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It’s shocking (pun sort of intended) the way we depend on things without really considering how we’d get by without them. I woke up yesterday after the house had been buffeted all night by high winds and rain to find we had no electricity. Thankfully I’d set my alarm on my mobile phone, so although the clock radio by the bed was dead, we were still woken on time. My girlfriend ran around lighting candles and we laughed. It was almost romantic.
We have a gas cooker. I had to find some matches to light it as the ignition is electrically powered, but no problem to boil water for my cuppa in a pan on the cooker. I ate my cereal by candlelight. Went up to the bathroom, got into the shower, turned it on. Yelped. Jumped back out. Gas central heating… but obviously some kind of electrical circuit board in the boiler… no hot water.
I was no longer finding the experience romantic.
I started wondering how long the power cut would last. Couldn’t turn on the radio or search the internet to find out. I stomped out the door, still shivering after my cold shower and wondering what state the freezer would be in if the power stayed off all day.
At the top of my street I stood as usual at the bus stop. But I had a really interesting sight to occupy me as I waited in the rain for the number 28. The traffic lights at the crossroads were also affected by the powercut. You’d have thought there’d be chaos and queues at what is a busy intersection. But on the contrary, the traffic seemed to flow just fine. People were actually using their indicators for once! There were a couple of toots on horns, but people generally took it in turns without confusion.
And more interesting still, pedestrians were treated with respect too. In the absence of a greater organising authority, people slowed down a little and worked it out between themselves. It reminded me of a number of projects I’ve read about recently that seek to take down street furniture like traffic lights, barriers and even pavements - creating a shared space that pedestrians, cyclists and motorists have to negotiate between themselves.
There have been surprisingly positive results. It’s not as simple as just removing traffic lights and signposts. Careful work goes into making it clear to drivers and pedestrians that they are sharing the road, by for example having no kerb - so pavement and road are at the same height. Simon blogged about some of these schemes a while back here on Living if you’d like to find out more.
You’ll be pleased to hear that I didn’t get home to find a freezer full of soggy food. Looks like power came back on a couple of hours later.
IMAGE by Flickr user RedEyedRex
