Author Topic: Schadenfreude at Christmas  (Read 1261 times)

Schadenfreude at Christmas
« on: 21 December, 2023, 12:57:10 pm »
I’ve a day off today, readying our “Christmas” dinner for tomorrow (we’re off out on the day itself). Just sat down for a well earned G&T, and saw a Dynorod van heading down the village.
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #1 on: 21 December, 2023, 01:11:03 pm »
Possibly just clearing "the way to the sea" ready for The Boxing Day Dump.  Better safe than sorry.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #2 on: 21 December, 2023, 01:19:07 pm »
I've seen a Saniflo Technical Support Team van a couple of times recently.  Nobody deserves that.

offcumden

  • Oh, no!
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #3 on: 21 December, 2023, 01:41:21 pm »
The local council have been along our street cleaning out the gullies this morning.
Is all this rodding through and decoking activity normal at this time of year?  Never noticed it before.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #4 on: 21 December, 2023, 02:27:48 pm »
I've seen a Saniflo Technical Support Team van a couple of times recently.  Nobody deserves that.
It might be going to Arron Banks' basement.  You never know.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

robgul

  • Cycle:End-to-End webmaster
  • cyclist, Cytech accredited mechanic & woodworker
    • Cycle:End-to-End
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #5 on: 21 December, 2023, 03:36:03 pm »
Made me smile . . . on 23 December 1997 I had my knee arthroscoped and a tuck taken in a muscle across my knee (having had a fall and twisted it badly the previous September) . . . so I was strapped up from shin to thigh and on crutches.

Christmas Day dawned and our neighbour (totally clueless on anything practical) knocked on the door saying his drains were blocked and the toilet was backing up - as we were on the same pipework we would be affected next.

So, instructions to my wife to get the drain rods from the shed (I have 2 sets, that's why she married me  ;D) - I then lower myself to sit on the grass by the manhole cover, open it with some difficulty and rod the system successfully.   I was then helped back to my feet, still clutching the drain rods as our guests arrived for lunch.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #6 on: 24 December, 2023, 08:03:02 am »
Well, I hope you washed your hands.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

offcumden

  • Oh, no!
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #7 on: 24 December, 2023, 08:27:38 am »
Well, I hope you washed your hands.
:D  :D

Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #8 on: 24 December, 2023, 08:59:07 am »
Well, I hope you washed your hands.

I bought a set of rods about 4 years ago after having to call out Maurice the Poo Man twice in a month to unblock the sewer pipe which runs down my garden but is shared by three houses.

I quite like Maurice, but flat fee of £100 grates when he gets it done in 10 minutes. He did spend about an hour in my kitchen afterwards playing me his favorite tracks by the Blue Man Band. Even popped out to his van to get his Bluetooth speaker. Maurice is a very large man who looks exactly like Alex Paterson from the Orb...



...only much fatter.

Last time he came I had to leave him to it to go and walk the kids back from primary school. He was finishing up and I told him I'd be 5 minutes and would pop over to the post office to get his cash. He said not to worry as it would take him 10 minutes to pack up and he'd still be there.

I got back in about 6 minutes and to my surprise he was gone, with no sign that he had even been there as all his kit was gone and he'd replaced the patio slabs over the manhole by our patio doors and everything.

I gave it 15 minutes and he still hadn't come back so I phoned him. Turns out he'd started packing up and had an urgent need for the toilet, so had packed up in about 60 seconds and driven 2 miles over the hill to Sainsbury's to use their toilet and had only just made it in time.

I said he should have just dropped his trousers and done it straight down into the manhole and cut out the middleman. His reply?

"Yes, but people get upset when you do."

 ;D


rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #9 on: 24 December, 2023, 09:16:08 am »
In our student house it was SOP to pee into the outside gully if someone was occupying the bathroom.  The neighbours didn't like us.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

robgul

  • Cycle:End-to-End webmaster
  • cyclist, Cytech accredited mechanic & woodworker
    • Cycle:End-to-End
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #10 on: 24 December, 2023, 10:00:04 am »
Well, I hope you washed your hands.

Indeed I did while my wife was hosing down the rods prior to returning them to the shed.

The incident was in 1997 at the house before the previous one - I can't recall using the rods again before March 2021 when I had to rod out the drain after the "builders" had clogged a run of pipe with bits of paving limestone and sand.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #11 on: 25 December, 2023, 06:23:55 pm »
I have a set of drain rods and I have used then once or twice. It has to rate very highly in terms of the amount of job satisfaction enjoyed.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

robgul

  • Cycle:End-to-End webmaster
  • cyclist, Cytech accredited mechanic & woodworker
    • Cycle:End-to-End
Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #12 on: 26 December, 2023, 08:34:39 am »
I have a set of drain rods and I have used then once or twice. It has to rate very highly in terms of the amount of job satisfaction enjoyed.

Exactly - and an extra sense of achievement when I have to implement one complet set and a couple of lengths from set #2.    Mine are the black plastic pipe type, I really covet a set of the old-style wooden ones that bend as they take up water/effluent.

Re: Schadenfreude at Christmas
« Reply #13 on: 26 December, 2023, 10:08:54 am »
It has to rate very highly in terms of the amount of job satisfaction enjoyed.


I agree. That moment when everything starts to flow is great. The Drain Unblockers youtube channel is strangely compelling viewing.

https://www.youtube.com/@TheDrainUnblockers/videos