We had two power cuts in the apartment block today. The first, this afternoon, was just a bit of fun. The second, this evening, about five minutes before Jamie was supposed to go to bed, was rather more dramatic. Turns out that the emergency lighting in the halls is non-existent; we had one of the only lights outside our door which lasted for about the first hour of the blackout. Thankfully, our eternal search for the perfect nightlight for the kids’ room meant that we have several battery-powered lights and a little ghost lamp to take the edge off the darkness. We also met a few neighbours who appeared from nowhere (well, dark apartments actually) in search of matches etc. Most dramatic of all was the poor man stuck in the lift – Paul rang the fire department and they arrived in fairly good time to free him. A neighbour stood outside the lift translating proceedings into Japanese to reassure him.
The best part of the whole drama was Jamie’s reaction. Boy scouts watch out! As he and Paul set off to assess the situation, I could hear Jamie saying ‘okay, I am the person who rescues everyone. If you see anyone who needs help Dad, you tell me and I will rescue them okay? Right, what do we need. Torch? Check. Tools? Check…‘The firemen (who had both been to NZ!) were very obliging and paused in their busy evening to let us take this photo. The power is back on and the crisis averted (just in time to watch Boston Legal!) But we have left a bag at the door with coats, snacks and passports. The thought of all those candles burning throughout the building has left us a little nervous… (and I wonder where Jamie gets it from?!)
Jamie and Charlie's big trip 