That had bin Supererogation

I was woken at about 5:15 this morning by what I groggily thought was the sound of the bin wagon – not right outside but somewhere close by, though sound travels especially well in air which is frozen.

I had drifted back to sleep before I could be sure, but the men had definitely been & gone by 7:15 when I was properly awake & heard a neighbour taking their bin back inside.

I had checked the council’s website on Monday to find that the bin men were not working at all that day but hoped to start again on Tuesday; we should therefore put out our bins as usual, although they would prioritise those uncollected from Monday. They were still there when I got home in the evening.

But to start before the crack of dawn in this way counts as really great service. I hope this is not achieved at the bin men’s expense – eg by not paying them for uncollected bins, even when circumstances are beyond their control.