Up in our attic I found this booklet that was issued to all British households by our government in May 1980 - forty three years ago. It was meant to be a practical guide - telling us what to do in the event of a nuclear attack.
We were advised how to build nuclear fall-0ut shelters in our homes using tables, doors and cushions or how to make them in our cellars or under the stairs. The importance of sanitation arrangements was stressed as well making sure we had plenty of water.
In those days there was genuine fear in western Europe that the pesky and unpredictable Russians could launch a nuclear attack at any time and on the thinnest of pretexts. We were walking on a knife edge and didn't know for sure if there would even be a tomorrow.
Facing the prospect of a nuclear war seemed a bit like planning for a boy scouts' expedition:-
Having read and digested the booklet, we were meant to go through the check list, confirming in our minds that we were ready for Armageddon:-
I don't know if anybody actually prepared fallout rooms with inner refuges back in the early eighties. We certainly didn't and I also have no idea whether or not Russian citizens were also preparing for the nuclear nightmare. Thoughts of such a scenario seem to have dissipated through the decades but even in the last twelve months the idea of terrible nuclear bombs has returned in connection with The Ukraine War and the crazy tyrant who is Russia's political leader.
Also in the attic I found my old autograph book. I haven't reopened it yet. I will do that in tomorrow's blogpost - assuming of course that the Russians have still not attacked.
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/Puj12YS
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