and scary stuff like the Free Fire Zones given to the Yanks in the UK , this allowed the yanks to bulldoze anything and everything within a seven mile radius of any of their bases or depots or formations in the UK to allow them free fire against any soviet incursions, all Brits living in those area would be thrown out or put under American military control.

[Scythe13]

Immitation of those I admire...the super rich! And a book by an author I've met and look up to. Oddly, another author hero of mine (not met him though :-( ), has done almost the same thing in his latest book!!!

[Straight Shooter]

For me when i started work" 1968 " worked on a job (row of three storey houses) in one of the houses (cellars ) was turned into a food store and air raid shelter....i posted this a few months back , it was mind blowing, and extreemly well done after years reflecting back of what i saw, then " chariots of the gods " eric von danakin ...for some unusual reason.... interest in pyramids from the age of six, forty two years later and getting on 179 books here i am , with the internet there,s more infomation and from all over the planet in seconds , crossref becomes easy and instant ....not many places to hide for the people running to show and they get naked quite alot and around the world they go in quick time , you SEE alot of things going on , thats whats made me shift up the gears somethings up BIG style i wish i could tell you the WHAT and the WHEN......but i can,t ....all i can say is i think its not that far away ...just my feel on it thats all ....a feeling

[Scythe13]

Same question to you too Mary
I know you've already said, but lets bring it together for this thread.

[Madgirl151]

My interest started through all the out there theories that were going about and took me a long time to do more than just buy a little extra. the more i looked online and learned of lots of theories the more i didnt want anything to happen to my kids if anything did happen.

[MaryN]

The best way I can describe it is that it's like watching a giant elastic band streeeetching, and wondering when it would be smart to duck!

Do you think there is anything in this "collective unconscious" theory whereby ideas or feelings are transmitted through some form to others? Just wondered if this uneasy feeling that so many people are feeling (and can't explain) is some atavistic and instinctive reaction to a possible threat. Oops, wandered off into the ether there...