I love decorating in Stratford upon Avon. It's an old town, with plenty of old buildings, and that's what I love the most. Don't get me wrong, I love the simplicity of decorating relatively newer buildings, as usually the plaster is flat, the woodwork is simpler, and they are often faster to do, but I do love the challenges and details of being part of the renovation process of old buildings. And although Stratford upon Avon is a relatively small town, it provides enough work for at least a handful of decorating companies, and certainly enough for me to be booked as far ahead as I want to be. 

This brings me onto a question I'm often asked when I tell people how booked up in advance I am, namely 'is there anyone else local whom you can recommend?' As it happens, I've only been living here for a few years and I do nearly all my decorating on my own. When I have brought in other professional decorators on certain jobs, they've mostly been people I know from out of town. I haven't actually worked with any of the decorators who are based in Stratford upon Avon! I'm sure many of the local decorators are good, but I not having worked with them, I can't recommend them from personal experience. I'd hope they use dust extraction sanding. I'd hope they use non-yellowing paints for interior woodwork. I'd hope they protect surfaces properly, and clean up well when they leave. But I don't know. These are all things I do, and I hope they gradually become standard practice in the UK decorating industry.