On Mon, 3 Jul 2006 22:09:02 +0100, Dave Liquorice wrote
(in article om):

On Mon, 3 Jul 2006 18:12:18 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

I am fortunate not to have any of these lamps, but were I to purchase a
new house, one of the first tasks would be to consign them to the skip
where they belong and to replace them with lighting of my choice and
not that of the government.

You and me both. What a fing stupid way to go about things. Mind you if I
was to buy a new house it would be built to my spec and with my choice of
fittings. Or do I take it that unless you use specific fittings (instead
of "normal" ones with CFLs) you won't get past building inspection?



I think that you wouldn't. The solution, however, is to simply rip them out
after completion.

This strikes me as a very similar game to one concerning food storage a few
decades ago. My parents bought a house in the days when building society
managers sat on the right hand of God and customers inhabited the primordial
ooze.

Not having anything of moment to criticise in the valuation survey, the
lender insisted that the house be equipped with a ventilated meat safe. We
had had a fridge for over ten years at that point but it didn't make any
difference. We bought an old cupboard for five shiilings from a
government surplus place and drilled some holes in it. Some galvanised
mesh was duly fixed inside.

A letter was written to the building society confirming the safe. A
further survey was made although they didn't have the balls to charge for it.

Two days after completion, the cupboard went into the shed where it was used
to store paint etc.

However, justice has been done. Said building society has since been
acquired by a foreign bank who have gone through it with a hatchet (or
perhaps a machete).

There is a limit to how much those in power for one reason or another should
interfere in people's lives. Both examples were overstepping the mark so
hopefully what goes around will come around....