Its always nice to see old (and not so old) faces back in the Medina and so it was this week when two totally dissimilar characters returned. First was my friend Pippa who works in Dublin as a legal secretary for her sins, saving frantically to fund the renovation of her cute Dar in R'Mila tucked away near R'Cif. She bought a year ago but wisely is not in a frantic hurry to rush in until she is ready, wise girl.
Then of course there is the venerable Sandy who you might know from a certain well known blog who is back to put the finishing touches to his latest novel based in Fes. Returning characters are always vibrant and enthusiastic as they wish to catch up on all the latest gossip, news and comings and goings in their absence and we are all too happy to oblige of course.
Its sometimes tempting to temper the obvious enthusiasm of pre-renovators for their project with a healthy dose of reality in the form of and advice and guidance about the pratfalls and pitfalls that one has encountered along the way. But that would put a damper on things now wouldn't it. Every individual will come up against different obstacles to overcome and really its all part of the rich experience of fulfilling your dream to go through it all and come out the other side. Although you will be slightly less well off, have a few more grey hairs and a bit less grey matter between your ears undoubtedly you will end up with a nice set of bricks encased in tadelakt and furnished to your own immaculate taste.
Well this was definitely the case with our Sandy who now has a wonderful riad and no regrets after a lengthy and at times frustrating renovation where at various times odd things happened to frustrate the progress, having your donkeys kidnapped being just one of the minor hiccups. But then one fine day you step back and realise you have finished and I know for me the thought that still runs through my head is just how did I manage that, and would I do it again. The early days of finishing I think most people would say that was a nightmare and I wont be doing that again but as time goes on the appeal of another house project and new ideas start sprouting and you realise you have got a strange affliction to put yourself through the pain barrier again.
As of now I don't know a cure for this "brick addiction"and I would like to take time out to try and find one but am not aware of a national centre or hospice that has available treatment. So I for one suffer in silence or the exact opposite sometimes as I bore friends with what I would do with this or that project even though I don't have the financial clout to realise it, well one can dream I suppose.
So back to young Pippa then, she now has her permission to start work and can go away safe in the knowledge her little hideaway will be stripped back to bare bricks with donkeys carting away her house sackload by sackload with progress being replaced by regression. Then almost magically over the next few months there will be progress and the thrill of a European toilet being installed, that first flush ahhhhh, I remember that. Then when you first switch on a light, the first hot shower, the first piece of furniture moving in, the first night spent under your own owned roof, marvellous. Your bank balance takes multiple nosedives but that will eventually stop........and then what!!
Well another project of course and you have caught the bug, you have "Brick Addiction" .
As I mentioned before is no known cure.
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