There I was, as always, minding my own business after tea last night when the bell rang. A bit late for round here I thought, the pubs are open. It was one of my neighbours looking for a ladder. None of us n this block possess such a thing, and then it dawned on me why she needed one. The man next door was locked out. The lock to his front door had jammed, it is the only way in, and he and his son were looking to a frozen night under the bushes in the park if nothing could be done. Had the shop on the corner been open he would have offered the use of one of the second hand ones he sells (He makes money clearing houses) however at that time he was shoveling his dinner down not looking for folks with broken locks.
Quite what could be done did not cross my mind. The landlords office would be long closed, no emergency number, and John the man who does would not be rushing out in the evening to fix things. Especially as he had probably begun the brandy after a day working!
We cogitated, I rang the landlord anyway, no answer but an ansafone. I cogitated again, by this time the man's son, or at least to of his friends, had decided to break in. The one problem here was our lack of a ladder and the flat being on the first floor. His door merely taking him to the stairs to climb upwards with no other entrance or escape.
It was impossible to reach the window. Standing on one another, grasping the gas pipe in the process, they attempted to climb an impossible climb. The neighbour took action, he drove his car right along the wall, two lads climbed onto the roof, one sat ion the others shoulders and they fought their way to a position where they could break a small pane and undo the latch and climb in. I merely fobbed off a passing police officers quizzical looks. He was none to troubled and more anxious to get back round the corner to the station and drink his tea and write up his paperwork.
Today John arrived to repair the lock, spend an hour looking for someone to cut a pane of glass, and then finished the job. What excitement! Who says we have a boring existence? Life here is full of tension, new action daily, and if we are lucky something interesting to appear in the drains.
I find I a struggling to cope with the pace of life here.
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8 comments:
Adullamite to the rescue!
You know, I remember a story of two elderly women who got locked out and they froze to death.
It was assumed that they didn't want to bother their neighbors for help. This happened somewhere in Britain, and it was years ago, but it is something that stays in your mind.
I'm glad someone was able to help!
I cringed when reading this account. It brought back bad memories of an evening back in 1985 when similar happened to me. I'd locked myself out of my house...no keys...middle of winter and it was pouring with rain. I set up a makeshift conglomeration of crates, boxes, outdoor table etc., to stand upon so I could climb through a window - but, unfortunately everything below me collapsed when I was halfway through the window opening! The hook on the window latch latched onto my underarm, tearing that section apart. A rapid trip to the doctor; with the doctor telling me I was very lucky that I'd not cut an artery; and 30 stitches later...I decided I would never attempt that trick again! A few weeks later I had to go into hospital for a skin graft because the junction of my underarm and body became infected etc. So now, if someone pats me on my arm in that area, they are, actually, patting me on the bum!! I just smile secretively to myself! ;)
My husband once shinned up a ladder to let a neighbour into his third floor flat.
The same neighbour later objected to a planning application on the grounds that my husband was 'only the gardener'.
Clearly, only a worker would have helpedd...
Mike, I supervised!
Kay, I don't remember that, but I believe it.
Lee, Your dangerous!
Helen, Is the neighbour a Tory?
There you had another opportunity to be a superhero and you passed again. Okay, I know that it is not widely known that your particular kind of blathering can shatter window glass, melt metal door hinges and send attractive women scurrying away from you at a dead run, but does it really have to be that much of a guarded secret?
Jerry, That's no secret - now!
Sorry.
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