Wednesday 11th February 2015

Quite a few things are improving, others are going backwards. I have my cleaning staff to thank for a marvellous innovation in the styling of my bed when I’m not in it. Always each morning I give 4 minutes min for manipulation of my Indian cut-work bedspread from a rare shop in Golborne Road. Perfectly maddening when you think you can go downstairs but, stepping back, it’s wonky. Some days it’s never right. Last week I came home after the cleaner had been. Look what I found! A completely new treatment of the raw, turned-down edge. I’m beginning to get the knack of doing it myself. Fingering fabric to get it to do what you want isn’t just a skill, it’s a mystic art of which few are possessed. Val is one of them.

Now lighting. As you know, I had LED lighting put in my hall and downstairs bathroom. It’s supposed to be more organic or something. My old lights needed changing anyway. The idea was that I’d get used to it. But I didn’t. Bruce MacBain, even, was at a loss. He sent me to a promising-sounding shop near Archway, but it was the same old story – there’s either cold LED light or warm. Naturally I’d already chosen warm. Who would want cold? Then suddenly there was a call from Bruce MacBain. He’d discovered Basis Lighting in Kentish Town. I was over like a shot. It’s thin men in polo-necks with Designer glasses. I had a consultation. They suggested I try a different lamp, the Osram Parathom. Well, it’s a whole world of difference. The mistake, they said at Basis, was going for warm. With LED you don’t want warm because warm means murky and dingy like an old-fashioned hanging light bulb. What you want is cold or at least not too warm.

Pricey though! £78 for six bulbs. And I’ve more to get. That’s the trouble with the LED. It never wears out. You’re stuck with it for life. So it’s got to be right.

On to my marmalade. Disappointing. It’s so important to catch it at the perfect moment of jellification. I used jam sugar with added pectin. In the past I’ve been traumatised by marmalade not setting. But now it’s too stiff – and a bit mealy. I should have used some jam sugar with added pectin mixed with normal sugar. I’ve toyed with throwing away all 36 jars and starting again, but really…

The Old Crude Styling of My Bedspread

The New Styling, First Done by My Cleaner

New Improved Styling of My Bedspread