I Suppose it's a Bit Like Riding a Bike

We've got a very hard quarry tile floor in our kitchen, and if you drop anything breakable on it it's 'goodnight Vienna' for that item.  I once dropped a small Pyrex jug on the kitchen floor which exploded with the force of a bomb and I found glass fragments weeks later half-way up the hall.  It really is a totally unforgiving floor (and bl**dy cold to stand on in the winter too).  Anyway, Saturday evening I had my hot-air brush in the kitchen ready to blow-dry my hair (don't ask - the plugs upstairs are rather awkward to access!!)  I only let go of the cord for a moment and the plug fell heavily against the tiled floor.  There was a nasty sound of cracking and when I look a large chunk of the plastic plug had sheered off, exposing the wires inside.  Probably rather foolishly I still plugged the brush in and dried my hair.  I was probably very lucky I didn't electrocute myself!!

On looking at the the plug in the cold light of day I realised that it really wasn't too safe and that I'd have to do something about it.  It did seriously cross my mind to just dump the whole thing and ask for a new one for my birthday but, after giving myself a strict talking to, I decided to buy a new plug and have a go at fitting it.  After all, the worst that could happen would be that the thing would spontaneously combust on being plugged in.

Now I haven't had to fit a plug for many years as these days all new electrical appliances sold in the UK come with plugs already fitted, but I vividly remember the days when that wasn't the case and the first time I'd had to fit a plug by myself - using a carving knife as a screwdriver (very sore fingers for days afterwards!!).  If I could do it in my early twenties, I could certainly do it in my late forties - and these days I do, at least, have screwdrivers. 

P, who hails from Switzerland, has a funny story about when he bought himself a desk lamp in Habitat in Bristol in the early 1990s, and thought all the lamps were faulty as they didn't have plugs already fitted as standard, which they have done for many years in Switzerland!  He was totally amazed that we were supposed to buy a plug and fit it ourselves.  Since then, of course, things have changed.

So I go sailing into our local Woolworths yesterday morning in search of a plug.  Now maybe Woollies do still sell plugs but I couldn't find any and with no member of staff in sight, took myself off to the local electrical shop (I was only being totally lazy in not going there first of all but it is at the bottom end of the High Street and it was obscenely hot yesterday - and that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!), they of course had plugs a-plenty and for the grand sum of 89p I was sorted.  In the afternoon I fetched a goodly selection of screwdrivers from the shed and sat down at the garden table to change the plug.  It took me all of five minutes it was so simple, and I realised that I hadn't forgotten what to do at all - blue wire to the left, brown to the right, screw the back on and Bob's your uncle.  The hot-air brush is now as good as new again.  Why I ever thought of just chucking the whole thing away seems ludicrous to me now, and probably goes to show how we have all been affected adversely by our 'throw-away' culture.

Comments

[Claire]

I'm glad you changed the plug on them and didn't throw them away - I was all for changing the fuse in the plug on the lawnmower yesterday when I realised the lawnmower was OK, but the socket wasn't... I did electrocute myself and got blown backwards about 3 feet when the back came off a set of fairy lights I had....x

[Heather]

Have to admit I am terrified of electrics but well done on saving the brush!

[The Shopping Sherpa]

Of course it's probably officially illegal to do any of that sort of thing these days unless you're a qualificed electrician yadda yadda yadda...

:-)

[Gill]

Hi Elizabeth, seems ages since I visited, you've certainly been busy! Funnily enough I put a plug on a lamp this week, the first time for many years, I bought an anglepoise lamp from the boot sale and the plug had been removed. As you say it's like riding a bike...blue left/brown right, my lamp looks fab on my desk and I think it may be a vintage one form some office long ago.