The renowned photographer Saul Leiter is quoted as saying that he preferred looking at raindrops on windows to pictures of famous people, so I thought I’d give it a go.

Now, it is true that I don’t really understand the whole “celebrity” thing. What makes someone who is able to make some money by singing a song, or pretending to be someone else for the purposes of a film (or, in many cases, pretending to be themselves, just in a different costume), or who is born with a talent that means they can kick a ball slightly better than their peers, more important, newsworthy and interesting than, say, a very caring nurse, or an inspiring teacher?

But, putting that aside for now, I stared at the rain falling on our window, looked at the drops, became fascinated by the patterns they created, the way that some would trickle down to join others to form larger and larger droplets before finally running down to the sill, the beautiful silenc…

Oh. Hang on. Look at that cobweb! Grief, how long has that been there? And that smeary mark where someone has tried to wipe something off the glass with a not very clean hand. And that bit of black mould forming on the edge of the window frame. Goodness! Where’s the Windolene…?

This whole experience reminded me of a piece of advice that I have often given to people who are thinking about putting their homes on the market. And a tip that I think is worth sharing here, especially at this time of year (it’s mid November as I write this), as sunlight is rarer and the days seem darker.

You need to get as much light into your home as you can. It makes the whole place feel more airy, more spacious … more happy!

So, when potential buyers are coming to view, pull back those curtains, raise the blinds, take down the nets (puh-lease take down the nets!), and WASH THOSE WINDOWS!

Because not only will this affect the amount of light, it will also create an impression of a home that is loved and well cared-for. This can only be a good thing.

No, it probably won’t make any difference to the price you’ll achieve, but it might just make it easier to get to that point.

Right, I’m now off to stare at some photos of famous people. I don’t expect it to last very long.