In our house the drums aren’t distant. They are in the living room. They appeared there one Friday night when I came home from work, along with the trumpet. The guitar was already there. A very loud combination.
In our house the study has the TV in it. I put it there so that I could control the kids’ watching habits. My desk is no longer in the study. It’s in Tom’s room. His need was greater than mine. In its place is the piano, next to the TV which I can no longer control without causing an uprising.
In our house the sewing machine is on the table in the conservatory. I am allowed to use the table though not at the same time as Hannah when she is on the machine.
In our house Tom’s room is out of bounds. It isn’t somewhere you would want to dwell anyway. Joe’s room requires some negotiation to get to the bed, what with game controllers scattered on the floor. The PCs seem to be permanently on in 3 kids bedrooms.
In our house we have a revamped shower room. It used to be my domain but since being done up everyone prefers it to the bathroom. I now have to avoid about 8 different bottles of shampoo and shower gel, not to mention the toothbrushes and disposable razors.
In our house the Archers is on in the kitchen every night making it a no go area. I am allowed in as long as I don’t talk but the mental anguish caused by having to listen to the soap precludes me from doing so. The radio is also on every Saturday and Sunday morning when we listen to Tom on Siren FM. We wouldn’t ordinarily listen to the music but we have to to hear Tom.
In our house when I go upstairs to bed and turn the radio on it sometimes blasts my ears out. It only needs to be on quietly but sometimes it gets turned up during the day so that it can be heard in other rooms or whilst the hairdryer is on.
You would think that when everyone is out and the house is quiet and I am alone it would be blissful. It isn’t. The silence is too much of a contrast with the normal state of affairs. I do like a quiet pint though in the Morning Star. The “quiet” and the “pint” are perfect combinations. In fact, as I think of it, the house has grown silent…