……..And here’s me thinking I’d have the afternoon free! Fat chance of that. I received a call from a young woman who told me her neighbour had lost her electrical power supply. The young woman had tried to re-instate the supply but the reset switch wouldn’t work. I agreed to call and see what the problem was thinking it would be a simple affair. On arrival I discovered that the reset switch was faulty. This switch is what most people call a ‘trip switch’ and is actually an RCD, a safety switch to prevent electric shock and possibly death to someone who accidentally comes into contact with mains power. It does ‘trip’ when activated. The problem was that it could not be repaired or changed because this type of switch is now obsolete. It would necessitate the whole distribution board being replaced. There was no time to do that today so I had to effect a temporary repair which by-passed the switch. However the fault had also caused the electricity supplier’s main switch to fuse solid and the main fuse blowing too. I repaired the fuse and arranged for the supply company to replace the switch on Friday. Meanwhile I will return tomorrow and install a replacement distribution board. Quite a costly affair for the old lady but fortunately her son is paying. I get to do some work for him too next week. Can’t be bad. So off I went to the wholesaler to get the materials for tomorrow and I get another call from a woman desperate to have her bathroom lighting sorted. Evidentally she’d changed a switch herself and made a mess of it. So before I went home I called in and sorted it out for her. This is often how my days go but it does make them interesting…………
Shirley Anne
