Mother had a close call back in the 60's. The house was almost the highest point on a hill and Lightning often struck nearby, being on overhead lines the power often went so an oil lamp was made ready and placed on the dining table which was close to the window. Unplugging the aerial for the TV was std procedure but Mother got it wrong one day and unplugged it from the socket and not the less accessible back of the TV, the socket like many back in early VHF days was mounted on the wooden window frame. It was about
15 mins later that arc leapt from the socket and hit the metal base of the Aladdin oil lamp about 3 ft away which as Mother was sat at the table made her jump a bit the lamp at least intercepting the arc before it reached her. Could not have been a direct hit but the old extra large VHF aerial dad installed to get ITV before the area was officially covered gathered a charge on more than one occasion,Mother never really understood unplugging the aerial as on another occasion she unplugged from the back of the set but being a tidy type rather than leave the end on the floor coiled it up and placed it on the wide internal sill. A while later Dad placed a cup of Coffee on the sill while doing some p/work at the table not really noticing the aerial lead which having been slightly knocked unwound itself from behind the curtain where mother had hid it coming to rest in the saucer wet from some spilt tea. Dad got stimulated by the coffee in a way never before when he picked the cup up grounded the lead and saucer most of the coffee being flung around the room. It was painful for him but quite funny to watch.G.Harman