Is There Anyone Out There ... If So Don't Bother Phoning Me

One of the unending nightmare fears of all bloggers is that there is nobody out there reading any of this. I used to take comfort from the frequent comments left by a variety of people called "anonymous" as proof positive that there was a thriving audience. But then I discovered that all such comments were being sent by a bored cousin who - just having his leg removed or some such thing - was stuck at home with nothing better to do. However I now have strong evidence that this blog is being widely read - if nothing else amongst people working for the major utility companies.

You may recall that a few days ago I wrote about the reality experiment being carried out by the Yorkshire Electricity Board to discover how people can survive without electric power. Following a mixed bag of angry and tearful telephone conversations they eventually rigged up a piece of wire which connected our house to a live cable they had found down the street. To do this meant digging several large holes in the street - one of which cuts our drive and house off from the outside world. The power is now working, but the wire and the holes remain.

Someone from British Telecom obviously read the blog and decided that it would be equally good fun to try the experiment with telephone connections. Thus, just three days after all the power went off, on Sunday afternoon all the telephones went off. When contacted - by a life saving mobile phone - British Telecom ascribed the problem to a "network failure" but were unable to say which network had failed. They promised to send someone around on Tuesday.

Let me immediately say that it is a damned sight easier living without telephones that in is living without electricity. I would be quite happy if the British Telecom engineer never showed his face - which, in the case of most utility companies , is a very strong possibility - but the rest of the household disagrees. Until, the lines are spliced and mended (or whatever they do) my communication with the rest of the world is via this blog. Like the wartime BBC - which used to have a whole series of messages that made sense only to the recipient at the end of each news broadcast - until the crisis is over blog entries will include a series of messages meant for individual recipients.

* * * * * * * * * * *

To DPH : Meet you on the steps of Firth Hall tomorrow.

To Bleeding Dave : Did you get home last night OK after the session in the Barge?

To Yorkshire Water : Don't get any silly ideas after reading this blog.

To Terrawarm Double Glazing : Yes, please send a representative to call on me.