Batteries

The photo above is of a jeweler putting a battery in my watch earlier this evening.

Earlier I had driven to Idrone Terrace in Blackrock, one of my little sea-facing phronsteries when I sometimes sit and write on my laptop. I left the engine running at first as I had the heating on. Then I turned it off. I must have been there for an hour and a half, maybe more, when I realised that I was getting slightly chilly. I turned the key. A strangled coughing, then nothing. Blast! I'd left the headlights on, something I rarely do. My carplan insurance includes such minor emergencies so I called them and they sent a mechanic. As we were waiting for the battery to recover, we chatted and he told me about a friend who can shape any piece of metal or panel-beat it so that it's perfect. 'He has the hands of a saint', said the mechanic.

It occurred to me as I was posting this: two battery replacements, by men who work with their hands, albeit on very different scales.