Nature, nurture, surroundings. What is the English word for feng shui? Notable, how the atmosphere lightens as the room, the house clears; also notable how some pieces of furniture, et cetera, are in the right place, but others just seem to nag slightly. Not nag so much that it's really a conscious thing - it's easy not to notice - but they're where they should be but still not right. 'Should' never works, and I supppose the feng shui skill is having the clarity to see what is and could be, as distinct from what was on the plan. I wonder how much architecture exists because it looks good on the plan and/or in the architect's drawings. Not just modern: the huddle of chairs and screens around the fires in country houses, the high-ceilinged rooms, the long corridors. Cold rectories.
This paragraph return is long overdue. Bought a Kindle the other day. Interesting device. Everything I load onto it is duplicated in my account record on Amazon; if I lose it or drop it in the bath, I can reinstate everything on a new Kindle. George Orwell had Big Brother watching (what was his name?) Winston Smith in a negative way; I have Jeff Bezos and his people watching over me with the positive intent of making sure I keep what's mine even in the event of bathwater. That kind of oversight, for better or worse, seems to be a distinctive modern experience: the world around us is becoming a day-care centre.