O Dia dos artesãos

'Twas on a Friday morningThe painter made a startWith undercoats and overcoats he painted every partEvery nook and every crannyBut I found when he was goneHe'd painted over the gas tap and I couldn't turn it on! Flanders & Swann We do be living on the farrrm thirty years. In 1996, the farmhouse was in neglected, but not ruinous condition: hole in the front door, hole in the roof, missing gutters, no running water. After our neighbours John & Michael sunk a bore-hole to 30m, and famous Paddy Butler submersed a pump, we (by which I mean She) sourced a plumber to capture the upwelling for taps and radiators. The plumber was not local, and nor were we, but nobody told him about the acid groundwater, so he fitted everything out with [industry standard] copper pipe. The copper hot-water cylinder failed within two years; about the same time as the pressure cylinder at the well-head. The pipes to the bathroom lasted a bit longer and were eventually replaced by qualpex plastic . . . but not…