The whole of the hallway used to be carpeted. It was short-pile maroon stuff and I have no idea why but it had been stuck down with PVA glue. Directly onto the parquet. Now, the woodblock flooring probably goes back to the very beginning of this house. How can I know that? Well, because as soon as there’s a whisper of warmth, the floor starts buckling.

That said, I’d sooner have the wood flooring than the carpet. The carpet was all well and good but it’s an awkwardly shaped entrance hall and replacing the carpet would have been a beast.

Tearing up the carpet was how I occupied myself one week when I had holiday from the shop. It only took a handful of minutes to take the carpet out. There were a few days of soaking the underlay to get it off the woodblock. But the best, the very best thing I did in that whole week, was to wax the wood.

The whole house smelled amazing for a good long while after I waxed the floor. Since the weather has gone mad in recent years, I haven’t waxed the floor as often as I should, largely because there are gaps where the floor has had slight volcano action.

I’ll get it fixed at some point. In the meantime, I’m working on book four. Frankly, that seems to be the more important thing to do. I promise. It’s coming.