It may be a guiding principle that keeping one's professional activities separate from one's home life is a good idea. If so, then over the past six months I have contravened that principle. Some readers may recall we live in Edinburgh in a Victorian house of stone construction erected as Lincoln set out the principles of "government of the people by the people" at Gettysburg in 1863. While inhabiting dwellings of this age may be desirable--a recent correspondent to this column was extremely complimentary as to the quality of such buildings in the U.K.--there are disadvantages, not least the provision of modern plumbing and bathroom facilities.