| In the dark of the night |
[Dec. 31st, 2002|03:34 pm] |
| [ | Feeling |
| | calm | ] |
| [ | Reading |
| | Pat Reid, The Colditz Story. | ] |
So there I was at one o'clock this morning, relieving some end-of-day aggression on the PS2 when there was a sudden fzzzzzzSCHRUUUUM sound and the screen went black just as Sho Funaki was finally starting to make some headway against Kurt Angle... and the room lights went out... and so did the LEDs on all the electrical equipment... and the dishwasher stopped in its tracks.. and the lights in the hallway of the flats disappeared... yay, powercut.
I went outside to investigate and it was so incredibly light, despite the time of night. Without the streetlights and the glare from people's windows the sky was getting to do its stuff uninterrupted and there was an orangey glow that meant I didn't need the torch I'd brought with me. It was almost like when we went to Iceland in June - midnight sun.
I explored the neighbouring streets and I reckon maybe 500 homes were affected. One just round the corner had its burglar alarm blaring and a neighbour was standing outside. He had a spare key and had tried to open the front door to check the woman living there was okay, but couldn't get in - there appeared to be a deadbolt locking the top of the door. This worried us. Surely she had to be at home, or how else could the door be - seemingly - locked from the inside? But why was she not coming to the door or switching her alarm off? She hadn't told her neighbours she was going away, but on the other hand there was nothing to even remotely suggest anything was wrong - except that bolt. Could she be inside, in need of help? We were very tempted to phone the police, but knew if they came they'd just smash the door in - no help at all if she'd just gone away for the New Year.
In the end, I bailed out and left it to her neighbours. The alarm had lapsed into standby mode but could still be heard quietly through the front door - it certainly hadn't been switched off. There was some thought that she might be at a late service in the local church, so I went to check as it was on my way home. Nothing, of course.
Back at the flat, Lisa had lit an oil lamp and some candles. We sat, enjoying the silence - you don't appreciate just how much background noise electrical equipment produces until it stops. Refrigerators, computer fans, speakers - it's a different world without them.
Then the power came back on, just as we were about to go happily to bed. The TV sprung into life, two computers powered up, the dishwasher carried on where it had left off. The real world came rushing back in and the peace went away. |
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| Off a-roaming again... |
[Dec. 31st, 2002|08:12 pm] |
Well, I was going to go online after midnight and write a few observations on what to expect from 2003 for the Americans in the audience who won't have experienced it first-hand by then.
But instead we're going on a whim to my parents' and will stay the night there. No Net access, so you folks in the Colonies will have to work it out for yourselves without my help when it arrives... ;o)
Anyway, a happy new year to the lot of you, whether I know you of old from Tangent21 or met you for the first time through Deadjournal. I hope 2003 brings you what you want and what you need.
I'm gone. |
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