Every morning, Mr Winder gets up before the break of dawn. He swallows a quick breakfast of herbal tea and fruit before setting off to work in his white van with the words “Winder-Cleaner” painted on the side in big bold blue letters. As the sole window-cleaner of the university’s Halls of Residence, Mr Winder is invaluable. It is fortunate for them that he is so diligent.
Mr Winder arrives at the Halls very early. In consideration for the sleeping residents, he quietly lets himself into each unit to clean the kitchen and living room windows. Sometimes he is mistaken for a burglar but these occasions are few and far between. He then lets himself out as quietly as he came in and proceeds in this fashion until he has cleaned twenty units. It is then time for his tea break.
Mr Winder sits back in his van and puts his feet up on the steering wheel. He holds a coffee in one hand and a sandwich in the other. With half-lidded eyes, he watches the world go by. Soon, his tea break is over and he rouses himself to go back to work. Now, he must go back to all the twenty units and clean the bedroom windows. It is an exciting event, especially if the room belongs to a girl, as they are usually far too particular about cleanliness.
Mr Winder puts on his leather pouch and tips some soapy water into it. He slips a rather dirty-looking cloth into one of the pockets. Now, armed with his trusty sponge and wiper, he is ready for the bedroom windows. The first room he comes to is lived in by a girl.
As usual, the girl wrinkles up her nose as he walks in. He supposes it is an overreaction to the cloud of cigarette smoke that hangs about him. He gives her what he hopes is a winning smile and steps into her room. He takes her chair from her desk as per company protocol and places it with great care and precision right below the window.
He opens the window as wide as possible then climbs on the chair with his sturdy boots. He wipes the window once with the sponge that he has dipped into soapy water. Next, he wipes it off with the wiper. At this point, the soapy water has usually dripped onto the floor or anything nearby such as a jacket. This is, however, of little importance to Mr Winder as it does not interfere with the cleanliness of the window.
Nevertheless, to keep the girl happy, he attempts to mop up any water that has dripped on her chair with his cloth. When he is finished, he says “all right, love” and moves on to the next room. Behind him the sound of a vacuum cleaner ensues. This is usually followed by running water and the sound of a cloth being wrung.
After much hard work, Mr Winder finishes cleaning all the bedrooms in the twenty units. In keeping with his thrifty nature, he has managed to clean all hundred and twenty windows without changing the water once. He is now tired and looking forward to a hot dinner and an evening of telly then an early bed. The next day, he shall have another twenty units to clean.
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