Health and safety is often the subject of hilarious conversations here or at least it is often the subject of my thoughts. The thing is that, no matter how used I am to the fact that the concept of safety or even simple self preservation is apparently non existent here, there will always be something that startles me and makes me recoil.
In my three years of highly scientific observations and behavioural analysis which were only possible thanks to the abundance of material for study, I have come to the conclusion that it all boils down to a lack of common sense and the inability to learn from mistakes (own or others’). AKA stupidity.
I have witnessed or heard accounts of the lack of the most basic common sense with the result that people die or seriously injure themselves in the most stupid ways.
I have seen labourers dangle 30-50m above ground on a wobbly scaffolding with no form of safety on, seen tiny children let freely and happily bounce up and down the inside of fast cars skilfully swerving their way around obstacles on a motorway, heard of labourers flattened down to the ground by stone crashers guilty of having selected the wrong place to sleep under, seen uncovered holes in a middle of a path, electric wires laying on puddles. The list could go on.
Well, because I have finally come across something that has startled me and made me flinch, again.
Finally, after three long years, I have got around to order another bottle of gas for the cooker. A spare. So that I don’t end up again having to make desperate calls to the gas man in the middle of a roasting session.
So the man comes with his tools and the bottle. He sets up an ingenious system of pipes and taps so that when the main bottle ends I can simply pop out and turn on the tap of the spare one.
It seems quite impressive. So far so good. The chap ends his trafficking of pipes and tools and declares that he wants to check for leaks. That’s great! I am genuinely impressed.
Until he turns towards me and asks me: “do you have a lighter?”
