I was sat in the taxi office, nos­ing around as I waited. The wait­ing area was as much back­stage as front­stage; the place where the drivers came for their breaks. There’s a towel sqaushed over a rail, just out­side the toi­let door, and a reminder to keep on top on the domestic work.

At a house-building site, the kettle was aban­doned, as was the empty bottle of that Scot­tish staple, Irn Bru. Work is powered by hot and cold sug­ary drinks.

Domestic appli­ances and accoutre­ments helped my carpenter-friend’s work A hot iron made stikcing things together much easier; cling film over the paint tray stopped it skin­ning over whilst he took a tea break, and dish­clothes wiped up the spills and splashes of paint and varnish.

In these three male worlds of paid work, there exis­ted small moments of domesticity.