PRINT IS DEAD

In this day and age it’s a rarity to spend an hour, nevermind a day without using the internet, it’s therefore quite difficult to imagine how we would cope without these liberties. Well, around two weeks ago the whole of Spain, Portugal and parts of southern France suffered a complete blackout, leaving millions of people without not only electricity but more importantly data connection and wifi. 

The immediate reaction of many people were those of shock and fear, questioning the very possibility of what had happened. There was talk of an apocalypse as supermarket shelves quickly emptied, many looking to stock up their cupboards out of panic. The entire peninsula was completely shut down, it was as if time had frozen, clocks stopped ticking and there was nothing to do but sit and wait.

As the day went on, the initial shock and panic of the potential apocalypse decreased and people slowly came to terms with the fact their entire freezers would defrost. For some however, the blackout presented a moment of calm in which they would come to enjoy the rare sensation of detachment. 

Footage emerged of plaza’s full of people and full of life. Whilst others joined the queues to collect the icecream which needed eating before it melted. Radio reclaimed the centre stage as the primary mode of communication, as crowds flocked round to hear whatever information was available about the locura (craziness) of what was going on. 

The reaction to this power cut of the highest order was quite brilliant to see. Sunny Spain was indeed very sunny, footage shows the squares of Barcelona and Madrid full of people resorting to different devices of entertainment. Sat on the floor drawing and painting, playing cards or chess, it was a scene to be relished as sounds of flamenco and Bad Bunny quickly filled the air. Guitars and microphones came out in full force as people skipped around in conga lines, singing and clapping to songs adored across the nation.

Moments of disconnection and unity like these don’t happen often, it begs the question whether we could all do with a day like this. A blackout seems like the perfect opportunity to swap screens and scrolling for a wholesome candle lit dinner. A blackout in the UK however, would certainly be an interesting sight. 

The vibe would be less flamenco and sangria and more Ed Sheeran and a meal deal. Innumerable luke warm cans of vodka martinis and Guinness would be tippled throughout the afternoon whilst some lads in bucket hats on a roof somewhere would be shouting an Oasis song into the abyss. A sea of red and pink burnt Brits in the summer sun, devouring 99p ice-creams with a flake and having a right old laugh: British bliss. 

This sight in Spain is testament to the unity and collectivity of the inner-city communities, there is no doubt that the residents of the UK would do the same, in our own special way. In the meantime i’ll sit waiting, hoping that the light switch stops working.