A leak on a rainy day capped it all

DURING the Sixties, I was an apprentice mechanic at a small garage. We looked after a fleet of taxis and private customers including a neighbouring removal business. One particularly wintry day I was underneath a large removal lorry to drain the radiator of water and renew the antifreeze. The rain was coming down heavily and we were outside as the vehicle was too large to be under cover. The owner was standing in front of the vehicle, looking on with interest, and seemed

oblivious to the rain. With my trusty pliers, I unscrewed the drain tap in the bottom of the radiator and a small amount of water flowed then stopped. The solution was to remove the radiator cap to enable the air pressure to force out the remaining water. Knowing the owner was still watching (I could see his legs), I called to him to take the cap off, but the expectant flow of water did not happen. Puzzled, I slid out from underneath the lorry. He was standing there, rain bouncing off his bald head, and in his right hand he held his flat cloth cap!

Don Featherstone, Ashford, Kent.