Electricity and the robin

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I have made a mistake. It is about the robin nesting in my box, the box that we placed so that I could see it through the kitchen window. I had hoped by now to be telling you that the eggs had hatched, and I could see the robins visiting to feed their young. But no, I have not seen the robins for several days and was thinking that they must have deserted. But then more urgent events took over putting all thought of the robins out of my mind.

We were urged to read our electricity meter before the end of the month. If we did not, then any electricity used last month would be charged at this month’s price. And as you know this month the price of electricity has gone up. Mr T went out to do the reading. We take a photo of the meter now on our mobiles. I do not know why it has taken us so long to realise that this way is much better than writing it down on a piece of paper.

But then, just as he opened the meter door, the female robin flew out of the nearby nest box in fright. How stupid of me to place the box next to the electricity meter. One good thing though, was that the robins were still nesting, but would they return after being so frighteningly disturbed?

By now my thoughts were on getting my meter reading to the supplier on their on-line site. I put my password in, and nothing happened. I put it in again, still nothing. Then a news flash came up ‘If you are having trouble…’. Of course, everyone was trying to do the same as me and get the readings to the company in time. The electricity sites had crashed.ow stupid of me to HHhh

What could I do? Eventually I was told that I could enter my readings this week – so long as I could prove that they were taken before this month. Well, I could because our photos are dated on our mobiles. I can see now why you need proof – anyone could have given a false very high reading, so they paid in advance at a lower price. I read on the news that I was not the only one that had spotted this flaw. We were warned that this is fraud and of course we could not do it in any case because the web sites crashed.

Some good news in all of this is that against all odd the defenceless little robin has just flown back safely to its nest. In all this devastation they are still hanging on. 

(Taken from my column in the Shropshire Star)




The electricity meter is just behind the laurel bush and next to the robin box




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