i asked which bit he was doing (iv)

Driving back with the kids they asked “Can we go and see Phlegm?” So we did and two of them came out to see what was going on. A man was there wearing a mask, or with it round his neck, a protection mask for spray paint.  I asked which bit he was doing. The pipes he said. Are you Phlegm I asked. Yes he replied.  I thanked him for the wonderful artwork he leaves around the city. It is so generous I said. We chatted a while, the children asking what is this and what is that and who did this and who did that. Phlegm started back to work looking for all the world like a renaissance muralist up there on his ladder.  The work remains unfinished. I’ll go back tomorrow. It is a hard one he said, it is collaborative, and he doesn’t like to be more that four days or so at a painting.