Prepping for Armageddon in France (with a smile)
The yellow vest movement is quickly growing in pace all over France and after noticing one of our supermarkets without food on its shelves yesterday, we decided today to find one which did and stock up on supplies. We did this because it is hard to see how the yellow jacket movement is going to be resolved any time soon and in the event of civil war we might even find ourselves without tap water or electricity... so it is better to be safe than sorry.
For those of you who are thinking my reaction to what is happening here in France is extreme, I suggest you read the article I posted yesterday.
The French have revolution in their blood.
What did we buy?
The basics. Water, fire & food.
WATER
More important than food, our first thought was how we would make drinking water.
Online we ordered a filter system so that we can drink from our canal which runs all year from the mountains.
The Sawyer screw fits on any plastic bottle and filters up to 100,000 gallons. The disadvantage with the (cheaper) mini system we bought is that it filters slower. We can live with that, but it is my intention to buy another as a spare.
FIRE
Just in case the power is gone for months and the lighters run out...
This is the Light My Fire, a handy little guy which is also a whistle and will give us 3000 strikes.
It creates a serious amount of sparks with each strike and we shouldn't need any more than 20 to get a fire started.
I went for one with bright colours in case it gets dropped in the woods. This colour will stand out.
FOOD
We don't have too much money so we are stocking up on food little by little with each visit we make to the supermarket.
Dry foods and tinned foods are the order of the day here:
Rice, pasta, lentils, quinoa, oats, beans, peas, sweetcorn, chickpeas, tuna, sardines...
Whatever you fancy, as long as it keeps.
EXTRAS
- MUSIC
At home I have a guitar which is missing two of its strings, so a new set has been ordered and should we be confined to our village for a few months, now I can at least add some of my home made music to the mix.
- SOLAR & LIGHT
I have two solar panels which I've been traveling with for a long time already. The essential tool of any self respecting digital nomad! One of them charges a lithium ion battery which charges a bunch of other things, including torches & the computer.
The other is slightly different. While living in Bali last year I came across a company who make The JouleStick and after buying one I ended up making them this film:
- RADIO
We also bought a small radio so if the power goes down we can hear what is going on in the world. Though it will most likely be propaganda!
- HEATER
The last thing we bought were a few nuts & bolts and some terracotta pots in order to make ourselves some candle powered heaters! It is cold during the winter so this could be important. Check this video to learn to basic system we are using.
Always look on the bright side!
The last thing I want to say about all of this is that while it is easy to get sucked in to negative thoughts it is important to approach it with a smile and remain the moment. If we feel ourselves to be spending too many hours thinking about armageddon, a few hours of playing with the kids is a good leveller. It's all about balance.
And the knowledge that everything is exactly as it should be.
I am not expecting armageddon but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be prepared for it.
We will be running a trial 24h period before christmas with no power or running water, just to make sure we have thought of everything.
Should be fun!
Perhaps even as fun as the day I whipped my head with stinging nettles ;)
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