es, there’s light at the end of the tunnel!

Literally, it says: “some bad things come for a good reason” – and in this case, the long, seemingly never-ending crisis, has given us the opportunity to reinvent life, go back in time.

For instance, how long is it since you ate a meal by candlelight? It’s romantic, as well as economical, after all – and if you’ve kept any of your grandmother’s old petrol lamps, why don’t you bring them out again, and start using them?

Mindful of increased fuel and electricity prices on the way, we’ve decided to give you, our dear readers, some useful pointers to show that in the end, there’s very little to worry about. You could end up paying no more on top of your fuel bills, and life could stay more or less the same!

First step: disconnect the fridge, and salt everything (as a way of conserving it), or eat everything that’s in it straight away. To avoid scurvy, make jam from cheap fruit (like oranges for sale all along the EN 125), and store it at room temperature (or below) – and with a few bits and pieces, you can construct your own solar oven which should serve you well even during the winter (thanks to the sunshine we get here in the Algarve).

As far as we can deduce, it would be good for everyone to get used to NOT using electrical devices – as, let’s face it, all they do is guzzle electricity. So why not start washing all your clothes in the bathtub?

If you leave them soaking for a few days, the dirt will come out much more easily – and, of course, you’ll save water as no-one will be able to take a bath!

It simply takes a bit of creativity and a new attitude: everything to do with comfort and quality of life is, in final analysis, dispensable! Remember how the Ministry of Agriculture advised taxpayers to turn off air conditioning units at the height of the summer in order to save money? An inspirational example of this new “forget comfort” attitude!

Ah yes, and charge your mobile phone at work (on the quiet, of course). You’ll soon see how much you save on those bills…

We know that many small and medium-sized businesses are worrying about the looming increase in fuel prices. But they shouldn’t be! They can easily reduce electricity bills by simply using one computer per department.

Electric lights can be switched off completely by making use of the hours of natural light – for example from dawn to dusk! All people need to do is alter timetables accordingly!

Heating is also an easy problem to get round. Companies can supply their workers with blankets, eiderdowns and wooly socks (which could also be used at home). It’s a practice we adopted at the «123» quite a few years ago…

Relax, in other words: there’s always a way through the madess!