[originaltext] There is nothing quite so depressing as a house which has bee

There is nothing quite so depressing as a house which has been shut up for a period of time. Even if it has been kept dusted and clean, there is still a musty smell and a feeling of airlessness about the rooms. No warmth seems to come out from the electric fire one has just switched on, no light through the window from which one has just down to the curtains. The chairs in the sitting-room look as if they has never been sat on, even if they are far from new. They are arranged in neat patterns round the coffee table. Not until you drop your coat or the newspapers on them do they begin to look as anything normal. As far as the kitchen, that is the least attractive place of all. Although it hasn’t been used for months, it still seems to smell vaguely of some old food. The kitchen table is clean, the cupboards are bare. You cannot remember where the gas and the water turn on, the cups all seem to have lost their handles, the plates seem to be cracked, and it is impossible to find a teaspoon anywhere.