Is this the way to......

[NorthernRaider]

Is this the way to……..

© 2011Northern Raider

I was just watching Stephen Kings survivalist classic “The Stand” again this afternoon and it set me pondering our longer term survival a bit.
Let us assume for a moment we survive reasonably intact whatever form the collapse turns out to be, We are secure in our retreats and rural piles or still getting by in our city apartments with their rooftop gardens. We made it past the end of the world as we know it.

So what next?

I suggest that in time we inevitably will start to run short of certain items such as tyres, batteries, eye glasses, oil, canned goods etc. Eventually we will need to consider getting “things rolling again”

I am already discounting the agrarian back to basics lifestyle of the Amish etc I want more and better for my family. I LIKE many of the trappings and conveniences of modern society. I do enjoy the prospect of growing much of my own food but equally I do enjoy the benefits if electricity, running water, fresh canned produce, machine made clothes and automotives

I did not put all this effort into getting my family through a collapse for them ending up living like pre 1900 Highland crofters. I think most of us at heart want to pick some of the better facets of modern society and blend them into a more traditional lifestyle.

Can we for the sake of argument say we all roughly agree in principle agree some sort of hybridised society is likely to form, but what will our priorities be?

I believe that during the collapse and in the IMMEDIATE aftermath only we will seek to contact other reliable and known to each other preppers. We will want to meet, talk, barter, learn and trade with each other as the old society and sheeple fade away. In this I assumed in previous articles that we would probably gather twice or more a year to trade etc.; Perhaps on the two solstices (is there more?) maybe down south at say Glastonbury Tower and in the north at say the Angel of the North.
Iconic locations known to millions and easy to find from a distance that would act as focal points for us, IE At the summer solstice we know that other preppers will gather to barter trade and talk at Glastonbury.

BUT after all that renewing and bonding we will need to consider the longer term implications, and to be honest I don’t think that we could even come close to restoring power, gas, water, sewage etc to even a fraction of the UK. But we could on a LOCAL basis providing we know to gather at a suitable location and bring with us enough skills to get some sort of rebuilding process up and running.

I note that both Stephen King (The Stand) and Terry Nation (Survivors) both chose in their novels to get the survivors to migrate to a (fictional) location that had an electrical power station and a heritage railway line in the area. Their objectives were to get the power back on to provide light, heat and to pump water and sewage. The railway which conveniently passed near a river was to become the hub of a transport network using river craft and steam engines to provide a link between the coast and the farms where the survivors were settling. This would allow them to bring in coal, timber and materials to feed the power station and railway communities, which in turn can provide power for mills, pumps, factories, farms, pumped water, even hot water locally, transport, trade and a sense of community.

What I am trying to say is I think we should NOW, at this time be trying to locate and map locations within the UK that can provide us with something as similar as possible on the understanding that in time, after the collapse we can start to explore and perhaps team up with other preppers at a place we have already identified.

I openly admit I do not know what or where we should be looking or even in what order we should be looking at things. Off the top of my head I would say Heritage railways have the most to offer in the short term and are most likely to still be be viable after a collapse. Many power stations become permanently crippled if they are just allowed to stop and go without preventative maintenance except perhaps PV, Wind and Hydro systems.

So folks when the dust settles and your mind starts to venture further than just surviving where should we be focusing our attention?
NR

[Kenneth Eames]

What we need to do is to find the areas where people live. When we have this knowledge then, we can make contact with others who are closest to us. When we are in contact with people in our areas, then we can push further afield and make contact with the next group ansd so on. Of course, some people will want to remain on their own without group contact, this is entirely up to them. Kenneth Eames.

[bigpaul]

great idea, that is fine for now, but what happens after TSHTF when lots of people are dead, or have had to move on to their bug out location, many people will be spread out over a large area, keeping their heads down just trying to stay alive and are going to be very wary of large(or small) groups coming into THEIR area.

[Kenneth Eames]

I was thinking of numbers for defence and finding a bug out place, where we would all go. Members would need a years supply of food cached nearby. Other requirements would be cached as well. We would then sit it out, whilst we fished and hunted. In Western Scotland there are many suitable areas away from cities and urban areas. I think it is worth considering. Kenneth Eames.

[Skean Dhude]

I like the id3ea the issue though is OPSEC. We don't want to advertise our situation nor do we want to find that our name and location is on a list somewhere where people can call and know there is food and supplies.

I have never seen it as making a big group. I don't think it will work but imo a small group of friends will be the way. That is why I set up the contact db. Plus we can meet others in meets and so on and get closer to like minded people. Even though we are preppers we are not all the same. Most are Alpha males and we have vastly differing opinions.

[bigpaul]

i think a small group is the way to go, with a large group you need too much of everything inc food, too many people someone is bound to gob off and others will then know where you .and your food, is.

[Kenneth Eames]

Thank you both SD and Big Paul, You are probably both right. However, the West of Scotland is a very good place for anyone to bug out, especially if they are uncertain of where to go. I believe the Crofters Commision are trying to obtain more crofters to take up unused crofts. This might appeal to people who would like to have a smallholding. I should think that you would need a few thousand to start up if you were successful in obtaining a croft. Kenneth Eames.

[bigpaul]

(31 October 2011, 14:08)Kenneth Eames Wrote: Thank you both SD and Big Paul, You are probably both right. However, the West of Scotland is a very good place for anyone to bug out, especially if they are uncertain of where to go. I believe the Crofters Commision are trying to obtain more crofters to take up unused crofts. This might appeal to people who would like to have a smallholding. I should think that you would need a few thousand to start up if you were successful in obtaining a croft. Kenneth Eames.

that sounds a good deal Kenneth, i fancy the idea of a croft, pity Scotland is so far away (from me), still good luck to anyone who wants to go for it.

[cryingfreeman]

(31 October 2011, 14:08)Kenneth Eames Wrote: Thank you both SD and Big Paul, You are probably both right. However, the West of Scotland is a very good place for anyone to bug out, especially if they are uncertain of where to go. I believe the Crofters Commision are trying to obtain more crofters to take up unused crofts. This might appeal to people who would like to have a smallholding. I should think that you would need a few thousand to start up if you were successful in obtaining a croft. Kenneth Eames.

The west coast of Scotland, particularly that region north of the Great Glen, is the least densely populated region of western Europe and has many other merits to commend it regardless of whether one believes in the necessity of either an isolated retreat or a rural settlement instead. One possible downside though is the lingering resentment towards the English some natives still cling to because of the Clearances. In a major crisis, that could become a survival issue itself.

[grumpy old man]

the sas use 4 man teams all are alpha males but eah man has a say and a quick vote on the action taken because the man incharge might miss something which someone else picks up on and if you a sheep the you go to the slaughter don't you
the idea of a group of preppers meeting some where is good also getting together for safty in no. is also good.