Scrapwagon

Contents

Barry Crump
Publilshed by Beckett Books, NZ 1985
Paperback - a good reading copy

Two bumbling rogues, Dinny and Watcher, are the central characters of Scrapwaggon, and their life as city dustmen is peaceful and profitable, for they also indulge in a spot of rubbish-disposal which the City Council don't know about.

Their only trouble is that Dinny, accumulating gigantic quantities of miscellaneous rubbish in his own garden to the fury of his prim suburban neighbours, loves the stuff so much he can't bear to part with it.
And then this girl turns up to stay - Dinny's long-forgotten daughter. He and Watcher try every kind of trick to get her to go away again, but she's inherited her Dad's streak of obstinacy, and it's not long before she, too, is on the Scrapwaggon and in the game.
Irate and disgusted neighbours try to banish the whole squalid setup. The City Council discover the racket - and also discover that Dinny and Watcher aren't so easily sacked, after all. Romance moves in next door.

Barry Crump, with a plot of characters of this kind, is in top form, His characters are true-to-life, down to the last tiny detail of dialogue and behaviour, and you see them all, every day, in any city