Hi folks,
Paul mentioned the Hornimans Museum, and brought back memories of a good few years ago,
I was working in my job as a Rigger and was sent up to London, I think it was to Forrest Hill, anyway, my brief was to measure up, manufacture and install a pulley and winch system to raise and lower heating / lights to be positioned over the fish tanks that were being installed in the new aquarium section of the museum, a fish breeding programme was already under way, so, over a period of six or seven days I worked in Hornimans.
I measured up went back to the workshop and made the bits and peices for the job, all in stainless steel , 6mm dia wire rope, winches, little spreader bars that would lift the heaters, little shackles to attach the ropes to the bars , pulleys that were to be fixed to the ceiling over the great big glass tanks that had been shipped in from Germany, .
So! having got all my tools,stepladders and ropes, ect; I headed up to Hornimans Museum, I met Dr Jim Brock , who at that time was in charge overall , and started on the job, I fixed up two of the small tanks that day, then went home ,
Came back up the following day and made a start in one of the big tanks,
I could stand in it ,put my arms out and twirl round and not touch the sides,
the height from inside the tank, about, 2 metres I think, anyway I got the stepladders in measured distances ,put a plumbob down from the ceiling then went up the ladder and marked the ceiling with a pencil using a template for the plate on the pulley,
I marked the four holes went down and got my hammer and a pin punch , went back up and popped indentations in the ceiling ready to drill, I laid my hammer on the little platform at the top of the steps ( can you see where this is going yet?) I went down to get the drill, bent down, bumped the ladder and my hammer dropped,
smashed into the bottom of the tank and knocked a chunk of glass out nearly as big as a saucer, OH my gosh!
: (or words to that effect) my stomache contracted , I felt sick
, the depth of the hole must have been about 25mm ,I stood there for about five minutes then went to fin Dr Jim, he started to flap
, that made me worse, then the guy who was to be looking after the aquatic side came through from the fish house and he asked me wahat had happened , I explained , he looked at it and said that he would get some silicon adhesive and stick it back in,
He said to me " do you know how much sand is ging in this tank? I said no, " five tons " he said " nobody will ever see that patch,
I could have kissed the ugly sod, Man! what a releif , Dr Jim had cooled down by this time as well ,
by the way! Hornimans museum is a realy nice place but if you see any water???? RUN
Duncan