Chapter 11: From 1992 to the Present Day

Front bedroom on south west side of house

Later in 2001 and going into 2002, I undertook the redecoration of the upstairs through room on the south-westerly side of the house -- or rather what became the through room as a result of the demolition of the flimsy partition that had previously separated the front and back rooms: I remember demolishing this myself and thinking what a difference it almost effortlessly made! Here a new ceiling was required, for which I was put on to a different builder, John Fairhall, who specialised more in bricklaying and plastering, whereas Malcolm’s speciality had always been joinery. But Malcolm was also heavily involved, because the old wardrobes erected by the Willetts were removed (I seem to remember someone took away all the doors but I can’t now recall who); instead, replacement joinery was provided by Simon Bartlett and installed as usual by Malcolm. This comprised extensive shelving, a wardrobe and various cupboards, including an elaborate series of boxes to contain all my offprints; two fireplaces were also inserted, though they aren’t flued in. The grates for these came via David Sulkin from 68 Kings Cross Road and the marble and wood surrounds were constructed by Simon. I remember that I considered having an expensive wallpaper in these rooms but, having decided that the colour I wanted was dark blue, found that the choice of patterns available was disappointingly limited: I therefore just had the walls emulsioned, instead covering them with the prints that I had by this time begun to collect, which made an elaborate wall-covering superfluous.

Rear bedroom on south west side of house