Monday, 23rd January, 2012
Finally a "confession" or two.
Well, remember that unexpected honeyguide I said I saw last week? After throwing it out to the Oriental Bird Club forum, it looks far more likely that it was actually a female Scarlet Finch - still a very interesting record in itself, being far lower than expected. I must say thanks to all those who helped on this one. First rule of birding - don't claim unless 100% certain, and even then seek advice. Advice sought and mistake corrected!
Now for the toilet humour, so if this is not for you, just skip till next time!
After getting back from the woods the other day, I needed the loo. It's rare in this part of the world to have anything other than a squat toilet, and this is exactly what we have in our house. So, I was squatting there doing as one does, and I just slightly lost my balance. Reaching out for support I grabbed a tap (that fills a bucket to flush the toilet). Of course it snaps off at the wall and water jets out at a surprisingly high pressure for a roof-top storage tank. PANIC. Unfinished business, water going everywhere, and all alone in the house. So, as all Brits are taught about the Dutch, I put my finger to good use and stemmed the flow of gushing water (the broken pipe that is). Single-handedly I finish up my primary business - not easy I tell you - and was then left with a more serious problem - how to fix the leak, without getting soaked in the process.
All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind, call for help, give up and let the tank drain dry (there are no stop cocks out here either), or come up with something entirely more ingenious? Of course the problem solver in me decided on the latter and stretching across the bathroom with my left foot (finger in hole remember), I managed to tip over the rubbish bin and roll it towards me, extract some old plastic and replace my finger with that. Not much good I can tell you, with jets of high-pressure water shooting off all over the place. And then it struck me; my good-ol' British hanky - suitably soiled of course - would be perfect! With some cramming, and using the nozzle of a toilet-duck bottle to do so, it worked!
Of course, there's more to this, i.e. today I did something very similar to the kitchen tap, but seeing as this blog is supposed to be about birds, I'll leave that to another time.
Mark.
Finally a "confession" or two.
Well, remember that unexpected honeyguide I said I saw last week? After throwing it out to the Oriental Bird Club forum, it looks far more likely that it was actually a female Scarlet Finch - still a very interesting record in itself, being far lower than expected. I must say thanks to all those who helped on this one. First rule of birding - don't claim unless 100% certain, and even then seek advice. Advice sought and mistake corrected!
Now for the toilet humour, so if this is not for you, just skip till next time!
After getting back from the woods the other day, I needed the loo. It's rare in this part of the world to have anything other than a squat toilet, and this is exactly what we have in our house. So, I was squatting there doing as one does, and I just slightly lost my balance. Reaching out for support I grabbed a tap (that fills a bucket to flush the toilet). Of course it snaps off at the wall and water jets out at a surprisingly high pressure for a roof-top storage tank. PANIC. Unfinished business, water going everywhere, and all alone in the house. So, as all Brits are taught about the Dutch, I put my finger to good use and stemmed the flow of gushing water (the broken pipe that is). Single-handedly I finish up my primary business - not easy I tell you - and was then left with a more serious problem - how to fix the leak, without getting soaked in the process.
All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind, call for help, give up and let the tank drain dry (there are no stop cocks out here either), or come up with something entirely more ingenious? Of course the problem solver in me decided on the latter and stretching across the bathroom with my left foot (finger in hole remember), I managed to tip over the rubbish bin and roll it towards me, extract some old plastic and replace my finger with that. Not much good I can tell you, with jets of high-pressure water shooting off all over the place. And then it struck me; my good-ol' British hanky - suitably soiled of course - would be perfect! With some cramming, and using the nozzle of a toilet-duck bottle to do so, it worked!
Of course, there's more to this, i.e. today I did something very similar to the kitchen tap, but seeing as this blog is supposed to be about birds, I'll leave that to another time.
Mark.
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