When I bought my house in the summer of 2000, it was in dire need of some love, love that would primarily take the form of spending money on it. Unfortunately, I didn't have any, so the girls and I lived in a home with the look and feel of student accommodation. I don't think they noticed and I didn't mind; I was happy to have a home.

Three years later, though, I went through a fairly flush period as I was working as an IT consultant in London. Apart from spending quite a bit of money on clothes, I used the cash to do up the house. In fact, for about six months the following year, a chap called Graham converted the garage into a bedroom, terraced the garden, and built another new bedroom over part of the kitchen. 

The room was specifically for Dan, at least initially. Years later, Hannah had it for her room and when I moved back in two years ago, I decided to make it my bedroom. This room is next on our list after the kitchen at which point, these curtains, the legacy of Dan's occupancy will finally go.

I spent the morning in here, finishing off 'Company Of Liars' (see below), with Tux gently snoring by the door. (See extra photo.) He doesn't usually sleep in my room but has done for the last few days. I'm really not sure why.

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Today I finished book 14, this year: ‘Company Of Liars’ by Karen Maitland. I enjoyed this a lot. The story is set in 1348, the year of the Plague, and the book is as enjoyable for the insight into life in the fourteenth century as for the tale it tells. It’s long at 548 pages, but it never drags. A definite 4.
Next: Colson Whitehead’s ‘The Underground Railroad’.