I was tucked up in bed, loudly zzzz-ing, when Storm Corrie decided to plunge Stonehaven into the depths of blackout misery, late on Sunday night.
Fortunately, I had my personal alarm system to alert me to the impending catastrophe.
A nudge from Mrs B and a “power’s gone off… and how can you sleep with the wind raging around the windows like that?”
We do live at the top of a big, old Victorian building and the sash windows can fairly rattle when it’s breezy. I, however, am blessed with the ability to sleep through most anything… even a storm that’s blowing enough of a hoolie to disconnect my town from the power grid.
My immediate response to the late-night emergency was fairly simple. “Aye, well, we’ll see where we are at in the morning…”
And, with that, I was off to my slumbers again. Which was fine until Monday morning did arrive, with the darkness and cold very firmly entrenched. No lights, no heating, no internet, no nothing.
It put my moans of last week about Alexa being offline into context – and also raised the prospect that the fates are toying with me.
“No Alexa upsetting you, eh? End of civilisation is it? Try this and see how you get on, snowflake boy.”
Still, said fates relented a wee bit by throwing some serendipity into the mix.
The north-east has rallied once again
During the depths of lockdown, when you could only have a beer if you sat outside your favourite hostelry, I had invested in a battery power camping light. It was immediately dubbed the “drinking lantern”. Which was the very thing for when the house is as pitch dark as a coal mine.
All the head torches I’ve acquired for winter running over the years came in useful, too. Not that I’m running again, mind.
My good fortune didn’t end there. I was lucky enough to be able to escape the powerless wasteland of Stonehaven and base myself at Journals Towers for the day. And, belt and braces, Mrs B and I managed to bag a £20 hotel room in Aberdeen, amid the dire warnings the power might stay off for a while at home.
One positive is the way everyone has rallied around, from councils to businesses to ordinary folk, to extend a helping hand
However, I know many folk across the north-east have had it hard – really hard – in the wake of the storms.
One positive is the way everyone has rallied around, from councils to businesses to ordinary folk, to extend a helping hand and see people through these tough few days. Once again, the north-east rises to the occasion when it has to. We should be proud of that.
As I write this, I still have no idea when the leccie might burst back into life at home. Soon, hopefully.
But I’m not going to whinge too much for fear of the fates deciding I’ve not learned my lesson about being a wuss and cranking my woes up a gear. The last thing any of us need next weekend is a zombie apocalypse.
Scott Begbie is entertainment editor for The Press & Journal and Evening Express
