The sunlight is so crisp this morning that you can see at the same time both the warmth and ice that is still in the air. These are the type of morning that has people out heading to work with that little extra spring in their step. Sitting here where I spend nearly 80% of my waking hours, I have a clear view across the living room, though the bay at the sky and the flats opposite. My husband is one of life’s nosy people and he frequently blocks my view as he has to know what is happening in his street. We are so different when it comes to windows, our attitudes are like chalk and cheese. I can hear now a question of what is she talking about, different about windows? Well let me explain…..

Looking at house design, it is clear that most people want and have loads of large windows in their homes. I have seen too many design programs were they go on about light flooding in, beautiful views and window dressing or stranger to me, lack of them, yet I still find myself lost by the whole thing. If someone came along and offered to brick up all the windows in my house, I would be grateful. Windows to me are a constant problem and a constant irritation. This isn’t something new, I haven’t been that taken by them for as long as I can remember.

To me they are something I can almost see the point of in Summer but in Winter, they are pointless. No matter if you have double glazing, you still loose heat through glass far more quickly than the walls. The hours of day light in Scotland totals around 6 and I sleep 2 of them. I find opening or closing large heavy curtains a painful process, even using the cord to open the blinds causes incredible pain in my arms. Adam now asks each morning if he is to open the living room ones or not, he never opens the rest any longer. With him not being home before dark the closing would be down to me and I’d rather not have the pain involved. Adam would never shut the curtains if it was down to him. He doesn’t feel the cold and if they are shut he is sure he is missing something, what I don’t know, this is the Southside of Glasgow, not much happens here!

In the Summer the idea of windows on the surface seems a good one but equally has it’s own problem. Sunshine like this morning is pretty enough in itself, but as that sun moves, there are huge periods of time where you have to shut the curtains or blinds as it is blinding. So again they become pointless. Then there is the fact the stupid things open! Fresh air, what fresh air, again this is the Southside of Glasgow, where is the fresh air? All I get is car fumes and noise, should it be winter then add in frozen!

Then there is the killer nail. Windows are made of glass, a substance that by it’s nature have to be clean, not just wiped over, they have to be clean both inside and out. Any dirt or smudges those objects we install to bring in light, become highly annoying and something that ranks close to cleaning the oven on the list of hated jobs. I strongly vote for there banishment into room 101. So were has this rant come from, as I said it’s sunny and guess what my windows need cleaned. Can you get maids or brickies on the NHS?