We’d asked for it for ages. Haranguing the management company of our flat for permission from our landlord to get it decorated and to change the scabby stair carpet. And now, finally it is being done. We both struggle with the intrusiveness of it. It’s not only the mess, the having to move everything from room to room but its having a stranger here in our intimate space. It wobbles us. But he is a nice man. Young and fresh-faced, he doesn’t look old enough to have two kids. He bangs about a little but no less than the man who comes every year to check the gas fixtures, now he really crashes up and down the stairs, leaving the front door to bash behind him. I like him too, a bit of an Eeyore but still likeable. In fact, I am always struck by how blessed I am by the people I encounter here in this town. Even the carpet-man who pulled up the scabby one last Friday seemed to soften (once he was allowed to be mask-less and to leave his boots on) and become amiable (he had been positively stand-offish the week before). But there is so much to do, such as the book case I have to ‘unpack’ and all those books to shift. It will be worth it. Already it is looking fresher though the stink of paint is a challenge. Heigh ho. Be careful what you ask for eh?
Oh and the woman he/we thought was a red cross volunteer sitting with our neighbour downstairs, wasn’t. No. She’s her daughter.
