Learning a Lesson The Hard Way...

There was I lying peacefully asleep when my oxygen alarm sounded...Himself was muttering wasthematter...the dogs were still snoring and the kittens oblivious.

The big emergency tank is in the barn so Himself went get it...came back lugging the thing, which must weigh half a ton at least... for us to discover that neither of us had the faintest idea of how to switch it on.

The instruction lettering is small and cramped and half-way down said tank...which was covered in cobwebs...all we had were two inadequate torches to try to read them by.

Meanwhile I'd decided I needed a cup of tea...so back into the barn goes Himself to switch the gas on for the cooker so as to boil some water up.

While he's doing that, I find a lecky bill and 'phone the emergency breakdown number...then dial in the MPRN number which I could hardly see. A robot answered to say it was a major fault and the power wasn't expected to be back on for another five hours...

I panic and decide not only do I want a cup of tea now this minute, but can't breathe properly which is just silly because I could and there's the ambulant oxygen to keep me going anyway...

So I sit very still to conserve the little air still lurking in my lungs and sip hot tea...Himself opens the 'fridge door to put the milk away and the interior light comes on...the oxygen machine starts up... all its lights flashing away merrily...

The electricity was off for twenty-five minutes.

Himself saw Jonny this morning...his electricity didn't come back on until five am...

So I do think it actually works...I registered as a 'vulnerable' person using life-saving electrical equipment when I first had the oxygen...was assured we'd get priority in event of a power failure but I only half-believed it.

And it's taught us a lesson...

Become familiar with spare emergency tanks of oxygen in broad daylight, rather than wait until the power goes off in the middle of the night.