This is the main machine in the vigernon’s wine making place behind our house, the so-called Castor Oil Plant.
Although Colm and I are not yet quite certain what its full range of functions are, we do agree that stuff which looks life half squashed grapes is poured in the top and then, after acting for some time like a large washing machine, some very dry product comes out the bottom,presumably the important end product, the wine juice has been syphoned off to some fermenting vat elsewhere.
Yesterday, being the heart of the verdange, the machine was filled just a little too full and at the end of its cycle it was covered in blood red wine juice.
One of the workmen then spent a most enjoyable hour hosing down the whole works.
As we are very close now to this whole process (we are contemplating selling tickets to interested parties) it was obvious that he was enjoying this work as he whistled as he went.
And even I could see that it was a most enjoyable job to do, no scrubbing or drying just playing with water and all the dirty stuff disappeared down a drain.

I was immediatly brought back to my time as a coleslaw maker.
This was in the mid eighties when I decided that it might be interesting to take a break from cheffing and go into the production of coleslaw.
The place was successful and we were faced with the prospect of buying a large expensive American machine to keep abreast with the demand.
Now this machine had to be cleaned thoroughly each day, a mindless boring job in the premises we were in at the time, taking this to pieces and washing all the bits individually in a sink.
Then we moved to a purpose built premises and suddenly the most boring of jobs became the most sought after.
Because there were special drains with places to catch the solids, the machine could be thoroughly cleaned with a strong hose.
Back to playing with water.

This made me think about careers and enjoying ones work.
After a couple of years in the coleslaw business I went back to the business of cooking in restaurants because I found this much more enjoyable, the variety alone of my product instead of producing tons of coleslaw a week (true) kept me interested and stimulated.

This in turn led me back to this week.
Colm and I have spent most of the days travelling around the countryside, exploring the villages, mountains and beaches with an idea to being able to advise our future clients as to the best places to spend their days.

Nice work if you can get it, but then, like hosing down the wine machine, someone has to do it and surely it shouldn’t make any the less worthy because it is enjoyable?