torkell: (Default)
Thomas ([personal profile] torkell) wrote2010-11-02 10:08 pm
Entry tags:

The Secret Life of the National Grid

Bonus second post!

While randomly channel hopping I tripped across The Secret Life of the National Grid on BBC 4, which turned out to be a rather interesting documentary on the social aspects of having electricity. You don't really realise until you step back and look at the whole history of it as to just how large the impact of electricity is on everyday life.

Absence of electricity

[identity profile] allegramente.livejournal.com 2010-11-07 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
We had a power blip the other night - about half an hour. Jolly hard to accurately finish the movement of fork of spaghetti to mouth in an unexpected blackout. Am now keeping a torch nearer to hand....

Of course, Nelson (not the Admiral) was brought up without electricity - they didn't get it at the farm until about 1980. He claims that's why he likes ALL the lights on in the house - reaction to youthful life in the gloom. That's also why we have an old-fashioned meths-driven meccano engine....