Power Failure

We've had 4 hours electricity in the past 48!! Major blackouts have hit Cape Town since Saturday. At least 10 hours downtime every day. Which explains why my posts have been daily(ish) rather than daily.

Seriously, we are descending into deepest, darkest Africa. Petrol pumps can no longer pump. Bakeries can no longer produce bread. Gas supplies have run dry. Camping gas stoves have sold out. Petrol operated generators have sold out. Traffic lights are out. Pandemonium.

To make matters worse, the electricity companies have no idea of any solution. The one power station went down and the other cannot cope with demand. Whoever has been planning infrastructure for the past years has made an absolute cock-up. And they keep stringing us lies. Last November we had power outages too. Every time there is a new excuse.

No doubt there is going to be a spike in the number of South Africans emigrating in the next few months. With the crime and poverty here it is constantly in the back of everyone's minds. There are close on a million South Africans living in London, and Perth, Australia, is overrun by South Africans. "Time to pack for Perth" is a daily slogan. But this power outage is really gonna scare people. Many wealthy people here live in little cucoons, in big houses behind fenced walls. But every person in this city has been directly and majorly affected this past week. When the government can't get electricity right, it's frightening territory we are in.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?
Bipolar Guy is loving it! As far as I'm concerned the world can do with a bit of compulsory downtime. Catch a breath. Lift your nose from the grindstone and catch a glimpse of the Big Picture (which you last saw when you were in school). What a pleasure to get away from the computer screen for a few days and not feel guilty about it.

This morning I took the dogs for a long walk on the beach. Last night the house was flickering with candles. Good for your soul. The coffee this morning was made from gas fired water - and man, did it taste good. And without the light pollution the stars at night are the clearest I've ever seen them.

And hey, this morning when I meditated I didn't even have to switch off my noisy hard drive first!