A woman who became convinced that the ‘world was going to end’ after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revealed the contents of her emergency ‘go bag’ with £100 worth of equipment; including everything from water purification tablets to rope and medicine.
Life-long ‘prepper’ Sophie Poland was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness who was constantly readying for the threat of Armageddon even though she ‘never took it seriously’.
While she now no longer follows the religion, the conflict between the US and Iran has reignited fears, with many worried about the onset of ‘World War III’ – so Sophie has been sharing her tips on social media.
The mother of one, who lives in Liverpool, said: ‘I’ve got two [bags], so one is the everyday essentials you could possibly need and the second bag, which I haven’t filmed and put up yet, that’s all clothes and stuff and spares, so the main focus is the first bag but I’ve got so much in there.’
While her husband Daniel, 38, has branded her prepping ‘ridiculous’, property advisor Sophie believes that everyone should be prepared for emergencies.
‘Obviously growing up that is one of the main things you are told as a Witness – that Armageddon is coming at any moment and because [I know a lot of] Jehovah’s Witnesses they are constantly talking to me about it as well, how they’ve got bags prepared,’ she explained.
‘If I hadn’t been brought up that way, seeing the war that was happening in Russia and Ukraine and thinking that World War III was coming, I would never have thought, “Oh I need to have a bag prepared in case something happens”.
‘That was the catalyst for it, I was completely convinced by the news and by social media that something terrible was going to happen.
‘I don’t know what was going on with my Instagram algorithm but that’s all it pushed for me, that the world was going to end.’
While she admits she’s gone ‘completely overboard’ with it all, Sophie still thinks it’s sensible to have knowledge of survival skills and equipment.
Despite hers being particularly advanced and containing more than 50 individual items, Sophie claims she was able to put it together for just £100.
‘I just completely overindulged in the news and in social media and it convinced me that something terrible was going to happen at any moment,’ she shared.
‘I went completely overboard thinking I need to have everything prepared.
‘Obviously with what’s going on in the world right now, people are indulging in this kind of thing and they do want to be prepared.’
Her survival bag includes items ranging from fire starters and a handheld saw to cosmetics such as a razor and shampoo.
‘I’ve never used a compass I’ll be honest, I’ve also never used a map but I’ve got those in there,’ Sophie added.
‘The main thing is the foil blanket but obviously it’s going to be freezing… I’ve got an emergency tube tent, which takes up no room at all.
‘My husband was just like, “This is getting ridiculous”, but I kept going. I’ve also got water purification tablets. I’ve actually got enough to clean 2,000 litres of water.
‘That was one of the things that popped up [online] and I was like “oh I may as well get that, it’s a bargain”.
‘I’ve got a tin opener, high-calorie foods, a battery – and a wind-up radio as well is one of the things that’s on most lists because obviously if anything goes down electrics wise people can’t get on the phones.’
Sophie said that a lot of her friends laugh at her inclusion of cosmetics because ‘you’re not going to be bothered to shave your legs when it’s World War III’.
‘You never know, you need to be comfortable,’ she said. ‘If I’m going to be living in the woods I need to shave my armpits, I need to feel comfortable.
‘Everybody knows about it. If I’m on a night out somebody will bring it up and we’ll have a little bit of a laugh and I’ll say, “I’ll send you the videos tomorrow”. That’s why I have then filmed it and put it up as a TikTok.
‘I do think everybody should have some sort of emergency bag because you just don’t know what’s going to happen, especially nowadays.’
