It is at times like this that the whole fabric of your psyche can be challenged remorselessly when the economic climate is particularly taxing and you are in the midst of a house that looks like it is in the centre of the Blitz. Stalingrad is not that far away and the fact that the very nature of the living areas are resembling rubble and dust suggest that the future can only get better, but as I write this blog, that is the situation that I find myself in currently.
Yes it's that time of year when house improvements get the go ahead and the weather insists on remaining lovely, balmy even, so that the workload continues unabated into those months of late spring when the world is at peace with itself apart from the house half standing at no 4 Acacia Avenue ( this of course is a fictitious address to protect the incumbents )
There are certain niceties to address in such situations, you still have to make yourself look respectable within the household as the scaffolding and converted erections begin to take shape albeit in a very primitive way and the daily routines tend to go out of the window, not literally but certainly metaphorically. The ubiquitous builder, for that is what he has become, becomes more chummy as he drinks more and eats more of your hard earned pantry and emerges from his latest skirmish with the roof to refer to you as " mate" and gives you a good slap on the back in a friendly way. Ah yes, the British artisan, always a treasure and in most cases need to be given a good burial but in our case, we wouldn't be without him. Well certainly not during the working process. He is a consummate professional in his job but his skills at clearing up after himself have surely deserted him many years ago. I have to say finding a mug of tea lying on its side under his Black and Decker drill did not do much for my understanding of his mentality or common sense sensibilities but he is good at what he does, and I dare say that if the roles were reversed I would indeed find his technique of telling all my patients to pull themselves together would not be out of place!!! if not somewhat amusing. As the victims of building work we accept the mess and disruption that follows such cratsmen in their normal daily rituals but we do hope that in the weeks to come, their presence will fade away into that time when most sane people might just choose to forget that they were there and treat it as a blot on their lifestyle. Roll on the conclusion to this difficult time for us and to realise that we don't always need to display white hair and dusty clothing to be referred to as "old timers".
Yes it's that time of year when house improvements get the go ahead and the weather insists on remaining lovely, balmy even, so that the workload continues unabated into those months of late spring when the world is at peace with itself apart from the house half standing at no 4 Acacia Avenue ( this of course is a fictitious address to protect the incumbents )
There are certain niceties to address in such situations, you still have to make yourself look respectable within the household as the scaffolding and converted erections begin to take shape albeit in a very primitive way and the daily routines tend to go out of the window, not literally but certainly metaphorically. The ubiquitous builder, for that is what he has become, becomes more chummy as he drinks more and eats more of your hard earned pantry and emerges from his latest skirmish with the roof to refer to you as " mate" and gives you a good slap on the back in a friendly way. Ah yes, the British artisan, always a treasure and in most cases need to be given a good burial but in our case, we wouldn't be without him. Well certainly not during the working process. He is a consummate professional in his job but his skills at clearing up after himself have surely deserted him many years ago. I have to say finding a mug of tea lying on its side under his Black and Decker drill did not do much for my understanding of his mentality or common sense sensibilities but he is good at what he does, and I dare say that if the roles were reversed I would indeed find his technique of telling all my patients to pull themselves together would not be out of place!!! if not somewhat amusing. As the victims of building work we accept the mess and disruption that follows such cratsmen in their normal daily rituals but we do hope that in the weeks to come, their presence will fade away into that time when most sane people might just choose to forget that they were there and treat it as a blot on their lifestyle. Roll on the conclusion to this difficult time for us and to realise that we don't always need to display white hair and dusty clothing to be referred to as "old timers".
