The Pioneer’s Motto….

By Rob Innis

My Dutch neighbour has a large swimming pool on his 1,000 m2 plot. He decided, after wisely getting approval from the local water company, to empty the water to do some regrouting and other repairs to his pool.

He and I were some of the very first pioneers to move into our area where lots of new houses were built in 2002. We suffered the early deprivations including power and water cuts, which can happen, when you are living on a virtual building site. These experiences bonded us together and he always has the correct tools to tackle any job (and boy have we tackled a few) and cold beers in his fridge (ditto).

In the early days our electricity was connected from what’s known as builders supply. Although this can sometimes end up being free the disadvantage is that the cables are not underground. So, if you get an unobservant JCB driver, and we did, you get cut off with a loud bang. We decided the solution, after the cable had been repaired, was to raise it up off the road and over it via a series of poles. Naturally, we recruited the newest neighbour, anxious to become one of our gang, to go up the tall ladder – we told him it was his initiation! It is a great way to get to know your new neighbours.

Now with all the building long since finished and proper underground electrical supplies these adventures are past but often reminisced over a BBQ with any other neighbours who have not heard our pioneer’s anecdotes and, to be honest, even those that have. (many times)

Anyway back to my neighbour’s pool, when I called round to see him he was hard at work walking around the bottom of his pool, having pumped the water out, doing his maintenance work. I commented to him that the forecast was for rain.

`No, no rain forecast. That’s why I am doing this work now,’ he replied.

Sure enough it rained and with it came the Sahara dust – we call it brown rain, he called it something else. He has a very good grasp of English expletives. A huge brown lake formed at the deep end of his pool that the pool pump could not remove. After scooping and lifting over 100 buckets of the brown gunge out, which made little impact on the offending murky pond, he opted to buy a portable submersible pump to do the job.

Then he pressure washed the pool tiling. This removed his new and unhardened grout. Then he phoned me and asked if I was busy. What could I do but rush round and help him re-regrout.

All for one and one for all has always been our pioneer’s motto, plus of course someone else’s beer always tastes better.

 


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