Literally. Whilst the boiler was being manhandled, the walls were being womanhandled by Beth and Mother. The downstairs walls and ceilings were a bit of a mix of good, okay and flaky, particularly after the old wallpapers had been stripped off. The dining room ceiling in particular was a mess of old pain flacks and less than stable original plaster. The answer of course is fibreliner paper. Much like lining paper but much, much thicker and stronger (because you never know when the ceiling’s going to fall on he dining table). Mum is a dab hand with a roller of material hence why she was air-dropped in to bolster the troops.

Up for attention were the upper walls of the dining room, its ceiling and the ceiling of the utility. The rest of the downstairs is, everything considered, pretty good. Papering over things in white is an instant transformation sort of move, immediately perking everything up and giving something near a finished look. Things are moving apace!

We had also hoped to receive a dishwasher. Hoped because it didn’t materialise. Eventually we got a call from the driver who duly told us he was ‘out of driving hours’ for the day. Whatever next? A composer out of notes? An attempted Monday delivery turned out to be next. Because we asked for a more expensive weekend delivery for fun and don’t have jobs and spend all our time at home during weekdays waiting for unannounced white goods. Thanks Currys. Reeaaallly good service.