Geoscience Reference
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the main though, friction would manifest itself in more juvenile behaviour such as that
shown to one new PLK at a station, who was considered by the ALKs to be a serious
sort of fellow, totally devoid of any sense of humour. This led to schoolboy jokes be-
ing played: in one instance, as a result of the PLK's penchant for locking everything up
during the day, including the light tower, the key was removed from the lock and hid-
den just before he was due to light. As lighting time got nearer and nearer the principal
was getting more desperate but did not want to reveal what was troubling him. When
he started to panic, the key would be found by the assistants.
Whilstitmayseemsurprisingthatsuchschoolboyprankswouldbeindulgedin,they
served as a safety valve and probably stopped a build-up of more serious interperson-
al problems, which could result in dismissal of one or more parties. The pranks also
extended to visitors. At least once a year a station would be visited by the Board's ar-
tificers (engineers), who would stay for approximately a week or so, overhauling the
engines, generators and machinery. Usually there were three in the party, so catering
for double the usual number could put something of a strain on the normally tranquil
existence of a station. One year, after the visitors' extended use of the bathroom at one
station, the keepers decided to do something about it. An old boiler suit was filled with
cotton waste, so as to resemble a human figure, and early one morning, before the vis-
itors arose, this was placed on the toilet in the bathroom, where its vague outline could
be discerned 'in situ' through the frosted panes in the toilet door. The perpetrator had
locked the door from the inside, exiting through the window. The next morning, when
they arose, the first one headed off for his morning ablutions only to discover the room
was occupied. Nature took its course and the artificers were far from amused but, as
wasstatedbythekeepers,suchdiversionskeptthementertained.Thedummyitselflas-
ted beyond this caper. It was tidied up, given a cap and seated in a shady corner at the
pier. One day, when the
Fingal
arrived to top up the fuel supply, the dummy was still
in a secluded spot on the pier. The ship's launches brought in the fule in relays and
pumped it into the station's storage tanks ashore. It was a process that usually required
the assistance of all hands. So when the bosun of the
Fingal
saw this idle fellow sitting
watching the rest of them hard at work, he let forth a string of swear words, some of
which even the keepers hadn't heard before. Fortunately, the bosun later saw the funny
side of things. As for the dummy, it was last seen swimming in the general direction of
Rathlin Island on the other side of the North Channel.
Despite the great seriousness of 'standing the light', it could have its amusing as-
pects.Onenight,atanislandlight,anoff-dutykeeperwasawakened fromhissleep,al-
though he did not know what had roused him. An elderly OLK was on duty at the time,
andtheoff-dutykeeper,onlookingoutofthewindow,couldseethatthelightwasquite
plainly standing and illuminating a passing fishing boat in its stationary beam. He flew
