Good Old Blackout

After only six and a half years of preparation for the Tony Olympics, the Cabinet Office has suddenly discovered that, when the Blanched Pachyderm finally starts trumpeting, rather a lot of people may start using the internet thingy; and that the country's telecom systems, which belong to a more innocent age, may not be able to cope. Market forces have inexplicably failed to deal with the matter; but, the Olympics being the acceptable face of war, the Cabinet Office has decided that rationing may be a solution. The Government also claims, or "believes" as the Observer's resident psychic hath it, that the capital may be prevented from seizing up completely if businesses allow staff to work from different locations or from home, or to vary their hours. This may well be the case; but, as so often, it is unclear whether the Government intends to do very much beyond exhorting everyone to do their bit for Big School. The Department for Traffic has launched one pilot programme, and has another quivering in the stalls, whereby many staff will work from home; it is hoped that this will result in a "permanent revolution", possibly because both pilot programmes have code names reminiscent of US military operations. As one would expect given Whitehall's long, acrimonious and taxpayer-funded relationship with the world of IT, the pilot which was completed last August resulted in connection problems even though it took place a full year before the real chaos is expected.