I’m not sure how it happens but it does. You think something is a good idea, you do the preparation work; you feel quite excited by the project, get all enthusiastic and roll up your sleeves to get stuck in. However just a third of the way in to it, you begin to wonder where on earth you got the idea from in the first place!

Just six weeks ago I decided to strip the paper off the bathroom, bought some new wallpaper, paste and paint. Then nothing happened. Work came to a standstill with excuse upon excuse – the radiator was still on the wall, I was too busy and there never seemed to be enough time in the weekend to get it sorted.

So I took a day off and my chief gardener who also just happens to double up as chief decorator was drafted in sideways to climb the ladder and paper the walls. Now in truth this partnership of ‘Campbell and Campbell’ decorators has been forged over many years through striped wallpaper, flowered patterns, plumb lines, masking tape and gloss paint. We work well together because we each know our place. Well, to be more precise, I know my place. I mark the paper, cut it, paste it and I’m the person who tidies up the rubbish!

The chief decorator has much more experience than me. She’s the one who climbs the ladder, or in this case the stool which was standing in the bath and ultimately it’s her responsibility to get it right! So all that was left was to paint it in my favourite colour; a subtle shade of green.

As the chief disappeared for a spot of Christmas shopping with another daughter, my weekend passed in a haze of paint fumes, brush cleaner and washing green flecks out of my hair, cleaning them off my clothes and scrubbing them off my skin. But now it’s almost done, all that remains is for the radiator to go back on, the towel rail to be fixed and the bathroom cabinet to be put back on the wall. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another six weeks to finish!