I can remember when I was one of the Quality Management courses that there was a tale of how Komatsu set out to be the number one earth moving company in the world - a position held at that time by Caterpillar. They wanted a simple aspirational slogan to motivate the workforce and eventually came up with "beat cat". They obviously did, as today I did not have a (bob)cat scratching up the soil in my garden, but a Komatsu. And boy, was it efficient. Driven (almost played) by my neighbour´ s gardener "Magic Mike" (so named as he has a penchant for getting his kit off while working).
In about 4 hours, he dug (well,they dug) out a patch 15 metres by 1.5 and to a depth of almost a foot (notice how seamlessly I switch between units). In addition, they knocked 5 feet off the centre flower bed. Ernesto reckoned it would have taken his guys almost a couple of days to move it all, so we are well ahead of the game and already have all the re-bar, edging stones and tiles, plus a large quantity of sand and cement on site. Let refilling commence.
For the first time in ages I actually took care when I was putting the car away, as doing the 3-point turn, the back end was perilously close to the temporary hole / drop-off from the old patio - and going into that would have caused some serious damage. Talking of damage, Magic Mike did manage to pull up one of my electrical cables - he/they avoided the sewage pipe and water pipes I had cautioned them about, but a cunningly laid cable got tangled, dragged out, and snapped. We spent a good 30 minutes trying to work out what was on the cable and where it originated (I knew which fuse it was on, as that tripped). We were still wondering when MM dug out another bit of cable and we realised that the route was not from the first point of cutting to the house, rather it was a loop snaking under the drive and going from the centre bed to one of the gate posts. Rejoining the ends will be left for tomorrow.
In addition to moving all the spoil to Ernesto´s lorry, MM also deposited about a cubic metre of soil in the middle of the garden. Ever-thoughtful, I have kept some soil to ensure G can maintain her new hobby of riddling.
Comentarios