We made it. Christmas, new year and the End-of-the-World-Armageddon-Apocalypse.

But 2009 is all about survival. And what better way to prepare than to become a survivalist? Survivalist websites and books were last year’s sleeper hit, no longer the preserve of lone wackos. Barton Biggs, former chief global strategist for Morgan Stanley, rebranded survivalism “sensible”. In his book Wealth, War and Wisdom, he said all right-minded people should “assume the possibility of a breakdown of the civilised infrastructure” and advised the well-off to invest 5 per cent of their income in creating a refuge “well-stocked with seed, fertiliser, canned food and medicine”. A number of self-help books are on the market such as Cody Lundin’s When All Hell Breaks Loose, which instructs readers how to get rid of bodies and feast on rats in the event of disaster.