The next article in our series ‘Identify what you need to put aside‘ is Education and Entertainment.
Life will be harsh. Most of the things we take for granted will be gone and our leisure time will become more precious to us after a hard day toiling in the fields than we could possibly imagine. Oh, how simple life is to us at the moment. Even the poor among us, in the west anyway, can relax and with no real cares in the world. Most adults already have hobbies that they can keep while children today have a fixation on technology for their entertainment, TV and computer games, while very few have outside activities or crafts. Little children find some of the simplest things entertaining and can be happy with some crayons and paper.
What do we do now?
Today we have a multitude of hobbies on tap. We can watch the latest movies, we can watch old movies, comedy, thriller, science fiction, millions of man hours, and we can play computer games and spend a relaxing few hours blasting aliens or planning your attacks on a poor defenseless pixillated city. You can spend time hunting submarines, dog fighting aircraft and managing your own empire. Outside of that we collect coins, banknotes, stamps and bottles, a multitude of items can be collected, catalogued and annotated. Some people like to play sports, football, rugby, swimming among others while the more adventurous will parachute, race real cars and bikes and fly real planes and yet more like the simple life and will go walking, playing chess, watching nature and reading books. Others like writing books, taking photographs, making wine and beer and drinking it. The options available to us are wide and varied and each of us can pick what we can afford, what we have time for and what we want to do. I doubt there is even a complete list of what we do for entertainment at the moment. Isn’t progress great.
What will we have available?
We will have many of the same things available. Some will be unavailable after all fuel will be scarce so flying, parachuting and car racing will disappear. Electricity, if available, will be reserved for utility work. Even if a computer is available it won’t be used for games. No more films will be made so we may never discover what happens to Charlene on Crossroads or if Michael Moore ever manages to make a unbiased documentary. Stamps, coins, banknotes etc. will become worthless and there will be nobody around who would be interested in buying, selling or swapping them. Wine and beer making, sewing, knitting, reading and gardening will all become popular as we find useful hobbies. Hobbies will by necessity be more productive and educational and less pure entertainment. Even so I doubt we could come up with a complete list of what would be available. Our imagination is one of the things that make us so adaptable.
What should I do as a hobby?
Only you can answer that question. What do you want to do? What do you like doing now? What does it require? It should be obvious to you if it is likely to be available after an event or not. If not, is it something you can put aside now so it will be? If so put it aside in your stores. If your hobby is going to be history, look at alternatives, try them but keep doing what you do now as the events we plan for may never happen.
What about the future?
You can never tell what the future will hold. One thing is certain though and that is we will always want to have things to do and other people may not like what you like. You can buy several games, hobby kits and tools at very reasonable prices. Buy some cheap games such as 100 games, including chess, draughts, backgammon, dominos and a few packs of cards. Less than a tenner and it keeps people entertained. Add a book or two on different card games as well and your entertainment is nearly there.
I would suggest though that, if possible, you consider more expensive hobbies, these will be the ones that educate and get us back innovating. Things like metal work lathes, wood turning tools, pottery equipment and mechanical tools. Entertainment can be educational and practical and education is entertainment as well as learning and these facts must not be forgotten.
Education
The chances are you will be the provider of your children’s education. Just like it was in the olden days when people actually learnt things at school. That is both a good thing, your child does not get indoctrinated with socialist ideas, and a bad thing, how much do you know about chemistry? You need to ensure that you have the equipment and books to educate your children. Teaching them is easy. Keeping them learning is hard and subject to your limitations. At the very least you need to teach them;
- Mathematics
- English
- Language
- Written
- Science
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
- First Aid
- Hygiene
- Basic survival
- Thinking
- Morals
- Ethics
- Logical Thought
With more advanced or specialised topics for the right students where possible. There is even a case for educating your children at home now.
What to put aside
As well as the specifics for your hobbies and entertainment you need to put aside items for others. Keeping healthy, mental health and wellbeing, demands that you keep people thinking, learning and entertained.
- Games
- Chess
- Draughts
- Dominos
- Cards
- Darts
- Football
- etc
- Hobbies
- Painting
- Pottery
- Knitting
- Sewing
- Hunting
- etc
- Education
- Books
- Educational
- Science
- Mathematics
- Gardening
- Ethics
- General Instructional
- etc
- Entertainment
- Fairy stories
- Kids books
- Science Fiction
- Mysteries
- Brainteasers
- Crosswords
- etc
- Tools
- Equipment
- Consumables/Ingredients
- General
- Paper
- Pencils
- Crayons
- Scissors
- Scalpels
At the moment all the general items are cheap. It costs a few pounds to buy a few reams of paper, pencils and scissors. Books vary in price depending on the subject and many can be bought second hand from charity shops for a pound each. Ensure the books you buy target the basic educational needs and entertainment needs and that you also have enough equipment for general entertainment in.
We don’t want drones. That is why we are where we are now. We want independent thinkers innovating and progressing. That is the only way our society can grow and ensure we don’t elect dim wits to positions of power like we do now.
Next up is pulling it all together and planning the shopping with part 17, The Way Forward.