There's a man on the roof.

Well not now there isn't but this was the message I got from Mrs DD on arrival home this afternoon.

When I checked, it was our friendly builder who, on passing our house from completing a job at the house further down the lane, noticed that we had a couple of slates missing from the storms a couple of weeks ago, and stopped to fix them.

While he was up there he also checked the chimney cowl which had moved slightly in the storms, and which he fitted last summer.

Now there's service for you. A builder doing a job almost before you knew the job existed.

And when I asked what I owed him he said nothing at all. He was passing so did the job.

I have booked him for a couple of other jobs so have asked him to add today's job onto that bill.

That's what I call service although I did mention in passing that he had not helped the cause of mankind - the male of the species that is - for fixing a job before the lady of the house had nagged for weeks for me to either get it done or get someone to do it. Shades of the gate spring to mind.