Shocking news

We had the electrician around this morning to give the house a thorough check over. And thorough he was! It was Darren who did the electrics in the office. He came up with an amazing list of faults as well as good shake of the head over the state of things.

It is his opinion that when the builder did up the bathroom for the previous owners, he didn’t bother with an electrician, doing the electrical work himself. I told him a plumber told me much the same thing with regard to the plumbing. Darren was equally amazed that such a person could operate.

Nothing was particularly dangerous, just really, really badly done with the capacity to become unworkable. My favourite is the way the builder wired up the exhaust fan in the bathroom. Rather than connect it to the light switch (the normal and easiest way to do it) he made the strange decision to put in a junction box (the one I’ve had to replace in the past because it was hanging off the wall) on the other side of the corridor upstairs. Darren’s eyes were wide as he scratched his head at this seemingly stupid bit of electrical work.

Anyway, after a good few hours spent chasing currents around the house, he bid us adieu with the promise he’d have a quote to us by the end of the day. Which, true to his word, he did.

Then, of course, it was back to the office.

Having finished the amethyst (more or less) I spent the afternoon painting the trims bubblegum. By the end of play, I was left with the door frame and kick boards – my job for Saturday.

One major highlight was the surprise visit by the ice cream fairy who turned up with a 99p flake, complete with strawberry syrup. The thing about the ice cream fairy is she always knows I want an ice cream before I do. It really hit the spot. The office is very well insulated and, working up a ladder, close to the ceiling, is quite warm. The ice cream didn’t last very long.

Here’s a shot of the window corner, showing the two colours together. I think they look quite good.

How the pink and amethyst look together

And, just to please mum, here’s one of the light fittings without the newspaper protecting it, which she commented on the other day.

One of the light fittings without the newspaper

The way things are going, I should have the floor varnished by Tuesday and will be ready to start moving things in. Mirinda can’t wait.