“You’re doing it wrong. I’m competing in the first Flatpack World Championships and am in the process of — badly — building an Ikea “Billy” bookcase. Next to me, screwdrivers in hand, three other competitors are battling for a place in the final. Behind us Kevin McCloud, he of Grand Designs fame, is talking the assembled crowd through what’s going on. “Anna is having a nightmare,” he says with that delight afforded to so many people who have just gone £200,000 over budget on their conversion of a grade II listed water tower.

Source: The Times May 02, 2025 17:33 UTC