Thursday, March 08, 2007

Top Tiptastic

Today I learnt something new and useful.

The Elizabethan chest in the Screens Passage had an unsightly, white watermark on it, where a wicked, bad, naughty volunteer had stood a cup of hot tea, instead of using the coaster on the desk, a mere 6 inches distant.

"Do you think there's a way we can restore that?" I asked McColleague.

"Funnily enough, " she replied, excitedly, "I was watching a telly programme the other night about furniture restoration, and this woman said if you rub it with a Brazil nut it'll remove the watermark."

Well, if some woman on the telly said it'd work, that's good enough for me.

"OK," I said, "but I've only got hazelnuts."

"Ooh, I bet Lovely Warden will have some in his lunchbox!"

Lovely Warden is a vegetarian and brings lunches the squirrels would kill for.

Sure enough, he did have Brazil nuts in his box. "That's my favourite nut, too, " he said, wistfully, as he handed them over.

We gathered around the chest in great anticipation as McColleague set to work, rubbing the Brazil nut over the mark. Wow. I mean, seriously, wow. It really worked. The watermark had completely gone.

I began to laugh.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," I managed. "It's just that when people ask about this I'm going to have to say we got great results when we rubbed Lovely Warden's nuts on our chest."

And now I have, and I am happy.

5 comments:

stitchwort said...

With or without the shell?
(The Brazil nuts, I mean)

Doris said...

Without. If you do it with the shell still on it tends to make it worse, in a scratchy kind of way. I would imagine.

Anonymous said...

Lovely Warden should be very proud of his nuts

Boz said...

I only have bolts, will they work?

BUT MY PARENTS FLY BACK TODAY!!

Doris said...

Monica - Lovely Warden is rightly proud. Long has he waited for he and his nuts to be called upon by the women of the house.

Boz - bolts will work, but not for stains. HIDE THE EVIDENCE!!