The last of the debris was taken from the flametube by Craig on all-fours with convenient lighting by Petzl. The Tikka XP is standard issue at work for all of us, fits in a cargo pocket very well along with a Victorinox Rucksack, mini Bahco shifter, A5 notebook, pen, pencil, folded up credit card bill, Orbit sugar-free chewing gum, car keys, hoose keys, workshops keys, keys for two other boilerhouses, glasses case, paper hankies, iPod and earphones, wallet, loose change, an unrecognisably crinkled and dirty five pound note, a pink Dunlop plectrum, two self-tapper screws, a huge washer that I’m sure is vital and can’t remember where it came from, a roll of narrow climbers finger tape, contractor ID card, electronic door card and of course, a bit of grey fluff. Actually, that’s two pocket’s worth if I’m absolutely honest.
Inspection door shut and locked, buttons pressed, and we were away.
Boilers this size have burners that look just like a cross between a hair drier and a jet engine, sounds like it too. But it’s actually rather dull waiting for the temperature to rise in that volume of water, cue standing, sitting, pontificating, cuppas and staring at gauges. And more cuppas, and vending machine interaction.
As an apprentice times like this were for mischief, pallet truck races, sword fights with legths of screwed rod. Now it’s for arm folding, toe-tapping and eyebrow raising. Mobile phones fill in these gaps as well. It’s good that technology is rounding off the sharp edges of reality in case we bump into them and wake up.
“It’s good that technology is rounding off the sharp edges of reality in case we bump into them and wake up.”
You see, pete, there’s a novelist waiting to come out in ya…! Or rather: a master writer of short stories, what’s the fancy name for that, ah yes, novellas, or whatever. A mix of Robert Louis Stevenson and Chekov, rigourously in Haglofs kit of course.
And I’m not pulling yer leg here.
Throw in some Conrad and you’ll be on to a winner!
Ach, you guys!
I’d need discipline, spelling, grammar, a plot… that’s me buggered :o)
I’m loving all this boiler stuff, for a sit-at-home key-puncher like me it’s great to see real men doing real work. The kind of plant rooms I used to go visit – computer rooms – were never as exciting. Except when something went wrong …
“when something went wrong” is just as exciting in my kind of plant room.
Every scar I have tells a story, the mental ones too…