Is there a way to survive load-shedding?

Load-shedding has become a dirty word for many South Africans, almost equal to some of the worst swearwords you can think of. (In my case, it is almost worse than decaf.)

It is true that we have grown accustomed to the rolling outages, as they have been part of our lives for quite a few years; but the past two weeks have really been a wild ride, as we have moved through the different stages faster than a veld fire can spread.

To be honest, I am so confused, and have lost the fight of trying to keep up with the announcements of which stage we will be on at a specific time. Currently, I am just going with the flow, knowing that if I have electricity it is my turn, and if it is off, it is obviously not my turn.

It is unbelievable that we are subjected to this treatment because of a wage dispute. Please don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer that we all deserve increases and must be paid for work and services delivered, but we also need to be reasonable in our demands.

The current strike action can, in my opinion, almost be categorised as terrorism as the actions of a select few are causing the economy as well as the livelihoods of a whole country to be crippled. But, it is not just about business and money; the lives of hospital patients depending on machines that keep them alive, as well as those at home needing oxygen for each breath taken, are being jeopardised.

The frequency of electricity being switched on and off is also not great for our ageing infrastructure, which, in turn results in a load of other issues for residents. Load-shedding also creates a golden opportunity for crime to soar as alarms, beams and gate motors stop working effectively, and the total darkness is a great cover for criminals to do their work unnoticed and without haste. I do not even want to think about the strain it places on electronics, fridges and freezers. Some of us are lucky enough to have a generator, but with the current fuel prices, it is just too expensive to keep the lights on.

It does help a bit to strengthen our family bonds, as it is forcing us to spend more time in each other’s company (I must admit, they are actually quite nice people, my family). But, as soon as we have exhausted all topics to talk about, what do you do to help the time pass?

I would love to hear what you, our loyal readers, do when there is load-shedding. Share your survival tips with us at adeleb@caxton.co.za/ roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za/ northside@caxton.co.za.