Earlier this month, the government launched its ‘Prepare’ campaign, urging us to plan for all manner of emergencies and put together a kit of food and supplies big enough to last several days. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner helpfully revealed what she’d be stockpiling: ‘Mascara, concealer, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, some baked beans and a tin of custard – I like custard.’

This is perfect timing: Putin seems to be breathing a little more heavily down our necks and – phew! – I’ve just moved into a house with an understairs cupboard big enough for an emergency pantry.

A quick glance online tells me I can buy so-called ‘go bags’ complete with first aid kits, head torches, mess tins and fire starters from roughly £175. All very useful, no doubt, but not much fun.

So I dig a little further and come across the X page of Lucy Easthope, a disaster expert who’s advised the government on all manner of catastrophes, including, most recently, the Covid pandemic. She suggests: ‘It’s OK for the 72-hour [emergency] cupboard to be things you like.’ Say no more. In the spirit of Angela Rayner, I shall make my own survival kit.

The truth about Gazan ‘journalists’

Is Badenoch cutting through?

Is........

© The Spectator