Positioning the water tank

If you are a regular reader of this blog (and I thank you if you are), you may be aware that we recently acquired a 5000 litre water tank, a squat round green tub about outstretched arms wide and six feet tall. This was delivered by a very able-bodied young woman of similar description who was an absolute delight, and who unloaded it from the back of a small flat-bed truck while giving a running commentary on the story of her delivery schedule. Despite its unwieldy size, it only weighs 65kg.
You may also know that things move slowly in this household and I fully expected it to remain in the corner of the front drive for at least 12 years. Imagine my surprise when I was informed by He Who Can Fix Anything that we were going to move it to the back yard today.
This entailed clamping a plank across the considerable spikes of our 6-foot fence, first of all. Then a ramp of planks was leaned against this plank and the two of them rolled the tank to the top of the planks. A similar ramp was on the other side of the fence, at the bottom of which stood I, bracing myself to stop the behemoth as it thundered down towards the bricks, a foam mattress between me and almost certain injury. My biggest concern was for my plants and the sapling behind me.
Well, there was no stopping the tank and I abandoned my post with alacrity as soon as I figured out that its 65kg had probably quadrupled with gravity. It was rather like having a steamroller bearing down on me. However, the mattress (my idea, naturally) did the job and prevented a great deal of damage to the plants, pots and fountain, which was unfortunately a little too close and caught a glancing blow from the bounce, losing a piece of the top level. This will of course be attended to by HWCFA.
Then began the task of getting it down the side of the house with no room for manoeuvring on either side due to branches of trees and pillars. I suggested making a railway line of planks and in no time we had slid the tank about 50 feet, again without damage. It was then left to Robert and me to manhandle it across the lawn between the birdbath and another tree. If only we had videoed it! I am sure it would have been a viral hit on YouTube.
Amazingly, nothing suffered except our backs and the odd fingernail. What a triumph of homemade engineering!