Ed and Mike.

Ed, he’s 26 but would look 18 if it wasn’t for his golden beard and guilty blue eyes.

Mike’s older and more accepting, you can tell that from his eyes too.

His eyes are green.

He doesn’t have a beard, but he hasn’t shaved for a few days.

Out of laziness and boredom.

But it feels prickly and airless, so he’ll probably shave tonight when he gets home from work.

This afternoon they are both at work at the factory.

There work is outside in the yard the whole day, so a beard t this time of the year is a hindrance.

It’s summer time.

Early.

Ed is running up and down the yard, a little more vigorously than is needed.

Mike has a different approach.

Ed has a red and orange blag, he chose the colours himself, and he is waving it as he runs.

A blag is a fusion between a bell and a flag.

Not a bell like Big Ben, more like a bell a non-orthodox Buddhist Monk might tinkle during meditation.

If indeed a non-orthodox Buddhist Monk meditates.

Ed, on the other hand and other side of the yard, has an armchair and a pea shooter.

On the floor by his feet is a bag of split-peas.

He gets the split peas from his friend Pete who runs the grocery store in town.

He claims the cost as a work expense.

Ed hasn’t thought of claiming for the costs of the blag, which he made himself.

With a little help from his girlfriend Meg.

Their job is to keep the birds off everything that is hanging out to dry on the lines that criss and cross the factory yard.

The birds job is to eat as much of what is hanging there as they can – most of it being sugar based.

Ed and Mike are good at their job, they complement each other’s method and together they have saved the factory a lot of money.

So they are well paid.

If he stopped to meditate on his career prospects, Ed might realise they are limited.

But for now he is happy and spends most of his pay with Meg.

Mike doesn’t have any career prospects.

He’s happy that way.