1982: Could You Survive Ten Days in an Underground Bunker? | The Underground Test | BBC Archive

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:04]That's it.

[00:00:05]Lovely.

[00:00:07]>> Ken and Liz McDonald are digging a hole in the garden. It's December the 1st, 1981. What they're digging is a government recommended do-it-yourself fallout shelter. Part of an experiment for the BBC 1 documentary, A Guide to Armageddon.

[00:00:21]They've agreed to stay inside it, completely cut off from the outside world for 10 days with only a built-in TV camera for company.

[00:00:33]As part of the same experiment, another couple, Eric Russell and Joy Alderton, are also spending 10 days underground.

[00:00:40]But their shelter is architect designed and costs £10,000.

[00:00:44]There's no attempt here to simulate the conditions of a real nuclear attack.

[00:00:51]All the same, for the next 10 days, both couples will have to cope with isolation and cold, with boredom and fatigue, and with very primitive sanitation.

[00:01:00]How will they manage underground?

[00:01:10]Ken and Liz have been married for 7 years and have a 5-year-old son, John.

[00:01:15]They're an ordinary family. This home office booklet would in a time of crisis give them step-by-step instructions for digging their own fallout shelter, a covered trench. It's very basic. Step one, the size is marked out. Ordinary household doors are laid down side by side, one door per person and one for each end. For two people, it should be four doors wide, 120 in. The shallow trench then forms the basis of the shelter. Ken and Liz got this dimension wrong. The booklet was confusing. As a result, they made their trench a lot shorter than it needed.

[00:01:52]The soil dug out from their hole is rolled up in fabric to make solid walls all round.

[00:02:00]To these are added more earth, wooden supports, planks, and doors, all cannibalized with luck from the house and garden. After 24 hours hard labor, the whole thing looks like this. The earth on the top, 18 in thick, is the shield against fallout radiation.

[00:02:18]Inside for sanitation, is the home office suggestion, a household bucket straddled by an upright chair. This is the lavatory for two adults for 10 to 14 days.

[00:02:30]Ken and Liz also followed the booklet's recommendations for their survival kit.

[00:02:35]Food and drink made up the bulk of it, from cans of soup to packets of cream crackers. And as well as these rations, they also needed sleeping bags, blankets, containers for water. In fact, when it was all stacked in the shelter, there was very little room left for Ken and Liz. Their shelter was 3T wide and at its maximum 3'6 in high.

[00:02:59]Joy and Eric were somewhat better off for space. They even decided to take their cat, Natasha. Their shelter was a 15t steel tube designed for up to seven people. Buried six feet down, it's sealed off, blast proof, and completely airtight behind massive steel doors.

[00:03:18]Filtered air is pumped in by turning a hand crank for 15 minutes every hour.

[00:03:22]Without this forced ventilation, they'd suffocate.

[00:03:27]Running water from a self-contained tank, ample storage space for food, and a proper flush lavatory complete the facilities.

[00:03:37]This is to be Joy and Eric's home during the trial.

[00:03:44]On the evening of December the 4th, Ken and Liz go down into their trench.

[00:03:49]They've decided to leave their little boy with friends for the 10 days.

[00:04:02]Well, >> on January the 8th, Joy and Eric enter their bunker. For both couples, it's day one.

[00:04:13]>> They settle into their strange new homes.

[00:04:19]>> I think entertaining hearing.

[00:04:23]>> Um, if you insist. Hello everyone.

[00:04:26]>> Before I went down the shelter, I was concerned about what it was going to be like in such claustrophobic atmosphere and how Eric and my relationship or I would cope mentally with being in such a confined area. Secondly, I was worried really about how Natasha, our cat, would cope in the restricted area.

[00:04:54]What I'm hoping to do is through this pile of food.

[00:04:57]>> Mhm.

[00:04:58]>> I can spread it out and >> you want to get these fixed out.

[00:05:02]>> Yeah. Get your sleeping bag separate there.

[00:05:09]Get them the right way. Of course.

[00:05:11]>> Mhm.

[00:05:15]>> I tell you what I'm going to do now.

[00:05:16]First and foremost, take off my bloody shoes.

[00:05:25]Jesus Christ.

[00:05:29]What I tell you about the cupboard?

[00:05:30]Breakfast things. Biscuits. Biscuits.

[00:05:33]>> Yeah.

[00:05:33]>> Vegetables, soup, meals, and meat and stuff.

