That bricks are laid in running patterns called bonds; that there are numerous types of brick bonds — Common, Running, Flemish, English, like gardens;
That there are brick guillotines with old-fashioned tall handles you pull down on; that there is a satisfying crunch-thud as a brick falls apart cleanly;
That there are wedge-shaped bricks called arch bricks, tapered ever so slightly on their sides, they form brick by brick a smooth curve;
That they are numbered by their degree of taper, 1-arch and 2-arch (and 3-arch?) bricks; that there are arch tables that one consults, on how many builds a given arch;
That brick arches slide sidewise first before they come crashing down the centre; that you need patience and skill and much mortar to build one;
That mortar needs to be sponged away from the joints of new-laid bricks; that sponged bricks have a water-glow afterwards;
That the rubber gloves he likes are manufactured in Malaysia, flexible in the fingertips for caressing the mortar but resilient against ragged brick-edges;
That traditionally bricks are coal-fired, that coal chemicals interact with minerals, to give each brick its unique colour;
That bricks are marked with the name of the foundry or kiln; that their stories are those of their makers;
That we found one brick with the initial ‘H’, which he will lay for me near the top of the wall;
That he wondered if a child might crawl fatally through an arch; that I quoted the Swallows and Amazons telegram; that he did not understand the English joke; that I dubbed this the ‘Duffers’ Arch’ same day
That the landing lower down (complete with sandstone bench) we named ‘The Kissing Landing’; and inaugurated it on our last day.
Best of the Transparent Hummingbird