Lucky you - we were out for nearly 12 hours down in Crystal Palace. Fortunately it came back before it got dark, though we'd sensibly gone and rounded up all the candles in the house while we could still see what we were doing!
That said, I don't think it's a sign of civilisation breaking down, and the analogies with the 'brownouts' and night-time energy shortages of the 70s aren't really valid. This was a fire at a substation, not a shortage caused by lack of fuel or staffing. And far from civilisation breaking down, we saw plenty of examples of people helping each other out. Kids were playing in the streets, neighbours were sitting on the door steps sharing cups of tea. Crystal Palace Park was full of happy people who'd taken the power cut as a hint to get out into the fresh air and have some fun.
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baggyeyes
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-09 09:55 am (UTC)That said, I don't think it's a sign of civilisation breaking down, and the analogies with the 'brownouts' and night-time energy shortages of the 70s aren't really valid. This was a fire at a substation, not a shortage caused by lack of fuel or staffing. And far from civilisation breaking down, we saw plenty of examples of people helping each other out. Kids were playing in the streets, neighbours were sitting on the door steps sharing cups of tea. Crystal Palace Park was full of happy people who'd taken the power cut as a hint to get out into the fresh air and have some fun.