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Cheers. I'm mostly annoyed at the spark who replaced the CU and did the EICR. He had every fitting and socket off near enough. He should have sleeved it. In fact, the two black wires were screwed into one screw connector/terminal block thing. This is the second bodge of his. The pendant in my office wasn't even fixed to the ceiling, just held up by the wires.
I'll admit I kind of know why the fix worked, but I'm still struggling with how it didn't explode more when it was in the wrong configuration. I'll need to draw the circuit out when I can be arsed to see what was actually going on. Anyway, all wago'd up and the connection from the circuit to the length of T&E is in a choc box in the ceiling. I hope that wasn't a stupid thing to do.
The other bollox was finding the bastard roll of earth sleeve I bought months ago. Of course it was in the letter rack. But I didn't see that before emptying EVERY tool or shed related box in the house.
stevo_com-
You're very unlikely to find sleeving on switch lines in older properties. It's like commenting code or writing user manuals, absolutely should be done but quite often doesn't unless someone is forcing it. The electrical trade is quite secretive though, there's a kind of pride that they can navigate the perils without any help.
Maintenance free connections like your choc box one are fine as long as you've used Wago's (or similar) screwed terminals are not maintenance free because AC pulsing can cause the screws to loosen. The wires do also need to be secured to make sure they couldn't pull out if for example someone tried to pull on that wire without seeing that connection. Wago make some nice boxes specially for the purpose.
Earth sleeve, it always feels good when you have the right size earth sleeve to hand.
One thing a lot of people do which is not recommended is twist earth wires together, it can cause problems over time if you have to disconnect and rejoin the wires because the copper work-hardens.
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I'll need to draw the circuit out when I can be arsed to see what was actually going on.
Airhead
I've been on site with 'professional' electricians who've made worse mistakes this week. Well done for solving it before posting. I can remember a few pictures of 3-plates on here with people scratching their heads.