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Press, 19 December 1981, Page 26

Random reminder

OVERSIGHT

It was his first job, and the boy was very anxious to please. Admittedly the days of bowing and touching one’s forelock were gone, but nonetheless he wished to create a good impression on these, his first customers.

“Fill the tank, Sir? Certainly, Sir." He carefully relocked the petrol tank and handed back the keys.

“Clean the windscreen, Sir?" The soapy brush was wielded with vigour on not only the windscreen but also the back window.

‘Allow me to do that, Sir." Taking the air hose from the fumbling driver he cheerfully inflated the tyres to the correct pressure. Last but not least, “Check the oil and

water, Sir?" .And without spilling a drop he topped up the radiator, checked the battery and added quarter of a pint of oil to the sump. As the satisfied customer drove away, the boy thought he detected an odd clanking coming from beneath the bonnet of the car. He knew he had closed the bonnet properly, however, ,so it couldn’t be anything he had done. Could it? Within five minutes the amused car owner was back. He too had heard the clanking, and his investigations had disclosed the cause. To the intense embarrassment of the boy, the driver was flourishing the oil can, which the boy, in his zeal, had forgotten to remove before he closed the bonnet.