Tattooing the Dagnall's eyes.

As I mentioned previously, the radiator has been leaking, so the Dagnall and I went off to get some ptfe and mend it. We haven't really succeeded, but I did get to tattoo the Dagnall's eyes in the interim.

We drained the radiator, took it off and wrapped ptfe on it, then reattached to find that one end was sealed, but the other was leaking from behind the joint.

The draining of the radiator involves isolating it and then releasing the pressure through the bleed valve, before placing a basin under the join and letting the contents out, controlling the flow by means of regulating the air going into the bleeder valve.

That worked well the first time and, in the interests of testing things properly, I turned the heating on and upped the pressure in the closed system to around 2.5 bar.

The second time we drained the radiator all went fairly well.

The third time we (I) forgot to release the pressure. I turned the adjustable spanner one full turn, dumped a radiator full of water under my floorboards and shot a stream of boiling hot water, with corrosion inhibitor, straight into the Dagnall's eyes.

As near boiling water was shooting everywhere in my kitchen I sent the Dagnall upstairs to fetch some towels whilst I wrestled with things and, whilst it was no surprise that he was somewhat itchy in the ocular region, we left it at that.

It was not until we were at the party later on, examining the bizarre cupboard which is only 2" deep, but the size of a normal door (and later discovering the vents which have nothing but unpainted wall behind them) that he started to complain again.

Bathing eyes involves, in many cases, a mirror and it was now that the Dagnall realised that, below each lower eyelid, he has a perfect circle of gore in each globe. If shown the damage and asked to assess what might have caused it, I would no doubt guess at a masonry drill to the eyes.

I will ask him to photograph himself at the earliest opportunity, but I am very pleased to have caused perhaps irreversible and permanently disfiguring damage to the eyes of a good friend.

He'd better not say that I never do anything for him.

[Update:I have a picture of his eye now - it's much healed but still a bit nasty.]