I have been visiting Hungerford Arcade for a number of years now and have seen it in its various moods. Whether during the hot dog days of summer or during the chilly days of winter with the sharp winds whipping in off of the Salisbury Plain, I have been there. I enjoying visiting the Arcade and looking at things (and sometimes purchasing them) it makes a welcome break from the madness of real life.
But yesterday, which was the 21st of October 2017, was rather special as I experienced something that I had not experienced before. Total or near total darkness. The day started as many had with the only unusual thing being that Caron and I were actually in Hungerford on a Saturday having been in sunny Kent (do visit the Turner/Emin/Arp exhibition in Margate if you can) and Bath during the previous two weekends.
My wife had trotted off to Tesco’s and was visiting the splendid new W.H. Smith store in the High Street on her way back, as I was too idle to pick up the weekend newspapers. I had agreed to meet her outside of the Town Hall so that we might share the shopping load. The Arcade was busy, but not especially so and I made my way to the junk stall straight away as I knew that my time was limited.
Quite soon after negotiating the steep stairs to the cellar, I found a rather faded teapot stand dating from the early twentieth century showing a view of Morecambe which I thought to be rather nice (and also practical). Later, I found a leather wallet containing two handkerchiefs commemorating the 1953 Coronation of our Queen. Soon after, I found myself in the book department under the café and almost immediately found The Young Naturalist by Alicia Catherine Mant dating from 1824. And then it happened, my world was plunged into complete darkness along with most of my fellow Arcade visitors. Only Rafters Café retained the daylight and its patrons continued eating without protest.
I had never been in the Arcade in darkness and it was a rather nice experience and I could almost sense the ghosts, who are supposed to haunt the building, moving around. But one has to be practical and I had a brainwave. The torch on my new mobile phone, that would be the answer. That is when my problems started as my mobile phone was so complex that it took me about ten minutes to figure out what button to press to activate the tiny torch. But when I did, the effect as magical with its sharp light illuminating the books as I spent a happy few minutes looking at other editions before I decided to leave and meet Caron.
As I walked down the stairs towards the junction with the main right hand passage, I was met by a large number of stars floating without association in the air. Well enough of the Keats. I was met by a number of people holding their mobile phone torches in the air for illumination. Although this did remind me of Tinker Bell in the Peter Pan stories, I must say.
Alex and the arcade staff were ensuring that everybody was okay and I was told that the whole of Hungerford had been plunged into darkness by the power cut which did not surprise me as for some reason, our lovely little town seems to have more than its fair share of power cuts. I was thinking of designing a poster noting this as a further tourist attraction. If You Want to Experience Real Power Cuts then come to Beautiful Hungerford the poster might say, but enough of this thin wit and back to the dark right hand passage at the arcade.
From my vantage point, I could see that the counter area was lit by the fading daylight of the autumn afternoon. The counter was surprisingly busy and after getting some change from the Antique Market in Town Hall (as the arcade’s till was down), I paid for my goods and made my way back to my little cottage as I knew that Tesco’s would have suffered the same problems as the Arcade and my wife would have gone home. The power was restored about an hour later and life continued as normal as it always does in Hungerford.
Although not on the scale of the York Blackout of 1977, I still enjoyed our little blackout and to be in the Arcade when it happened added to the experience and I will not forget the floating mobile torch lights for a long time.
When you next visit Hungerford and pack your sandwiches and your flask, do leave some space in your bag for your trusty torch. You never know when you might need it.
Happy Hunting
Stewart Miller-Osborne
