With the words "We'll very much make it worth your while" ringing in my ears I ascended the extension ladders as far as the level of the guttters, a vast pattern of Aberfoyle slates sloped upwards towards the unreachable chimney stack, the distance a good bit longer than the roof ladder. The panorama of endless grouse moor stretched in all directions in this perfect Bank Holiday sunshine.
"Yes, 'The Family' are coming up from 'Down South' to the shooting lodge on Easter Sunday and the house keeper says that the crows have blocked the drawing room chimney with twigs, it has to be done today we'd very much appreciate blah blah....".
Mrs C. The Housekeeper led me through corridors where large oil paintings of men in Highland dress and portraits of women in black frocks shared the wall space with Stags heads, all of them glowering downwards. Next I made my way through the attic squeezing past at least forty feet of model railway layout to eventually find a skylight which had been installed to relieve some of the gloom in the upstairs landing.
"Have you got a short step ladder?"
Balancing this above the glass window below the skylight I heaved myself through several decades of cobwebs and managed to get one leg outside onto the slates. "This is a right laugh, I mused, it's just as well I'm not such a fat bastard..."
2 comments:
Was it actually worth your while?
Well I've sent them the bill based on responding immediately on a bank holiday. There was a nice view and I had a scone with butter, cream and jam in Dunkeld.
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