I came back from the library yesterday morning having trawled throught the various job sites and discovering how evrywhere else in Britain has vacancies. Walking up the hill, I couldn't help notice an electricity company van parked beside our local transformer. Wait. Don't tell me. There's been another power cut...

It seems I was correct. Everything in the house, including the heating, the cooker, the fridge, the lights - all the usual electrical stuff that makes survival comfortable - was off. At least the electricity company was here already, so I'll show some patience and wait for it all to come back on.

And the Electric Company said "Let there be electricity", and there was. Great stuff. Now lets switch the PC on, catch up with the days news, and Phuttt.

Oh brilliant. The power's off again. Looks like one of those days. I rang the electric company and with a little reminder of the previous power cuts she dutifully promised to get the supply back on by two o'clock. Only an hour to wait. With twenty minutes to go before their self-imposed deadline, the van was back and shortly afterward...

Bing! Everything switched back on. Sigh in relief. Hug my computer like a long lost friend and get back to my usual pottering around. Now then, I need to make some notes about.. Phuttt!

Once again my PC deflates like a limp balloon, fading to black. Patience, Caldrail, patience... It only took the man five minutes to restore power this time. Bing! Ohhh-kay. Now lets try to get these notes in order. So if... Phuttt!

Oh come on! You cannot be serious. This time the man from the electric company knocked on my door and told me that the underground power line was faulty and that they needed to switch the power off until they located where the fault was. We had a conversation about electrical faults and clearly he wasn't convinced the workmen could do much with the ice still present up the hill, but the power should be back on in a day or two.

A day or two? Heck. Better be prepared then. A drop or two of anti-freeze in the toilet, defrost the fridge before it floods the kitchen (which it does anyway as I struggle to catch the ice shards in the gloom), and prepare for a very cold morning start.

In the late evening the power returned, with a cluster of vans up the road, lights flashing, working into the night in horrible sleet and wind. It's been something of a stark reminder of how dependent we are on electricity. A darkened house with no light, heat, or means to cook food, in the grip of some of the worst winter weather we've seen in twenty years. And to be honest, I had it easy compared to some peoples struggle elsewhere in Britain.

Doomladen Prediction of the Week

Firstly, now that sunny weather has returned to our wet and slushy land, we have the prospect of flooding to look forward to as heavy snow thaws out. Better than that though, one Minister of Parliament is now saying the recession will be the worst for a hundred years. Don't you just love politicians? On the one hand, Ed Balls has made this doomladen prediction, whilst baroness Vadera claims she can see 'green shots of recovery'. Sorry dear. Mr Balls has just pruned them. I start to wonder if the government are actually working together, and whether they have any clue at all what's going on or what to do about it. Not that I would dare criticise our hard working prime minister. Must be so hard coming up with all those slogans.

Ooops. Looks like I'll have to make a public apology or be banned by the BBC.