The final bit of work – wiring in the lights – was completed on Friday morning and our official opening was held that evening:

Cheers!

So my blogging absence can be explained by a weekend wielding a paint brush and turning the bare grey concrete interior walls into vibrant blue:

Blue walls

Blue around the door

Still drying

The colour is called ‘pitch blue’, which doesn’t really make sense to me, but I like it anyway. Over the past couple of days I’ve applied an undercoat and two topcoats. I don’t find emulsion painting particularly inspiring, but I am pleased with the result.

This task revealed yet another ‘green’ conundrum namely the choice of paint. I really didn’t feel up to the task of a detailed investigation into the environmental credentials of every available paint, so in the end we went to a local shop* that specialises in eco-friendly decorating and took their advice. We bought Farrow and Ball paint, which is made in England, so has relatively few ‘paint miles’ and has no VOCs (volatile organic compounds). It’s not cheap. but it was lovely to use and I certainly didn’t end up with a headache even after two days of painting.

-oOo-

*The guy who owns the shop recognised me and after a short discussion we worked out that he was a postgrad at university when I was an undergrad! I would not have recognised him, although once I knew his name, I did remember him. Anyway, it’s good to know that old Aberystwyth Environmental Scientists are still doing their bit for the planet!