Friday, January 23, 2009

A leaky tap and a wasps' nest


I needed to turn off the water today but the in-ground meter box was full of a huge fluffy ball. With a wasp on it. It was a nest of Common Wasps. I briskly dropped the lid and called the Council Helpline.
"Sorry, we can't help you, it's not our responsibility. You have to attend to that yourself"
I suggested that I could call a plumber and have him by-pass the meter. I would get free water and the wasps could keep the meterbox. She said, helpfully, "Yes, you could do that." (Really? Well, she was just the person who takes the calls, wasn't she?).
I checked the Council website: yes, although I had to pay for it, it's their box, it's their meter and it's over the boundary on their property. I am only required to "give them access". OK, any time they want access to read it I'll show them where it is. Forget the wasp nest.
But an hour later a very pleasant girl calls up and says they're sending someone to look at it. Well done, the Council's contractor!
Haven't I heard somewhere a story of someone who was asked to do something and said, No I won't? And then went and did it anyway? Isn't life spiced up by the occasional serendipitous act of service when it seemed nothing was going to get done?
Can I respond to an observed need appropriately, even when I've initially turned it aside? What's my duty in the terrible situation in Gaza right now?

No comments:

Post a Comment