| Some people would say that the Englishman's home is
no longer his castle, and that it has become his workshop. This is partly
because the average Englishman is keen on working with his own hands and partly
because he feels, for one reason or another, that he must do for himself many
households for which, some years ago, he would have hired professional help. The
main reason for this is a financial one. The high cost of labor has meant that
builders' and decorators' cost have reached a level which makes them prohibitive
for house-proud English people of modest means. So, if they wish to keep their
houses looking bright and smart, they have to tackle some of the repairs and
decorating themselves. As a result, there has grown up in the post-war years
what is sometimes referred to as the "do-it-yourself movement". The "do-it-yourself movement" began with home decorating but has since spread into a much wider field. Nowadays there seem to be very few things that can't be made by the "do-it-yourself movement" method. A number of magazines and handbooks exist to show hopeful handymen of all ages just how easy it is to build anything from a coffee table to a fifteen foot (4.5 meters) sailing dinghy. All you need, it seems, is a hammer and a few nails. You follow the simple instructions step by step and, before you know where you are, the finished article stands before you, completely in every detail. Unfortunately, alas, it is not always quite as simple as it sounds. Many a budding "do-it- yourself" has found to his cost that one cannot learn a skilled craftsman's job overnight. How quickly one realizes, when doing it oneself, that a job which takes the skilled man an hour or so to complete takes the amateur handyman five or six at least. And then there is the question of tools. The first thing the amateur learns is that he must have the right tools for the job. But tools cost money. There is also the wear and tear on the nerves. It is not surprising then that many people have come to the conclusion that the expense of paying processional to do the work is, in the long run, more economical than "do-it-yourself " |