How few plugs in the house where you were raised?

[cerberus]

S'pose your mum had a 'new fangled' electric iron which plugged into a light socket! ;-)

Don.

[Andy Dingley]

1960s - At least two doubles in every room. This was recently refitted "height of luxury" wiring, budget no object.

They were also some MK "safety" series that were designed to only connect to genuine plugs, when pushed right-in. They used some sort of end-contact, not the usual wiping sides. In practice this meant that when they were 10 years old they started to go high-resistance. Using a heavy load on them would then overheat the socket and they'd have a good try at burning the house down for you (if you didn't notice the smell of rotten fish first).

[oldship]

Our farmhouse was not too bad for the time. The 24V lighting and gen set were replaced by a 240AC set up in the early 50s as Father wanted a TV when it became available. The House was rewired using ringmains and 13 amp outlets. Parents bedroom had two doubles, the other bedrooms one double each. Living room 3 doubles, Kitchen 3 doubles. It about 9 years before you could actually use the system for any load as the 240 genny, a Lister Starto O Matic was only about 2Kva. Mother had to be careful how she used her first washing machine a twin tub and fill it with Hot water boiled by the Rayburn rather than use the machine heater. Likewise the electric cooker we had for when the Rayburn was shut down had a selector switch designed into it. You could have rings, ring and a grill or oven but not all together. When the mains supply did come close enough to connect having the house already wired made it relatively painless. Separate meter for the outbuildings as they were commercial rate. The Lister was shipped to Brazil along with a load of other generators made redundant by SWEB. I still drive people mad by switching lights etc off if they are not needed. Load shedding is ingrained in me because of that old Lister.

G.Harman

[Lobster]

That must have been really common practice... compared to modern standards for this and all other aspects of domestic wiring (heavens, they didn't even have Part P), you do wonder how many accidents etc happened as a result.

Or maybe they didn't?

David

[<me9]

Our house had 4 lights and a single 2 pin socket outlet, all fed via lead sheathed cable (1/044) from a single 5A double pole metalclad switchfuse. This was the standard installation, paid for by an oincreased tarriff from the slotmeter. I didn't have an electric light in my bedroom, as if a 5th light had been fitted it would have been cash up front. We still had most of the gas lights as reserve, and regularly used teh 3 mantle one in the living room. It gave a much better light (slightly greenish) than the incandescent electric light. The two pin socket fed everything either in tiurn, or via a

3 way adaptor, the iron, kettle radio, boiling ring (although usually gas via flexible pipe or open fire.

We survived, but I had more electric shocks before teh age of 15 than I had in 40 years in electrical work.

[Onetap]

None.

Mum plugged t'elecric iron an' t'valve radio into a 2-way adaptor that went in the pendant light after removing the bulb, then listened to the Light programme on the BBC. Was that why it was called the Light programme? Memories of crap music; There's a hole in my bucket, dear Lisa, dear Lisa. The iron warmed up before the radio.

[oldship]

Never realised such things existed until I met my partner. She asked me to tidy a shed in the garden soon after we met and I came across it. It was her Mothers and I was forbidden to throw it out. Must try it out one day.

G.Harman

[Mark]

An extra point to name who orginally performed this sketch.......

M.

[The Medway Handyman]

Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones & Eric Idle?

And you try and tell the young people of today that ..... they won't believe you.

[cj]

Don't forget John Cleese dave.. or is he still trying to sell Parrots??

CJ

[Lobster]

No, satnavs systems (see this morning's Times):

(or

David