Mojo, if it makes you feel any better..when I was first married we went out to the laundrette for about two hours leaving a few eggs hard boiling. You can only imagine the mess when they exploded all over the kitchen, ruining one of our brand new pans which never recovered. My friend's son put sausages under the grill and then went out...that was serious as it nearly burnt down her kitchen. You were very lucky indeed. May I suggest you put your candles in a container (or at least on a saucer,) in future.