RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30100, 6 April 1963, Page 18

RANDOM REMINDER

DO IT YOURSELF

Man’s inhumanity to man includes helping him with odd jobs. Or it seems to work out that way, sometimes. Take the case of the office colleague who was assisted by another office colleague in refurbishing his kitchen. There was much painting to be done, and this was accomplished without too much trouble, the recipe, evidently, being approximately three half-gallon jars to every half-gallon of paint. But there was joinery to be done, and the conspirators decided they could put the two new windows and the new cupboa “ds in, in an expert did the preliminary work. So they called in as consultant a joinery man, a practised expert

who whipped about the place making very rapid measurements with a rule. The cupboard was of impressive proportions—7 feet by 6 feet 6 inches, or thereabouts, and the unskilled labourers asked the professional for an inch of leeway. The joinery man, his whisking about ended, went away and set his minions to work. The cupboard duly arrived, and the home team set about getting it in. Their task was not made the easier by the discovery that the joinery man had made the cupboard just half an inch too big, all round. This required our heroes to carve large and ungainly chunks off the stud, but after some time and much labour, the cup-

board was thrust into place. Then the first of the windows arrived. It was half an inch too long. Into action they went, planing and sand-paper-ing far into the nights. Ultima’ ly they placed it, uncomfortably tight The window, that is. The second window? That was put in position without too much troublejust a matter of cutting two and a half inches from the sides of the frame. The home team now has some regrets. They are sorry if the joiner’s wife is still nagging him night and day, if the joiner's child is still being a complete pest, if the joiner’s boss has fired him, if the joiner's ears are still burning.