It was a cold and windy night and the power went off. Plunged into darkness (well, we were asleep so it was dark anyway, but I’m trying to create a mood here). Power cuts are pretty common in Portugal, the electricity wires run along the forests strung from poles so every so often a tree hits a power line and out goes the supply for a short time. However last Friday we had a storm, a big storm and our power supply was off for four days and it’s only just stopped raining. It is only when your electric supply is out when you realise that almost your whole life depends on having this supply. No internet means no work, no phone or mobile reception means no phoning to check the situation, no TV means a disaster! On Saturday we plugged in our gas cooking rings, got the candles ready and went off to a lunch given in a local social club. How they catered for 60 people with no electricity is beyond me (even if it was cold and you had a...