Lighting

Got into a panic about the winter to come a couple of weeks ago, as reported at reference 1. What are we going to do when the lights go out?

Fairly rapidly came to the view that there was nothing to be done about heating, hot water and cooking. Just make sure there are enough blankets in the upstairs cupboard and enough food that does not need to be cooked in the downstairs cupboard. So lots of dried fruit. Brick dates. And in extremis, we have enough wood lying around to do a bit of cooking outside, planet unfriendly though that may be. Maybe I could still make the twists we used to serve with jam in my scouting days.

But what about lighting? A bit grim sitting around in the dark with most usual forms of entertainment denied, in particular reading. So, as already reported, we checked up on the supply of torches, candles and matches.

But this sort of thing is not much good for reading or playing Scrabble. So off to B&Q at Leatherhead to see what they could offer. Builders must have to work in places without light.

We did not ask and there were not many people around whom one could ask, so we found the small stash of battery lights in the very last corner of the double decker store. If only we had turned left on entry rather than right. But in the stash, we had something called an inspection light for £20 which looked promising. Give it a punt.

Get it home and waited until dark to find that it gave off quite a good, diffused light. Not very bright, but quite bright enough for the two of us to read by when hung off one of the existing ceiling light fittings. Supposed to be good for three or four hours after which you have to recharge it. Success.

BH, as O-I-C (emergency planning), will no doubt attend to regular tests, perhaps fortnightly. If only to  make sure that we remember where we put it.

PS: I notice that the foreground mug left has been tipped over by the telephone camera far more than the background mug right. There is, no doubt, a simple explanation, if only one knew where to look for it.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/10/blackouts-to-come.html.