Since she was never part of the blitz how the hell would she know what blitz spirit was.

It sounds rather gay ... blitz spirit anyone?

Make mine a double!



On a serious note, I had no idea people had lost their power because they were being bombed ... now that IS terrible.

You could always ask them (no point asking me, I don't live there).



Only thing I do know is its not been Humberside for a long time

This from the daughter of a tory peer, who has never known hardship or deprivation in her entire life?



Imagine the temerity of those paying for a service to actually expect compensation for being deprived of that service? Of course contingencies should have been made, the company profiting from providing the "service" should be the ones making those contingencies however, not the customers.



Allslop is correct in one respect though, there are millions who subsist on little electricity, there are also millions who subsist on a low-calorie food intake too, maybe if she followed their lead she could shift some of that blubber she's carrying.

I think the point she was making was about getting compensation rather than feeling downhearted or otherwise upset by being without electricity/being flooded out for Christmas. That she was making such a point so soon after the event was a little insensitive to say the least but I do think that she has a point. People seek compensation now for pretty much anything and everything, which probably shows up something other than the theatrical in our culture.



As for a Blitz spirit, some of the people interviewed did indeed show such a spirit. They were clearly upset by what had happened but could also recognise that it was nobody's fault that the wind blew at 80mph and felled trees which landed on power lines or that bucket loads of rain swelled the rivers to the degree where they overtopped and flooded houses. There was the couple who planned to barbeque their turkey, another family who had moved the fridge upstairs and ate their Christmas dinner in their son's bedroom. Then there was the woman who took her turkey to a community get together at a place which still had power and shared it out. Those individuals when interviewed suggested that the Blitz mentality is still alive and well, albeit possibly in the minority of people. I found those people heartening to listen to.

I agree, but that culture has been actively encouraged by the right and the free market. Every time we turn something, be it a service like the post, energy, healthcare, bus etc into simply yet another product like a DVD then we expect the same level of compensation when that thing doesn't work.

Given the ridiculous increases in energy bills over the last few years damn right I would want compensation if the service that I had paid an extortionate amount of money for was not provided.

On the other hand if you've not been able to use any electricity for five days then you won't have been charged for any either, the only compensation you should be "entitled" to is five days worth of any standing charges, which is going to be pretty feeble.

Compensation would also need to take in to account any losses or expenditure incurred due to the energy company failing to provide the service they are being paid for e.g freezer full of food, stay in a hotel outside the affected area. It's not as if the energy companies can't afford it.

And how much compo would a grasping individual from Wigan expect for a freezer full of pies? let me briefly shine a light into your murky world......



There is a certain level of Service you can expect from your Supplier, and when they are a fault, for instance digging a trench up your street and the numpty in the high viz rips up your electricity cable/water pipe/gas main, then obviously all costs in the repair should be borne by the appropiate Contractor, and possibly a small amount of compensation offered as well as an apology.



Where the Guaranteed Standards don't apply:



[iThere are some exceptions to the Guaranteed Standards compensation schemes. For example, the company may not have to make a compensation payment for any of the following reasons:



severe weather makes it impossible to restore the supply

strikes or industrial action

you’re out when the energy company visits and you knew they were coming

you cancel an appointment.[/i



Common sense really......

As far as the freezer is concerned you can bet your last pound that the power supplier would refer you to your own home insurers and if you suddenly decided for yourself to pack up and go stay in a hotel just because there was no electricity at your home through days where the temperature never dropped below a balmy 5 degrees then again you'd have to have a damn good reason for having done so before their insurers would cough up.



I used to know someone who was a kidney patient and did self dialysis at home - his whole street was on a priority list because of him and on a couple of occasions when they wanted to switch the power off for maintenance they had to come and ask him first

The 'Blitz spirit' included, in reality, looting and various other crimes.



So, once away from the romantic idea, perhaps she's suggesting that's what's missing?

Plus what was the alternative during the Blitz? Walk out of the shelter and ask the Germans for compensation?



The last time we extracted compensation from Germany it didn't particularly help that much.