It has, I must admit, been pretty cold in the Creetings of late. Alright, not bitterly cold, but certainly raw. And, with sunset at about 4 p.m., the nights are long.
Thus, when the lights flickered just before the sun set this evening, it was unhelpful but not serious. We were, according to UK Power Networks, expected to have electricity again by 6.30 p.m. which, whilst somewhat sub-optimal, was hardly the end of the world. Ros and I gave up our dinner plans and ordered Turkish food for home delivery - they’d been before so could find the house, even in darkness.
Yes, eating by candlelight is, under normal circumstances, romantic. Admittedly, having the option to turn the lights on so that you can establish where the cutlery is does help, but we’re hardy souls in the Gipping Valley.
It became apparent, however, that 6.30 p.m. was a mite optimistic. An underground cable had failed, and it might take time to resolve the problem. The new target was 11.30 p.m., a rather different kettle of fish, particularly for the more vulnerable amongst us. It looked like Ros and I might be... whisper it quietly... forced to talk to each other instead of curling up with a good movie.
Luckily, our wood burning stove was keeping the house nice and toasty warm, and our phones and iPads were charged sufficient for the long haul, whilst UK Power Networks requisitioned emergency generators to tide us over and brought a customer support vehicle capable of supplying tea and coffee and answering questions. Meanwhile, regular text updates were passed on via the village Facebook group.
Our power came back on just before 11 p.m. thus giving me the ability to post this. I suspect that there may be an interruption or two before we’re done, but it’s nice to have things back to near normal...
It would seem that Creeting St Peter is ahead of the time now (or at least ahead of the 1950s). After all - It was on the Monday morning, the gas man came to call.
ReplyDeleteThe electrician didn't get round until Wednesday. :-)