‘Is it okay? Is it clear? Should I come in?’
He told her it was fine. He told her to come in. She had no idea. She hadn’t even been there. She thought she knew what it had been like, but really she didn’t. The children hadn’t told her anything. She hadn’t asked. She just thought she knew. He came down the stairs just as she stepped into the hallway. Her hand went up to her face, to cover the smell. Her feet sank into the sodden carpet. Somewhere around the top of her head, a thick black smear marked where the water had risen to. Above it, the wallpaper’s stripes looked almost fresh. Below it, they were blurred and streaked with mud.
‘It’ll be okay though, won’t it? We can get this all cleaned up. We’ll be all right, won’t we?’
She didn’t seem to know what she was talking about. She wasn’t even looking. Everything was ruined. Everything was completely and totally ruined. The carpets and the floorboards would have to come out. The plaster would have to be knocked off the walls, the wiring redone. It would take months. It would be easier to walk away. Just like she had done. He still didn’t know why she’d come back. He didn’t know what she wanted from him now, from any of them. He wondered if it was the going away she felt bad about, or just the timing of it. He wondered if she realised how much the children associated her going away with what had happened. He watched her rubbing at the wall, and looking at the muck which came away on her fingers. She sniffed at it. Bloody hell. What was she doing. She took a picture down from the wall, wiped the glass clear to look at it, and threw it out on the front lawn. He went out to the car to get some tools and some gloves. He looked at the picture. When he came back into the house she was standing in the lounge, holding up one end of the rotten sofa, waiting for him to take the other end. She had no idea.
The Last Ditch
Kexby
Notes for discussion points to be raised at next house-meeting, re: early preparation measures needing to be actioned asap:endnote i
Perimeter:
Existing drainage ditches already form natural boundary. Enlarge these to create realistically defendable space.1 Use spoil to create raised bank behind. Plant raised bank with 3 rows hedging:
– outer row, thorned (blackthorn, hawthorn etc)
– middle row, dense (box, yew etc)
– inner row, fruit-bearing (sloe, rosehip, hazel, raspberry, blackberry, etc)
Benefits: wind-shelter for crops within site, visual barrier, physical obstruction. Last point most vital: ditch must be wide enough to prevent vehicles approaching, & hedging must be dense enough to prevent penetration.2
Research poss. extra line of defence within hedging perimeter (spiked poles, tripwires, traps etc) to be erected at short notice in emergency.
Above creates obvious vulnerability at entry/exit point. Suggest moveable barricade to be wheeled into place when req. (Booby-trapped?) NB vulnerable entry/exit can be advantage; provides expected focus for attack/defence.
Successfully defended space as detailed above carries risk of entrapping occupants in siege situation. Plan tunnel construction to enable final escape from poss. prolonged siege. Tunnel to originate in cellar of main house and surface prob. in woods. Approx 450 metres, forced ventilation req3.ii
Reject options such as eg electrical fencing, floodlighting, automatic gates & barriers, etc; defence options must be resilient to loss of power.
Reject also watchtowers, etc; would attract attention both currently and at time of crisis. Suggest planting fast-growing evergreen at corners of property, to be used as concealed look-out points.
J, T, S, R, B4 to form Perimeter Working Group. J to then take lead on tunnel. T to plan hedge planting & source stock/cuttings. (Tunnel likely to cause most disagreement at group meeting; ‘too much time/work for unlikely purpose’ (!) etc etc. Discuss with J before raising at meeting, gain support. Refer to likely results re: children in event of being unable to escape siege. J identifies v. closely with children so this angle likely to be effective.)
Food Production:iii
Already well established but dependent on imported supplements. Missing elements inc: cooking oil, sugar, salt, herbs/spices, flour, nuts, staples eg pasta/rice, pulses, other soya-substitute products. Plans for resolving shortfall, to be put to Food Production Group:
– Cooking oil; production would be land-intensive/time-intensive, therefore suggest doing without.
