Supermarkets are expecting a run on candles and are restocking pornographic magazine racks as Britain prepares for 3-hour blackouts this winter. A throwback to the 3-day week period of the 1970s, these blackouts are intended to encourage people to stop using gas during certain periods of the day.

The expectation is that social behaviour will change as consumers are encouraged to do their washing at night and may even be paid for it.

National Grid's Electricity System Operator (ESO) director of corporate affairs, Jake Rigg, said:

If you put your washing machine or other electrical appliances on at night instead of the peak in the early evening, you can get some money back when we all need it.

The 3-hour blackout period could mean no Internet but the good news is that 3 hours is about the time it takes to read a pornographic magazine from cover-to-cover by candlelight.

As we enter this retro period, we should also expect a return of flared trousers, platform shoes and rubbish piling up on the streets.