Finally we applied paint to the shutters. Kepler being the only decisive one amongst the three of us decided on blue. And I really like it. It looks "jolly". He has a watering can which is exactly the same colour and I have always liked that. And when the roses and honeysuckle grow up and around it and are in flower I think it will be really pretty.

We are not actually "allowed" to pick a colour. We are supposed to choose from among an amazingly diverse catalogue made up of... wowee... brown, grey or cream, although I don't think anyone will care, I mean Elianor, the previous owner, had pink pillars and green shutters and pink and green window trims. Blue seems positively conservative in comparison.