I’ve started referring to my parents’ home as The Puzzle Palace: I just never, NEVER know what to expect to see when I visit.

One night in the middle of Winter, I paid them a visit. My mother was doing the dishes and shaking her head sideways. “Your father”, she muttered.

“Oh, no!” I thought. “What’s he done now?”

You see, my father is a true do-it-your-selfer. His belief is that ‘why should you give money to the big chain stores, when you can build the same thing from spare parts lying...