I was in blackout and parents haven’t even texted me

[Stopeatingcrispsanddips]

I live in one of the countries where there was a power cut, it was frightening at the time and still feels a bit unsettling. My parents haven’t even WhatsApped us to see how we are (they still live in the U.K.)

Is this normal?

@FedupofArsenalgame if your power went off and then with intermittent internet access you found out that the whole of the country was impacted together with another country, wouldn’t you think WTF is happening, this is slightly more than your average power cut. And then all communication dies

I think it was the lack of comms rather than the general discomfort that comes from no power that was the big issue for people. We are so hyper connected these days that we immediately think the worst if we can't get in touch.

Admittedly I was very young but after the 1987 storm we had no power for two weeks and no phone for a month!. It was uncomfortable and annoying (I mainly missed watching TV!) But no one panicked.

You’re getting a hard time here OP. I’m in Spain and the lack of power I was ok with but it was the fact that with no internet we had no information that was unsettling. The last thing I read before power totally failed was that it was a Russian cyber attack so, obviously, this was at the back of my mind.

I was 30 before the internet was a thing so I know what it’s like to grow up without easy access to information but we’re so reliant on it now that, of course, it was unsettling. Power cuts happen fairly regularly in my village but even if we have no electricity we’re still able to use our mobiles to get on the internet so Monday/Tuesday was a double whammy.

My point is that it was.normal in those days but the world has moved on and most of those who were old enough to have had independent children pre mobile phones will now also have moved on and adopted modern communication

Of course your parents may not have and I'm not suggesting for a minute that it's universal but imo it's the norm now to have more contact than in previous generations

Our water was cut off. So was all communication. We had no idea what was happening. A hurricane is pretty obvious. This was not.

OP, you sound very needy for a married woman in her late 40’s with elderly parents. Surely at your age it should be the other way round with you being concerned for your parents well-being?

My eldest son is 45 and we live abroad from them. They've been in Japan when there was an earthquake and whilst I’d feel concerned, I’d wait to hear from them because realistically, there’s nothing I can do to assist. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don’t know about everywhere, but my DD had no water at all in her flat. Presumably it’s pumped by electricity somewhere - I imagine in her building as I would hope they have back up generators for the main water treatment centres. That said, I think a nationwide power outage has a lot more ramifications than a local one, however long it goes on for.

You are not a superior being as you have time in your life to listen to an entire news programme from start to finish every single day without fail. You just have more leisure time in your life than others do.

Contrary to what remarkably black and white thinkers on this thread think, people are not ‘thick’ because they have missed something on the tele, that you have caught.

I listen to part of the morning and evening news on radio 4 nearly every day. I work full time and have two kids. I catch some of the news whilst making breakfast and dinner, and dealing with the kids.

If anyone thinks it makes me ‘thick’ or ‘willingly ignorant’ because I can’t give all of my attention to an hour long news programme every day, then they need to take a good hard look in their own mirror.

As someone who literally lived in a war zone for two years, I find this both amusing but also deeply distasteful.

Get a grip.

Or people who didn’t look at a TV or newspaper article online on Monday. Not everyone is glued to Sky news 24/7. Doesn’t make them and idiot.

I think most posters don't understand what the OP has tried to say.

I'm a Spaniard living in Australia with a son and other family in Spain. The moment I heard the news, I tried to contact my son. I didn't get through because internet coverage was down all over the country but still kept calling, sending texts and kept the phone by my side.

The outage was unusual, not so much for the duration or any social problems but in the sense that it affected the whole of Spain and Portugal.

When my son got in touch eventually, he was pretty phlegmatic and cracking jokes. But as a mom thousands of kms away and without the interaction he had with friends, neighbours and colleagues, I was worried. I had no idea if it had been a massive cyberattack, and if so, what could happen next.

I think it's odd the OP's parents, who apparently listen to news every day, didn't try to contact her.

Except you have missed out the main point. Without communication WE had no idea it was being dealt with, We did not even know what it was that NEEDED to be dealt with. We just lost power, communications and then water.

Only you know, OP, whether this is normal behaviour, because what is normal behaviour for one family isn’t for another. If I had been in a situation like that, my late mum would have called me and if she hadn’t, I would have been worried that there was something wrong with HER! That’s because concern for her children was her default. DP’s parents wouldn’t have bothered their arse calling and DP would think this was normal - for them. But not necessarily normal in general. Their attitude would have been that if there were no news reports of multiple deaths, they didn’t see the need to check on him. Even then it’s doubtful they would call. Everything has to come to them as they’re not very proactive. So there would be an eye roll from DP and possibly a bit of wishing they were different. But they’re not.

Sorry op, that sounds really scary! I had seen it a bit on the news but didn't realise how bad it was until I read this thread. It maybe that your parents didn't realise either. Life's too short to hold grudges, give them a call and let them know what a nightmare you've had. They might have other things going on too that you don't know about.

Sorry OP, your thread attracted the moron element.

I have several friends who were there and exactly as @TheLeadbetterLife better described, it was really a WTF is really happening moment.

The floods of Valencia are only months ago, so Spain has had a rough few months.

Some were stuck in an elevator for 10-12 hours with no idea what the problem was.

I think the fear of the unknown going on for hours and being completely cut off would be very unsettling.

I certainly checked in with the people I know who live or were holidaying there.

But that’s not what happened. The internet didn’t magically turn itself back on to send out updates. The power went off. Then it came back on.

Another thread demonstrating the level of absolute tossers on this website these days.

Crikey! I had almost the opposite experience. I lived really far north at the time, and was away visiting friends, which included visiting London and Wales. I had gone to Wales on 6/7, luckily, but my parents didn't know my exact itinerary. My dad phoned to make sure I was ok. My dad NEVER phoned me, it was always mum.

I was always very sensible too - but I'm not sure that would have helped much...

People who didn't look at a TV or listen to the radio or read the headline news or go on social media or post on Mumsnet.....

And then claim that they keep up with the news and it wasn't reported?

Idiots.

@m00rfarm my point was about why the OPs parents (presumably in the UK) may not have been worried. The information we were getting in the UK, obviously better and more detailed than a lot of people on tne ground in Spain and Portugal, was while uncomfortable the situation was broadly under control.

She did not say in a war zone. She though tthe war that everyone has been expecting, had actually started, DOn't be ridiculous and say that was distasteful. It was how she felt. I can understand why. It was bloody frightening not having any idea of what was going on. No communication, power, water etc. Everything just stopped.

Oh dang. That was supposed to be quoting a post from @Ginmonkeyagain

OP, it was a power cut, not a deadly storm where hundreds died. Is this a serious thread?
I have a friend who lives in central Spain, she just said it wasn't exactly a pressing situation to worry about, they had no power for 12 hours that's it.

OP, you sound very needy for a married woman in her late 40’s with elderly parents. Surely at your age it should be the other way round with you being concerned for your parents well-being?*

My dd recently moved to be closer to us as we're getting older and start needing more help. So far I've done 3 overnights of childcare and dh has been round to clear their drains and then again to plumb in a new washing machine.
Times have changed.

Neither would you have had any idea that this wasn’t just a local power cut. Unsettling yes, annoying yes, but why would the assumption be that it was a National issue or a cyber attack?