a hard day's work

i have blisters on my hands from gardening.

but yes that is because i have been down there twice in four or five weeks (and that's an improvement; i confess that i paid someone to clear my plot...it's actually really hard work and you know, having a full time job, i just couldn't get down there as much as i wanted to...hm and the desire to go down there peaked earlier than expected. i hadn't realised gardening is actually (a) something i never do; i've lived in places with opportunities to garden and frankly i have not; and (b) not fun at all.) anyway, it's now cleared and i've gone through and pulled out all of the roots - and let me tell you, compared to my neighbours' plots, mine is the best. it's ready for planting. (being competitive has advantages; i was horrified when i ventured down and, unlike others, mine hadn't advanced at all. but now = two afternoons of hard work and blisters, and i'm smirking.)

Quick story i heard today:
A while ago there was a fire at a local car dealership. The fire truck was called. It turned up – a surprising event in itself; normally they say “sorry, no petrol can’t come” (police too; although someone told me last week that the police have upped the ante: now they simply don’t answer the phone). And so the firemen ran about and put hoses where they needed to go and then – no water. The truck wasn’t wheeled out often, and they weren’t prepared. They tried a water pump in the yard of the dealership, but to no avail, it was too late, everything was aflame. And so the dealership turned to ashes.

The poor fire fighters. This is a valiant effort on their behalf: manned, petrol, attending the fire on time, having hoses – these things don’t always come together. (Of course, water remains a necessary element…). The angry dealership owner clamed compensation – for two things: one, it was the role of the fire fighters to put out the fire. They failed, and thus needed to compensate him. (Not to mention he hadn’t kept up with insurance payments.) And two: unfortunately, after they had used it, the water pump stopped working. So there needed to be compensation for the broken pump. ah, the costs of a hard day's work.