[00:05:38]>> Tashes.

[00:05:39]Then treats like wine, gums, cake, peanuts, and chocolate and patty.

[00:05:47]Fruit dressings, fruit, juice, milk.

[00:05:53]>> That's it.

[00:05:54]Listen, >> the books are in there and there.

[00:05:58]>> Mhm.

[00:05:59]>> Then I'm going to give it away.

[00:06:00]>> It's the first day you eat.

[00:06:01]>> The first is up on top.

[00:06:02]>> Yeah. Do my force in here.

[00:06:05]>> Mhm.

[00:06:06]>> Didn't you get my force in here?

[00:06:07]>> No.

[00:06:08]>> I put in with the blanket.

[00:06:09]>> You put him in here somewhere then?

[00:06:11]>> Yeah.

[00:06:12]>> Right.

[00:06:14]>> I sent it in with them.

[00:06:16]them. Yeah, but it's in there somewhere.

[00:06:18]>> No, it's in there maybe.

[00:06:20]>> Yeah, >> it's all right.

[00:06:21]>> Hang on. Let's see if there's like somewhere matches up here.

[00:06:25]>> No, you can just throw the food down there. That's up near the top. I mean, >> no, I just want to get the password books in there.

[00:06:32]>> Oh, you can get them as well.

[00:06:34]>> Yeah.

[00:06:34]>> Now, where's the L? Would you mind telling me?

[00:06:36]>> The L is under there.

[00:06:38]>> You're joking.

[00:06:38]>> I'm serious. So, we'll have to bring these black and blankets in there, right?

[00:06:42]>> Yeah.

[00:06:43]>> And closing, right?

[00:06:46]What I'm hoping to do is we can stack.

[00:06:50]>> You just have to throw the clothes down on top under these and that's it.

[00:06:55]>> There is food already down there. So, you know, >> I can throw some more down.

[00:07:00]>> Yeah, true.

[00:07:08]>> I mean, that's impossible day. The way that is.

[00:07:10]>> I know. It's bloody drastic.

[00:07:17]The air ventilation system initially seemed very tiring. We were advised that we had to turn the wheel for a quarter of an hour in every hour, which we did religiously for the first 2 or 3 days.

[00:07:29]Then we found that it was really destroying the normal flow of events. So we decided to have halfhour sessions which eventually worked very well because the day slotted into two-hour chunks whereby one person was turning the wheel and the other person wasn't. Obviously >> because it was so cold down the shelter.

[00:07:52]The wheel eventually became a very good source of exercise to the extent that one almost welcomed the chance to turn the wheel especially as we gave ourselves a treat by listening to the headphones and listening to music which resulted in the fact that we were totally cut off from everything else. We could concentrate on the music and just enjoy listening to the music and moving to the music.

[00:08:32]too.

[00:08:32]>> It's all >> very very hard to sleep. Ground was very hard. And you were constantly going to sleep and waking up. Couple of hours sleep, maybe two hours, then you wake up. turn over the other side and trying to make some room.

[00:08:56]Ken is taller than I am, so he didn't have room to stretch out. So, his legs, they cramped a lot because he had to keep them up. He couldn't stretch them out. It wasn't too bad for me. The ground was very hard, but I didn't get cramps.

[00:09:13]Kevin being taller at he suffer badly with cramps.

[00:09:22]>> Every day at noon they report to the fixed camera >> for Ken and Liz. The first night has been okay.

[00:09:30]>> Well, it was.

[00:09:32]It's just was hard to sleep.

[00:09:36]>> It's very warm. I >> thought it was going to be cold >> and it's very small.

[00:09:45]>> Leg's getting a bit cramped. Small space >> otherwise.

[00:09:55]>> Bit unhealthy.

[00:10:00]>> Right. Let's have dinner now, boy. Okay.

[00:10:03]What do >> you want dinner now? Right.

[00:10:05]>> What do you want for dinner?

[00:10:09]Ult.

[00:10:14]>> Okay.

[00:10:16]Something else, too.

[00:10:17]>> Some of it was okay. Like beans, for instance.

[00:10:22]>> Fine.

[00:10:23]>> But like tins of soup. Cold soup is vile stuff. It's absolutely dreadful.

[00:10:32]>> Ah, stewed steak.

[00:10:34]>> You can say some of that you like.

[00:10:35]>> Will you want? Will you try some?

[00:10:37]>> Yeah, I'll try some.

