In the same way that a new virus in China at the start of 2020 sounded quite abstract, so too did recent bomb threats on planes across Europe. Back then, most of us really only took notice of Covid-19 when a case was confirmed on our shores. Similarly, it’s only since we’ve heard about the freezer hacks in SuperValu stores, and the bomb threats at media organisations in Dublin, that we’re sitting up straighter in our seats.
Last Friday night, Taoiseach Micheál Martin sat in the hot seat on The Late Late Show, and you’d have to question if he was there to calm the nation or to give us a kick up the backside to get organised for a hybrid attack. Perhaps it was a bit of both – especially in light of the fact that 50 European presidents and prime ministers were getting ready to arrive to Dublin.
But after switching off the TV, I, like others I’m sure, started to rummage around the back of the kitchen drawer for that emergency booklet from the Government – the one that I half glanced at when it arrived in the post a few weeks ago.
In the event of one of these hybrid attacks, I’d like to think the Government has a few more tricks up their sleeves than this little booklet. But it did get me thinking, there’s no harm in being a bit practical about a potential situation.
It reminded me of a very sensible article that Margaret Leahy wrote in Irish Country Living recently (28 October) about being storm ready. Arguably, her advice is better reading than the emergency booklet. She divides people into three types – the ‘sure we’ll be grand’ cohort who bury their head in the sand; the ‘I have a few candles brigade’, who have good intentions but haven’t executed said intentions; and type three, the organised and prepared.
As someone that was sent to the Girl Guides as a child (or as many will remember, the Brownies), I figured I better move from type two to type three and get a few things in order – torches, a power bank and an extra can of gas for the barbecue.
It has also formed part of the argument for a pricier purchase in our home. Over the past year, we’ve done a renovation on our previously poorly insulated, mostly original house built in the 1930s. We’re now super-insulated with toasty heating from a heat pump. But in the event of a storm, or a more sinister attack on our electricity system, that underfloor heating isn’t going to do us much good. And so we’re installing a wood-burning stove. I’ve gotten a few laughs at the ridiculous notion of putting a stove into an A-rated house but I think I’ll sleep a bit better at night knowing that there is one heat source in our home that is old-school.
Arguably, many farming families are better prepared than those living in cities. Headlamps are an essential part of calving season, and I recently noted the Eircode of a colleague who informed me he has a generator that switches into action if the electricity goes. He says it’s for the animals, but he’s better prepared than I am.
And if you remember the supermarket dash when Covid-19 hit, it might not be a bad idea to stock up on a few tins of beans and some water.
You know, just to try and avoid the madness.
