We will survive
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting told us to prepare for war in three years’ time and to keep emergency food and water at home. What did the infamous Protect and Survive leaflet prepared by the Labour government in 1976 and published by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1980 advise?
– Householders were told to build an inner shelter as far away from external walls as possible. Residents of bungalows and flats on the top two floors were told to try to find somewhere else to shelter.
– People were advised to store three-and-a-half gallons of drinking water per person and the same amount for washing, and to stock tinned food: an illustration showed soup and tinned potatoes.
– They should take a mechanical clock and a battery-powered radio into their shelter, along with a notebook and pencils, as well as toys and games.
– They were advised an all-clear siren would sound when it was safe to emerge from the shelter, hopefully after around 14 days.
Stormy weather
Which years have had the highest numbers of named storms since the Met Office started naming them in 2015?
2015/16 11
2016/17 5
2017/18 8
2018/19 8
2019/20 6
2020/21 4
2021/22 6
2022/23 2
2023/24 1
2204/25 6
2025/26 4
Old ways
How many centenarians are living in Britain?
– In the middle of 2025 the ONS estimates that there were 16,400 people aged over 100 living in the United Kingdom.
– This was an increase of 20.2% on 2015
– Only 18.8% were men, although the proportion of the over-100s made up by males is growing.
– Interestingly, Covid-19 did not arrest the growth of the over-100 population, which increased from 12,230 in mid-2019 to 15,521 in mid-2021. There was, however, a dip between 2015 and 2018, which reflects the lower birth rate during the first world war.
– Of the UK’s constituent countries, Wales has the highest proportion of the population which is over 100: 26.1 per 100,000 people. This doesn’t necessarily mean Welsh people have greater longevity, as it is also a product of birth rate and migration.
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