Success!
I have beaten the flat! Well, the electrician the landlady sent round seems to have done, at any rate. I can now have the washing machine going *and* the kitchen tap running, without nearly dying! (Given the length of time for a washing machine cycle, this is a good thing...)
The leaky pipe under the sink has also been fixed (is there anything duct tape can't do?) and hopefully later this afternoon, we will have a working telly and everything! Maybe even bathroom door handles - the luxury!
Dissertation not going so well - but we do have spare door keys now, and I managed food shopping. (Pineapple, mango and lime juice is divine. If Tropicana sell it near you, go buy some, now.) I'm going to go and read about securitisation now...