Oops

Well, that could've been embarrassing. Sorry, more embarrassing. More embarrassing even than the pants-down-the-trouser-leg incident. Samantha and Euan thought I was taking some sort of mental breakdown in the middle of the hall floor at one point. Which I kind of was I suppose.

Eleven days of increasing incredulity at the incompetence of British Telecom and their inability to track down what was causing our phone line to be silent and our internet to be non-existent. In that time the info-graphic on their fault tracking page had went from showing a general problem to a BT network problem to a cabling problem to a cabinet problem to a near-our-home problem until it was traced to an issue with the cabling in our house today. I was told it would cost money if the source of this was found to be indoors, which obviously spurred me on to have another crack at solving the problem myself. Furniture was moved; master socket faceplates were removed; equipment was unplugged and replaced with alternatives; wires were disconnected, cleaned and reconnected; and still nothing changed.

Then, as I lay on the floor inches from the router contemplating a quick trip to the shops to buy the replacement faceplate for the master socket that must be the source of the breakdown I looked at the where the connecting cable to the telephone socket was dangling from at the back of the equipment. It wasn't there where it should be. Oh no. It was 2cm above. Jammed into one of those yellow ethernet sockets. Apparently that has the effect of killing all signs of life on your telephone line. For eleven whole days.

Euan abandoned his PS3 as he came to investigate why I was sprawled out on the hall floor crying (I was merely laughing hysterically at the revelation). Connector was switched, phone clicked back to life, green lights sparked into life all round on the front of this kit.

As I said, Oops.

So, apologies to BT for all the the bad-mouthing and swearing directed at them over the past 11 days (though, if they hadn't taken until today to track back the problem to our property I might've discovered all this earlier). I'm sooooooo, sooooooooo, sorry.

And the moral of this sad tale of communication breakdown?

Never go forcing things in holes you know nothing about, it'll only bring pain and tears to your eyes.

Right, I've a bit of catching up to do on here now.