Into the rafters...

It brought a smile to my face to turn into Blacksmith Lane last night and see the lights on in the Old Sunday School. Already it feels like home. The wall lights are discreet and upward-facing, illuminating the roof-beams with a peach-coloured glow (there’s a hell of a lot of carpentry up there). In lighting the room, the last occupiers obviously believed that less is more. The result is restful, I think, rather than gloomy, although, for comfortable reading in the evening, I’m going to need an extra light source. In the hands of a more sensitive person - a woman, say - the Old Sunday School might have made a good meditation centre.

With space at a premium, it will require some ingenuity to fit everything in, without making the room seem cluttered. Inspired by the wonderful drawings of William Heath-Robinson, I’m tempted to store a few things in the space above my head. For starters I’ll get one of those old-fashioned clothes driers, which can be loaded up, hoisted out of the way and secured. I’ll need a good length of rope, because a load of damp clothes could easily be lifted about fifteen feet into the rafters (the Old Sunday School is not just square; it’s very nearly a cube). This would also be a good way to store a bicycle, should I ever decide to explore the flat landscapes of East Yorkshire on two wheels (or a sleeping house-guest, as in the picture below)…