‘It’s great. Unusual, but great. It didn’t look right in the middle of the living room or standing in our bedroom, so I stuck it in the kitchen next to the sink.’ ‘Right. I believe you’ll find that’s probably the best place for it, all things considered. It’s where normal people keep their washing machines.’ ‘Yes, it seems quite happy where it is now, a neat fit between sink and fridge. It’ll settle down given time, because I had a quiet word with it. Oh, yes, I taught it its position in life.’ Polly, who was suffering all-day exhaustion due to repeated morning sickness, lay on top of the eiderdown. ‘Good for you. Does it have rubber wringers to get the water out of your clothes?’ ‘Clothes? What clothes?’ ‘The clothes you wash in it.’ ‘Oh, so that’s what it’s for? Hmm, I did wonder, because I had trouble getting into it, and those blade things mangled my feet. An hour and a half, I spent in Accident and Emergency. They said I was very lucky. Insane, but lucky.
