How Soon We Do Forget.

Water, water oh you lovely water...

Driving out of our gate and turning towards the main road, I saw a commotion up ahead at Herbert's house. Well, a tractor, a car and a few men standing about chatting. As our chariot still loves to squeak a tune, I drove especially slowly in order to keep the squeak to a minimum.

And it would have worked if one of the men didn't flag me down to a stop.

" You definitely don't need your hooter, do you? "

Gosh, trying to bridge my embarrassment, I nodded nonchalantly . He then proceeded to inform me ( he is our village's head honcho regarding any water affairs ) that he'd have to switch off the water in our lane, as the pipe was spewing a leak and he didn't want it to extend.

When I asked him when and for how long, it turned out that I could negotiate the times a little bit and he promised to only switch it off at 9 p.m. and to turn it back on at 7 a.m.

" Don't worry, you'll still be able to do your walk in the morning! "

I drove off and even though I knew that in our neck of the woods, a promise is a promise, I had a flashback to phoning the water department back in Pietermaritzburg ( S.A. ) after the water refused to exit any taps and being told that it would be back on at 11 a.m...a few days later of course!

Isn't it funny how a forewarning of having no water for a night can throw one into a panic? How would I shower in the morning should he forget to switch it back on? Well, I did save water in a bucket and a cold wash hasn't hurt anyone yet.

When I thought about the lavatory situation, Bob told me that there was always the long drop next to our garage. In this freezing weather there wouldn't be any lingering in order to read...and just in case you wonder, we didn't use the long drop!

Perfume was out of the question, as I don't own any. Back in the day, wasn't perfume invented to cover the aroma brought forth by a lack of water, and aptly named Eau De Toilette ? It does make one wonder at the prolific use of perfumes nowadays...

As much as I joke about it, I appreciate the ability to turn on a tap, flush a loo or have a shower as it is a privilege and luxury, which sadly isn't a given in today's age.

Biggi