No, this one is not on the upper reaches of a tributary of the Congo River - you work it out for yourself! - but right here on the Clyde: a totally burnt-out pump which left us without water in the house.
But never mind as there's always the guest cottage until I can get into town to spend a small fortune on a new one. Whatever Italians are good at, it's not the manufacture of pumps; so instead of this CALPEDA rubbish I'll go straight back to the trusted old DAVEY pump.
And what's that tall, upright thing next to the pump and why is it even there, I hear you ask? Well, it's something else I've just spent a small fortune on: an electric outboard motor (plus dry-cell battery plus trickle battery charger), and it's there because I didn't want to waste film on an extra photo.
My bluewater sailing days are over and my Rowing Blue is a bit moth-eaten, so the only way to propel myself across the water is with the help of an almost silent electric motor hooked up to a 26AMP battery.
Not that the silence would matter much because for the past two weeks everything I hear seems to have come through a layer of cotton wool anyway. It got so spooky that I finally went to my Sri Lankan GP who prescribed a bottle of WAXSOL Ear Drops and told me to come back in a couple of days when he'll blow out the loosened wax.
After that, he said, all should be well. Or not, he added because, in addition to teeth, hair, memory, good looks, and several other things, I may also be losing my hearing which, come to think of it, is not with-out its advantages for a married man.
You'll hear from me again in a couple of days. If not, put a few drops of WAXSOL in your ears.