[00:10:38]>> Right. I'll have stewed steak.

[00:10:40]>> Cream crackers.

[00:10:41]>> How about put butter on them this time?

[00:10:43]Will you?

[00:10:44]>> Right.

[00:10:48]>> Do you want soup?

[00:10:49]>> No thanks.

[00:10:51]>> Do you want sweet corn?

[00:10:53]>> No thanks.

[00:10:54]>> Oh, here.

[00:11:01]>> Who tastes the first and tell me if it's edible.

[00:11:08]It's quite nice except for it's cold.

[00:11:12]>> Well, you can't have everything >> in future when I'm going to eat it and I'm going to take the tin into bed with me and lie on it where >> and heat it up to body temperature.

[00:11:26]Right.

[00:11:32]>> Day two washing.

[00:11:35]The temperature outside is just above freezing.

[00:11:39]>> Oh, it's cold.

[00:11:54]>> Oh, that's >> we were using the one basin for washing dishes in and washing ourselves in. And that was quite hard. It was quite awkward to move around trying to get to wash yourself.

[00:12:06]>> Such a small space, such a small base and like it was very very awkward.

[00:12:25]>> By day two, Liz has started writing her own diary.

[00:12:30]Ken and Liz whole 1981. Day two, Monday.

[00:12:37]>> We woke up and a wash.

[00:12:39]>> We woke up and had a wash and we feel better. I really getting fed up with my hair.

[00:12:47]>> I forgot to bring a brush. Worse things could happen, I suppose.

[00:12:52]We are really beginning to miss people at this point. I miss John, our boy like hell.

[00:12:59]Ken got rid of some rubbish and emptied the Loo. I think there was a pretty bad smell in here. We got used to the smell after a while, but that doesn't mean it goes away.

[00:13:17]The air was very stale. We both couldn't smoke together. Otherwise, you couldn't stay in there. It' be too much smoke because the space was too small. So, we used to smoke a cigarette between us.

[00:13:30]You just wouldn't be able to breathe in there.

[00:13:32]>> Um, >> the L was terrible.

[00:13:37]>> It was a bucket. Um, it's very hard to get to it. It wasn't very clean and the smell was really bad and it was very embarrassing having to go to the L and have Kevin sitting there watching me. very embarrassing.

[00:13:58]But uh when you have to go, I think you forget who's looking at you.

[00:14:04]>> I don't see it anymore.

[00:14:16]the joints.

[00:14:25]It's now day four. Ken and Liz are finding the discomfort hard to bear.

[00:14:32]>> Good morning, gentlemen.

[00:14:35]Or should I say afternoon?

[00:14:38]Hasn't been a very good night this morning.

[00:14:44]>> Both very tired, very little sleep, very restless.

[00:14:50]Otherwise, things are going fine.

[00:14:55]I'm slightly stiff and a slight touch of a cold, but otherwise I'm fine. Nice. How are you?

[00:15:03]>> I'm fine, except I'm tired.

[00:15:06]>> She's fine, except for she's very tired.

[00:15:11]So, that's about it.

[00:15:13]We'll stick it for another while and see how things go until tomorrow morning. Then gentlemen, that's about it.

[00:15:30]Right. Well, today, Tuesday, um I don't know. I feel certainly less energetic than I have been for the last couple of days. Um, basically, you know, things like the temperature is still cold when my feet are freezing.

[00:15:45]>> Yes. Unfortunately, you the majority of these shots will be of us in bed because it really is the only way to actually live down here because it's so cold. Um, the only time when you just don't get out of bed is to or when you do get out of bed rather is to turn the wheel. But otherwise, it's just freezing if you're not underneath the duvet or >> you just lying here watching the wheel go around.

[00:16:09]>> We've got how many more? We've got five more full days to go.

[00:16:14]>> And we've done by the end of today we would have done four. So really the crux of the matter will be tomorrow. And once we've passed tomorrow, I think we should be okay. But but I do wish that this thing would heat up a bit.

[00:16:29]>> I mean, 2 or 3 days we thought it would be cold and then we thought it would actually adapt to our bodily heat that we're giving out.

[00:16:36]>> I don't really think there's there's any way that it's going to heat up. I mean, I've resigned myself to that.

[00:16:41]>> Yeah.

[00:16:41]>> Because um I'm bringing in cold air the whole time.

[00:16:46]>> Unless it's only got to be 60° outside, then possibly Yes, it would.

