Sunday, December 12, 2010

Bleak House


Instructions eh? I mean who ever read the instructions on anything. Certainly not She Of The Townhouse.

I mean its like use by dates isn’t it. They really only have to be in the right half of the current decade round here. And even if they aren’t we always give it a good sniff as we would hate to chuck anything away. Ever. I have a can of tripe in the back of the top cupboard that has been there for fifteen years past…….you never know when a canned tripe emergency might come….but enough of the aside and on to the main.

My farming colleague and partner in crime has ignored an instruction or two this weekend.
As the ice forms on the inside of the windows here on Hallett’s Mountain, and a thin film of frost manifests on top of the quilt cover, it is nice to know that the expensive electric blanket with all kinds of heat and snooze settings is at least keeping the inner layer at a level of comfort that can be endured; nay even enjoyed (I whacked a semicolon in there for Mike seeing as how it’s Christmas soon).
Beyond the refreshingly clear explanatory leaflet that came with it, there was only one piece of advice that the manufacturer saw fit to actually print on the quilt controller itself. Moulded in to neat white plastic is the fairly obvious caution.
‘DO NOT IMMERSE OR ALLOW TO COME IN TO CONTACT WITH LIQUID’
And of course it was just this that ‘the dark of my life’ chose to take with a hefty pinch of salt.
Subsequently malcontent with the effect of the penetrating cold on her side of the bed, she did decided that the situation might be rescued by the expedient of changing a fuse in the plug (a good idea), and drying out the little controller (and equally sound proposition).
The thing is though, that you have to be so careful. Drying out small plastic containers full of clever electronics and some kind of transformer is a job best carried out with patience over a few hours.
You wouldn’t under any circumstances want to rush, for example placing such an object on top of an electric heater displaying the legend :-
‘DO NOT PLACE ANY ITEM ON TOP OF THIS HEATER’
Well…. Not if you were hoping it was going to work again…..

2 comments:

The Boy Ollerton said...

It does sound... a wee bit cold up there. I've had to turn my outdoor central heating on at my plot, see post 'Toastie Toe's.

Ahh.. yes warm feet at last. Something reminiscent of hanging my socks up in the bothy.

God... I stink of smoke, this outdoor central heating is faulty.

Anonymous said...

Not only did I trash the electric blanket, I was also told that I had done something drastic to a "Calm Belt" on the Landrover...?

The said Landrover is now resting, practicing yoga, and awaiting holistic treatment from our friend who knows about these things.

On the positive side, I have fixed the fairy lights above the inglenook - which I obviously trashed a few weeks ago.

Ho ho ho...

She of the Town House:-)