Oh DEAR!

[Marigold]

Can't resist telling the tale of the Spanish waiter working in an Irish hotel. He kept using the term 'manana' and when the owner asked him what it meant he just shrugged, replied "tomorrow", and then asked the Irishman if they had a word in gaelic which meant the same? Yes, the owner replied - but it hasn't got the same sense of urgency.

Love it and so true! when I was first here I was promised so much firewood I agonised over where to put it,, You guessed; none of it arrived... So I learned.. a kind man came to my street stall years ago, handed me his card ( car salesman) and declared, in front of everyone, ( knowing I was trading for charity " When this car conks out, call me and I will give you another one.." I was driving a white and rust car,, Did nto miss a beat but said, " Ok; I will call you next week!" He started, then made a drama of looking closely at my car,, said on the right side, " I can do better than this for you, " " That side is Ok, have a look round here!" ( big dent!) He rose to the occasion. " There is a car van in my garage; IT IS YOURS!" and i had it within the week, the first of 2 he gave for the work I and my family do , WISH he were still here as I am in dire need, but he went home to Jesus a while ago.. There is real kindness here but the worse than manana thing! You just have to stop getting mad about it. They dont need a word; they live it.

[Marigold]

Marigold, don't be putting too many chemicals down there, it can kill off the bugs, beasties and fungi that digest the effluent and keep it smelling sweet rather than rank. The old cure of a rank septic tank was to obtain a cowpat, one that holds together like an upside down flan, with a moist and crumbly underneath, and float it in the tank., same way up it was sat in the field The tiny residents think they've arrived in the promised land.

It's safe to go play in the woods now kids.

I hear you; here it is not quite like peters excellent sketch though. Where the metal hatch is, there is kind of a sink under it. The pipe from the house empties into the concrete sink and then there is the pipe leading into the sewer pipe. We needed to clean that up with summer and flies on the way. Buckets of water and the cleaner.. Most of the cleaner gel went on the walls of the sink . Irish flies are something else, believe me. . I wonder though why they cannot then put some kind of mesh cap at the end of the pipe from the house , open enough to let everything through but that would catch anything that would do damage. The pipe to the actual sewer is long as that is in the field over the fence. Fascinating!

[robo]

In Spain they used to throw a dead chicken in the septic tank when it starts to smell, these days you can get sachets of chemicals that do the same job

[Marigold]

In Spain they used to throw a dead chicken in the septic tank when it starts to smell, these days you can get sachets of chemicals that do the same job

What a waste of a chicken! Thankfully the tank here i far enough from the house that there would be no smell.. one advantage of being out in the boonies.. nearest dwelling is around half a mile away.

[JohnN]

My family and I love the Irish sense of humour and have spent many happy holidays in Ireland, from our honeymoon in Kerry in 1960 to fishing trips to Lough Mask and Achill Island in later years. We loved the Kerry story about Noah bringing his ark by the MacGillicuddies Reeks mountains, of which only the tips were above the flood. Seeing a shepherd with his flock on the top Noah invited him into the ark, only for the shepherd to reply, "Oh no, thank you sorr, we're just enjoying the soft day"