Home from the north once again, and reunited with the ball-chasing obsessive known as the small dog, I sit here freezing and waiting for the engineer to arrive. The gas heating apparently objected to whatever tripped the electricity – or vice versa – thus helpfully thawing my fridge for me while I was away… regardless of the fact that my dinner was in there. The house is currently colder than the fridge and the water is positively glacial. Outside, however, the sunshine plays upon the glossy black fur of the small dog as she happily trades insults with the resident pigeons.
Still, the return home was not all bad… there was laughter too. My son had called me over the weekend and mentioned the escapade with the cupboard, but had omitted the best bits…
“…for, of course, he remembered, as every sensible person does, that you should never shut yourself up in a wardrobe.”
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S.Lewis.
It was, I admit, me who introduced my sons both to the world and to the magical realm of Narnia that could be accessed through the back of a wardrobe. And although the hall cupboard is not exactly a wardrobe, my son’s mane of blond hair is sufficiently leonine to have brought the inevitable comparison to mind. With both ‘lion’ and ‘wardrobe’ taken care of, we can probably draw a veil over where that leaves me… and, doubtless at some point I will somehow get the blame for the random impulse that made Nick think it would be a good idea to hide from his brother and friends when they arrived for their weekly ‘lads’ night’.
The hall cupboard seemed the best option, so Nick decided to try it for size. He managed to squeeze in between the vacuum cleaner and the coats, balanced on one leg. It was only after he had somehow managed to close the door behind him that he realised there was no handle on the inside of the cupboard…
This much he told me over the phone… and had me laughing…
It wasn’t till I got home that I heard the rest…
All he could see was the sliver of light around the door. He had his phone with him, so, from the dark interior of the cupboard, he phoned his brother. Alex was still at work and could do nothing. He took advice from their mutual friend… who called the cavalry his wife. Using the emergency key, she was able to go to Nick’s rescue and release him from the broom cupboard…
I had a good many questions between the bursts of laughter; ‘why’ wasn’t one of them. If you need to ask ‘why’, then all I can say is that you can’t know my sons…
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
I don’t really use any heating
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I do these days… blue extremities is not a good look.
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i actually don’t like artificial heat very much; bad enough spending the day in this place!
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I don’t like a great deal of heat…but I can no longer cope with being frozen.
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Next winter I am being temporarily transferred to Qatar
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I would think that would be warm enough…
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not really my cup of tea but won’t need heating, only aircon
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Aircon …yes… but tonight, heating will do…
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That’s so funny. How long was he trapped before the cavalry came to the rescue? I’d have been stuck there because my phone is always in my handbag and I’d never have taken my handbag into the broom cupboard.
Hope you got your heating sorted – not the weather to be without any, even if you have a small dog to cuddle.
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Still waiting for heat …
Nick carries his phone with him everywhere… a security measure, given that a fall could be bad news. In this case, it was a darned good thing he does 🙂 He was there a good while…;)
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That’s hilarious! About Nick, I mean, not the lack of heating – nothing funny about that at all. Hope you get it sorted soon 🙂
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So do I…my fingers are like ice here! But yes… hilarious 😀
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Oh, the hilarity! (sorry for your blue extremities, though.)
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My sons have a knack of doing the most random things… 🙂
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Sue, I’m sure you’ve already checked to see if one of the electric breaker switches has tripped and it doesn’t reset?
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First stop was the fuse box, Chris. The engineer has just left after a temporary fix…back tomorrow to sort it, but at least the radiators are starting to get warm 🙂
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Oh good – I used to dread it when our gas heating went off like that – I know how to reset the switches and restart the boiler flame, but my disadvantage is that I cannot smell gas!!!
Luckily, our current place is all electric, including the heating (Economy 7) 🐵
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I still miss the back boiler and the coal fire… at least you knew what to do with that 🙂
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Yes – rekindle the fire 👍😄😄😄
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Simples 🙂 And instant heat too 🙂
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Ha ha ha ha. That’s so playful and magical. A great Narnia moment 🙂 Sorry about the cold and the thawed fridge. Hope all is back to normal now.
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Sons… that’s all I have to say 😀
Starting to warm up slowly!
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Ha HA! I laughed my head off thinking of Nick balancing on one leg leaning against the vacuum cleaner! Lucky for him you have a spare key that enabled him to be rescued! Boys eh?!!!
Hope you and the fridge have got yourselves back to normal now, and that you have warmed up and it has cooled down! 🙂
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I’m starting to thaw, the fridge is starting to freeze… and Nick made my day with his tale 🙂
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Yes, all that laughing must have warmed you up a bit! 🙂
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Just a bit 🙂
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That was hilarious…sorry for the cold though…. 🙂
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It is typical of my sons 🙂
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Sorry to Nick, but I find great humor in this. As I’m pretty sure he does too. 🙂
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He did, Colleen 🙂
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The adventures never end! You could sell the movie rights to your life. 🙂
Hope your heat returns soon!
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It is a very ordinary life, though 🙂 If a chilly one at present!
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Doesn’t seem ordinary to me. 🙂
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I doubt if any of us see our ‘normal’ as anything special or different 🙂
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Great story. I was sure they we all going to wind up in Narnia. Now THAT would have been an epic rescue.
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I would have been green with envy if he had 🙂
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Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie.
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With a smile on my face, I can totally understand why Nick shut himself in the broom cupboard, I have been known for similar escapades and it doesn`t get better the older I get. I am hoping that you have your heating and electric fixed now as it is bloody cold in this country just now.
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The heating is still playing up, and yes, it is very cold today…
I’m not saying a great deal on the other subject… other than to mention that Nick once said, “…but YOU invented ‘random’….” 😉
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he he he lol nuff said. keep warm hope for better weather for you.
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😀 Well, the heating engineer has been and gone, so I may be starting to thaw 🙂
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Heh, heh, heh. Did he try the secret door in back of the cupboard? … hope you warm up soon. 🙂
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If he did, he isn’t telling 😉
Heating finally working, thank goodness 🙂
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What a superstar, Nick is and I fully agree…if you need to ask “Why?” then you haven’t ‘truly’ lived!! Yee Harr! 🙃🙃
Hope you’re feeling a little warmer now and ((hugs)) for the small dog!
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He is… and he does 🙂 (and I am) 🙂
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Oh dear, how embarrassing for Nick. However, at least, he had his phone with him so was able to summons a rescue.
I got locked in the ladies toilets once. A long story, that I’m never going to tell. 😀
Good to hear the heating is fixed.
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I don’t think he minded… he just found it hilarious… He would 🙂
But remind me to ask about that next time we meet… 😉
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Nooooooooo!
I’d be exactly the same as Nick. In fact, whilst in there, my imagination would have been running wild.
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I have no doubt his was too 🙂
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That was downright hilarious! Although I feel bad for Nick, I found the situation hysterical!!!!! 🙂
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So did he 🙂
I found it even funnier that his brother had to try the cupboard too later… just to check… 🙂
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LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL, hysterical yet again! And these are your boys, hmmm. Haha 🙂
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These are my ‘adult’ boys… who would no doubt simply say it’s hereditary… 😉
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🙂 Lol
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