Friday, June 26, 2009

Kevin is back thankgoodness

I know many of you will be HUGE fans of Grand Designs - I know I am... in fact the lengths I have gone to to ensure I had uninterrupted 50 minutes to watch it have amazed even me.

I go off on a tangent here so you can skip this bit if you are in a hurry:
I have always put Busy to bed. Pretty much every night from birth. This was mainly due to breastfeeding her to sleep ( nothing wrong with it peeps don't listen to those who tell you other wise, breast milk has a chemical in it that makes babies sleepy therefore it is made to put your baby to sleep -anyway I digress) and then after B.F stopped just a snuggle which is when she is at her cutest and I get all the gossip about her day. This preference for being "mothered" to sleep only bothers me about 1% of the time -when I get frustrated because I want to do something else ( ie sew, make , create- you get the idea). So last week Busy and I sat down and had a serious chat. Daddy is going to put you to bed sometimes. She was fine. Of course. anyway...

....the new series of Grand Designs started last week. Kevin is back. Love him or loathe him- I think he is great. In case you haven't seen the show it is about owner builders building a house.
here is the run down:
It is set in UK.
Therefore:
  • it is ALWAYS RAINING and MUDDY. ALWAYS. At at least one point in the show the "build " will be delayed for several weeks because of the rain. (I cannot believe that this is a shock to the people building)
  • it is full of people with those painfully posh accents.
  • The build is ALWAYS delayed while they wait for some piece of BESPOKE (custom made) - something to come from some tiny little village in the South of France
  • the 'build' is never finished by Christmas/ Winter/ expected time- quite often not even in the same year.
  • there is always some huge stuff up- the "bespoke" something doesn't quite fit because the measurements were out by half a millimetre because the instructions have been translated across seven different languages and are now being put together by a team of builders from Poland reading the French instructions.
  • the woman is ALWAYS pregnant and in this delusional state thinks the house will be ready before the baby arrives. (mwah !!har har!! )
  • the baby ALWAYS walks into the house because it has taken so much longer to build.
  • the houses are always insanely unfriendly for children anyway and I often wonder how they cope with a baby in some of those houses.
  • but most importantly THEY ALWAYS IGNORE KEVIN. ALWAYS! He tries to warn them, tell them, reason with them that they should get a project manager and not do it themselves. But they never listen. And because of this they always go over budget and time. He always gets it out of them- how much money they went over by- but they are always fibbing I reckon- as if you are going to tell everyone that you underbudgetted by half a million pounds!

Some might think he is smug and annoying but I think he is great. He knows what he is talking about and I prefer to see him as a realist than a doomsdayer. He is passionate about architecture and lets face it who has mentally knocked down walls/ moved windows/ expanded decks etc whilst living in a rental. There is a little architect in all of us. You can take the Kevin McCloud quiz here

6 comments:

  1. You're a woman after my own heart. I love Kevin too. I've seen some of the episodes on Foxtel at least five times each, but I'll still sit there and watch over and over, and then the same old episodes on ABC as well.
    I think it's the accent that I love the most, and his way of making talking about building sexy.
    I also love Sarah Beeny and Property Ladder.

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  2. Oh my gosh, I have never come across anyone else who watched Grand Designs before let alone loved it!

    A big hello to your blog from my blog, Cath. I'm off to take a look around and gaze adoringly at all your gorgeous softies :)

    -Samantha

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  3. Grand Designs is great!!! I love your description of the mud and rain and pregnant women - very true! I have a house opposite me which I call the 'Grand Design' house because it looks like the sort of project that Kev would have been popping in on. Shame the people who live there are so unfriendly because I won't get a chance to nose around.
    Happy Kevin viewing!

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  4. Ah Cath, I'm loving your blog more and more every time I read it... especially when you reveal you're also a huge fan of Kev and post such a lovely pic of him! Hehe!!
    Thanks for doing such a great job of making me laugh every time I read your latest posting! :D

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  5. Hi Cath, I have 3 "busyies" I can't believe there is someone else obsessed with Kev and G.D (Grand Designs)..i was in Ireland for 10 weeks earlier this year, and it rained every day ..I'm not kidding!..the people with stayed with had foxtel (or something) and guess what ? G.D. was on all day..! I thought it was heaven..i even say a house that was featured on G.D. I was pretty excited !..did you watch "Around the world in 80 Gardens"? also a great show..and how much like kevin is Monty ?..is it just because they are both English..they have the same "delivery" don't you think..anyway I have 3 busys !..playing at the moment..they are "role-playing" with their dolls..does anybody else's kids..slip into an American accent when they're playing?? weird..!.. Barb

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  6. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? (or more likely, where have I been?) I can't believe this is the first time I have been by for a visit.

    I love Kevin. I love the dramatics and the over-budgetness and the fact that the newborn is no younger than three before anyone move in to an (almost) watertight dreamhome.

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what a nice person you are- taking the time to comment in this busy hectic world...Thank you!!