Threads on fire

Sewing circle again. Brought in my trusty Toyota but true to her word, the course leader has also brought a cartful of old sewing machines and has set them up. There's no room for mine. Oh well, I thought, that's cool, I'll just use that ancient electric Singer from the 1960s. The cabling arrangements are adventurous. I plug the Singer into a cable drum and switch it on. Then I get distracted by another course member and catch up with her about our respective working weeks and so I don't notice initially that the foot pedal has started to smoke. Then the Singer starts sewing, as if possessed. I'm nowhere near that foot pedal and just stare at it for a second until I realise it's about to burst into flames. Manage to unplug it just in time, there's a general round of chirped "Oh dear!" before the lethal Singer gets unceremoniously retired into a corner and everyone returns to their projects, and so I do eventually end up using my own Toyota.