Early autumn was glorious here in London and, one weekend, Steven and I took advantage with a walk in Greenwich Park. As we walked we collected chestnuts and acorns and leaves.

From left to right: horse chestnut, sweet chestnut, acorn.

The chestnuts and acorns just because they were there and the leaves to try making this autumn leaf bouquet.

I wasn’t really sure what to do with all the chestnuts so I stuck them in a vase for the time being.

Then the leaves dried out before we got around to the bouquet but we decided that they looked pretty just as they had dried.

For want of anything better to do with them, I stuck both the vase and the leaves on top of the shoe cabinet in our hall, which seemed appropriate since we already had a dish with a couple of pine cones in it sitting there.

Suddenly, it struck me: I had accidentally succumbed to seasonal decorating! I’m not really a seasonal decor person (other than at Christmas). I barely manage to arrange and display the various ornaments, prints, pictures, etc. that I have without trying to rotate through seasonally appropriate ones and yet, somehow, I’ve ended up with seasonally appropriate decor. I’m sure I don’t need to worry though, I’m pretty sure they will be sitting there long after autumn has passed!

1. It will cost more than you think.
2. It will cost more than you have.
3. Presenters of property programmes will usually know more about property and building than the people appearing on the show.
4. People appearing on the show will usually ignore any and all advice given by the presenter (or their builder … or their architect).
5. It will take longer than you think. (This is especially true if your plan is dependent on good weather … in the UK … in November.)
6. Doing things yourself may save money but will rarely save time.
7. Living on-site is always a Bad Idea.
8. Not visiting the site regularly to manage contractors is a Bad Idea.
9. There will always be a problem with the structure of the building that cannot be seen until work starts. (If it’s a period property or listed building, this will immediately double your costs and amount of time required … at least.)
10. I will ignore any and all of the above lessons when it comes to working on my own home.

Or rather, they don’t, which is the problem. In Iain Banks’ book, The Crow Road, he describes it as raining “… with that remorseless West Coast rain, where it’s been raining for several days and will probably go on for several more”. That description really struck a chord with me and helped explain why I mind rain so much more when it rains in London than when it rained back in Scotland. Back in Glasgow, rain was just an accepted fact. It rained so often that you didn’t really bother about it, you just got on with it. Down here, it rains so infrequently (comparatively) that it’s a major imposition when it does. How dare it rain on me. Doesn’t it know that I don’t have shoes that I can wear to work that don’t let water in and that I have no idea where my brolly is. Hmph.