A skeleton staff works on Sunday at the Kalgoorlie Miner. The sports reporters and photographers work most weekends. The sub-editors work about every second weekend, the editors every third weekend and reporters about one in six on rotation.
There were only six of us in the office on Sunday, three blokes and three women.
I was a little perturbed when a call of nature revealed the men’s toilet had been invaded by a swarm of bees. It’s somewhat difficult to concentrate on the task at hand, so to speak, when the threat of a sting is ever present.
There’s an open window to the upstairs facility and the bees were checking it out as a possible new home. I wasn’t planning to argue with them and made a hasty retreat.
On the way back to my desk I had the presence of mind to warn the sports reporter not to drop his guard. The sub-editor bloke wasn’t around and I forgot to tell him.
An hour or so later he came to report the bee invasion. Was I aware that bees had overtaken the lavatory? A casual affirmative from me, a shrug from him and an off-hand remark about it being “rather disconcerting”.
Australians are masters of understatement.
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