Many years ago, one hot summmer's morning, I was up a ladder at the front of my house, shirt off, putting a coat of paint on the window frames. A man and a lady, dressed soberly in black, bags under their arms, walked up and stopped. I guessed what they were.

"Hallo", one said, "Do you live here?"

"No", I said, "I'm the painter and decorator."

"Oh - is anyone in?" asked the other.

"Sorry - no." I replied.

They muttered to one another and then one surprisingly piped up with, "Do you make a good living from this kind of work?"

"Well, yes, I do normally. But I'm doing this job for free - the lady of the house lets me sleep with her."

Silence. Off they went.