I inspect my building work.

The cottage has been in a stage of semi-demolition for some time now, and I have been going over there periodically to check progress and take photographs. The difficulty up to now has been finding times that fit in with the builders not being there; aside from not wanting to give them an excuse to stop work for a chat, every time I reach for a camera they hastily slip behind walls, cover their faces, dive slow-motion into cement mixers etc.

One of my key aims has been not to spoil the fact that the cottage is essentially old and historic. The Methodical Builder has been very helpful in this respect, in that by the time he has finished the cottage will be even older and historicker. But progress has progressed and there are now some walls, which seems like a good start even to my untutored eye.

I need to come to terms with one thing though: I no longer have a secret bookcase which opens to reveal a large alcove within, like in the Scooby Doo cartoons.

A commenter reminded me of it the other day. I pretended I still had it, which I feel bad about. My staircase has moved, and with it has gone the secret bookcase which opened to reveal a large alcove within, like in the Scooby Doo cartoons.

The SBwOtRaLAWlitSDC has always been a key element in this piece of writing - part of its essential charm, perhaps. And I have had it removed, just like Hanna Barbera introduced Scrappy Doo. I would like to find somewhere in the house where I can build a suitable replacement thing. If anybody has any ideas then please let me know.