Scraping off two lawyers wallpaper that go back at last 70 years is an amazing task, much more painstaking and complex than I imagined it would be. Maria and I took turns scraping, scoring and spraying together. I was there all afternoon, and Maria arrived in the early evening. Spraying is important – lots of spraying with warm water, it takes two or three applications before things begin to really loosen.

There is bagging the wallpaper and hauling it off. We are about halfway done. I am surprised at how much I love this work. It takes much more patience and care than is usually available to me – important not to chew up the plaster underneath, which is generally in great shape. We are exhausted though, and will go back at it over the weekend.