[00:16:50]>> This doesn't happen. The temperature outside their shelter will go down to minus5.

[00:16:56]>> So much things that you can do.

[00:16:58]>> Yeah.

[00:17:00]>> Well, I think if we open the mild curry savory mint, which is guaranteed no lumps of fat or gristle.

[00:17:09]>> All right.

[00:17:12]>> Say that. Guaranteed.

[00:17:15]>> Don't you think we ought to save them?

[00:17:17]>> No. I think if we only have a little of it, you know, I would spoonful >> and just have a can even.

[00:17:23]>> Oh, no.

[00:17:24]>> Okay. A little side plate.

[00:17:27]Little >> Yeah, I have done a side plate. Just a little spld.

[00:17:39]There was one day when Eric woke up in the morning having been very ill or had a bad stomach during the night and that worried me more because then it would be my responsibility to turn the air ventilation system and I did panic then and that in fact that was the worst day for us both because I felt that I needed the moral support to keep myself going and keep myself cheerful and it was too much of a drain on me to keep Erica cheerful as well.

[00:18:14]>> How do you feel?

[00:18:16]>> I'll survive.

[00:18:25]>> I'll survive.

[00:18:26]>> No.

[00:18:40]You can go in there with mom.

[00:18:42]>> What?

[00:18:42]>> Look.

[00:18:48]Come on.

[00:19:02]We can have a quib, can't we?

[00:19:05]>> Quib.

[00:19:05]>> A quib.

[00:19:07]>> What's a quib?

[00:19:09]>> A quib is a quib.

[00:19:12]>> What the hell?

[00:19:13]>> Quib.

[00:19:14]>> Yeah.

[00:19:14]>> Totally mucked up what I was going to do.

[00:19:18]>> Absolutely.

[00:19:18]>> I didn't actually get bored. I thought I would. Thank you.

[00:19:22]>> Generally the day fitted into a certain pattern and our entertainment was very very standard every day. Playing Scrabble, playing chess, listening to music, reading. I didn't do nearly as many things as I had intended to down the shelter. It was too cold to do that.

[00:19:41]But it was very satisfying and I really enjoyed it. And I don't think I was ever bored.

[00:19:48]Joy, look. Stop it.

[00:19:51]>> I'm just checking.

[00:19:52]>> Joy, stop it.

[00:19:54]>> Okay, that's cheating. That is absolutely I'm an adult. Total cheating.

[00:19:59]I'm sorry. I can't believe >> what I meant was quibble. What I meant was quibble.

[00:20:06]>> What time is it?

[00:20:10]>> 12. 12.

[00:20:15]Bored.

[00:20:18]Bored.

[00:20:32]Well, it was really getting hard for Kevin. He just didn't have room.

[00:20:37]And with the his legs cramping and the food and just missing everybody, I think, you know, with um it got harder. The problem of boredom and trying to find something to do, you know, it was getting harder every day. Well, we done a lot of crosswords, played a lot of silly games, I spy.

[00:21:04]Um we slept. Well, I won't say we slept.

[00:21:06]We try to >> Is that your stomach?

[00:21:12]>> Mhm.

[00:21:12]>> Are you hungry?

[00:21:13]>> No more. Not yet.

[00:21:17]We should have lunch about 2:00 or so.

[00:21:21]Or after >> the big excitement of the day.

[00:21:28]>> Well, what do you fancy? More >> anything. I don't give them your shoes, aren't you?

[00:21:33]>> Yeah.

[00:21:37]I'm bored.

[00:21:44]>> What should we do?

[00:21:47]>> It's day five. By now, they've established a routine. Liz writes the diary and Ken talks to the camera.

[00:21:54]>> Do you want to do it today? No.

[00:22:03]Good afternoon, gentlemen. Much the same as yesterday, as you can see. Pretty bored, except for a few cross word puzzles that we have here, which we're not getting on too well with at the moment.

[00:22:17]>> I don't >> as you can see or here. Liz is pretty bored at the moment.

[00:22:25]>> And I'm bored.

[00:22:27]>> I still have the touch of a cold. I had.

[00:22:30]Although it's not getting any worse or any better.

[00:22:33]The dampness in here seems to be getting a bit worse. I dried I dried off some of the condensation this morning from around the the ceiling on the top.

[00:22:43]And that's about it. We slept a bit better last night than we did the night before.

[00:22:48]>> And we don't know if we have the right time.

