When I'm cleaning windows

Let's be clear on this, I hate cleaning windows. It's one of my least favourite things to do, and so I do it as little as possible. I hate when you think they're clean and you sit back, basking in the feeling that you've done something useful with your day, right up until the sun hits that side of your house and shows every last streak. In the 3 years I lived in my Paris flat, I think I cleaned my windows once, probably right before my Mum visited.

However, I do have certain standards and, when I realised this afternoon that I actually couldn't see out of the kitchen window, I decided something had to be done. (I didn't take a 'before' photo, I was too ashamed!) I filled my bucket, found an old t-shirt, and headed outside. It was then that I discovered there are two major disadvantages to cleaning windows in Mauritius. The first was more a question of bad timing, but the sun was directly on the window, meaning the water dried the second it touched the hot glass. Hello giant watermarks. I had to move fast.

Problem number two comes from this delightful feature of every Mauritian home - security bars. When we were house hunting I hated them. I thought I would feel like I was in prison. They've grown on me now though and I even find the ones on the doors at the front kind of cool, like an old-fashioned lift. Like the doors of a lift, these open fully, giving easy access for glass cleaning, should you be so inclined.

The kitchen is a different story. The only way you could move these would be with a crowbar, which seemed a little extreme. You just have to stick your arm between the bars (Merv will be delighted to learn that he's exempt from window cleaning as his arm would probably get stuck) and work your way up and down each space, trying not to cut your forearms in the process. It's slow, painful, and not that rewarding.

Well, they're done, I can see out again - into the neighbour's garden where his mango trees are weighed down with new fruit! - but that's just the kitchen. My parents are coming to visit in a few weeks, does that mean I have to do all the other windows in the house as well?