Today I caught sight of one of those mysterious creatures we have all been hearing about.

I was about to cross the road when a small white van started to turn right in front of me. The driver waved me on after which he proceeded into a short cul-de-sac. As I carried on down the road, the same van passed me slowly again. Above the back doors were the words 'Slow Moving Vehicle'. It had an orange coloured flashing light on the roof.

Further down the main road the same van began to exit another cul-de-sac. This time I thought I had better stop him and ask if he had lost his way or something. This was his reply:

'Oh no, I'm just reading the meters'. The surprise on my face nudged him to add. 'You know - the water meters. See this thing on the roof of the van? That reads the meters'.

The surprise on my face wasn't because I was thick and needed to be spoken to in baby talk. It was there due to the speed at which the meters were being read. The little van just kept sailing around without stopping.

After a brief discussion about the meters, I told him he should come back tomorrow and join the protest against #IrishWater.

I don't know if it was my imagination but the little white van wasn't driving quite so slowly after that.