My legacy keeps me awake (during the day)

What does the word legacy mean to you, asks Colm O’Regan

We’re starting at the wall – the electrician and I. Normally in these situations, only one of us knows the real significance of what we are looking at. My eyes are there for moral support. I talk to skilled tradespeople in the same way that I use school-French in Paris. I can ask a question but I won’t understand the reply.

This time though it soon becomes clear what’s wrong. He’s pointing at a piece of wiring that you can’t imagine appearing on an application for an ISO9000 accreditation. In fact it’s more the kind of wiring brandished by an artificially irate, alpha-male presenter on a TV show called ‘Britain’s Shnakiest Hoors of Tradesmen.’