It's just not a good time for elecronics around us!

[clothsprogs]

It started last week when my sewing machine went legs up leaving me to struggle on using my spare machine, then, one of the strip-lights in the sewing room started flickering and stopped coming on except a vague glow at either end of the tube (unless I fiddled with the starter thingie and then it would come on for a while).

Comments

[demoneyes]

unlike some of the neighbours, we still had a working 'phone

Let me guess - they've all junked their plain old-fashioned phones for mains-powered ones and either haven't got any backup batteries or have left them in there so long they've died?

IIRC that's actually naughty to the point of illegality. It's obviously legal not to have a phone connection but I have this recollection that if you do have one that you're required to have a phone that will work when the power's out...

[clothsprogs]

Hmmm - well certainly some of them have mains powered ones, and at least one said something about their cableconnection going out whenever there's a powercut and their 'phone being linked in with that.... too techie for me.

Teddy

[jlms]

Question from Land Without Gas Ovens: Do you have to ignite the gas electrically? I mean, can't you use a match?

[clothsprogs]

Yes we can just do it with a match, but it would still mean working in the kitchen by candle or torchlight - which makes it sufficietly unappealing when the other option is ordering in that we plumped for ordering in.

Though our neighbours' oven doesn't get the gas coming through at all when the power is out - presumably their (more modern) oven ahs a "safety feature" whereby the cas supply is cut off if the electric ignition doesn't have power.

Teddy