Ladle etiquette in the Larder (a formal complaint from the Society)

At the meeting of the Society held on Monday it was resolved that the following complaint be posted, in full, on the board.

1. Members collect pickle jars, lid down, with great care. A pickle jar in the Larder sits still, lifts its lid, and fires once. It is a fine thing to watch.
2. The skimmer does not watch it. The skimmer flings slop at it with a ladle.
3. The Society does not ask that the skimmer stop working. The Society asks that the skimmer wait for the lid to close before swinging, so that a Member might at least see the shot.

It was further resolved that the Society would be polite about it, and the Society has been.

You read the complaint between runs.

You are on vat duty. You go down. A jar lifts its lid. If you wait for the lid, you take the shot. A heart is a heart.

You fling. The jar stops. You scrape. One scraping a room, three a floor. You come up with ten for coming up. You buy a shelf.

You do not wait for the lid.

Tired of Being Flung At? Move Down to the BOTTOM of the Larder! Spacious! Dark! Packed Tight with Sardines!

I am the Larder's Boss and I would like it noted that the skimmer surfaced PAST me last Tuesday, which is Rude! (Fine print: I dented myself on the wall. That is a Feature.)

The Skimmer wrote:

If you wait for the lid, you take the shot. A heart is a heart.

The Society has considered this reply at an extraordinary meeting and accepts that a heart is a heart. It was resolved that Members would in future watch the jars from the stairs, where the ladle does not reach.

It was not resolved that the Society agrees. The minutes record a long silence.

You see somebody on the stairs, with a notebook. You let one jar lift its lid, once, and you step to the side. It fires past you. They write something down.

You fling the next one.