by Pat Wurmli

My father was a wit, a raconteur and General Montgomery lookalike — and an Electrician.

Having a very weak bladder, he made sure he knew the whereabouts of every Gents’ toilet in the towns he worked.

One day, whilst working in a very posh house, he was caught short in one of the bedrooms he was wiring.

The private bathrooms were really off limits for tradespeople, but being desperate, he tiptoed quietly into the family bathroom.

It was quiet in the house, until my father pulled paper from the toilet roll, when “Roll out the Barrel” suddenly blazed forth, it being a novelty toilet roll — installed by the son of the house for a prank!

Red faced with embarrassment, he slunk guiltily out of the bathroom. Thinking to himself, “It’s a good thing it wasn’t playing God Save the Queen!”