Life without gas

We used to have electricity cuts as well when we first moved here - and in another house, although the longest was only 24 hours. It was winter (isn't it always?) and we sat in the kitchen with a couple of gas burners turned on - and the window open so that we didn't asphyxiate ourselves.

During the power cuts of the early 1970s, DH realised we could connect our tiny black and white tv to a car battery, so charged up an old one in the garage and when we had a power cut in the evening we would just connect up the tv and watch that, wrapped up in blankets to keep us warm.

We frequently didn't have electricity when we lived in a Third World country and had to heat up water for 'bird' baths in multiple saucepans on a gas stove.

At least it was a hot climate but that meant daily washing was a very necessary requirement On one memorable occasion we had no water either, and I had to bathe my small daughter in heated-on-the gas-stove bottled water - talk about Cleopatra!

We were once without electricity for 10 days after a bad storm. We had gas from a tank, and could cook with that, but as you say the gas boiler needs electricity to work.
After that we bought a generator (petrol). Someone had lent us one to give the freezers a boost.
I don't think we had a proper wash all that time! I'll never forget it. No phone or internet either.

Civilisation as we know it is a very fragile thing.
We are so dependent on our creature comforts, we need to be reminded occasionally just how precious these are and how much we take them for granted.

Oh not good - I think it's the lack of hot water which is the worst as we can always use the microwave or have a takeaway but there's no way round not being able to have a shower. Our boiler went off between Christmas and New Year a couple of years ago so we had to boil the kettle for everything. Hope it gets sorted out soon.

Oh gosh, strip-washing - brrr! I hope the gas people sort it out sooner rather than later, Monica! At least you sound pretty well organised. Maybe buy an inexpensive fan heater for warming up your bedroom, too?

I must remind DH to check that there is enough gas for the barbecue now summer's over!

What a mess ! , we have a gas hob and electric oven , in case there is a power cut , our gas is in a tank . Between kitchens , when we were renovating DD1 lent me her induction hob from the caravan , it was brilliant . We had a log burner too and I heated hot water on it . I remember the days of strip washing in a freezing Bathroom when I was a child , not something we want nowadays

We do take it all for granted, don't we.

What some people don't realise either is that, if the electricity goes off which ours used to do frequently, the gas central heating will go off too as the pump is driven by electricity.

Crikey, MOnica, we do take life, as we know it, very much for granted don't we?

I hope you get back to normal soon.