adam2

This continues to be a subject of great concern. It was today announced that the price cap on d0m3stic energy is likely to increase substantially in the Autumn to about £2,800 a year for an average consumer. Whilst the capped d0m3stic price is of little DIRECT relevance to theatres and other venues, it is a good indication of the expected wholesale prices in coming months. I expect that non capped industrial and business prices will go still higher, probably permanently. It is in the nature of governments to say "things will soon get better" My view is that the era of cheap fossil fuel has ended, and that prices will go higher still. Time to take energy saving seriously.

I suspect that the victim would have survived just fine if the illness had occurred at the Minack, Provided that telephone service was available. A 999 call could be made from the Minack theatre offices or from a cellphone. If prompt road access was not possible, then the air ambulance could be used. If however a significant power failure had interrupted both cellphone and landline telephone services, then it could have ended very badly. Reliance would have to be placed on either a satellite phone, IF ANYONE HAD ONE, or on amateur radio equipment, if anyone had this, perhaps in their car. Or even firing a red flare which in a coastal location should bring the coastguard or lifeboat. All very uncertain compared to ringing 999.

The lifetime of the yellow paint is very variable as it depends on weather, not on elapsed time. One heavy rainstorm or a number of light showers will wash most of it away. That might take a few hours or a few months depending on the weather. Even after heavy rain, traces might remain. If it persists longer than desired, then a hose and a stiff brush will help. In prolonged dry weather it lasts for months, but does slowly wear away under foot traffic. If applied to grass it grows out as the grass grows and is either cut with a mower or wears away. The paint is of very low toxicity and safe for children or pets such as cats and dogs. Keep grazing animals such as sheep, goats, and cattle away as these animals may eat significant amounts of the painted grass. Children, cats and dogs do not eat significant amounts of grass. I advise a small scale trial beforehand, this need not be in the actual location, provided that the surface is similar.

I agree, without a military size budget, radio does not work underwater. Except perhaps intermittently and unreliably in VERY shallow water. Use fixtures intended for and approved for swimming pool use if persons will be in/might enter the water.

Cost might be beyond the stated budget, but otherwise I agree. My yellow paint idea has the merit of cheapness, but has the drawback of the damaging existing floors in nearby buildings.

For a somewhat similar application I have used the traditional scenic pigments supplied by Flints. This is paint supplied as a dry powder, and is intended to be mixed with water AND WITH a binding agent to form a reasonably durable finish. For temporary use when permanence is not the objective, then mix it with ONLY water. This produces a non durable paint that may be applied by brush, roller, or spray to most surfaces including concrete and grass. It will wash away with time and weather. May need re-applying after rain or heavy foot traffic.

Wood pellet fuel can be cheaper than gas, but wood pellet boilers are complex and have a poor record of reliability. I would consider it most unwise to be reliant on a wood pellet boiler without having a gas or oil boiler as a standby. If the wood pellets are produced locally, AND IF the wood used is from a sustainably managed forest, OR from trees that had to be cut down for other reasons, then the fuel is at least somewhat green, only somewhat though. The trees are almost certainly cut with petrol chainsaws, transported in diesel trucks, and probably processed into pellets with fossil fuel powered machinery. If the pellets are imported, then consider the fuel used in long distance transport, and the likely hood that virgin forest was destroyed, no matter how many green ticks and certificates are supplied. Also the fuel is rather vulnerable to waste, pilferage, and diversion to alternative uses. Unlike mains gas. Remember that the ash needs disposal, possibly at significant cost. Wood ash is in fact a useful fertilizer or soil additive, and could in my view by treated as a "secondary product" with a small sale value to gardeners or smallholders. But beware the elfansafety who declare it to be "waste" that needs proper disposal with a plethora of auditable paperwork to prove proper handling. Including waste transfer certificates, approved and registered vehicles for carrying waste, and the registration of premises as "waste transfer stations"

Hope that it does not happen.

Satellite telephones are expensive but not hard to find and are reasonably simple to use. They are best pre-programmed with emergency contact numbers. The Inmarsat headquarters in London has elaborate backup power and I have never heard of any failures. Any emergency call will be automatically or manually routed to the UK emergency services, presuming that the handset was registered to a UK address. The emergency services have special arrangements to ensure that that they can be contacted in emergencies. Of course any emergency call made whilst visiting another country will still be routed to UK emergency services.

I have very little faith in any modern telephone connection working reliably in a power failure. Larger venues may need to consider an Inmarsat satellite telephone. These work anywhere with a good view of the sky and are not reliant on local electricity supplies. The handsets are expensive as are the calls. They do not work reliably indoors, direct sky view needed. Another and less satisfactory alternative is send a couple of physically fit persons, one to run or cycle to the nearest fire station and the other to the nearest police station. A bit primitive and slow, but better than nothing. If staff numbers permit send several runners by different routes so as to give protection against sudden illness, getting lost, traffic accidents or other mishaps.

The film producers have been prosecuted and the court has imposed the maximum fine that the law permits. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-61169495

No telephone service at home for some hours in a recent power cut. No cellphone service either.

I can not agree that PAT testing is ONLY about electrical safety. It should also include a basic inspection for other hazards. Should a desk fan be passed as safe to use without an enclosure that prevents touching the blades ? Not in my view. Should a heater be passed with an exposed red hot element, again not in my view.

