IDLE THOUGHTS

There was a painter by the name of Jock, who was very interested in making a penny where he could, so he would often thin his paint to make it go further.

As it happened, he got away with this for some time, but eventually the Church decided to do a big restoration job that involved painting one of its biggest churches. Jock put in a bid, and because his price was so low, he got the job. He went about, erecting trestles and setting up the planks and buying the paint and, yes thinning it down with turpentine.

Jock was up the scaffolding, painting away with the job nearly completed when there was a horrendous clap of thunder, and the skies opened. The torrential rain knocked the thinned paint off the church and knocked Jock off the scaffolding onto the lawn among the gravestones, surrounded by tell-tale puddles of the thinned and useless paint.

Jock was no fool. He knew this was a judgement from the Almighty, so he got on his knees and cried: "Oh God! Forgive me! What should I do?"

And from the thunder a mighty voice spoke:

"REPAINT! REPAINT! AND THIN NO MORE!"

LEN BUNWORTH
from the Magazine of St Peter's Carmarthen.