WHEN The Doctor and The Colonel aren't digging up old cars they buried for no apparent reason, they're safe-guarding the south-west from disaster.
This week, the dynamic duo held one of their semi-regular meetings in the Fletcher Jones Silver Ball.
"Thank you for joining me, Doctor," The Colonel said without looking up from his meeting agenda. "Before we start the meeting, I'd like to acknowledge the original settlers of this land - the Portuguese. If you'd please rise for the Portuguese national anthem...."
"Just get on with the meeting, Colonel," The Doctor said. "I've got some dole diaries to forge."
"Ok," The Colonel said, flipping through his agenda. "Item number one: the minutes from the previous meeting. Now, it says here that I moved a motion that it was your turn to wipe down the meeting table - which I see you still haven't done. It then goes on to say that you voted against my motion, and then I threw a tantrum and stormed off in a huff to sulk in my room."
"I vote to approve those minutes," The Doctor said.
"And I second them," The Colonel said. "Now, item number two... ooh, this a doozy. It appears we have a major environmental catastrophe on our hands."
"Is there a spider in the toilet again?"
"No, Doctor. I'm talking about the science-ological fact that Allansford is about to be swallowed up by the Earth and turned into some kind of subterranean Atlantis populated by mole people."
"What are you talking about, Colonel?"
"I'm talking about the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory pumping 15 billion litres of cheese and butter into the ground beneath Allansford, creating a tasty, creamy mess that is eating away at the planet."
"I would have said the mess was 'corrosive', 'acidic' and 'morally reprehensible', but carry on...."
"Thank you, Doctor. Now, I've been thinking about this calcium-rich disaster and I've decided there's no point crying over spilt milk - it's up to The Doctor and The Colonel to save the day."
"Isn't this a job we should hand over to Captain Sustain The Bool?" The Doctor asked.
"What, are you lactose intolerant?" The Colonel barked. "We can't let that poor man's Captain Planet take all the glory! I propose a full-scale assault on this full-cream dairy disaster. We'll bring in the army, the navy, Greenpeace, the Red Cross and politicians looking for a photo opportunity, and then we'll begin to pump out the pasteurised goodness. After that, we'll send in a crack team of environmental shock troopers to soak up the rest of the fondue-like residue with jet-packs and Sham-wows. Then we'll get a bunch of boffins together to work out a way to de-erode the limestone. It's easy, Doctor - it's just like Mission: Impossible."
"There are lots of things wrong with what you just said, Colonel, but I'm going to pick one - where are you going to pump the pollution to?"
The Colonel thought for a moment. "How about we dump it off the coast of Florida? I'm sure no one will even notice."