And the joke is....
definitely on me. If you look at the last photo - the one of my garage, well now imagine the steps at the side with about 8 sacks of donkey dung on it - again! I've just noticed that it shows the beautifully painted decorative bits though - those were the ones I was painting when the step ladder hooked itself under my underwear! Come to think of it, I am so glad there was no dung there that day!!