An hour ago I had a close call when I went into the bathroom and turned on the basin tap – a flash of electricity about 8 inches in length shot out with a … loud bang. My daughter yelled “what the hell was that”, she was just outside the door with Joe our JRT. When I emerged – pale, shaking and speechless from the bathroom she asked “that noise, it came from the bathroom, right? My daughter turned the electricity back on – I stood outside the bathroom door. A flash shot out of the light fitting on the ceiling accompanied by a loud bag, the electricity went off again. The only things working in the house now are the hob and two sockets in the kitchen, everything else is off.

I thought, as there was an electrical storm with heavy (torrential) rain, that perhaps we had been struck by lightning. Lightning just loves me, this is not the first close encounter I have experienced in my life.

The first encounter – riding a horse, storm began and struck a tree just about 25 yards away, wood flew in all directions. My horse … he just stood and looked, then moved off again without a care in the world.

The second encounter – lightning travelling along the road around me (very pretty blue) as I bolted (no pun intended) for home, my hair was “electrified, stood up on end”. That only happens in movies, right?

The third encounter – outside a house when a lightning bolt came towards my boyfriend and myself, changed course at the last minute and hit the house next door blowing a hole in the front and back of the house.

Fourth encounter – I had a television in my bedroom, the aerial connection (aerial in loft), outside my bedroom window, lightning struck aerial connection, loud bang from my television which never came on again.

Lightning is attracted to me. So many times my hair has been stood on end due to numerous other encounters, too numerous to mention. My father was certain I would end up “fried” or “toasted” or whatever it is that lightning does to you. But at least I lived to tell the tale, so far!