Concreting
The
form worker who laid the form work and steel in readiness for the
concrete pour estimated 6 meters of normal psi strength concrete will be
required. I said I will arrange the pour for around lunchtime and
bring two doctors friends and me and we will take care of the concrete
pour over a luncheon break. I do not recall the form worker making any
comments but I specifically remember him raising his eyebrow and giving
me a smile.
Some
two days later after checking the duty roster of my doctor friends
George and Chin and myself I arranged for concrete trucks to come at 1
pm sharp. The three of us all in white coats with stethoscopes in
pockets arrived some 15 minutes earlier. Immediately after a truck
arrived and started laying pipes from the street to the veranda. The
three of us rolled our sleeves and quickly realized that we did not have
any tools other than a shovel a spade and a small trowel. We looked at
each other in awe each wearing white shirt, tie, matching Harris Tweed
trouser and shoe as the last connection of the pipes was raise over the
veranda. ‘Ready boys’
said the concrete truck driver who had just arrived. I looked at Chin
who still had his tie on and to George who raised his should and
reading his lips said ‘what the f—k we got ourselves into’ before the truck driver could say the concrete could solidify if you are not quick I said: ‘ready as we could ever be’.
Within 2 minutes the concrete started to pour from the pile on the on
the formwork it quickly became mountainous we looked at each other with
me holding the shovel, George the trowel, and Chin the spade we looked
at each other in total bewilderment. The splash of the concrete was now
all over our shirts and trousers and our faces. I could hear some
laughter over the fence. My good neighbor, Gus, who had been builder
for years before serving in the commando unit in Papua New Guinea in the
Second World War (and was amongst the few survivors) came across and
brought some of his tools. Gus called the truck driver to stop for few
minutes as he got to work and directed each one of us to do specific
task. Soon the mountain of concrete that could have caused the whole
formwork to collapse was spread almost evenly across the veranda.
Within half an hour the three Prince of Wales medicos were sweating
profusely. Bless his heart Gus got his wife to call few people that he
knew in the building industry to come across.
As
I drove back towards Prince of Wales Hospital near Sydney Airport each
of our pagers started peeping. The lady at the switchboard had reported
neither doctors Chin or George or Michael were answering his pager. We
arrived at Prince of Wales and each in turn went to the main
switchboard and gave an excuse as to his whereabout. My excuse was that
I lost my pager and had a nap in the Residents’ Quarter. Not a single
one of us got reprimanded by management. After this experience but for
Gus could have been costly and embarrassingly disastrous on the front
news of the bi weekly local paper I am sure ever since each one of us
holds concreters in high regard.
Mick,
my friend despite the fact that you have been in the concreting
industry for many years Chin, George, and Michael and the entire medical
profession especially the one at Prince of Wales Hospital solutes you
and the very few likes of you.