At exactly 8:47pm on a cold Thursday in November, the electricity went out in the town of Millfield. Every street light went dark. Every television screen went black. In houses, shops, and offices across the town, people stopped what they were doing and looked up.
In her kitchen on Hazel Avenue, Mrs Chen — a primary school teacher — was cooking dinner when her electric stove simply stopped. She put down her wooden spoon, walked to the window, and looked out. The whole street was dark. She sighed, found a torch in the kitchen drawer, and put a candle on the table.
A few doors down, sixteen-year-old Jamie was playing a video game in his room when his screen went black mid-battle. He groaned loudly. He was also messaging three friends at the same time — all the conversations stopped in an instant. He sat in the dark for a moment, then went downstairs to find his mum.
On Beech Road, the Kumar family were all watching a film together in the living room. The television went off without warning. For a second, everyone was silent. Then the two youngest children started laughing — they thought it was wonderful.
At Millfield Police Station, PC Walsh was writing up a report when the lights cut out. He immediately got up, checked his equipment, and went outside to assess the situation.
At the Copper Kettle café on the high street, owner Emeka Obi was serving customers when the lights went off. He lit several candles and carried on, explaining calmly what had happened. His customers stayed for another hour.
The blackout lasted three hours. People lit candles, went to bed early, or stepped outside to look at the stars — which were unusually bright that night. Neighbours talked across garden fences. Mr Obi said later that it was the most social evening on that street in years.