In some stables, in an outside yard that had later had a bit of corrugated tin roof put over it, nestling under the gutter was a 13A socket, cream bakelite not the outdoor variety. The twin and earth from it went a few feet and then split up, the earth wire was wrapped around a nut and bolt that went through a rust hole in the ancient (once) galvanised gutter, L and N were twisted together and went into a bayonet-cap plug inserted into a pendant light fitting. THe metal gutter was about 30 ft long and went nowhere at either end.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the building an old room had been converted into outdoor loos with a shower. The electric shower was powered from the old cast iron switch and fuse box by the meter at the other end of the buildings by two runs of 1mm squared T and E connected in parallel. 30A fuse wire was in the 5A labelled ceramic holder. There was an isolator switch actually OUTSIDE the shower cubicle, but inside the switch box (metal clad) the PVC insulation on the L and N wires was entirely carbonised by heat. THe earth conductors had been left bare.
An annual test by the electricity board (nameless for now) needed for a commercial riding establishment licence from the council, scored a fail because of an E-N leak. They never found the insides of the isolator, or the socket under the rain gutter. They said they thought it was an old lead covered cable seen high in the rafters. (turned out to be completely isolated, long disused. But they did issue a quote, detailed to the penny
Douglas Adams suggested that amazing feats of non-linear and non-causal maths may happen on the bill from a small bistro. Very peculiar electrical things happen in small farms...
David