Thanks for the responses, and I understand your concerns trying to get an electrician to come in and diagnose a problem like this would take forever as I know people who have asked me to do electrical work in their basement as the waiting time for an electrician for a decent size job is 6 months.

I have nothing to lose by trying to diagnose the problem my self and if it blows again without any obvious signs I will try and get someone to come out and take a look.

The fuse was ancient looking and possibly blew due to age in my opinion. The sales rep at home depot said it shouldn't make a difference but intuitively speaking a 40 year old fuse should be replaced.

I was taught basic safety methods in school(lasted 1 year and 3 months) and I have a basic understanding of electricity but not much diagnosing experience.

I will keep an eye out and try to read as many threads as I can find of other problems to see if I can find any similar characteristics.

thanks