Flat Beds - 2

More worrying than the Ikea non-flat bed…

Back in 2005, CC moved into a very nice flat in Rennes, which included a beautiful bed which folded up into a smart-looking wooden case on the wall.
Raising & lowering the bed was a one-finger affair, thanks to very strong springs which pull the bed up into the frame, or , to put it another way, pull the frame down onto the bed…
This means that the whole thing is like a giant mouse-trap, threatening to slam the wooden frame down on unsuspecting sleepers.
I thought there had to be a locking mechanism, for safety's sake, but there was absolutely nothing.
Survival depends on the frame being securely fixed to the wall.

The instructions for the bed say it must be fitted by a professional & never be fitted to a plasterboard wall.
It was fitted to a plasterboard wall.
With good, big, professional-looking fittings, but even so…

At about the same time, I saw this article in several papers, about 2 old ladies trapped in a similar bed in a Spanish holday resort:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article553244.ece

I am ashamed to say that all I did was ask CC to keep an eye on the state of the fittings.
And breathed a sigh of relief when she moved out a couple of years later.

No doubt some other innocent is sleeping there now, waiting for the trap to spring.
Brrrr!

There should be a law enforcing latches on this type of bed.

Parting thot: "Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences." – Norman Cousins