Chapter 6 Problems

Moving house is often thought of beforehand as an agreeable exercisewhich the movers are going to enjoy, but it does not always turn out as ex-pected.
Relations have to be reopened or adjusted with electricians, with build-ers, with carpenters, with painters, with wall-paperers, with providers ofrefrigerators, gas stoves, electric appliances, with upholsterers, makers¹ ofcurtains, hangers-up of curtains, those who lay linoleum², those who sup-ply carpets. Every day has not only its appointed task but usually some-thing between four and twelve extra callers, either long expected or thosewhose coming was quite forgotten.
But there were moments when Tuppence with sighs of relief announcedvarious finalities in different fields.
‘I really think our kitchen is almost perfect by now,’ she said. ‘Only Ican’t find the proper kind of flour bin³ yet.’
‘Oh,’ said Tommy, ‘does it matter very much?’
‘Well, it does rather. I mean, you buy flour very often in three-poundbags and it won’t go into these kinds of containers. They’re all so dainty.
You know, one has a pretty rose on it and the other’s got a sunflower andthey’ll not take more than a pound. It’s all so silly.’
At intervals⁴, Tuppence made other suggestions.
‘The Laurels⁵,’ she said. ‘Silly name for a house, I think. I don’t see whyit’s called The Laurels. It hasn’t got any laurels. They could have called itThe Plane Trees much better. Plane trees are very nice,’ said Tuppence.
‘Before The Laurels it was called Long Scofield, so they told me,’ saidTommy.
‘That name doesn’t seem to mean anything either,’ said Tuppence.
‘What is a Scofield, and who lived in it then?’
‘I think it was the Waddingtons.’
‘One gets so mixed,’ said Tuppence. ‘Waddingtons and then the Joneses,the people who sold it to us. And before that the Blackmores? And once, Isuppose the Parkinsons. Lots of Parkinsons. I’m always running into moreParkinsons.’
‘What way do you mean?’
‘Well, I suppose it’s that I’m always asking,’ said Tuppence. ‘I mean, if Icould find out something about the Parkinsons, we could get on with our–well, with our problem.’

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