4 more explanations I have heard for electricity cuts in Yagoua
on Notes from Quite Far (Cameroon), 19/Aug/2009 12:48, 34 days ago
Stormy weather has damaged the main cablesThieves have stolen the wire and fittings to sell in NigeriaVigilante consumers have sabotaged the network in protest over high chargesThe fusebox is knackeredA good thing about having sporadic internet access is that it allows sufficient time for things to happen. I logged on just now, for example, to find that the blog fairies have been in and done all my work for me. It’s great when that happens. When I saw it, I got all excited and ran outside to check my washing. Sadly, that’s all still there, with a tiny little note saying “Don’t Push It”. Fairies, it would seem, prefer IT.My electricity has been out for a few days, and this morning I learned that I have been cut off for not paying my bill. Over the course of the day, and after a number of discussions, the reason changed and it turned out that my fusebox needed replacing. Now I’m no electrician, but I like to think, given a screwdriver and some rudimentary training, I would be able to distinguish between an unpaid bill and a broken fusebox. As a non-expert, all I know for sure is that I parted with about £20 and the fridge came on.One good thing about having no electricity is that you develop an appreciation of how handy it is. (Lights, for example, are really quite helpful. They allow you to do useful things, like seeing.) I have also grown quite reliant on my computer for filling up the hours, watching films, playing music, typing this blog, etc. I had to resort to using a pen to write this one. The power is now back however, so I am typing once more and my pen is back in its box gathering cobwebs.Another good thing about having no electricity is that you have to be resourceful in finding ways to fill up your days. If it wasn’t for my broken fusebox/unpaid bill I would never have found the time to clean my cooker, make myself up like a goth, or build a sandcastle in my back garden, for example.While waiting for the technician to come round, I gave out the last of the sweets that Kathryn left behind. Among them were 15 lollipops whose sticks are cut into little whistles. The children really like those whistles and sound them constantly, never seeming to tire of the shrill, whiny noise they make. In no way do I regret giving them all out at once.Backtracking a bit, Kathryn has now gone home and is, I believe, recovering well from her various afflictions. After she got her plane, I stuck around in Yaounde and had a lovely time staying with Tom and Julie and looking after their daughter Mia for a day or two. We played at falling down and hiding under blankets, I taught her to say“bird” with a Hull accent, and I enjoyed looking after her immensely. She may not have felt the same way, however, perhaps preferring to spend her time with adults capable of putting a nappy on correctly.I came up north on the train in a sleeper car. Having been unable to get a sleeper last time, this time I was unable to get anything else. (I think perhaps the protocol is to ask for whatever ticket you don’t want, so that when they tell you it’s unavailable, you can buy the ticket you secretly wanted all along.) It was a 4-person sleeper with a mum and four children and me. The mathematically-minded among you will realise that this makes six. I shared my food with the kids and my bed with some cockroaches, and we arrived in reasonably good time in the morning. Since getting the bus up to Yagoua, I’ve had an uneventful few days, made interesting, but also slightly boring, by a lack of electricity. Which brings us full circle to the beginning of this blog.Goodnight.