– Sugar; M already researching use of sugar-beet w/ v. mixed results. Likely to be land-intensive. Will recommend extra stores, plus consider alts e.g. honey from beehives? (Controversial, see below.)
– Salt; stores. Trading might be feasible once crisis matures, but in early stages reliance on stores only option. Suggest acclimatising to significantly reduced usage now. (Propose w/ appeal to health lobby, esp. N.)
– Herbs/spices; some already in production. Balance high demand for land against use of herbs/spices in reducing demand for salt, also maintaining appetite.
– Flour; land-intensive & energy-intensive to produce, also energy-intensive to use (baking bread, cakes etc). Recommend other staples in place (primarily potato, also poss. oats). Concede to including some flour in stores; purchase chapatti flour ‘in error’ as this then has dual-purpose & could be transferred to PWG5 if required.
– Nuts; include in planting plans.
– Staples; pasta & rice unviable. Switch to potato as main staple.
– Pulses; increase production of runner beans/peas, harvest and dry for stores.
– Soya products; M has already researched soya-milk production, with good results (altho taste an issue). Recommend production of soya, as important source of protein. Also not attractive to raiders, could be used at point of greatest visibility as deterrent/decoy.
Other food production well in hand; fruit trees, fruit bushes, vegetable beds, potato beds, salads etc in polytunnels. Transfer ‘leisure’ sections of site to food production, eg lawn, children’s play area, wild flowers etc. (Children req. to work at time of crisis anyway.)
Concern over visibility of food production; address this with reference to PWG. Note risk of aerial surveillance, altho obv. reduced risk of this at time of crisis.6
Obv. gap in food-production plans = animals. Chickens for eggs & meat, bees for honey, poss. pigs for meat; wd be low-input in terms of time/land/feed requirements and high-output in terms of protein (& pig meat v. storable, ditto honey). BUT v. unlikely to be passed by group as currently constituted; majority opposed to animal use, despite apparent awareness of risk posed by coming crisis. Possible negotiating strategies to include:
– advocate bee-keeping ‘only’ for pollination purposes, later to suggest non-harmful harvesting of ‘small’ amount of honey.
– arrange ‘rescue’ of chickens from other locations, near end of laying period. Ensure cock ‘accidentally’ included in this group. Advocate using eggs as they appear; also allow number of successful hatchings. Allow natural lifespans/natural deaths; at later stage, arrange accidental deaths + advocate use of meat.
– ditto ‘rescue’ of young pigs.
– Alternative to above: gradual reconstitution of group membership to one with more practical approach to coming crisis. (See Group Analysis, below, esp. recommendations re fewer young children/old people.)
Food Reserves:
Stores already being built up; continue & accelerate this process. Note need to include multi-vitamin supplements, emergency feed rations, and medical supplies (see Exit Strategies, below).
Calculate level of stores req. to cover approx 24 months supply, eg equiv. 2 failed/stolen harvest seasons. Develop secure and/or concealed storage sites within main property. Also consider poss. secondary storage dump (v. well concealed) adj. to exit point of tunnel, to be utilised in event of escape from siege situation. (Need to be minimal, eg 1 x backpack per escapee.)
Energy:
Wood-fuel for heat & cooking. System already in place, but currently reliant on import. Obv. need to a) build up large store in
advance of crisis, this store to be v. well hidden & poss. rigged for defence; b) increase planting of coppice wood, eg willow etc, also pollarding of nut trees etc. Also clear need to reduce wood-fuel requirement by eg additional insulation measures, move towards predominantly raw-food diet, reduction in size of group.
Electrical energy generation already being researched and implemented, with R taking lead. Reiterate need for v. low-tech/low-maint. solutions; all parts/skills for repair must be available on site! Bring this up again at next meeting; PV7 impractical for this reason?
Remember crisis will reduce energy requirements anyway: computers/phones/TV become redundant. (Non-networked electronic entertainment wd be negotiable.) Main req. wd therefore be lighting: may need to adopt blackout policy anyway, to avoid drawing attention to site or property.
