rileyuk.co.uk

in the early hours of the morning our area experienced a powercut, it had just passed 1:00am so there was nothing to do but go to bed, and as i moved about in the dark with the help of a torch i noticed something i hadn't expected. despite being the middle of the night it wasn't actually dark outside - turning my torch off i looked out of the window and despite there not being any street lights i could quite clearly see the houses on the other side of the street, the cars parked on the road, even the trees moving in the wind alongside the east lancs road [the lights there had gone out too]. the sky was overcast yet the clouds all had a distinct pale orange colour - light pollution from areas that still had power was my obvious thought, but is it really so bad in the modern world that even in the depths of night an area of a square mile without electricity can still be so illuminated?

I was struck when flying back from egypt that the lights seemed like a cancerous growth on the ground. It may not be far wrong as analogies go!

We didn't suffer the power cut which is odd.

I generally find though that even at night I can see quite a distance away. I agree though that we use too much electricity and are not helping the environment.

All in the name of fear! Keep the bogey man away that is what I say! :D

If you turn out the lights things lurk on the dark....things like muggers and rapists and other Bad Sorts.

If you turn on the lights we burn away all that energy, advertise our presence to the Universe and ruin the observations of the local Astronomy Clubs.

If there are Bad Sorts out there in space perhaps we would be wise to turn out the lights, and the radio signals, and the TV transmissions. We will be noticed.

You have been warned.

I remember when my Auntie got married and we stopped over at her new husband's house in the north-east. It was almost pitch black in bed at night. Brilliant for me, but I've heard some people can't sleep when it's too dark.

Having said that, your eyes can adapt pretty well to low light situations, but it's true there is tons of light pollution in large cities, as you've found out.

johnriley1uk wrote:If there are Bad Sorts out there in space perhaps we would be wise to turn out the lights, and the radio signals, and the TV transmissions. We will be noticed.

You have been warned.

I think I'll take my chances. I feel the odds of an alien descended in Leigh are remote enough as it if it has done a tad bit of research on this planet. Therefore, the chances of an alien appearing in Leigh and then wishing to bugger me are virtually non-existant.

It's even less likely to target Hemel Hempstead then?

:?

Depends on the type of alien I suppose. The hiding in bushes for illicet sex types are likely to be interested

well I won't be going near any bushes on the off chance that I will meet an alien with a saucy idea and a sun reporter with a video recorder.

You can't go anywhere these days can you?!?!

well I won't be going near any bushes on the off chance that I will meet an alien with a saucy idea and a sun reporter with a video recorder.

So which one is it that scares you, Andy?

Well with the alien I would probably get buggered in a most unpleasant manner but knowing my luck with the Sun reporter I would have to share my 2mins of debauchary with a Big Brother contestant and someone called ''Zoe, 23, from London'' on Page 3 telling me she is glad I am doing my bit for intergalactic relations and then end up appearing on an ITV documentary called ''Alien Neighbours from Hell'' as a Z-list celebrity voice-over/appearance slot where I offer intermittent advice inbetween comments from Lizzy Bardsley and Martin the Martian. However, it could lead to a career on ''Grumpy Old Men'' which would be seriously cool but I fear that alien buggery would be a fairly short topic that even Arthur Smith and Will Self would find difficult to comment on, Simon Hoggart though......

Therefore, after much deliberation I am forced to say...... Dunno really!