There was a spark and a loud bang. It lit my dad up causing a shadow of grimacing shock across his face as he jumped back. He was OK though. My legs were shaking and my heart bursting through my chest. It was the last thing I needed. For a moment I thought he'd electrocuted himself. Still it didn't stop him ignoring my advice and trying to continue tampering with the unknown.
It was another incident to add to the collection. Memories of my brother-in-law scaling a roof to climb in a window and open a locked door from the inside to find my impatient dad had already broken the door down. Remembrance of struggling to move a once wobbly wardrobe about the room which my dad had "fixed" and on closer inspection discovering he had nailed it to the floor and wall to secure it. The list is endless.
It wasn't a good night all round. Slowly I have been getting better with people visiting but tonight I found myself on the verge of full panic about 10 minutes after my dad's arrival. It is the worst I have felt in years in this situation. Our electric oven was on its last legs and as luck would have it my sister had a new one in her garage which she had inherited when her father-in-law passed away a year ago. So my dad had brought it through volunteering also to install it. It is a heavy bugger and we had to carry it up the stairs. Not being used to heavy work I think that is what set the panic off as it came shortly after sitting down. As much as I struggled I did get through it. What helped was a distraction.
My dad knows nothing about electrics. The first argument revolved around me insisting that I turned off all the power. He wouldn't have it. Instead he contented himself with removing fuses, applying masking tape and fiddling among bare live wires with a small metal screwdriver. So that is how the mini explosion occurred and how our little screwdriver is now black. You would think that would be enough of a scare to agree with me but not my dad. Only the sockets were to be turned off and still he played about with the wires while I looked on through my fingers awaiting the next blast.
It was an ordeal. About 2 hours in all and then my dad was gone after we'd carried the old oven out. We have a new oven installed but it won't power off. I'm not happy. But my biggest worry is this image I keep getting of faulty wiring and the house burning down. Hopefully in the event that he has done something wrong the trip switches would be as effective as they were when he nearly electrocuted himself. The socket that he was playing with is about hanging off the wall now and he's not sure that he put the wires back where they were. In fact I know he hasn't because the socket is constantly on and I worry that there are bare wires behind it waiting to meet. It was a nightmare and continues to be so.
Tomorrow morning my wife's friend is coming to have a look as he is an electrician. Only then will my mind be at rest as I know I'll get no sleep tonight.
