When the Lights go Out

So far so good; we have had no power outages this year. But the worst of winter is yet to come, I fear. It is not uncommon for our telephone line or electricity to fail in the middle of a raging storm. Yesterday, as we were returning from town, we noticed that one of the poles that carries the phone and power line uphill to our house was leaning over, and that a temporary wire cable had been attached to a tree on the other side of the road, to keep it upright. We hope that this will be put right soon. Moreover, we have been aware for some years now that a second pole, which carries electricity higher up into the forest to supply our house and our neighbour , is wearing away at its base, and looks quite precarious. In the ditch alongside it lies the favourite 'spa pool 'of the local sanglier. It is here that they wallow in the muddy ditch, and then rub their mud caked flanks against the wooden pole. Before long they will wear our pole away completely, and our electricity supply will be no more.

In early December, England was devastated by Storm Darragh. Gaby Hinsliff, a Guardian journalist, wrote of how her family were deprived of power for more than 24 hours. She pointed out that after the initial 'fun ' of coping with candles and camping stoves , life became quite grim. Their house, and heating you see, were dependent on electricity. Moreover their phone batteries were soon depleted, and all internet and communication was lost. Their lives had gone from digital to analogue in a stroke. How well, she asks, is the world prepared for this, as storms become more and more frequent as a result of climate change?

We know this only too well after the terrible storm that we experienced in this locality in 2015. They called it a 'hundred year storm.' It was an exception they said ; an exceedingly rare event. But was it ? Our bridge was submerged under a raging torrent, trees were uprooted, and the local olive farmer saw his olive grove destroyed. I fear such a storm may well occur again much sooner. How prepared are we? And indeed, how prepared are you?

Like many people nowadays we keep extra stocks of pharmaceutical drugs and tinned food . Also, although we recently installed reversible electric heat pumps to warm our winter days, we also have a wood burning stove. Until recently we have always been self sufficient in logs. But as we grow older, B. no longer fells any big pines, and our stocks are gone. Now we must rely on oak thinnings, and have even resorted to buying wood from a commercial supplier. But at least we know that, if we are cut off, we will be able to keep warm.

As for cooking , it is perhaps fortunate that we rely on propane gas as well as electricity, so we hold adequate stocks. But how will we see in the dark? Apart from a large torch for finding our way outdoors , we keep a large collection of basic candles together with the occasional scented ones as a treat. These add an air of charm and excitement to winter nights. But as Gaby Hinsliff pointed out, even candlelight begins to pall after a while.

Perhaps we are unwise to continue living in such a remote, yet oh so beautiful spot. But at least we have one comfort. Should storm and floods return, we know that we live high up on a mountain side and not in the middle of a flood plain as many people do. But whether we could survive a forest fire is a moot point, so we shall diligently continue to follow the regulations and keep our land 'clean' as we are required to by law.