The shocking (sorry!) powercuts we had to endure in December returned with a vengeance on Sunday. The entire island was without power from 7.30am to 7,30pm. Fortunately it was Sunday. The loss of working hours in December didn’t do much for the businesses of the online working community here, whose working days were restricted to how long their laptop batteries could last.
However, the bad weather that was predicted didn’t appear, so people were able to enjoy a leisurely walks to pass the time. It must’ve been very much what Symi was like 50 years ago. A sunny walk over to Nimborios for a spot of fishing (bet there was even fish back then) followed by ouzo without ice in the local cafenion.
But, when darkness started to fall and nobody had anything warm to eat all day, (those hard kiosk sandwiches are truly the worst you’ll ever taste), tempers started to fray. We ended up chatting and drinking warm beer by candlelight while out in the blackness you could hear the shouts of locals cursing the electricity company.
There was a collective sign of relief, when piece by piece, the island began to light up again like a huge luminous jigsaw. The worry now is what about all that seafood sitting in freezer cabinets in supermarkets for 12 hours? Will it be fit to eat or will a strange vomiting bug hit the locality over the coming weeks?
Anyhow, they’ve just put this new solar powered lamppost out the back of my house. Anyone know how I can wire it up to my electricity supply for the next powercut?
However, the bad weather that was predicted didn’t appear, so people were able to enjoy a leisurely walks to pass the time. It must’ve been very much what Symi was like 50 years ago. A sunny walk over to Nimborios for a spot of fishing (bet there was even fish back then) followed by ouzo without ice in the local cafenion.
But, when darkness started to fall and nobody had anything warm to eat all day, (those hard kiosk sandwiches are truly the worst you’ll ever taste), tempers started to fray. We ended up chatting and drinking warm beer by candlelight while out in the blackness you could hear the shouts of locals cursing the electricity company.
There was a collective sign of relief, when piece by piece, the island began to light up again like a huge luminous jigsaw. The worry now is what about all that seafood sitting in freezer cabinets in supermarkets for 12 hours? Will it be fit to eat or will a strange vomiting bug hit the locality over the coming weeks?
Anyhow, they’ve just put this new solar powered lamppost out the back of my house. Anyone know how I can wire it up to my electricity supply for the next powercut?
Bet you wished you'd been a Boy Scout, kieran - two sticks and you could have had a cheery fire going in no time!
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