When a listener to my old BBC radio programme sent me a 'Bob the Builder' doll as a farewell gift, I realised I might have inadvertently given the impression that I'd personally be restoring an old finca, stone-by-stone, when we moved to Mallorca. In fact, all we planned to do was convert what had been someone's quaintly-appointed holiday property into a comfortable permanent home. Hardly a major project - or so we thought.
Lesson number one in doing up an old house on Mallorca is that the work never actually ends . . . and number two is that it will always cost you more than you budgeted for.
I'm a creative, rather than practical, type. This is a girl who - when hanging a picture - always used the heel of her shoe to bang in the nail, so realistically, I wasn't going to be plumbing in a new kitchen or assembling the odd door frame.
Wielding a paintbrush though is something I'll modestly admit to doing quite well. I also find it relaxing, so The Boss was more than happy for me to tackle the varnishing job on the new wooden bedroom door that we - or more accurately, a carpenter - had installed.
Perched on a stepladder, brush and pot of varnish in hand, I was beginning to feel I was finally earning that 'Bob the Builder' doll. Until the moment I discovered that flip-flops weren't really appropriate footwear for the job. Climbing down the ladder, a flip - or was it a flop? - caught on the edge of a step, and I crashed backwards onto the floor, splattering streaks of Honeyed Pine all around the room.
Undeterred, I did eventually finish the job.
Some day soon, I'll get out the Brillo and tackle those varnish stains on the floor tiles . . .
Copyright Jan Edwards 2008
About Me
- A Finca Life
- Jan's been writing since she was a child, sending off her first novel - entitled 'Jimmy', and written in her best joined-up writing - to a publishing house in London. As she was only 11 at the time, the publishers were kind enough to send her a rejection letter that was at least encouraging. She's still working on her second novel . . . Before moving to Mallorca, Jan spent 16 years as a radio presenter - the last five of which were with BBC local radio. She was also a freelance copywriter and PR. Now living in a rural finca near Manacor with three demanding males (only two of them cats), Jan presents a weekly radio show (Radio One Marratxi 92.9, Sundays 10am-1pm) and writes articles for magazines and newspapers on a freelance basis. Jan enjoys cooking, eating, walking and the Mallorcan countryside. She hates litter, mashed potatoes and any dish containing snails.
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