Fiona Leith: ‘We were dealing with soggy, saggy ceilings’

Published on 22/07/2012 14:13

LAST week I was struck by the strength-in-numbers comfort that can be felt when it comes to roof leaks, as I struggled to see the sunny side.

Everyone turns into the wise old sage when you mention a leaky roof. They’ve all had one, and can do a sharp intake of air through their teeth when you inquire how much it cost them.

There were four of us in this office relationship, dealing with varying stages of soggy, saggy ceilings. Two had spent a week redecorating, only to find the weather knows no mercy and would rain on their magnolian effort if it wanted to. One of them described her efforts to remove offending articles from the flat roof like a scene from a landlocked version of The Perfect Storm.

Another had returned from NYC only to find her boiler broken and the ceiling nonchalantly dripping on to her bed. “I’ve a feeling we ain’t in the Upper East Side any more,” she wept.

I got my comeuppance for neglecting some shoogly bathroom wall tiles. You know, the one that sits directly under the shoogly bit of the neglected flat roof.

Of course, we got off lightly compared to those poor folk who have had serious flood damage this past month, but we experienced some of the comfort and comedy shared misery can bring.

That was until one of them arrived at work after the patch-up jobs and payouts and took the group bonding too far by sheepishly announcing: “I’m leaking again, are you sure you aren’t too?”

This week we have a stunning property built to embrace the elements on Skye on page 8. Pittenweem Arts Festival inspires thousands of visitors each year, so much so that local artist Jennifer Pettigrew has adapted her former jeweller’s workshop home to accommodate fans of her paintings. See the results on page 12.

On page 18 we see the delightful results of a couple’s passion to create a walled garden from scratch in Clackmannanshire. k