The Expert

11th November

The Expert came to look at the plumbing.
“Alright Buster?” I said. I’ve known him for years. He’s always done my boats. He is a Corgi registered gas man and can do boat safety certificates too. When you find a boat yard, an engineer or other specialist on the Cut that you trust you tend to stick to the same one. Buster does all my mates’ boats too. The Doctor showed him the problem in the cupboard and I brewed him a cup of tea.
“It’s this pipe here,” said the Doctor.
“Let’s have a look at your water pump,” said Buster, and they disappeared up to the bedroom to look under the girls’ bed. They returned quite quickly.
“It’s your water pressure,” said Buster. “I’ve adjusted it. Should work now. That pipe that was leaking was never attached to anything. It’s an emergency overflow if the pressure gets too much.” He sits on the back step and I hand him a cup of tea.
“God, your good!” I said. “You’ve sorted the problem before you’ve even had your cup of tea!” It’s not even 9 o’clock.
“Thirty years of experience,” he grins. “You can blog about me if you want.”
“Have you read my blog?” I asked, surprised.
“No. Didn’t know you had one. But I’m all over the internet apparently. In these canal discussion forums. There’s a few people say I’m good. Get David Bitmead, they say.”
I agree. Get Buster, he rocks. He covers London and the southern end of the Grand Union canal.

It’s our wedding anniversary today. It’s so lovely to get running water again, on our special day!