@ Doctor Syntax
"leaving the bit of screw-threaded tin in place to be extracted with the aid of a cut finger or two."
I use a piece of potato to extract the busted off threads. Simply cut to the appropriate size, insert firmly & twist. Never seen it fail. NOTE! MAKE BLOODY CERTAIN THE POWER IS OFF TO THAT FIXTURE! Spuds are conductive. If necessary, kill power to the entire building to make sure, or you'll likely kill yourself.
The glowing bulbs sounds like a serious ground issue. Suggest you have a real electrician look at it. My brother had a similar problem, turned out there was corrosion in the ground connection between the breaker panel and the meter. I measured enough current between the stove top (house ground, unconnected to anything) and the kitchen tap (water pipe, real ground) to kill a man (it doesn't take much). Suggest you get it sorted before someone gets hurt. Or worse.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