[00:22:50]>> We don't know whether we have the right time or not because we had a small accident with our watch. We make it here and now >> 12:34. Whether that's right or wrong, we don't know.

[00:22:59]>> Hopefully, it is wrong.

[00:23:01]>> So, >> about two hours, three hours rock.

[00:23:05]>> That's about it. We're generally happy.

[00:23:07]Otherwise, we have plenty to eat and drink and uh we're quite warm.

[00:23:14]No complaints really. Only we can't wait for the 10 days to be up to get out.

[00:23:21]That's about it, gentlemen. Until tomorrow morning.

[00:23:26]It's all right.

[00:23:27]>> Could be a woman that's out there, you know.

[00:23:36]>> Space house. House.

[00:23:45]The house. The first word.

[00:23:49]The two damn pear.

[00:24:11]Take a word.

[00:24:15]Sad pain old >> that won't help something shake Steven you They have now spent six days playing games, sleeping, and rearranging the tiny shelter. There's not much left to do.

[00:25:04]John crackers, my lovely.

[00:25:08]>> Yes, of course you do.

[00:25:15]>> What are you laughing at?

[00:25:18]>> Beer.

[00:25:22]>> You going to have them?

[00:25:24]>> No, I'm not going to have anything. I'm just going to have fed up with bloody crackers. Dreaming about that bloody thing.

[00:25:31]>> Oh, you're hurt. Please have the other ones in there.

[00:25:34]>> No, it was bad.

[00:25:38]>> Will it be worse if you were starving?

[00:25:40]>> I know. I know.

[00:25:44]>> What's that?

[00:25:45]>> As a matter of fact, I'm just going to be predicament.

[00:25:49]>> At least you have something to complain about then. The way you are now, you have nothing to complain about. Right.

[00:25:54]>> Right.

[00:25:54]>> You're not calling. You're not hungry.

[00:25:56]No, I'm not nothing at the moment.

[00:26:12]So sick to death.

[00:26:23]What? What day is tomorrow?

[00:26:25]>> Tors Friday. We have Saturday and we're Sunday. They have Monday.

[00:26:33]Tool the damn this damn place for life.

[00:26:38]>> Everybody said it would be me, including you be screaming the walls down.

[00:26:42]>> Well, I'm not screaming the walls now.

[00:26:43]>> Well, you're giving out a Yeah.

[00:26:45]>> It's not me giving out. It's me back and my legs are giving out.

[00:26:48]>> Now, what's that?

[00:26:50]>> What's coming out?

[00:26:51]>> Uh-huh. You don't hear me yet.

[00:26:53]>> The mind is perfect, but the body is not.

[00:27:03]>> We both jogging every morning for 10 years after this.

[00:27:07]>> Off you go.

[00:27:14]>> Day six.

[00:27:19]The cramped conditions, the boredom, the condensation and the stale air are taking their toll.

[00:27:25]>> The L was very very smelly at times because along with going to the L lake where we had the the things that we had used already like tins. We had to get rid of those somewhere as well. So we had to put those into the L as well and get them out. and we'd have the whole place cluttered up with empty tins and the smell had be getting worse and so on, etc. There's one stage there where we did actually feel like we were going to give up and come out. Even during the night, so it could be 3:00 in the morning, you'd wake up and say, "Well, sad this. I'm going out. Have enough."

[00:28:02]And you were always constantly thinking about getting out. like there was nothing else in your in your mind except getting out.

[00:28:12]>> At the end of the day, Ken tells Liz that he's ready to give up.

[00:28:17]>> I think about it.

[00:28:18]>> Really?

[00:28:26]>> You really want to go?

[00:28:28]>> I don't know.

[00:28:35]Well, today is Thursday, right?

[00:28:36]>> Mhm.

[00:28:37]>> It's only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

[00:28:39]Mhm.

[00:28:40]>> Three more days. Is it worth it?

[00:28:42]>> Yeah.

[00:28:44]>> I mean, going out yet?

[00:28:46]>> Don't know.

[00:28:47]>> Do you want to go out?

[00:28:49]>> I don't know.

[00:28:57]You want to tell them there if you want to go out so they can come around, film what's going on.

[00:29:04]I'll give it another day.

[00:29:13]>> You want to go tomorrow then?

[00:29:15]>> H >> you want your boat tomorrow?

[00:29:21]>> I crossed that bridge where I come to.

[00:29:25]>> And uh >> Meanwhile, Joy and Eric are listening to one of their cassettes.

