A salutary sanitary tracked loading shovel tale

[canaldrifter]

When I bought narrowboat Dreamcatcher fourteen years ago,
she was an Alvechurch hire boat called Guillemot. She slept six
(eight if the foredeck was used) and she had two toilets with separate
holding tanks, one of which I took out.

Not knowing what to do with it, it sat on the bank at Cowroast Marina
for a week or two. The Marina owner was getting fidgety about it, so I
loaded it into my van and persuaded a drinking friend to drive it to
Croxley Green for me, while I moved the boat.

We both forgot that what doesn't get disturbed in a holding tank doesn't
smell much. We also forgot to seal the vent pipe. The swishing about
round corners filled the van with a very pungent oder. To make it worse,
he got a puncture. In Sarratt Lane he tumbled out of the door and was
immediately sick on the road. He abandoned the van and it was weeks
before he'd speak to me again!

In the end the van and contents were picked up on the back of a skip
lorry. I mentioned getting rid of the holding tank to the skip-driver,
another drinking friend of mine. No problem, said he, next time I get a
half empty skip I'll swing by and dump it on top.

This he did. He unloaded the skip in their yard. A tracked loading
shovel then ran over it to flatten it. All the workers immediately went
on strike and wouldn't come back to the yard until my mate had hosed it
all down.

I was not very popular in that pub for a while. Cost me quite a few
beers to get back in the pool team.

Tone

[Neversweat]

Steve

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Here's a pic to go with your post
Richard