The Core

We were without power for a week in 2011 in the winter and 3 days without power in the summer in 2009. It was no party.

The thing that most people in a city don't realize is that only so much water has been pumped up to where it can be gravity fed. When the power goes out and you drain your uphill reservoir, the water stops running, and that's when the power outage starts to get really unpleasant. At some point the diesel backup generators for the phone system go out too, and then it gets lonely.

People who live in the country with a well, a septic system and a lot more DIY infrastructure have mostly experienced this, but few people in a city have.

have to admit we have a general mid term plan to be able to be off grid if necessary - we have a multifuel stove as well as central heating, use gas as well as electric (electric ignition but you can get around that) and solar panels although no battery storage yet. plus a generator which we could use if necessary - but its by no means perfect - unless we had prior warning and could stockpile diesel for the generator not sure how we'd be pumping it with no power to the petrol station! We have plenty of water in the butts but not really drinking quality - I guess we could rig something on boiling it and could gather it fresh for drinking as long as we had some rain.

Our thoughts are really that we have about 10 power cuts a year where we are - often for a day at a time - if we go properly rural it becomes more likely and we want to be able to cope with that. I'm not sure we'd ever go the full prepper route and be ready for total anarchy, although it's sort of interesting thinking the options through

It does slightly scare me that I know people in their 40's who can't do a basic fix on anything ... the hysteria in the UK over Christmas when people lost power was a real eye opener over how bad things could get if the sh## ever really hits the fan!

A lot of the stuff RC mentions, I can't really prepare for but I have tried to to do some things like Gurtie has done.

Stockpiled a supply of propane cylinders and a propane camp heater and stove.

If gasoline becomes scarce I have a scooter that gets 90 mpg to go to stores.

Last year I bought a couple of dehydrated food emergency tubs from Costco.

I've thought about a generator but I doubt it would survive the emp.  Still its on the list.

I'd like to put a wood pellet stove in the basement.

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>water

Gurtie, get one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Vestergaard-Frandsen-527950-LifeStraw-Personal-Filter/dp/B006QF3TW4/

You live within minutes (but on the better side -Durham, otoh, would go full Mad Max in days) of an urban area that is woefully unprepared.  I suggest you make friends with that arms dealer that lives behind you.  (Only sorta joking.)

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>Only sorta joking

Clarification: about the arms part. NOT joking about Durham.

We are 36 miles from Durham.

Arms dealer lives across the street.
Next door is the guy flying the DON'T TREAD ON ME FLAG.

We're scaring (or should that be scarring) Gurtie and, IMHO, she's the best hope for UK survival. Sexyboy ain't got a chance.

Seriously, prepare for whatever 3-weeks-wihout-power scenario that fits your conscience. Stretching from there isn't too hard.