Apologies for lack of updates but sometimes there are not enough hours in the day!
Aside from the day-to-day electrical work (which has been quite a lot of kitchen upgrades lately – more to come on those…), I thought I would post some pictures of a faulty shower pull cord I was called out to have a look at:

DIY horror - shower pull cord
Ok – not the greatest picture in the world but you might just be able to make out the brown live melting away and the black deposit on the pull cord switch. Whats going on here I thought… A quick look in the fuse box reveals more of the same:

DIY Horror - shower cable
The shower cable (with no 30mA RCD protection for the shower) and more melting live conductors but in old cable colours… the plot thickens!
After a bit of routing around I found a junction box behind a panel where a new shower cable had been connected to an old shower cable:

DIY Horror - Shower Cable Junction Box
Those who know your electrical colours will observe the in-correct polarity with Live connected to shower cable Neutral and Neutral connected to shower cable Live. A serious and Dangerous scenario leaving a high risk of electric shock and a high risk of fire.
A bit of explanation and discussion with the customer led to them deciding to undertake a full electrical check of the house wiring. A replacement consumer unit, now with full 30mA RCD protection across all circuits, has been installed:

Safety first with new 30mA RCD Protection consumer unit
On a lighter note I have uploaded details of the recently completed electrical installation for Somerset Yurts and their facilities building – full details in the projects gallery.

Somerset Yurts Camping - luxury style!