Michelle · Her counter · Upper East Side · salt 85 wearing Theory

UK households are being urged to stock up on essentials in case of emergencies: bottled water, canned food, a hand-crank radio. Nine items on the government's list. Michelle, eating caviar at eleven in the morning, could never.

The Independent ran it this morning: UK households urged to stock up on essential items in case of emergencies. The Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, went on Sky News to back the government's Prepare advice, which has asked households to keep a few days of supplies since 2023; in July 2026 the Cabinet Office said a national campaign would launch later this year, citing a growing number of sub-threshold attacks from Russia and increasingly severe weather. The list is nine items: several days of any medication, a battery or wind-up torch, a power bank, a battery or wind-up radio, spare batteries, a first-aid kit, hand sanitiser and wet wipes, bottled water (2.5 to 3 litres a person a day to survive, 10 to be comfortable) and food that keeps and needs no cooking, plus a tin opener. New York this morning: 66 and mostly clear, heading for 72 and partly sunny. Michelle takes the list personally.