[00:29:30]>> The strain is telling on them, too. Go to the moon now. I mean you, you know, just stop.

[00:29:36]>> That's all right. You know, that's why I stop making it. Oh, don't stop.

[00:29:42]>> You're the one that declared that we were having an argument. As far as I was concerned, we were having a discussion and you turned it into an argument or said it was an argument and said it was all totally irrelevant to talk anyway because it should have been intuitive.

[00:29:56]Fair enough.

[00:30:03]Where have people put the cliff?

[00:30:07]>> What was over there?

[00:30:10]>> Improvements that I would make to the shelter would be definitely some sort sort of automatic system for turning the air ventilation system. Maybe something along the lines of a sewing machine, um, foot machine whereby as you're turning the wheel, you're also generating electricity. It was not pleasant at all not being able to have hot food. That energy could have should have been conserved into creating your own electricity such that you could use it for heating, warming food, etc. >> Day seven, Ken and Liz are discussing the small size of their shelter.

[00:30:56]>> Yeah, but that's it. You see, you build it bigger for each person.

[00:31:01]>> But I mean, if say me and you come down here now with John and there was only one board door, >> that's all it is allowed for three people, right? There's no way on earth we could live here.

[00:31:13]>> And in the first place, we'd have to have a mountain of stuff for the child.

[00:31:16]We'd have to have everything clean for the child or he get infection.

[00:31:19]>> He'd have someplace decent to sleep.

[00:31:22]>> Well, he would have to and he'd have to have somewhere to move around. approach to be born still. So it would be way out of port.

[00:31:32]You would want to be twice or three times this size for just me, you and a child.

[00:31:38]>> Would about poor women if they came down with babies?

[00:31:42]>> True.

[00:31:42]>> Or pregnant women or people in wheelchairs.

[00:31:47]>> Well, they wouldn't have. They probably have the other build ones like just ordinary people.

[00:31:56]I like more >> I can't see anyway the simple base is in when there is things like this going on in the world and now the bloody GLC driving up bloody rock blocks and blocks of bloody flats every right never think ahead >> well Kevin look what would it cost to dig out >> look and listen to me >> a ton of art listen >> from beneath the What? What?

[00:32:25]>> Listen, >> you're living in a flat now.

[00:32:30]>> Yeah.

[00:32:32]>> One room thing.

[00:32:33]>> Yeah.

[00:32:34]>> Would you not rather have your own place in a high rate of blocks? Your kitchen, your bedroom, your bathroom, the whole outlet. Who you like in and who you don't want to see? Would you not rather that?

[00:32:43]>> Yeah.

[00:32:43]>> Well, there's pe of course there's people dying for places to live. They live anywhere.

[00:32:47]>> No, that's not not what I'm saying.

[00:32:49]>> But that's why they're building them.

[00:32:50]People need them to live in it. I know.

[00:32:52]When you're building them, why can't they include the building of a fallout shelter underneath the bloody?

[00:32:59]>> But Kevin, I mean, this is only after coming up in the last couple of years, right?

[00:33:04]>> It's known for donkeys here.

[00:33:05]>> Well, I mean, the actual threat of it.

[00:33:09]>> But they should have looked into these things. They look into building the bloody bloody bomb. When they're building the bomb, they should start building these bloody place. That way the last bloody >> look at it. When the bomb goes off, >> every other country in the world is fair before this country doing anything.

[00:33:23]>> Give me the extra.

[00:33:27]>> Day seven, Saturday.

[00:33:30]We feel as if we're in prison except there are no bars. We are really missing people and the nice and just the simple things we are used to doing like shopping, buying newspapers, and just walking around looking at things. It's funny the little things we take for granted. It's only when we can't have them that we realize how important they are to our way of life. I miss John more and more. I try not to think about him because he puts me on edge. I know that he's fine, but I still miss him.

[00:34:10]Day eight, Sunday. We have smoked the last of the cigarettes and we are both very short-tempered at the moment.

[00:34:19]I couldn't stand it in here another day without a cigarette. And to make things worse, I got my periods last night, which doesn't make me any easier to live with.

[00:34:32]>> You haven't said one civil war to me all day, except shut up.

[00:34:37]That's about the only thing it deserves to be up here.

[00:34:42]>> Why?

[00:34:49]>> Well, let me come out most of the days.

