> It suddenly dawned on me how many tales I had to tell, some funny, some > poignant, some sad etc. so I began 'putting finger to keyboard'. The > official > title will probably be 'My life as a Claims Manager'. > > Our Wayleave Officer at work [the man who went out seeking consents for gas mains to be laid across private land] should have done the same. His tales were hilarious. There were a couple of incidents, not involving him but in a similar vein, that also amused me. We needed to get consent as quickly as we could for a gas main across a particular field. Our local land agent established the name of the landowner whom he happened to know, as a local bigwig, was away on business in the States, so he contacted the wife at home asking that he get in contact as soon as he returned. What's it about she said? On being told, she replied that he must be mistaken as her husband didn't own any land in that area. It transpired that, unbeknownst to his wife, he had bought the smallholding to house his mistress and her horse. Our land agent didn't half coppit when he got back. Another involved our staff photographer. He was given the opportunity to ride in the helicopter used for surveying pipeline routes to check for any signs of encroachments/obstructions. He persuaded the pilot to fly over his village nearby and proceeded to take aerial shots which he immediately developed himself on returning to his department at work. That evening he went to his local pub showing off the photos only to be confronted by one chap who questioned him very closely as to when they had been taken. That day, he said, about 3.30pm as evidenced by the school bus parked up at the school entrance - at which the fellow stormed out. His wife had been having an affair which she had sworn had ended months beforehand. The photos revealed that the lover's car was parked in the driveway that very day. Oops! Back to K/NIBB/S. bfn Alan