Over the last couple of days I have begun to work in earnest to renovate part of our house, ready for its transformation into a space for B and B/retreats/workshop accommodation. The first task is to make an en suite bathroom in one of the bedrooms.

The thing about DIY in old houses like ours is that you always make things much worse before you (hopefully) make things better.

You also tend to find all sorts of things that you were not expecting when you take off the surface layer of decoration.

You have to pace yourself, breaking the task down into manageable chunks, but at the same time be aware of the overall plan.

And what you have done, for good or ill, will not be abstract, but concrete.

I could describe the potential spiritual and psychological significance of all this but I am too knackered.