The windows, beneath the tatty curtains, under the bent metal blinds, were covered with thick black plastic and the sill nailed shut.
Half-opened venetian blinds let thin rays of sunlight break in from below, casting a patterned shadow over the tatty floorboards.
His tatty blazer and brown corduroys spoke of middle-aged inertia, but his shock of dishevelled fair hair gave him an oddly juvenile character.
His face was weathered and unshaven, and his clothes tatty.
In an effort to push away my cares, I grab a handful of toasted maize kernels and take in the room, recalling the relief I felt when my mother relinquished all notion of shipping to the island the vintage furniture, replete with a tatty Chesterfield lounge that never fitted in any room it was put.
