Yesterday I was working from home when a pickup with five men, some timber and a corrugated plastic sheet parked by the kitchen. Out they piled, unloaded the timber, and hammering started upstairs outside the staff quarters..
????? Not a usual problem this one. I've heard of guerilla gardeners who sow colourful seeds to flower eyesore roundabout islands, but guerilla carpenters? What were they doing? And how did they get past the guard?
'Hello, can you tell me what you're doing?'
'We're building a roof.' [cheerfully].
As indeed they were. Competently, proactively, building a roof across the courtyard in our staff quarters. With a sweet transparent corrugated plastic skylight to let in the sunlight.
I had thoughts of Candid Camera, where the hidden camera and tv viewers observe how you react to the unexpected. Furtive glance over shoulder.
Remembered my arty, stylish Icelandic mates in London, whose friend's theatre troop catalysed Theatrical Happenings, such as erecting a tent in the middle of chichi London restaurants and waiting to see what happened.
The Competent Carpenters didn't LOOK very Icelandic or theatrical though. Or just very In Character?
On enquiry it turned out that this had been identified as the solution to our problem of floods and mould in the staff quarters. Rain flows in under the bedroom door because the concrete floor was built backwards, flowing into the rooms, not out of them. Solution, erect a roof over half the courtyard so the rain is kept out. Perfect.
Except no one let me know.
I'm pleased to congratulate innovative solutions. Contrary to appearances I'm not a control freak. But I would like to be in the loop - just a brief note maybe, 'Solution to mould - new roof' - before the contractors from Tom's work come and build an additional roof.
Just another of those experiences in Kenya where things - even the open sky - isn't where you last left it.
????? Not a usual problem this one. I've heard of guerilla gardeners who sow colourful seeds to flower eyesore roundabout islands, but guerilla carpenters? What were they doing? And how did they get past the guard?
'Hello, can you tell me what you're doing?'
'We're building a roof.' [cheerfully].
As indeed they were. Competently, proactively, building a roof across the courtyard in our staff quarters. With a sweet transparent corrugated plastic skylight to let in the sunlight.
I had thoughts of Candid Camera, where the hidden camera and tv viewers observe how you react to the unexpected. Furtive glance over shoulder.
Remembered my arty, stylish Icelandic mates in London, whose friend's theatre troop catalysed Theatrical Happenings, such as erecting a tent in the middle of chichi London restaurants and waiting to see what happened.
The Competent Carpenters didn't LOOK very Icelandic or theatrical though. Or just very In Character?
On enquiry it turned out that this had been identified as the solution to our problem of floods and mould in the staff quarters. Rain flows in under the bedroom door because the concrete floor was built backwards, flowing into the rooms, not out of them. Solution, erect a roof over half the courtyard so the rain is kept out. Perfect.
Except no one let me know.
I'm pleased to congratulate innovative solutions. Contrary to appearances I'm not a control freak. But I would like to be in the loop - just a brief note maybe, 'Solution to mould - new roof' - before the contractors from Tom's work come and build an additional roof.
Just another of those experiences in Kenya where things - even the open sky - isn't where you last left it.
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