[00:34:52]>> I want this. I want that. I don't want this. I don't want that. Do this. Do that. Don't do this. Don't do that. I want a bag. I want a bag. I want a bag.

[00:35:01]That's all I heard from one time ago.

[00:35:02]This product.

[00:35:06]What did I ask you to do?

[00:35:09]That's all I heard all morning.

[00:35:11]>> You said you heard I want do this, do that, do the What did I tell you to do?

[00:35:15]>> Hand me this. Hand me that.

[00:35:16]>> I didn't tell you. I asked.

[00:35:17]>> Then there was no chocolate. Yes, it all yesterday.

[00:35:20]>> You ate it, too.

[00:35:21]>> Right. So, what? I don't want any.

[00:35:24]>> Oh, well, I didn't say I wanted bigies.

[00:35:26]I don't want these bigies. I want them biscuities. I don't want those bigies. I want those bigies. I don't like crackers.

[00:35:32]>> You said the same.

[00:35:39]Just cuz you're in a bad temper, you needn't try to take it out on me at all.

[00:35:42]>> You didn't do anything in bad temper. I mean good humor. I always am.

[00:35:45]>> In a good humor in a pig's eye. You have a face as long as tomorrow.

[00:35:53]>> Day nine.

[00:35:56]>> Good morning.

[00:35:59]As you can see, we're healthy, but very cold. Very cold in here this morning.

[00:36:06]>> Well, not very cold. We're cold when they're that cold.

[00:36:10]>> Well, it is cold when you're outside.

[00:36:13]>> Cold. Not too cold when you're in the sleeping bag, but still colder than usual and a bit damper than usual.

[00:36:24]And we're looking forward to tomorrow when we come out.

[00:36:28]because I don't think we're going to last much longer in here.

[00:36:30]>> I mean, no cigarettes.

[00:36:33]>> Liz is complaining here. She hasn't got any cigarettes, so she doesn't get she'll probably take a dive to the roof.

[00:36:38]But, how's ever going to cross that bridge when we come to it?

[00:36:46]That's about it.

[00:36:49]Except we're glad it's over. Not over yet.

[00:36:52]>> Well, just about.

[00:36:54]And I don't think we do it again.

[00:37:02]Oh my.

[00:37:03]>> So that is it.

[00:37:07]We're down to our last job crosswords. As you can see, not very much company.

[00:37:27]So, what happen tomorrow morning then?

[00:37:29]That's about it.

[00:37:36]Well, what happen tomorrow, please?

[00:37:38]>> No, I don't want.

[00:37:41]>> It's the last day. Joy and Eric congratulate themselves. They've survived.

[00:37:48]>> Survivors.

[00:37:50]>> Cheers.

[00:37:55]Uh, I think towards the end we we were actually looking forward to getting out.

[00:38:00]Although we were rather scared of what might have happened and weren't sure what we'd be greeted with when we came out.

[00:38:08]>> We didn't know what to expect.

[00:38:15]>> Lesley, >> all bless you.

[00:38:20]Well, it's nearly over, thank God. I think if the bomb goes off once we get out of here, we won't go back down underground. We'll stay up top and take our chances, whatever they may be.

[00:38:35]I don't think we could go through this again.

[00:38:41]>> Oh, I'm trying to pack up. It's not very nice to put >> plastic bags >> plastic bags on top of things I'm trying to wrap up.

[00:38:51]I think having gone through the experience of spending time in this shelter, I wouldn't look forward to getting through any nuclear war, but one should always try.

[00:39:04]>> I think I put in here.

[00:39:12]>> No, no, no.

[00:39:14]If I could afford it, I would prepare myself for the eventuality of a nuclear war.

[00:39:21]>> If I could afford it, I would buy a fallout shelter because you might as well try and survive even if the chances of surviving are nil.

[00:39:30]>> Hold it.

[00:39:34]>> Okay, here we come.

[00:39:44]Good girl, Sash.

[00:39:50]Good girl.

[00:39:58]>> Where?

[00:39:59]>> 59.

[00:40:00]>> Right. Away. You go. Come on. Out. Out.

[00:40:02]>> Who will be that thing for me? That's all I know. Don't worry.

[00:40:23]>> I don't believe quick.

[00:40:40]Well, we're very tired.

[00:40:43]And if I was asked, would I do it again?

[00:40:46]Definitely saying no. No chance. If the mom did happen to fall on London, I think I'd rather stay outside, take a chance with the rest of the people.

[00:40:58]There's too much.