A tale of terror

It was a dark night in late July.  The woman had had a heavy day and she was sound asleep in the quiet bedroom.  Her breathing was slow and regular as she slept away the cares of the day.

She moved gently in her sleep, putting an arm into a more comfortable position and giving a gentle sigh.  But with that sixth sense which doesn't leave us even when we sleep, she knew something was wrong.  Reluctantly she opened her eyes but willed sleep to come back.

No, something was definitely wrong.  She listened to the sounds of the night but there was just the gentle pattering of the rain audible through the open window.  Nothing to worry about there and no other sounds came to her ears.  But no matter how she tried to ignore the feeling she knew something was wrong.  Unenthusiastically she stretched out an arm and pressed the switch on the bedside light.  Nothing happened.  There was no ignoring it now.

She clambered out of bed and pulling her dressing gown around her she went to investigate.  Happily she discovered that it was just the trip switch so she pressed that and all seemed to be well.  She decided to sit in the arm chair again for a few minutes before going back to bed.

Four minutes later the trip went again.  She went around the house pulling out plugs and then she pressed the trip switch again and settled again in the chair.

Two minutes later the same thing happened.  She went around the house and pulled out most of the remaining plugs and again she settled down in the chair.  Scarcely had she sat down when the trip went again.  She wondered whether to leave it until the morning but the freezer was nearly full of delicious food.  Could it be the freezer which was at fault?  She decided to go around the house again and pull out the less accessible plugs before she resorted to pulling out the freezer plug.  There was one plug behind the desk and it would be very hard to get to it but it had to be done.

As she went into the study she happened to glance out of the window.  There was something white on the path.  It was an extension cable which had been left plugged in and was exposed to the pouring rain.

Which is why the woman was out in the garden in her nightie and dressing gown clutching a walking stick in one hand and a torch in the other at two in the morning removing the soaked extension cable and uttering some very rude words.

And it is also why Jack had a deep deficit of Brownie points.

Triple hook chicken served with freshly harvested garden vegetables