What a slow process it is to fit a new bathroom! It’s made slower by having to co-ordinate the movements of several people and myself: the plumber, the City architect, the City engineer, Dean of Guilds Court, and the town clerk. At the last interview, I was told to submit two plans (in triplicate) drawn on linen by the architect in charge of my scheme. One of the plumbers seems very capable and tells me that he can get a student architect to draw up plans for about £20. So it goes on. In the meantime, it seems best to just move in, clean up and pretend that cleanliness comes a bad second to godliness.
Before moving house yesterday, I bought a broom, mop and pail at Woolworths and cleaned out a bit. Then I cleaned myself up, leaving rather a mess on the kitchen floor. The trouble was that the warm water at the kitchen sink is supplied from an Ascot heater; it works very well but it tends to catch me a crafty clout behind the ear when washing. Nevertheless, it will be necessary to have a City loan in order to construct a very much needed bathroom. Over the next week, a selection of plumbers and gas inspectors are coming to look at the proposed bathroom installation and to quote for it. As you can imagine, the City requires all sorts of forms and applications for this, but I get the impression that this sort of work is popular with plumbers because they find ample leeway to make a profit.