The clothesline broke

yesterday....the actual "line" part that is.
Now you have to understand about clothes lines in this remote part of the world.  They are clothes lines like no others.
They were invented in 1945 by a mechanic called Lance Hill. He tried to solve the problem of his wife's frustration of her washing line getting in the way of her growing lemon tree. He did this very successfully, so very successfully that almost every home in the state had one. 
The "Hills Hoist" consists of a pole with four arms which rotate. There are wires threaded through the arms to  which the wet clothes can be pegged. You can adjust the height of the clothes line by winding a handle up and down in the middle. On some versions the arms go up and down.
It's a neat design. It saves space.  The clothesline rotates in the wind which adds to drying efficiency. This part of Downunder has a lot of sun and clothes can often be dried outside year round so the Hills Hoist is an essential part of the back garden landscape.
Both my grandmothers had the very sturdy early versions - designed for small children to swing themselves around on, until they were caught and scolded.  We had later versions in every house we ever lived in.
The version in our current home was not made by the Hill-Ling family. If it had been I doubt the problem would occur. Our clothesline, the only one available at the time, is not quite as sturdy. The wire which goes around it is a much lighter, plastic covered version. Eventually it strains to breaking point. 
The Senior Cat replaced the wire about fourteen or fifteen years ago. I remember him doing it to many growls of frustration. 
Yesterday it broke as I was pulling a sheet from the line. I nearly fell backwards as it snapped.  Thankfully the sheet was dry. It did not need to be rewashed. One of the Senior Cat's old shirts landed in the lavender bush but that didn't matter either. 
After lunch I prowled off to the hardware store and bought a new line.  The nice man in the hardware store even asked if I had someone who could replace the old one.
Putting it in is not a task the Senior Cat can tackle now so my most excellent BIL arrived mid-afternoon. He dealt with the clothesline -and the left hand mudguard reflector on my trike at the same time.
 And this morning when the Senior Cat goes to church he will tell the daughter of the man who invented them what happened yesterday. They will agree that her father is to be thanked often for solving her mother's problem.
I will go and put one of the Senior Cat's newly washed but ancient woollies on the line.