Sound Advice.

I just read that the Germans are being given official advice to stock up on food and bottled water as a precaution against a possible national emergency, and one has to scratch one’s head and wonder what is going on here.

1. Is this a case of a few very bored people in the corridors of power saying: ‘I know, let’s have some fun. Let’s spook the population into panic buying and fall off our chairs while people hit each other over the head with heavy objects while fighting over the last can of baked beans. I mean, it happens in America on Black Friday, doesn’t it? Yeah, lets.’

2. Is it a case of the government getting its lederhosen in a twist and being a bit silly? Governments are, after all, capable of being a bit silly. I remember one hot summer in Britain when the government advised everybody to paint their houses white. They omitted to mention whether we should scrape the white paint off again in the autumn, and completely overlooked the fact that painting a house white would only be a defence against solar gain. It would have no effect whatsoever on high ambient temperatures caused by warm winds coming up from North Africa. But then, only scientists, photographers and people who went to school would know that.

3. Do they know something the rest of us don’t?

Is there more to come? Is that faint noise in the background the Russian national anthem or the theme from The Twilight Zone? Should I watch the sky and be prepared, or should I watch an Australian soap and go out on a high note?