80s kids loved power cuts: When blackouts meant terrace games and ghost stories

There was a strange little excitement attached to a power cut in many homes of the 1980s. The fan stopped. The television went blank. Someone immediately searched for candles. Yet children often had a very different reaction: relief.For many 80s kids, an unexpected blackout could mean an evening without homework, television or the usual instructions to stay indoors. It meant slippers at the door, cousins appearing from neighbouring homes and a slow walk towards the terrace. In the darkness, ordinary evenings somehow became memorable ones.When the terrace became the neighbourhood playgroundBefore smartphones, gaming consoles and constant television schedules, children created entertainment from whatever was around them.A terrace could become a cricket ground, a hiding place or simply a spot to sit and watch the sky. Children played antakshari, cards, hide-and-seek and other simple games.