Lawyers are not exactly renowned for rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty. Let's face it, the closest any of you have come to rubbish is pointing out to the maid that the bin needs emptying – an attitude Tulkinghorn fully understands, of course. It was thus with some surprise and a little admiration that Tulkinghorn learned of a property partner whose professionalism went beyond the normal call of duty.
What would you do if it was discovered that papers vital to your case had accidentally been chucked out with the rest of the office detritus? Against a Mission Impossible soundtrack, this partner frantically called the local municipal services, desperate to retrieve his documents. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to locate his paperwork, our hero was told that it was likely that his particular rubbish was somewhere amid several tonnes of trash on a barge heading down the Thames. Needle in a haystack it might have been, but armed with nothing stronger than some rubber gloves, he went in search for his deeds.
You will be pleased to know that his soiled Marigolds were not in vain – after a bit of rooting around he found them. As the saying goes, 'where there's muck there's brass'.