Had you once told me that I would be seriously enamoured of a serious, balding man named Kevin, I would have laughed in your face. But I am.
Not, I hasten to add, Kevin Rudd, former PM and man who took out last week’s award for Worst Week At Work. Possibly ever. He seems like a nice enough chap, serious it is true, but lacking somewhat in…passion.
The other Kevin, my Kevin, has passion in spades.
In light of my recent posts about the delights of Monster Movers, Trawlermen and obscure Danish television series, it will come as no surprise to most of you that I am a Grand Designs fan. As in fanatic.
I love Kevin McCloud. He has been described as Thinking Women’s Crumpet. I do not think of him in this way (but do not get me started on Todd Sampson from The Gruen Transfer). I just think he is one of the most engaging personalities on television, and the fact that he can turn a home build into grand drama with his ‘secretly I think they’re nuts’ tone, makes him must-watch for me.
Yes, I am married to The Builder, so I admit to a lifelong penchant for utes and men with hammers. But Kevin is not that. He reminds me of an academic who wandered onto a building site and decides to write his anthropology honours thesis about it.
The first night I met The Builder’s friends, one of his BFFs told me that when he thought of my new man he invariably thought of Joists. It made me laugh, but as time went by I realised there was more to the story than met the eye.
The Builder is a details man. Ask him a question and prepare yourself for a full answer. Ask him if a roof needs fixing, for instance, and he will take you through it joist by joist. He wants you to understand because he has a passion for what he does. But he brings that same enthusiasm and attention to detail to everything.
Kevin is the same. Earnest, funny and keen that you get what it is that he loves about his work.
Grand Designs is what reality TV should be. All the drama, humour, tragedy and fun of real life, without the machinations and the terrible product placements.
And Kevin. Always Kevin.
