Overheard: In a pub car park.

"Hi, can I speak to Brenda, please?"

"Brenda here."

"Hi, I got your name from Gerry Bell."

"Ok, Gerry from the Corpo? About the insulation?"

"The very man."

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, really; he asked me to contact you about a survey of the house before he starts work."

"Ah, feck! Yeah, he told me to ring you. I forgot."

"Not to worry, women usually forget to ring me. I'm used to it."

"Poor baby."

"I'm happy enough."

"So, what do you need from me?"

"That's a loaded question, Brenda."

"You know what I mean."

"I need to get in and measure the place up, take a few pictures, that kind of thing."

"Well, I'm not there at the moment. I'm over in my other sister's waiting to go into hospital in the morning. I'm getting a hysterectomy. I'm waiting six months for it, and if I miss out now, I could be another year waiting, or more, and I'm in awful pain. I live with my sister, you see, and she has a carer so she can't help me to do anything either."

"Ok, I ...."

"I was onto the Corpo to see if it could be put back a bit until I got out of the hospital. I'll probably stay here for a few weeks to get well. Gerry said we have to empty the attic, but I can't do it on my own because I'm not well and my brother is away in England working. I have another two brothers, but they have their own houses, and they won't empty the attic or move the furniture for me."

"Ok, but ...."

"And then there's the floors for the new heating. I can't take them up on me own. Do yis not have anyone that does that? Do the plumbers not do that? Surely, it's part of their job. Will youse not do that for us? It's only charity, really, because my sister is incapacitated and needs constant care. Do you know when the new windows are going in? How long does that take? That's something else that we need to be there for; it's too much for me at the moment. I said to Gerry, "Can you not make an exception and get the men to do all the moving for us?"

"What did he say?"

"He said, no, and that's not fair, I thought the Corpo was compassionate towards the elderly and infirm. I thought that they'd help me out; it’s their job, after all. I mean, there's only me and me sister in the house. She can only sit there all day in case she falls and bangs her head. She's hard of hearing too, and if I ask her to do something, she doesn't answer because she's a bit deaf. Although I'm sure she can hear me most of the time, but she just turns a bothered ear to me."

"I know what you mean, Brenda, I switched off twenty minutes ago myself."

"Cheeky fucker, I'll get someone around to you in five minutes."