Allotment gardening

My dad comes round to help me get on with the job of clearing the rubbish from the compost bins. One slight problem is that I have just bought a new car. My 10-year-old Fiat Punto would have been perfect for ferrying bags of rubbish to the dump but I am not so keen on using my new-ish Ford Focus. I guess I will have to bite the bullet because I can't see any way of persuading my dad to use his newer Jag. While he gets on with bagging up some of the rubbish I knock down the remainder of the compost pile from the old compost bins. There are a few brambles growing through it but work is fairly swift. I knock the old compost onto the neighbouring bed so that I have at least two bits of the allotment with fairly good soil. Once I've finished I go and help my dad empty the other compost bins. We decide to take all the contents out of one to check there is no more rubbish further down. As I am forking the contents out into the neighbouring bin, something moves and catches my eye. It is a bloody big rat which scampers round the sides of the box. My dad tries to spear it with a fork but it appears to be long gone. Fortunately the bagging up of rubbish is done. After lining my new car boot with a plastic sheet I take about six bags to the dump. Rain is forecast for the afternoon but I cover the remaining eight bags or so with bits of carpet in the hope of keeping the rain off and sparing my boot as much mess as possible.