101 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: Have a Good Power Cut

We had a power cut on Sunday evening. It lasted about two hours, which is quite a long time for a power cut these days, at least in Cambridge. I remember when I was a child in the late '80s having power cuts that lasted several days, which is very exciting when you're about six and your mother insists that you sleep on a camp bed in their bedroom to maximise warmth and reduce the potential for frightened children (actually I thought it was terrifically exciting). Since I've been living in Cambridge, I can't remember the power being down for more than an hour or two. So, Sunday's power cut wasn't that long, but it was at a time when most people were awake and the vast majority sitting at home relaxing with their families. A power cut on Sunday evening probably encourages the largest possible number of people to find a form of entertainment that does not involve TVs, computers, DVDs, playstations, and God knows what other forms of technology that I haven't even heard of (I may be 24 and living with an extraordinarily computer-literate engineer, but for me a blackberry remains a tasty hedgerow treat).

Well, I for one thought it was great fun. We covered the flat with candles to combat the growing gloom outside and I spent some time chatting to Z from our outside stairs about Power Cuts We Had Known. Suddenly there seemed to be a lot more people than usual talking to each other in the street. Forced to abandon our DVD, we sat on the rug in our living room and played poker for scrabble pieces by the light of the candles on the hearth. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a Sunday evening so much.

I wonder if I can persuade K to let me have power cuts on Sunday evenings more often?