4 Jan 2012 catchup.
We are now into our third day without electricity.
This morning finds us cleaning candlewax off things and wiping the blood from the doorhandles and walls.
Barry braved the gales and lashing rain to take out all the remaining glass from the greenhouse, and was out until it was too dark to see. I ran him a very hot bath (thankfully the woodburning stove heats the water!) and it wasn't till the morning light that we saw that he had cut his hand and that there was a trail of blood on everything he had touched as he got ready to get into the bath, including one long trickle of red the full length of the bathroom door where he had hung his clothes on the hook.
Very dramatic!
Trying to get candlewax off things (tip - don't blow them out, snuff them out) made me think how much work must have been involved in keeping the great houses like Waddeson Manor lit. Not just the lighting of the candles and the replacing of them. but trimming the wicks, cleaning the candleholders and silver, removing drips of wax from fine fabrics and valuable furniture, seeing that there was a regular supply and that they were placed where they would be needed. It might have been someone's full time job.
A sort of equivalent job is being done right now by three engineers, from a large contingent who have come over from Northern Ireland, and who are checking the poles as I write. They worked till 4 am and then got a couple of hours sleep and started again at 7 this morning. They say they should have the power back on by the end of today! Hurrah!
(Didn't happen.)
My computer tells me I have 12 minutes left on my battery..better use it wisely....