I am sure that somewhere at some time I have recorded the fact that I am not very good at DIY.  (You have, repeatedly, here, here and here. Ed.)

Even the smallest of household repairs are usually beyond me, not so much due to a physical inability as from a mental resistance.  I have extended the remit of the old adage “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” to include the scenario “If it is broken, don’t fix it”.

My belief is that my input into any DIY task is only likely to exacerbate the problem, not fix it.

This philosophy was thrown into a particularly stark light by the recent issue with the cold tap in the sink in my bathroom.  For some time, I had noticed that the little, metal circular disc at the top of the tap had worked loose and would not readily tighten up no matter which way I turned it.  It was a bit irritating, but not a particular problem; the tap still functioned albeit with a loose topknot.  (I think the official plumbing term is ‘indice cap’. Ed.)

Several days later, when my wife alerted me to the same problem, my reaction was immediate and instinctive:

“It’s just like that now.”

I recognised there was an element of fatalism in this reply, but it was not wholly a passive or a negative response.  I like to think of my attitude to DIY as a realistic acceptance.

In the wise words of Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe – clearly no DIY expert himself – Things Fall Apart.  (I could say something here but, do you know what, I’m not even going to bother. Ed.)

© Simon Turner-Tree

Simon Turner-Tree could do with a bit of fixing himself.