Peter Rhodes on plumbers, cat-pupils and a hint of Marxism at the Palace

I described getting a plumber to fix a leak for which I am upbraided by a reader for “relying on others to do the simplest of tasks.” Firstly, when the leak is at the back of a cupboard, there is no such thing as a simple task. Secondly, employing a plumber keeps a fellow citizen in business. Thirdly, any glow of pride you get from fixing your leak may vanish some time after midnight when your spouse wakes and asks: “Can you hear water . . ?”