Artist Guerra de la Paz’s The Rainbow At The End Of The Nuke

My fascination with the idea of living in a post-apocalyptic world started when I was a teenager. I read a couple of books about surviving in  the aftermath of nuclear war that have stayed with me a long time: Z for Zachariah and Children of the Dust. They’re both told from the perspective of children who have to grow up very quickly in order to survive, and in a warped way there was something really appealing to my teen brain about imagining a life where everything was stripped back to basics. No philosophising, no complicated relationships, no angst. Just one simple directive: I will survive. Great, now I have Gloria Gaynor stuck in my head.

Here’s a pretty good list of some more post-nuke literature. And of course there have a been a zillion films about it too  (including the satire featured in ‘Apocalypse, Wow!’ on Monday, and the incredibly moving Where the Wind Blows which came in second in my ‘Top 5 Tuesday’ list this week). I’ve just discovered this gem from the 1960s – Nuclear War for Housewives:

Alternatively you could take your survival tips from John Hodgman:

Look at this photo tour of ‘the zero star hotel’, a nuclear bunker in Switzerland that’s been converted into an ‘eco-luxury’ hotel that can host 14 guests. They say ‘We want to be the opposite of seven-star palaces in Dubai.’ Just like my flat, you mean? Only joking – the hotel has way more character than my flat. For more full-time accommodation you could splash out on a three-storey underground building near Skendleby, Lincolnshire. For half a million pounds it offers 30,000 square feet of space underneath a  bungalow, designed to disguise it from the air. Or check out this list of 15 converted concrete bunkers. Once you’ve picked a bunker you’ll need to decorate. You could hang some art:

Mixed media illustration: SASAN’S NUCLEAR WINTER by Sasan

For all your armageddon fruit-storing needs, you could pick up the ’Enola Fruit⒝ fruit bowl, based in a mushroom cloud. Made in collaboration with Superego Editions by Fratelli Rigoni. Hmm.

You’ll need some appropriate clobber in which to swan around your bunker. you could opt for Christopher Kane’s nuclear Cruise Collection:

And finally, what else but ‘Atomic’ by the sublime Blondie to tap your toes to?

Pop by tomorrow for more ‘Apocablog Week’ goodness…