Caution - men at work

There's nothing quite like the British workman in action - bringing the metropolis to a grinding halt with a few trusty blows of a sledgehammer and a go with an ear-bleeding pneumatic drill. This lot are apparently attached to a utility company.

In the peculiar workman's dance, one chap wields the drill while three others stand around and comment in centuries-old fashion. Some distance away, the dance leader or "foreman" - note the white helmet - looks on with his assistant. He prepares to upbraid everyone for taking too long but noting that it will soon be time for a tea break to ensure maximum disruption to high street traffic. The remaining on-lookers take the mandatory position of looking in the opposite direction and hoping it might all go away.

Note the choking black smoke from the arcane machinery (secrets known only to the band of brothers in flourescent jackets) that keep the unitiated away and provide a hint of the respiratory ailments to come.

The orange metal fortress to the right of our heroic street operatives is a rare example of a fortified Punch n Judy house. Shows takes place all over semi-rural England to mark the coming of Spring and the renewal of witch burning. Happy days!