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[raflaunches]

I’m sitting in my barrack block room in silence- not that I want to I may add! Yesterday my plug circuit for the room decided to knock out the circuit breaker, I shall point out that it wasn’t anything I did as far as I can tell unless the charger for the vacuum did it. But anyway I digress.
Rang up the contractor who deals with barrack repairs and got told that it was going to be put in routine which could take up to 28 days for someone to open the cabinet up outside my room and flick a switch! I asked how long it would be if it was urgent and was told 5-7 days! I mean I know it’s a first world problem but you’ll be surprised how reliant you are on having working plugs. No chargers for phones, no Wi-Fi, no TV, no radio. Luckily I’m a modeller so I can get on with building some models as long as the lights don’t go out!
But in this day and age it’s infuriating that a simple fix that would literally take a minute to sort out is now measured in days. I’m so tempted to break in to the locked CB cabinet but I know I’d be charged for its repair if I did. It’s the silence that drives you mad as I’m so used to having a radio on in the background.

[Capt Podge]

Hi Nick, just wondering if there are any sockets in the passage that you could run an extension lead from?
... or maybe one of your colleagues rooms 


Ray.

[raflaunches]

Hi Ray,


I had a mate who did that under similar circumstances and he wasn’t in the block for long- they told him other than we aren’t allowed to daisy chain extensions leads that it was a trip hazard too. They are really H&S mad these days and they use the usual excuse of fire to stop anyone doing it as a couple of rooms burned out in the early 2000s due to electrical equipment and leads.
I’ve got lighting, water, and heating so I can’t grumble too much or that’s what I got told by the contractor!

[Capt Podge]

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about the Elf & Safety bods 


Doh!

[Martin (Admin)]

Good thing you don't have access to guns, explosives and weaponry Nick ..... hand on a minute...!   

[raflaunches]

Good thing you don't have access to guns, explosives and weaponry Nick ..... hand on a minute...!   

    Don’t give me ideas

[Capt Podge]

Failing all else, you could, at the least, charge your phone in the mess (or the Naafi if you still have one) and then download some music 


Aye,
Ray.

[Big Ada]

In the olden days before 3 pin plugs, it was normal to plug a Bayonet adaptor in to a light socket and run a cable from there.


Len.

[raflaunches]

In the olden days before 3 pin plugs, it was normal to plug a Bayonet adaptor in to a light socket and run a cable from there.


Len.

We don’t even have that ‘luxury’ as back up. There is a communal room in the block where I can plug into for charging- currently charging up a battery pack

[jaymac]

Say it's affecting your mental health having to rough it

[nemesis]

if you are running to a transformer it could be open circuit. Happened to me with the phone tranny.nemesis

[tigertiger]

In the olden days before 3 pin plugs, it was normal to plug a Bayonet adaptor in to a light socket and run a cable from there.


Len.

   




I was thinking the same, and I remembered that they were regulated away years ago.

[Colin Bishop]

I've still got a wind up radio from my 1:1 scale boating days.

You turn the handle and it insults you. 

Colin

[raflaunches]

I've still got a wind up radio from my 1:1 scale boating days.

You turn the handle and it insults you. 

Colin

   I seem to remember having one of those too

[raflaunches]

Well an update…


I was sitting at the table in my room I use for modelling and a saw a red flashing light appear. Turned out to be the towel rack heater switch which operates off the same circuit as the plugs. Sudden realisation that power was back so I went to open the door expecting to see the contractor closing up the panel and no-one there. I saw the corridor door shutting and a sound of running boots outside the block! Talk about legging it away from the scene! I was hoping to see which item had tripped the circuit so I could avoid using it but looks like the contractor was too busy for that 
Oh well, at least I have Wi-Fi and I can use the radio again whilst modelling. I’m charging up my battery packs just in case it happens again

[Capt Podge]

Hi Nick, I guess the contractor was going to be late for the tea break 


Good to know you're back up and running anyway 


Ray.

[raflaunches]

Many thanks Ray, it’s surprising how much you miss a gentle hum in the background!

[SailorGreg]

Oh well, at least I have Wi-Fi and I can use the radio again whilst modelling.

Back in prehistoric times we had radios that worked on batteries.  You could even carry them around with you.  Obviously progress has done away with them! 

[Big Ada]

Many thanks Ray, it’s surprising how much you miss a gentle hum in the background!

I will send you a Pair of my Socks.

[dougal99]

Back in prehistoric times we had radios that worked on batteries.  You could even carry them around with you.  Obviously progress has done away with them! 

I've got its grandchild measures 3 x 1.5 x 0.2 inches. Trouble is, I can never find it on my desk

[dodes]

Hi Nick you think you are hard done by contractors, my wife worked as a nurse in Q.A. Portsmouth a P.F.I. hospital. The nurses used to joke at how many men it took to change a light bulb, once the total was 7. First you had to put in a job card, then a supervisor would inspect it, then a electrician would appear with a couple of helpers, but before work started a safety inspection would take place. When before a porter would turn up with a bulb in his pocket and a step ladder.

[tigertiger]

How many men does it take to change a lightbulb?
Well we can all laugh, but all those people had a job, paid tax, and could afford to pay their utility bills. Inefficient yes, but if it is one thing I have seen with 'efficiency drives', it seems that those savings tend to trickle up.

[dodes]

What a lot of people do not realise is that the whole hospital and grounds were given by the Government(then labour), in return some new build was attached and then the NHS pays rent to use what was once a NHS owned hospital until !!!. it has taken a huge slice out of the NHS budget with 3 x local hospitals(including Southampton General) having to pay towards the rent. When someone is refered to the hospital to see a consultant, they go with a sum of money from their GP practice. The first visit takes the lion share of that money, so they have you in quick, follow up appointments, well whistle in the wind. The contract at Q.A. is now owned by SERCO.