Today drove us nuts!

The phone rang mid-morning. The delivery driver couldn't find ThisOldHouse. We gave directions. The Heckenschere (hedge trimmers) ordered almost 4 weeks ago had finally arrived from a far-off European source! Well, they were a renowned, though discontinued model which appears to be no longer available in the UK. The flimsy packaging was split open but the goods seemed to be none the worse. Plugged in with the supplied UK adapter, they worked just fine. So, to business:

The previous trimmers gave up mid-cut last autumn and the hedges were never properly finished - some of them have looked pretty unsightly over the winter and badly needed cutting. We also like to keep our shrubs manicured (we like 'bubbles'), so these ones got the treatment. Momentarily, the electric cable slipped out of view and there was a short 'flash'. It's been done before - a few times - but not for a while. But it's so annoying when it happens! A suitable joint piece was found in the shed - an old rubber connector. It was held together by a screw but the screw just kept on turning. Looking on the other side revealed where a tiny nut had been, now lying somewhere on the grass. We spent ages sifting through it looking for a glint of metal, but no luck. So to Plan B:

An old rectangular light switch would do as a temporary measure. The connections made, we plugged in - it didn't work. We checked the switch, changed two fuses - still nothing. Doubts were beginning to emerge that we might have damaged the brand new trimmers. Then, suddenly, we remembered that we had had a new electrical consumer unit installed just over a year ago. The circuit breaker had tripped, that was all! After more than 2 hours, we were at last able to resume the manicure session. Guess we'll be a touch more careful next time - never too old to learn!

At least it was a nice sunny day, though still windy and on the cool side.