(General note: will need to balance appearance of dereliction & unattractiveness with not actually looking abandoned enough to encourage occupation attempts. This will need to be improvised by reference to local properties. But blackout likely starting point.)
Water/Waste:
Compost toilets already fully functioning. Obv. need to ensure high hygiene standards maintained – any digestive illness wd be disastrous at time of crisis. Recent lapses in hygiene practice have been noted – to raise at next meeting.
Need for additional rainwater collection & storage. Cd be most important (& overlooked) aspect of crisis – energy restrictions will wreck mains water system. Also prone to sabotage by vested interest and/or forced medication by authority (eg emergency population reduction?).8
Relations with other Groups/Community:
Strong policy trend within group to building greater links with local community and with other s/s9 groups regionally. Need to argue against this. Risk of spreading resources too thinly, + raising awareness locally of resources here, + risk of exploitation and/or betrayal. (Theft, bad faith, attack, occupation, information-passing, etc etc.) Also risk of undue emotional attachment which would impact decision-making at time of crisis.
Group Analysis:iv
8 adult members of group (6 male, 2 female), w/ at least one other female + infant attempting to join. One current member not full-time resident, although otherwise fully committed.
3 children (plus potential infant).
Analysis:
J – late 30s, in relationship w/ R, 2 children. Good health. Expert in tunnel-digging, also general construction etc. Likely early member of PDTFG.10 High understanding of likely impact of crisis. Father of D, 10 month old, son of L who he had brief relationship with last year. L & D now want to join group; with obv. emotional/dynamic impact.
P11 – late 20s, currently single, 1 child not resident at property w/ minimal contact (good). Very good health. Expert in construction, strategy, logistics, unarmed combat. Early member of PDTFG (obv!). High awareness/understanding of crisis.
T – late 50s, divorced, children not known of, minimal contact w/ ex-wife & apparent minimal emotional attachment/concern. Background in forestry/conservation(!), expert in planting & plant maintenance, also expert in insulation/draught-proofing etc. Likely to be unsupportive of PDTFG, or any form of force resistance; but also unlikely to actively oppose it.
S – early 50s, 13 y/o daughter, Z, relationship with Z’s father unknown & undiscussed. Not always in good health. Unsupportive of crisis strategies; argues in favour of closer ties with local community. Poses significant risk to maintenance of secrecy. Current links w/ wider community risk issues of emotional attachment at the crisis time.
R – late 30s, in relationship with J, 2 children (T, 5, B, 8). Expert in electrical generation & maintenance. Also likely early member of PDTFG; has mentioned being in Cadet Force while at school, so useful expertise. Good understanding of crisis, altho sceptical (& sarcastic) at times.
B – early 20s, v. enthusiastic & energetic altho w/ limited practical skills. Key member of PDTFG, also of PWG. Prime potential for links with weapon sources; altho discussion of these links raises separate concerns & needs to be handled carefully. Good health but drinks & uses drugs v. heavily. Emotional attachments unknown; has alluded to number of short-term relationships within activist & party circles, unclear how these arise or are terminated but no evidence of undue emotional impacts.
M12 – early 30s (??), no known relationships or sig. emotional ties. Expert in unarmed combat, also enthusiastic contribution to construction tasks. Well connected in activist circles, thus often absent from site, but contributes well to workload anyway. Apparent ready access to cash & willingness to contribute. Highly engaged in discussion of crisis & response; some members of group critical/wary of this. Not yet discussed PDTFG, but likely to be keen early member.
N – mid 60s, minimal relationship ties (has alluded to ex-partner & children, but no known contact with them to date; whereabouts unknown). Expert in food production, crop management, storage, etc. Prime source of expertise within group in this field. Often in poor health, w/ tendency to unusual diet & supplement regimes to combat this. Strictly vegan. Also has pronounced pacifist tendencies; has referred to surrender as a viable option in the face of armed assault, has also argued in favour of close links with local community and other resilient groups. Dangerously influential, altho presents as soft-spoken/passive etc etc. Will need to be kept completely unaware of PDTFG.
