Lights out!

In South Africa we are currently contributing to saving the world by having our own version of Earth Hour. It's called loadshedding, something which in other countries would probably refer to bodily functions, but here it's provided by our illustrious electricity supply company, run by hopeless incompetents and supported by a hopelessly incompetent government, brought inexplicably into a position of power (if you'll excuse the pun) by (yes you've guessed it) hopeless incompetents. It entails treating us to regular two-hour sessions without electricity, during which time we can, depending on the time of day or night, carry on with our normal lives, but not do any ironing, or sit outside and look at the stars under perfect viewing conditions.
Alternatively, we might be inconvenienced by not being able to have a hot shower before work, cook dinner, have sufficient light to do homework by or even miss that vital game of footie on cable tv!
How we cope with our extra special earth hours is entirely dependent on our outlook. For some it is an infuriating inconvenience; for others, a time to commune with nature and recharge our batteries. I prefer the latter.
Rumour has it that while we languish in the gloom, other parts of Southern Africa are brightly illuminated with our compliments. One can only hope that this is used to the best possible advantage, such as education, running essential services to communities and general welfare. It would be too bad if it were wasted on presidential partying and other senseless acts of gaiety.
One mitigating factor is that these earth hours are staggered and we have the added fun of consulting a schedule for each day of the week to check whether we'll be in daylight or darkness. Social media has become a powerful platform to spread information and misinformation in this regard, with messages flashing back and forth as fast as fingers can key them in. Sometimes the anticipation is too much to bear - we count down to the scheduled time, candles at the ready, and the lights stay on. Loadshedding has been suspended until further notice. Sometimes we are even disappointed!