This past week the European Union urged all member states to advise their citizens to prepare a three-day emergency kit – not just for war but for a crisis of any kind. Yes, you read that right – not just for war!

Now that’s quite an umbrella and whilst war is not a word that can be slipped unnoticed into any sentence, its inclusion here really is worthy of more attention than it has otherwise received. Whilst I suspect we’d all prefer not to go to war, one which lasts three days is one we could probably buy into as it would allow us all to get back to the jaunt for an overpriced latte as part of the daily routine in jig time.

However, a quick peruse of what’s on the recommended list for the apparent three days and you quickly realise the three-day sales pitch was devised by a focus group who didn’t want to completely scare the horses; and its comprehensiveness really does suggest it is covering all eventualities – at least for a short while anyway.

It contains all you might think of the top of your head: food and water, blankets, first aid kit, torch, and a wind-up radio. No emergency kit would be complete without a whistle so one of them is on the itinerary too. All common-sense stuff really.

Read more by Calum Steele

But then things get darker as copies of identification documents and other essential “papers” make the list; cash, hygiene supplies and some form of shelter are also on it. Masks, plastic sheeting and duct tape too, and for some reason the perpetually useless Swiss Army knife finds a slot –........

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