So how would you spend your time?

[HoppityBun]

When we had power cuts a little while ago I realised how very limited our options are if this occurs in the winter. I could probably keep warm and I could certainly find something to eat, for a while. What are you doing in those long hours?. Your iPad won’t last forever and I was very cautious about using it because I wanted the battery to last as long as possible. Same with the phone.

I did have a lamp that was powered by batteries but it wasn’t that easy to read with. No radio.

How do you pass the time?

I thought back to what I’ve read about the pre-industrial era or before most places had electricity. They sat around the fire and talked and told stories to each other. Well, I live on my own and I wouldn’t have a fire. What do you do?

In summer it’s ok: you can go for a walk pootle around. In the daytime I can definitely occupy myself. But if you’ve got more than 12 hours of darkness, I can’t sleep all that time. Thinking about this, I realised that midnight really was the witching hour because was much darker than we experience it now. It really was the middle of the night, because by then it would already been dark for several hours and people will much more aware of the dark for that reason.

How would you spend the time?

I bet the one at the end of my road would be. They’d work something out.

Have just realised that all my big lights are usb, so they'd have to be rationed to be useful over a few days.

I do have battery and wind up torches though. Plus a bunch of battery Christmas lights

the pumps for the beer don't work without power.

In days gone by they'd have found a way. Now they are all owned by the breweries and they won't be open due to health and safety concerns among other things. Businesses cant take risk like that.

I take your point about power, although the pub I’m speaking of is a free house.

I think what I was getting is that they’re already very inventive in ways to get people through the door and spending money. I wouldn’t mind betting that they’d let people bring their own in return for paying a sum to sit and talk. There’s also a loyal customer base that would want to meet and would want to keep the place open, somehow. We’re already allowed to bring our own food and I expect they would find a way of capitalising on that.

When I’m in next, I’ll ask them!