23rd February 2026
A couple of years ago, when we and some friends were staying in a rented property on the east coast of Barbados (ah! such carefree days 😆) we had a 13 day internet outage. This obviously had its disadvantages, but it did free up a lot of time. I used some of mine to excellent effect by ploughing through Hilary Mantel’s historical masterpiece Wolf Hall. Not long afterwards I devoured the sequel Bring Up the Bodies, but so far the third instalment of the trilogy – the title of this blog post – has eluded me (except for the wonderful BBC TV adaptation). No matter – Pollards Mill will find a way.
For several years the ornately carved wooden frame of an enormous mirror leaning against the outside wall of our Plantation View apartment has been slowly but surely crumbling away, making me increasingly jumpy about it collapsing altogether, shattering the glass into a million pieces. Never mind seven years’ bad luck – I reckon we’d be picking shards out of the soles of our feet for at least ten. Well, today we finally mustered the manpower and equipment necessary to shift the monster. Rope? ✅ Blankets? ✅ Protective gloves? ✅ Sensible shoes? ✅ Occupiers’ liability insurance? ✅ Right, we’re good to go!
PHEW 😮💨 that’s a relief! It weighed a ton. The rotten frame dismantled easily for disposal, but the mirror is in surprisingly good nick and has been stashed away for future consideration by the resident artist 😉.
Under current consideration are a number of lights dotted around the house which, collectively, are a complete car crash with a fine selection of blown and mismatched bulbs, missing switches and absolutely hideous fittings and shades. We spend every evening outside, so these have been a low priority for us, but we have begun to grasp the nettle. We have sourced some new fittings and are waiting for Ricky the sparky to come and instal them. I have to say, however, that I will miss this gem of a rusty, filthy chandelier in the dining room, swaddled cosily against the nesting birds in a Pembrokeshire council recycling bag. To the light!
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