Autumn. Responses to possible blackouts. Hibernation as a spectator sport.

The trees around here are turning nicely autumnal. Now we need a few crisp sunny days so that we can go for long walks and appreciate the beauty. It’s a pity the weather is not cooperating. This morning began dry but dull - I managed to run round the village and was almost home before a bit of gentle rain started - but by midday it had deteriorated considerably. Steady rain and gusty wind seems to be the order of the day. 

The powers that be are talking about the possibility of three hour power cuts at intervals throughout the coming months - hence the stuff about candles yesterday! It rather seems that the sanctions against Russia are hurting us more than they hurt Russia. But there is some confidence that we will be okay, much better off than our European neighbours at least and the government has decided against a public information campaign to encourage people to consume less energy. 

Asked if people should use less energy, Climate Minister Graham Stuart told Sky News: “We are not sending that out as a message. All of us have bills, of course, and the bills have gone up.” He said the government had stepped in to “protect” businesses and families from rising energy bills. “We’re also hesitant to tell people what they should do when we’re not a nanny-state government.” Lets leave that namby-pamby nanny-state stuff to French, shall? 

But, of course, pundits are now giving lots of advice on how to stay warm and save energy. Even if you can’t afford to do much by way of major insulation, they advise, at least go round the house looking for drafts and organise draft-excluders. I expect magazines to publish instructions on how to make your own draft-excluders. All those people who crochet decorative scenes to go on top of postboxes could crochet draft excluders and donate them to those who need them.

 

One suggestion I heard on the radio last night was that instead of putting on the heating you should wrap yourself in an electric blanket (assuming you have one) because it uses much less electricity. Better still, you should fill a hot water bottle, using even less energy, and hug that as you watch TV. Here’s some advice from the Guardian, which does not just concentrate on reduced energy use but lifestyle choices, beauty tips and what to read! Maybe what we have is nanny-media!

So far nobody has included the reminder to get up and move around every so often as a way of keeping warm. 

Now for some light relief from all the doom and gloom: in Alaska people are apparently busy watching Fat Bear Week, which sounds like a reality TV show where the competitors probably have no idea they are even taking part in a competition. This is an annual “tournament” which evaluates a bear’s “success in preparation for winter hibernation”, according to the tournament’s website. It goes on from Wednesday 5 October to Tuesday 11 October, when the winner will be announced. So it will be a bit faster than deciding who was to be leader of the Conservatives and so prime minister of the UK.

Participants (human participants that is) in the event, organized by the National Park Service and Explore.org, can vote for their favorite bear, whether skinny or large. Voters can follow the “candidates” on webcams on in the park as they fish for sockeye salmon and walk across the Brooks River.

“The nine-year-old contest aims to educate the public about the fishing and survival strategies, as well as the behaviors, bears must undergo to prepare for winter. From midsummer to fall, an average male adult bear can go from weighing 600-900lb to well over 1,000lb.

The contest stretched from one day to a week since it started in 2014 as Fat Bear Tuesday.”

Nobody seems to win a prize, although I suppose it attracts tourists to the National Park.

Maybe hibernation is a solution to our energy problems. We should fatten ourselves up, go to bed and wake up when it’s all over.

Life foes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!