tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post9025564504760940942..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: 'What doesn't kill you...' - Alex MarchantKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-40183777287185733582019-05-17T18:11:18.256+01:002019-05-17T18:11:18.256+01:00I'm so sorry to hear that about your partner, ...I'm so sorry to hear that about your partner, Julia. That must have been devastating. At least I was lucky in terms of my writing - although I had everything backed up on to a USB, and also printed out, believe it or not, I was daft enough to leave both printout and USB in the same room as the PC, so every copy of my WIP could have been in the path of the fire. Luckily it didn't reach that far - and even the smoke bypassed the room. I won't make that mistake again!Alex Marchanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03519697326074309274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-30068368490350038072019-04-18T07:26:35.200+01:002019-04-18T07:26:35.200+01:00Very interested in your description of emotional /...Very interested in your description of emotional / mental after effects. It's certainly been my observation of my partner after he lost all his work and books when writing shed burned down. Not just one of those things but a life-altering eventjulia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-1632622707592543702019-04-13T14:32:04.478+01:002019-04-13T14:32:04.478+01:00Thanks Cecilia, and I can certainly understand you...Thanks Cecilia, and I can certainly understand your mother-in-law's feelings. We were very lucky in comparison - we lost very little of personal value (all the photos survived bar a few in frames, most of the books - even my own manuscript, of which, foolishly, I hadn't done an off-site back-up recently - computer, USB and latest paper copy were all together in the same room even! I learnt from that... And my client's work was only a little smoky.) And good for you reminding people about dishwashers etc. - there have been so many fires caused by faulty white goods in recent years. A close friend also had one start to smolder around the same time - but she was in, smelt it and did the necessary...Alex Marchanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03519697326074309274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-69284603582037024312019-04-13T14:24:37.426+01:002019-04-13T14:24:37.426+01:00Good grief, Umberto - that puts our little inciden...Good grief, Umberto - that puts our little incident well into the shade! We're so lucky in the UK that extreme natural events are pretty rare, as also have been extreme political events in recent decades. My father lost his home as a child during the London blitz (the family thankfully were in a tube station), compared to which of course our experience counts as nothing. Although as people have said, all these things are relative (so called 'first world problems'?). I've also wondered whether a collective experience does have some influence on one's perspective - does one perhaps feel less isolated if others are involved, all pulling together, the 'blitz spirit', etc.? To be honest, I hope I never find out. I've been very lucky so far - as I wrote, I know I have led a pretty charmed life...<br />Alex Marchanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03519697326074309274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-60659863683211783552019-04-13T14:16:08.503+01:002019-04-13T14:16:08.503+01:00Goodness, this must have been horrible but I was g...Goodness, this must have been horrible but I was glad to read that there hadn't been any loss of life. The cat in particular sounds like a real survivor!<br />Years ago my mother-in-law was quite traumatised when her book-bindery was burnt down. I remember going down for the weekend and finding her uncharacteristically depressed - she was usually the only jolly one in the family. It took her ages to get over the loss of the business she had helped to build up from scratch, and of course even longer to sort out the insurance and find new premises. But that was nothing really compared to a fire in your own home.<br />(Like you, but for no particular reason, I am always warning everyone not to run the washing-machine or dishwasher overnight or when they're going out)Cecilia Peartreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12653871639579934396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-12703348509942357782019-04-13T10:34:32.026+01:002019-04-13T10:34:32.026+01:00Glad to hear that you and yours survived the calam...Glad to hear that you and yours survived the calamity unscathed, though I can well understand the long process of putting the fire behind you. I remember my mother's flat being totally gutted by widespread fires that followed the 1989 Loma Perieta Earthquake - which also knocked down a section of the Bay Bridge. My mother was in a hospital recovering from heart bypass surgery at the time - most likey a safer place given that the hospital remained intact and had backup generators to deal with the city-wide, days-long power outage that followed. I resided in a nearby town, then where we fortunately suffered no serious damage. Anyway, I wish you a safe, serene fire anniversary! Umberto Tosihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939504157464234443noreply@blogger.com