Dependency

No. Not alcohol or any other drugs but dependency on the things we have come o take for granted.

For weeks/months? we have been sympathising with Granny on the sporadic supply of water and electricity in her part of South Africa. It appears that almost every day one or other of the services is cut – how hard that must make life for Granny.

Well, today I woke up and only part of the apartment had power. The first clue to something being wrong? The bedside light didn’t work and the radio clock was off. Even my trusty totem, my rock salt lamp was off. To make that first cup of tea I had to move the kettle to the other end of the bench.

Over my many years, I have learned first place to check is the fuse box. All looked well but what do I know? Anyway, a friendly electrician answered my call for help. His first port of call was the fuse box. He checked and all was in order. Then he checked all the powerpoints. They were in order. He then asked did I have an RCD. Um. A Residual Current Device. Once he described it I could show him which powerpoint had the device. He reset it and all was well. He then said he would check the outside powerpoint for the heat pump as he was here. And I am glad he did. We have had torrential rain for several days. Water had got into the box holding the plug and that had caused the RCD to trip.

So now Granny I am moving on from sympathy to empathy. I have some real idea of what life must be like when the power keeps going. off. And oh yes, it was only 13 degrees and the heat pump wasn’t working.

It’s still raining, but now it’s warm inside. The coffee maker has been happily bubbling away. The laundry s washed and dried, and dinner was cooked for my son this evening. So once again. all is well in my little corner of the world.

Via Pinterest

JB July 20, 2022
On a wet, windy, Wellington night.

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