Children – ages 5, 8, 13. Also possible 10-month-old baby joining group. 13 y/o and 8 y/o should be able to contribute useful labour at time of crisis & in preparation for it. 5 y/o obv. less use & req. more resources (also reduces available labour from parents). Admittance of baby wd be v. poor choice by group: extra resource demand + v. reduced labour from that parent; also significant burden in event of siege/tunnel/escape procedure; also at high risk of ill-health and resultant emotional strain. (Also, parentage situation in this case will presumably cause sig. probs w/ relationship dynamics, tensions & conflict etc, at cost to effective co-operation and shared labour.)
Re 13 y/o girl, note that presence is useful in terms of long-term breeding reqs. of group.
Group Analysis Summary:
Good mix of skills and experience. Mostly good health. V. young and v. old members of group remain a concern; continue to slant discussions towards options for leaving site and being replaced by members of more appropriate age; when sourcing replacement members suggest addressing current gender imbalance with view to long-term breeding reqs. of group.
Majority of group are engaged w/ problem of crisis & preparation for it, altho small maj. opposed to armed defence. However, small minority not always serious in their discussion of issue; provocative/sarcastic/unhelpful. Recent remarks to effect that sexual activity/attachment wd reduce attention to detail as re crisis preparation were particularly unhelpful. Predict this minority won’t always consider subject worthy of humour.
Assessment of External Threats:
Working down from top:
Assume, at crisis, central & local authorities will withdraw to defendable spaces with existing supplies/stocks, & not form any threat to resilient groups across the periphery of their territory.
Police/military will be primarily focused on maintaining order in larger population centres and/or protecting significant infrastructure. (Certainly on protecting any remaining supply chain, eg any food production & distribution centres which are able to continue functioning.) Threat from police/military therefore likely to be limited: however police/military also unlikely to prevent threats from other parties such as eg:
Immediate neighbours. Early stages of crisis likely to see requests for assistance from local residents, followed by unpleasant coercion/emotional blackmail etc, followed by covert attacks (attempted night-theft) or co-ordinated overt attacks (direct armed assault, eg by mob w/ handtools or by pseudo-militia w/ weapons). Covert attacks shd be prevented by perimeter defences & by good surveillance. Overt attacks will need to be repelled by direct display of superior force, deadly force if req. (See Defence, below.) Since a la
rge & co-ordinated overt attack will have a numerical advantage it will be important to prevent one arising. Careful surveillance & intelligence (perhaps by false negotiation) could assist in this; a pre-emptive strike or strikes may become necessary.13
Mobile groups. As the crisis matures, mobile groups may well develop, poss. from major population centres; these will be small groups and majority young/male. Likely to be physically weak due to fatigue of travel + unreliable nutrition; but prob. well armed (esp. if from major pop. centres) & experienced/uninhibited in use of deadly force. These groups will be the prime threat as crisis matures: careful surveillance will be essential, as will avoiding unnecessary awareness of site. Research plan for decoy vulnerable site (eg lit, smoke from chimney, obvious food supply) which can be booby-trapped.14 Prepare others in group, esp. members of Primary Defence Task Force Group, for use of deadly/overwhelming force. (Again, utilise reference to poss. impact on children in event of defence failure as motivating tactic.)
Rogue loners. Individuals unlikely to survive crisis, as limited amount of co-operation will be req. However some are likely to appear, esp. in early stages, and will have advantage of low profile. Reminder that sustained & effective surveillance, with appropriate follow-up action, will be essential throughout period of crisis.
Defence:15
Refer to notes on perimeter, above. Also camouflage, discretion, etc. These grouped as Passive Defence. Surveillance also part of this.
Need for force is likely to arise however.v Training in unarmed combat already in progress among some members of group; bring recommendation that all undertake this training to the next meeting, and that ‘unarmed’ be gradually redefined to inc. use of sticks, staves, shields, handtools, knives, etc, up to and including deadly force. (May need to be careful about phrasing of this; may need to introduce tools/knives etc at later date. But good training & preparedness is essential asap.)