A friend of my wife and I who is an elderly maiden lady; spinster is a description I dislike, as somehow one gets the impression of a vinegary and prudish female of the Victorian era; had asked me to do a simple repair job in her flat.
Naturally enough, this took far longer than the lady anticipated. Women are very naive when it comes to things that require the males inferior handling of hammer and screwdriver, they are apt to underestimate the time required, sometimes by days. However advancing time found me in the embarrassing situation of having to ask permission to use the toilet.
As I said, the word spinster, in no way fits our friend as she is quite charming in manner, modern in dress, and liberal in her views. Her flat is furnished however in the extremely comfortable fashion of Edwardian tines.
Very large armchairs and an enormous sofa piled high with cushions, an old rocking chair, solid oak tables, bookcases and sideboard to match. Walls covered with family photos, clocks of all types, even down to a cuckoo clock out of which pops a cheeky little bird every quarter and on the the hour chirping "COOK" It seems to have lost half its vocal chords over the years and has no "COO".
Plants grow in profusion everywhere and stand on everything that has space available. The inevitable "aspidistra" towers in its pot, the size of half a beer barrel in the window bay. The large television standing on its spidery legs in a corner looks strangely out of place, its like seeing a Wimpy Bar in operation in the reading room of the British Museum.
Almost hilariously old fashioned is her flat yet here is the peace and serenity of a bygone era. The solid contort of security and permanence so often lacking in the modern décor.
So it was with astonishment I beheld what literally leapt at me when I opened the lavatory door. A crescendo of colour and movement, a roar of laughter and giggles from "Donald McGills" honest vulgarity, all the ships, trains, cars and other methods of transport in the world. A veritable pictorial encyclopedia of happy holidays, nostalgic memories, forgotten heroes of stage, screen, sport and war. All over the small room, were stuck hundreds of postcards, even on the door and ceiling.
When I said how much I liked the decoration of her toilet, she said it was a shame to put all those beautiful pictures away in drawers only to be looked at on very few occasions, so she put them where she was sure to enjoy them every day and thus ensure that one of the most basic functions of life could be made enjoyable as well as endurable.
I fully concurred; besides what, once complete, it does away with the need for redecoration.
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