What to do in a day-long power cut!

[bussinspain]

Well, first of all the dish-washer was in mid-cycle, just started watching the final of The Great British Allotment Challenge (10 mins in) and I was not washed or dressed - BOOM!!!!!!! Power cut! Problem - we need electric to pump our water from our water tank downstairs to the upstairs - no wash for us then. Walked next door with 2 water containers as their water tank is on their roof - so gravity fed. Back home with said water containers to make a cuppa. Can't check facebook, can't check GYO, can't check nuffin I know what I'll do - go through all of my Spanish and English seeds and sort them into months of sowing. Wrote them all on bits of paper (one for each month) then proceeded to then put them on my lap top in spread sheet format. How many packets of seeds - CRIKEY!!!!!!!!!! Rather impressed with myself. Can anyone tell me who won the competition please? We are back on line now - YAY!

[Aberdeenplotter]

A day is a long long time innit. I was faced with a two hour wait yesterday for breakdown service to come change a wheel for me after I had a puncture. I complained bitterly and they went away to come back with an hour of a wait. A puncture wouldn't normally have phased me but this no lifting/stretching thing is a real pain. I phoned my pal. He was there in 20 mins and wheel changed in another 5.

Fink I've tangentised a wee bit but the waiting around is the point so maybe not

[craftymarie]

I'd be annoyed too, especially at it cutting in just after settling to watch The Allotment Challenge. I really like that - not seen the final yet (watching later tonight) so don't want any spoilers !

There's a lot of things I like doing offline such as crafting, gardening (maybe not so much in these temps!) and reading but not fun when power goes off when you don't want to do other things.

Not all was lost if you sorted the seeds out

[Potstubsdustbins]

Go to van recover 2.5Kw generator, make quick connection, fire up genny carry on as normal

Mind you that's not a lot of use if you don't have a genny

[KevinM67]

'What to do in a day long power cut'

Just do what they did back in the 50s & 60s - it's not called the 'baby booming' age for nothing..

[Lisasbolt]

what The Allotment Challenge is back, i thought it normally started in the New Year. Been looking on youtube and cannot find it, so guess i have missed that then

We are always getting power cuts, not normally for long but have lots of candles around and always find something to do.

[Bill HH]

In 1962 I think we had 7 ft of snow and a transformer blew up that supplied our village. We had something like 6000 eggs incubating at the time and the Midlands electricity board brought out a huge generator that looked almost as big as a diesel train. Our farm was lit up like Blackpool illuminations whereas for miles around they were in darkness. Those poor guys had to use a sledge to pull this huge transformer across two fields in deep snow and through a blizzard, it took them 48 hours to get it done.

[JanieB]

In 1962 I think we had 7 ft of snow and a transformer blew up that supplied our village. We had something like 6000 eggs incubating at the time and the Midlands electricity board brought out a huge generator that looked almost as big as a diesel train. Our farm was lit up like Blackpool illuminations whereas for miles around they were in darkness. Those poor guys had to use a sledge to pull this huge transformer across two fields in deep snow and through a blizzard, it took them 48 hours to get it done.

I remember it well. I was 15. It started snowing on Boxing day and went on for months. It didn't finally clear in our parts until March. It was followed by a glorious summer.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Yes it was 61/62 Bill, I was apprentice on the Gas Board, not many vans in those days just foremen, deliveries and emergency. The fitters got about on public transport or the old butchers bike if you were lucky enough to scrounge one. The buses if they ran at all stuck to the main roads which meant miles on shanks's pony with a 50lb tool bag over my shoulder.

One in particular sticks in my mind Beeston showrooms to Stapleford even our short cuts over the fields were unusable so a 5 mile trek.

[PyreneesPlot]

I feel your pain as we were off grid when we arrived here, and although we were geared up for it (genny, inverter, batteries, solar) all the kit bar the panels was very, very old and kept breaking, plus we couldn't afford to run the genny very often!
We arrived in January 2010 and expected to be connected that November 2010 but in the end it was February 2012!! By that time the batteries were not charging up very well and would last maybe four or five days using asingle light only, so we both read an awful lot of books, being too old for baby booming of course.

[JanieB]

being too old for baby booming of course.

Never too old for the booming even if too old for the babies. Blush.

[Bill HH]

Yes in 61/62 it got so cold our diesel froze in the tractors and all our water pipes froze even though they were buried 3ft deep. We had pipes going all over the farm to the poultry and we ended up having to carry it in buckets from the farm house for months. carrying all that water soon caused my wellies to become full of freezing cold water and my wrists got so chapped blood was running down my hands. Those were the days eh!
I dont know how true it was but someone told me the temperature dropped to minus 27.

When the thaw set in in march the underground pipes stayed frozen, some guy went round with an arc welder passing current through pipes to thaw them out, I think we helped him buy his first Mercedes.

[bussinspain]

'What to do in a day long power cut'

Just do what they did back in the 50s & 60s - it's not called the 'baby booming' age for nothing..

eeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!

[bussinspain]

what The Allotment Challenge is back, i thought it normally started in the New Year. Been looking on youtube and cannot find it, so guess i have missed that then

We are always getting power cuts, not normally for long but have lots of candles around and always find something to do.

It was on BBC at 6.55am on Sunday mornings.

[Lisasbolt]

Was it a repeat or was it the 3rd season. I wouldn't have gotten up at that time for it anyway