Comfort zone

China tea, the scent of hyacinths, 

wood fires and bowls of violets -

that is my mental picture of an agreeable February afternoon.

Constance Spry

Her house was lovely.

It was comfortable in a way that was not as usual 

in 1910 as it is today.

For instance, there were several bathrooms,

invariably provided with delicious essences 

for softening and scenting the water

which was always hot.

The beds were soft and sheeted with the finest linen.

The Rising Tide - Molly Keane

and from Agatha Christie's The Hollow,

Midge a shop assistant,

 on being told she would understand the class struggle better

if she were a worker:

'I am a worker. That's just why being comfortable is so attractive.

Box beds, down pillows -

early morning tea softly deposited by the bed -

a porcelain bath with lashings of hot water -

and delicious bath salts.

The kind of easy-chair you can really sink into...'

Midge paused in her catalogue.

'The workers', said David, 'should have all these things,'

...'I couldn't agree with you more,' said Midge heartily.

Our daily lives are full of stress,

much of which is unavoidable.

I believe that if our homes cannot provide 

some kind of refuge or respite from that stress,

both physically and emotionally,

then they have failed in one of their most critical functions.

From supporting the body at rest or during relaxation -

physical comfort at its most basic -

to most elemental pleasures that put people at their ease,

comfort provides a necessary sense of renewal.

For me, comfort is neither mindless luxury 

nor suffocating indulgence:

it is the essential breathing space 

in which we can simply be ourselves,

surrounded by the things we really like

rather than things we think give us status.

Sir Terence Conran

I shall cleave to these 

images as the house is

colonised again by the electrician

in pursuit of The Fault

and the builder  eliminating the cause of

The Mould.
P.S Can you still get bath salts?