"The difference between utility and utility plus beauty is the difference between telephone wires and the spider web" Edwin Way Teale

 We are trying to keep as much as we can from the existing building and contents. I reused some of the vee lining from the bathroom to make a sink unit and cupboard for the utility room. 

                                         

The floor is a mixture of ceramic tiles and floorboards (which are the leftovers from the 125 m2 I bought from the bloke in Oldham) I didn't have enough of either to do the whole floor and I think the way they look next to each other would almost suggest it was meant to be that way.

I have since peeled off the green plastic covering from the sink

I even retained the original toilet roll holder which Do had found

"Not managing your time and making excuses are two bad habits. Don't put them both together by claiming you don't have time" Bo Bennett

 For the next three months we sat tight in our small basement flat - Do busy working, me with time on my hands. I signed up for an online guitar course and practised assiduously. After a few weeks my finger pads had hardened and my sausage fingers were capable of moving at some speed in a predetermined pattern. The resultant sounds became less cacophonous and I slowly moved away from my infernal strumming and towards being able to make a reasonably tuneful melody. 

The lockdown was slowing the spread of the virus and we had been keeping pretty much to ourselves. The community on Eigg were likewise being careful so we decided in June that the time had come to try again. Under regulations we were allowed to move house so that's what we did. I kept the island jungle drums (aka alleigg email list) informed of our position and intention to "return home" and received a number of welcoming messages. This time the ferry wasn't cancelled and we were able to drive off the Loch Nevis and up to the Manse for our 14 days of isolation. 

Having unpacked the last of our furniture and belongings our house now looked and felt like home, so plans were made for the next stage of the transformation - the utility room.