…as I frequently do,
(I love his literal and thorough observations of everyday surroundings and possessions, and that he can cover several pages with nothing but a list of items and it is still fascinating to read.)
(and his hair and googly eyes, obviously)
…anyhow, as I was saying: Perusing George Perec in my lunch-break I came across this at the end of a lengthy, detailed description of the contents of a cellar (‘Life: A User’s Manual’ p153/155), and it struck a cord…(see below)
”The Altamonts’ cellar, clean, tidy, and neat: from floor to ceiling, shelving and pigeonholes labelled in large, legible letters. A place for everything and everything in its place……
….To the far right, finally, between the wall and the door… …comes the maintenance, cleansing, and miscellaneous supplies section: stacks of floorcloths, cartons of washing powder, detergents, descaling liquid, bleach products for unblocking waste pipes, supplies of ammonia bleach, sponges, products for polishing floors, cleaning windows, shining brass, untarnishing silver, for brightening glassware, floortiles, and linoleum, broomheads, Hoover bags, candles, spare matches, piles of electric batteries, coffee filters, soluble asprin with added vitamin C, candle bulbs for chandeliers, razor blades, cheap Eau de Cologne in litre bottles, soap, shampoo, cottonwool, cottonbuds, emery nailfiles, ink cartridges, beeswax, paint pots, dressings for minor cuts, insecticides, firelighters, dustbin liners, flints for cigarette lighters, and kitchen paper rolls.”
The cord it struck was, of course, this one….
‘Reverence’(Significant Accumulations) rsw2010
