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The SA Blackout Made This Couple's 25th Wedding Anniversary All The More Special

'We sat in the dark, with rugs over us in candlelight.'
Even the most severe weather couldn't bring Chris and Christine Robinson's celebrations to a halt.
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Even the most severe weather couldn't bring Chris and Christine Robinson's celebrations to a halt.

Christine and Chris Robinson are the type of people to make hay while the sun shines. Or in the case of Wednesday night, make a romantic evening out of a statewide blackout.

The severe weather causing the entire state of South Australia to lose power on Wednesday destroyed more than 22 transmission towers and hijacked the Robinson's 25th wedding anniversary plans.

The British expats turned Tanunda locals were preparing for their anniversary dinner at the local Tanunda Club when they got a phone call saying it was cancelled.

Their house was out of power, and now the restaurant was too.

So the couple checked the fridge and the pantry, pulled out some candles and tucked in for the night.

"My husband had got three canned soups out, but I couldn't deal with that so I made up a corned beef hash which I haven't had for years, and years, and years," Christine told The Huffington Post Australia.

"We sat in the dark, with rugs over us in candlelight so it was a romantic evening."

How 25th wedding anniversaries are done in the South Australian blackout.
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How 25th wedding anniversaries are done in the South Australian blackout.

Christine, a trained teacher and now a coach for aspiring novelists, is usually attached to her computer but Mother Nature took care of that for her husband of two and a half decades.

"My husband always tells me 'that computer's attached to you -- put it down.' I didn't have a huge amount of battery [on the laptop] because I'd been moving around all day, so I could only work for about an hour and a half before it went flat," Christine said.

"It wasn't light enough to play cards -- which we like to do -- so we just sat, and listened to music. It was nice just sitting, and listening. We haven't done that for a while.

"We said afterwards 'we won't forget it and we had fun'. The dog enjoyed the company too."

Chris Robinson and his corned beef hash.
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Chris Robinson and his corned beef hash.

Northern soul, ska and 80s tunes blared from Bose speakers, which was briefly interrupted by a call from the couple's daughter, who is based in Auckland now.

Their daughter was three when the Robinson's moved to Tanunda. The town, which lies in the Barossa Valley, has about 4000 locals and an abundance of wineries close by.

It's the longest the couple have ever lived in one spot, after moving to Australia on the third of December in 1992.

Christine and Chris Robinson, 25 years ago.
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Christine and Chris Robinson, 25 years ago.

The Robinson's thought they were coming for the beach and sunshine back in 1992 but when they arrived, they were greeted with floods and rain.

"It was like 'Welcome to Australia, have a nice day,'" Christine said.

They've stayed for more than two decades, so maybe it's a good omen for the next 25 years.

And for a pair born in York and Nottingham, there's few better equipped to handle the weather.

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