The Vicar's Wife

My parents are having some decorating done. My mum found the guy to do the work, who came with excellent references from some friends of hers. He comes in at her convenience and has done a room at a time. He calls if he’s going to be late or isn’t going to be there. She is in control and he wants to please her so that she gives him more work and recommends him to her friends.

In Wolverhampton there is a scheme going on called ‘Decent Homes’ and the council are refurbishing their houses. It’s great – folk are getting new central heating, new kitchens and bathrooms, new doors and rewiring. It’s making the houses loads better and the council tenants don’t have to pay.

However, the council obviously have to do this as economically as possible, so there are big teams of workers tackling multiple houses at the same time. This means that the plasterers, electricians and plumbers are kept busy all the time.

So if you are having the work done to your house, you have no control. The workmen come and go at their convenience, not yours. If they need to do something two doors down they go there instead. They don’t phone you to let you know if they’re not coming after all. You’ve not hired them and so can’t fire them if they are a bit unreliable.

And because you’ve not appointed the workmen yourself, you’re less likely to trust them in the house on their own. You may even want to be in the house all the time that they’re there. And since they’re not just decorating a single room but doing a lot of major work, this means that you could spend about six weeks in the house whilst the work gets done.

This is a snapshot of how people in the inner city can lack power over their own lives. It’s also one of the things that can make running a bible study for mums who are Wolverhampton council tenants a little unpredictable.