Well, things didn't quite go as planned. I woke in the night - I assume it was about 3 or 4 o'clock, as it's usually the time my hip wakes me, and there was a power cut. I dozed on and off until it started to get light, then slept until a bit before 8. The electricity was still off.
Not long after, Al rang from work to say that he had passed men working at the junction box, and hoped the electricity would come on soon. We live in the same road as the school - Dilly was sorry for Squiffany, as it would be the Christmas party day today, and if the power (therefore the heating) wasn't on, the school would have to be closed. And so it proved. However, at least there was snow, if only a measly quantity. It was bitterly cold, although the sun was shining.
At least I could still read emails, so I dealt with them and then went off for a meeting at school. I'd had a phone call to say my hospital appointment was cancelled so I decided to go along to the end-of-term Pop Mime in the afternoon to take my mind off it. It was very jolly. Most entertaining. And 1000 pupils sat there applauding, cheering, singing along, no one got up, no one misbehaved, no one got out of hand. It was good-natured and all done in a good spirit.
I'd plugged my phone in at the shop so as to be sure I didn't run low on battery power if the electricity was off all evening. I'd had to fish out radio batteries this morning - I'd had some of them so long in the drawer that they didn't work. And when we did arrive home, it was still cold and dark. I started to prepare dinner while there was still some natural light, with the additional aid of a candle. And then, just as I was starting off the casserole, the lights came back on again. I'd filled the dishwasher - I had no intention of washing up in the dark, so was going to hide it all overnight and wash up if I had to in the morning - but I was glad I hadn't bothered. I don't care for unnecessary effort, not if it resembles housework.
Oh, and the Sage had his computer switched on before I did mine. After dinner, Ro phoned. The Sage picked up. "Are you still eating?" asked Ro politely. "No, I'm at the 'pooter, of course," replied his once-technophobe father.
I'm not teaching him how to blog. Not even for ready money.
What I would like, though, is to thank those splendid Electricity Board chaps who spend the whole of a freezing day clearing a fallen tree on the marshes off from the power lines and then working to reinstate the supply. They do a great job, whatever the weather. I remember once on Christmas Day we saw a couple of chaps in the garden - they were looking for the Old Rectory, where Alan and Sophie's electricity had gone off halfway through the cooking of lunch, and they came straight out to put things right, never mind their own Christmas Day.
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16 comments:
Glad you got your electric back on in the end. It`s one of those things we so take for granted, that we don`t realise how much we use it until its not there, isn`t it?
Raining here now, but changing to snow overnight with prediction of 6 to 8 inches. This will cause a total shutdown here. I live on a hillside and have to back down a steep gravel driveway. Will be lovely though.
If I woke at 3 or 4 I'd sleep til midday at least and sod my hip/knee/groin/elbow or any other bit of my anatomy that insists on reminding me I'm 52 this month.
Oh no I'm not!!! I'm 16 so fuck off hip/knee/groin/elbow.
So there.
And yes. All these bits play me up on a fairly regular nightly basis.
I was a sportsman once.
Please don't laugh.
I was bloody good back then.
Is it worth the price I pay now?
Dunno. I'm so stubborn I sleep through it...;-)
Mmmm....casserole. Just the thing for winter nights. (As long as it's not lamb.)
Don't you like lamb Christopher?
We have had on and off power cuts her too. Thank goodness for two wood burners, at least I can boil some water for tea, and at a push rustle up supper!
you have an iPhone!
I know, Ivy, everything comes to a halt. My m-i-l, when we prepared to move here, warned us not to rely on the electrical supply as it has always been a bit iffy here. So we've got an open fire, wood burners and a Calor Gas Aga (heh, I typed Carol).
I doze only, from about 4 o'clock every morning, 4D, at present. I'm a bit fed up.
Your groin plays you up on a nightly basis? That's a nicely genteel way of putting it.
I've always looked after my body and not abused it with contact sports. I don't deserve to be a physical wreck, but it turns out to be congenital. Who knew? I've warned my daughter.
Just in casseroles, or generally, Christopher? I like lamb. But it was a chicken casserole last night.
Sarah, I've been looking for a kettle to go on the stove since the last one went rusty. But they all seem to warn you against leaving water in them. Which seems really pretty stupid, in a kettle.
Ooh, I started writing this and then went and cooked lunch. Yes, ILTV, I bought it last week. It is my newest possession and my greatest extravagance, and it is making me very happy.
I mean, I started writing the previous comment and then when I posted it I found yours.
As you realised. Sigh. As you were.
Marion, I left you out - sorry! I'm getting a whole new picture of Kentucky. I had no idea, only one state north of Tennessee, I thought it wouldn't get that cold. Mind you, LZM in Nevada is getting snow, and that really makes me appreciate how little I know.
Mmm....chicken casserole. Is there any left?
(Afraid lamb's out in any form. I expect this is congenital - or should that be hereditary? - too. Sorry.)
I'm sorry, we ate the lot. I was a bit surprised, as when it was taken to the kitchen after dinner there was some left, but it mysteriously vanished during the evening, leaving only a few vegetables in the dish.
Don't look at me, I haven't been out of France since November 8th. And I like vegetables. I reckon it was that 4D. He has a lean and hungry look, don't you think?
If he'd come through here, I'd have poured him a drink to go with it.
Ever thought of getting a generator? You can get a 3KW one for less than £70 these days.
Mind you, since we've had ours, the power hasn't been off for more than a couple of hours at a time. Before that it was off for 24+ hours several times a year.
An elderly neighbour has a generator, but we've never really considered it. The supply is pretty reliable now - a tree coming down or, as last year, a transformer blowing up spectacularly, is fairly unusual.
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