Saturday, September 22, 2007

THERE HAD TO BE WOODCHIP HIDING SOMEWHERE!

When I bought my first flat in the West End of Glasgow back when I was about 25 (funny nowadays 25 year olds can't afford Glasgow's west end thanks to rising house prices and static salaries...), we didn't pay much attention to the decor so were horrified to find 3 metre ceilings with dreaded woodchip wallpaper on the walls. Anyone who has ever tried to strip woodchip knows that when you do, the top layer comes off then all the little woodchippings stay firmly stuck and you have to strip them again, then you end up with a floor full of splinters you are still getting between your toes a year later!

When I bought my second flat in the West End I vowed it wouldn't happen again. I was sure I took a mental note of the decor when I viewed it so was quite shocked when I got the keys to find out all 4 huge main rooms had it again, worse still I stripped one room painfully to find under the first layer of woodchip there was actually a second layer! Who in their right mind would wallpaper woodchip on top of woodchip?

When I bought my first house I really did check every room for the hideous stuff - none of the bedrooms had it, nor the living room or dining room - phew! I had checked well that time - all would be fine...I got the keys and immediately found the hall to be full of it - how had I missed it? I guess I hadn't thought of the hall as a room.

Today we got the keys of our new house. I walked in confidently knowing I had left no stone unturned, I had even checked the cupboards this time. Not even a square centimetre of the wallpaper fiend. We got down to work immediately. The first task before moving our furniture in was to throw out the built-in wardrobe in Marcel's room as his bunk beds wouldn't fit around it. I bet you can guess what was on the walls behind it! :-\

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