Rob Van Art

Rob Van Art.....

Ironing Man's lodger. Of Dutch origin, speaks good English. It has been alleged that he is a fly tipper as he has been seen driving around in his filthy and dilapidated white van with piles of household rubbish piled in and on his roof rack and then coming back with nothing.....with no official Council tip nearby. Rob claims to be a 'clearer of space' and often quotes pseudo-philosophical sayings, eg 'Clutter is the enemy of clarity'; 'You call it dumping; I call it relocating entropy'. Friendly enough to avoid suspicion but guards his past carefully. Speaks softly but with a shifty, evasive demeanour. Lodges in a back room of Ironing Man's small council flat, pays rent to Ironing Man in cash (NB Ironing Man isn't permitted to sub-rent). Helps around the house (eg fixes things, delivers leaflets for Ironing Man). Suspicion that Rob may have fled a minor scandal in the Netherlands (eg fraud, arson, minor criminal offence) and is living under a fake name. He has had a few run-ins with Blossom who has publicly accused him of hiding bodies in the rubbish and has become obsessed with Rob's bin schedule, talking to people of what he has collected and what time he leaves and returns.

 He claims to be a 'performance artist' , his 'art' being displaying photos of greasy smudged handprints and written slogans, obsenities etc on the backs of dirty vans. He also lays claims to being an inventor and brags about his days in his native country where he was a TV personality, having his own programme about his inventions. This has never been substantiated and Ironing Man doesn't believe a word of it.