I’m going to sound dead ‘old-fashioned’ again when I say that fabrics are not what they used to be. My Mum recently offered me some duvet covers that were at least 20 years old and looked barely worn yet the ones I bought to match our new bedroom three years ago are completely knackered.

We moved from the ‘master bedroom’ of the house (the ‘posh’ room with the en-suite bathroom but sadly no pole dancing pole….that’s a story for another day) to the back bedroom three years ago for a number of reasons:

1. We’ve got no-one overlooking us so in the winter we can leave our curtains open and lie in bed watching the moon and stars with the clouds scudding across them – wonderful.
2. It’s a bigger room
3. It’s quiet – we don’t hear the road or people passing by
4. It’s not the room I shared with my ex!!!

BTW our new room has no pole dancing pole either before you get ideas – mind you, it’s just as well really because DM might want to trade me in for Kate Moss after studying the White Stripes video for I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself long, hard and often!!! He has issued me with a warning that if I go away on business and she knocks on the door then he ‘might’ be tempted!

Before DM moved in, I gutted the room, knocked down some fitted cupboards, did a bit of rewiring (yep – me, all my own work) and redecorated in a really warm and exotic style. It’s orange, red, purple and yellow and there are saris for drapes as well as loads of gold crushed velvet and brass – the whole feel is very middle-eastern. It is just so sumptuous it’s not true. I love it. Lara you’d love it too!

But there is a problem. Orange was obviously fashionable three years ago and is no longer. I can’t find any duvet covers to replace the shoddy ones that have fallen to bits in three years, that come close to the colour scheme.

While I was on my annual shopping trip with Colin while DM was at Le Mans, I spotted these duvet covers and pillows in Next and thought well, they’re really too dark but nonetheless, they are gorgeous, have just the right middle-eastern feel and have loads of gold beads and embroidery. (Almost) perfect! I duly handed over my plastic and they came home with me.

When it came time to change the bedding the new stuff went on and it looked gorgeous. This morning, though, my bubble burst. DM said ‘I hate this new bedding’. ‘Why?’ I cried, thinking ‘what’s wrong with it, it looks fab and is nice quality cotton so feels good too’. He declared it is the most uncomfortable bedding he’s ever known because when you take off your clothes and sit on the bed you get beads digging into your skin, as you do when you lie down on the pillows. The bitter blow fell when he said ‘can’t we change it?’ No! It was really expensive!!!

So, we now have beautiful bedding that he doesn’t want to sleep in. Pah, pah, pah.