Bon Journal

Not CORGI certified

The second gas burner refused to behave. The electric spark refused to die. Even when I switched it off completely, the spark kept going.

I panicked.

What should I do?

I should know about these things. Didn't I study electrical engineering years ago?

Electric spark needs electricity. So why not switch off the electricity?

Where is the main switch?

The main fusebox is next to the front door. But there are no labels. I had to guess which was the right one.

On my second try, the refrigerator stopped. And the electric spark stopped.

But there was still a persistent sound - like that of natural gas streaming out.

I called my friend's mobile phone. No answer.

I knocked next door. No answer.

I ran across the street and knocked on someone's door at random. An elderly man greeted me and followed me back.

He asked me for a match and lit that misbehaving burner. "Keep it lit," he said. The gas was streaming out indeed.

My friend is not a CORGI-registered engineer. And it suddenly occurred to me that there might be danger in doing everything ourselves.

10 October 2003 Friday

CORGI

Confederation for the Registration of Gas Installers in the UK