I would prefer that the front of a patt. 60 be enclosed in metal mesh, but that is my personal view of good practice and not a regulatory requirement. High wattage GLS lamps CAN explode, and in so doing they produce more debris than a d0m3stic wattage lamp. I suspect that the risk of such explosions is increasing as such lamps fall out of favour for general lighting. They are becoming rather a specialty product, produced in small numbers by unknown makers, and probably no longer include fuses. I can remember the days when high wattage GLS lamps were widely used for industrial lighting, and almost always in open fixtures. The risks were less in those days for several reasons, firstly a lot of lamps were lower voltage, such as 110/120 volt in series pairs, or 50 volt lamps. Secondly the lamps almost certainly contained fuses. And slightly lower standards were accepted in those distant days. If the lanterns still have colour frames, what about inserting clear heat shield gel when open white is needed ? Or fine steel mesh such as chicken wire.

Thanks for the update. Not certain if these are EXACTLY the same product. The original Dubai lamp claimed 3 watts consumption for a light output "equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent" These state 4 watts consumption for light output "equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent". The claimed "4 watts" is almost certainly reasonably accurate as it is easy to measure independently, might be up to 4.49 watts though since rounding to the nearest whole watt is common practice for general lighting lamps. 4.49 watts is of course more than 10% in excess of the claimed 4 watts. The claimed light output of 840 lumens is almost certainly true since this can also be measured. Measuring total light output needs an integrating sphere which most of use do not have, but any university physics department should have one. "equivalent light to a 60 watt incandescent" is a bit more flexible since actual 60 watt incandescent lamps vary a bit according to voltage, design life, and quality. A premium brand, krypton filled, 1000 hour, 120 volt lamp with an actual loading of 63 watts (within tolerance to be sold as "60 watt") will give significantly more light than a cheap, 240 volt, 5,000 hour, argon filled lamp with an actual loading of 57 watts. 840 lumens is a reasonable average for 240 volt 60 watt lamps. The original 3 watt Dubai lamp only claimed an output of 600 lumens, which met the claimed 200 lumens per watt, but was only an approximate equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent.

They gave up looking for the originally proposed article and used a standard type of hand held candle stick for the "fire" scene. This involved a real fire, in an expendable set built outdoors, with suitable precautions. Propane was used for the fire with a small pilot light placed out of camera view, and the main gas supply being turned on when needed.

I have used a bow and arrow in such circumstances, take care remembering that archery equipment was used to kill people in warfare until recently, and is still used to kill large game in some places. Wear a hard hat. the arrow may strike some obstruction and then fall almost vertically. A drone is a more modern alternative.

230 Volt, or worse 220 volt lamps on our supply which is still 240 volts most of the time in most places, and can be 250 volts. Significant over voltage resulting from a loose or high resistance neutral connection, either within your installation, or in the DNO network. Poor quality lamps, either unknown brands or fake reputable makes. Bad luck/faulty batch of lamps. Secondhand lamps fitted dishonestly by someone who is using the new ones elsewhere. Damaged lamp holders that are burning the connections on the lamps. Carefully examine a failed lamp for any indication of heat damage to the connections. If any such is found then replace the lamp holders. This is IME a frequently overlooked problem.

Not at all comparable. Petrol and diesel fuel are still very cheap. Prices are only slightly above those prevailing about ten years ago. And cheaper than ten years ago, in real terms corrected for inflation. I wish that train and bus fares had been kept as cheap as petrol has been. Many bus and train fares have more than doubled in ten years whilst petrol and diesel are only slightly more expensive.

This has got worse. Natural gas has today reached another new record of about 470 pence a therm, after briefly going still higher. I expect further substantial increases in retail gas and electricity costs. Non domestic prices will rise towards market rates relatively quickly. I expect that non domestic gas prices will reach about 15 pence a kilowatt hour and electricity prices will reach at least 60 pence a kilowatt hour. Domestic prices are capped but will still increase substantially.

As an example, observe that organised firework displays generally function even in exceptional rain, and any failures that do occur are often due to water in the electric firing circuits. Marine distress flares function not just just in heavy rain but even if a wave breaks over someone holding a flare. Whilst display fireworks and marine flares are not exactly the same as theatre pyrotechnics, they are closely related products. Some types of illuminating flare work whilst continually submerged.

As reported by various news media. Early reports state 13 persons injured, 3 are in a serious condition. Others were trapped on the still standing part of the mezzanine and rescued by the fire brigade. The immediate cause of the collapse is not yet clear. Published pictures of the scene suggest that the failed structure was relatively new. Timbers that presumably supported the floor are shown apparently intact, but at an about 45 degree angle with one end resting on the main floor below the mezzanine. This might suggest failure of whatever supported one end of these timbers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-60364090

Regret not able to assist. Are you able to supply a photograph or drawing of the tool ? If you can, then someone might be able to suggest an alternative tool to do the job, or an adaption of something readily available. Someone might even have one, but not recognize it without an image, I recall an expensive and hard to obtain lamp adjustment tool for a marine searchlight. It was in fact a standard size square key as used for winding a clock, but with an unusually long handle.

The presence or absence of the high voltage starting pulses may be determined with "voltstick" or similar non contact voltage detector. The high voltage starting pulses will operate such a tester at a distance of several centimeters, unlike the close proximity required for ordinary mains voltage. Only a crude test as starting pulses of say half the required voltage will operate the voltstick. Even a new lamp might be defective. Or there might be insulation breakdown between the starting circuit and the lamp. ISTR that ordinary mains voltage flex was used for this connection and therefore operated briefly at far beyond the design voltage and perhaps vulnerable.

I am not aware of any specific prohibition regarding terminating SWA cable into a plug, but would regard so doing as poor practice. IME the gland or cable grip fitted to most plugs does not grip SWA very well, with a significant risk of the armouring pulling out.