Helen Bach: The Sunday (most of) our phones turned into emergency klaxons
Well, that Government phone alert was certainly a way to disturb a quiet Sunday afternoon, wasn't it?!
Yes, I knew it was coming - in fact my daughter had reminded me shortly before 3pm that my phone would probably make a noise soon - but crikey, when it happened it still made me jump!
The funny thing is, it was slightly after 3pm that mine and my daughter's mobiles turned into klaxons, and then another full minute before my husband's joined in the deafening noise. We thought at one point maybe he wasn't going to get it at all.
Even though all our phones were on silent, they still made quite a din. Having them on silent is a force of habit for all of us now. I certainly don't want mine ringing when it shouldn't - a friend who is an ordained minister was officiating another friend's Mother's funeral when his went off and he's never lived it down! So embarrassing, but at least everyone had a good sense of humour so had a laugh about it afterwards.
Anyway, it did make me think that if it went off in the middle of the night, for example, it might result in a spike in cardiac events, or sudden trips to the bathroom. I don't think there's any way you could sleep through that.
But it also made me wonder what exactly we would do if it did? I guess follow the instructions on the screen and hope for the best!
I think there are some professions though that you certainly wouldn't want it to happen to while they were in the middle of their jobs - my minister friend for example, at a particularly solemn moment, or worse still, a surgeon performing a delicate operation. Anything that requires a steady hand doesn't need a sudden deafening noise making them jump!
I appreciate that this is probably being implemented as a way to keep us all safe, and I've been told there are ways you can opt out of it if necessary. But truthfully, let's just hope that it's never actually needed - a bit like my emergency spare pants and cans of beans and loo rolls!