"It's very modern".

[Keithj]

I took the funeral yesterday of a very old lady, formerly of the village. The family is local, and one of the folks at the funeral was the delightful lady whose grandparents lived in this house when she was a lass. She came to have a good look around after we'd finished the repairs, told us an immense amount about it, and lent us a large album of photographs. Altogether, a lovely person.

Anyway, yesterday she introduced me to the other members of the family that I hadn't met, and told them what a splendid job of restoration we'd done to grandma's house. And then "Of course, it's all very modern."

Modern? I didn't splutter (learned not to). We tried to preserve things as they would have been.
M (aka "the boss") explained it: yes, but grandma didn't have electric light or a kitchen or central heating or a loo like we have. That's "modern".

 

[Flyfisher]

I suspect there's a big difference in enthusiasm for period properties and genuine period living :wink:

 

[LadyArowana]

I suspect there's a big difference in enthusiasm for period properties and genuine period living :wink:

Indeed, I remember the look of complete horror on the face of a Singaporean friend's teenage son when I was talking about our house and explaining that there would have been no bathroom when it was built.