Do not adjust your set!

30/06/2008

The recent European Championships tournament in Austria and Switzerland, won by Spain on Sunday, will be remembered for many things – great goals, fantastic skills and dramatic matches.

Many football fans won’t also forget the television ‘blackout’ during one of the semi-finals last week, caused by a thunderstorm in Vienna, which interrupted coverage around the world, causing viewers to miss key moments.

As Pete Maycock, a BMS worker in a rural area of north west Thailand, explains here, people there missed much more, and are used to life being disrupted by loss of power.

‘It's disgraceful – the BBC need to get their act together, I've paid my licence fee’.

We read the complaints posted online of TV viewers in the UK with interest, following the five-minute blackout during the Euro 2008 semi-final between Germany and Turkey.

Football is hugely popular in Thailand, and across the country there are big screens showing the live games – despite the time difference meaning that most games start in the early hours of the morning!

In our village, there are many keen football fans, who faithfully stayed up until 1.45am to watch the live broadcasts from Euro 2008.

Unfortunately for the local football enthusiasts, most international competitions are held during the monsoon season. The electricity supply in our village becomes extremely unreliable at this time of year, with regular power cuts.

On the day of the Germany-Turkey game, the power cut off at 3.00pm, and did not return until the following afternoon.

So, our friends were waiting all night in vain for the football – and missed not just one of the goals, but all five!

Frequent power cuts have other effects on daily life here in Musikee.

At Sahamit School, the teachers are often frustrated in their efforts to type up or print out work.

Candles need to be prepared ready for all church meetings held in the evenings. The phones are unreliable and the mobile signal is weak.

However, most local folk can remember the days before electricity came to the village, and so they don’t complain much about these inconveniences.

Last year's Thailand Action Team in Musikee by candleight

And, for many of our friends, missing the football is far more serious!

Pete teaches English in Sahamit School in Musikee, and he and his wife Lizz are also involved with the local church. They have two children: Abigail and Jacob. Find out more about them and download their prayer letters by clicking here.

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