I received an emergency call from one of my children the other night at midnight – she was in the loo and the lights suddenly went out! Dog barking in the garden, and husband away on business, she immediately thought there was an intruder in the house. Who does she phone at this late hour, but her mum!

Voice-a-trembling, she tells her tale of woe. As she was upstairs at the time and there was a light downstairs I realized it was a fuse. I told her that she would have to go down and check the fusebox under the stairs.

I told her to check if one switch was pointing differently from the others.

Presto! And all the lights came on, panic over, all was well.