Get the excess plaster off the ceiling

I had put quite some effort into cleaning and oiling my beautiful Victorian ceiling beams. Especially those in the living room! And I hoped they would survive the plasterer and painter unscathed. But it was not to be. The plasterer had got plaster on them; in some places, quite a lot. I decided not to clean it off. The painter might do the same! And it turned out that the cleaner was actually quite tidy and didn't, but well, how can you tell beforehand. So now my job was to scrape the plaster off again! Not a particularly pleasant job but nice when it's done. I started with the landing; that was all painted, and didn't need a new floor either. So I could get rid of the plaster, clean the floor, and take the room into use! And things are never that easy so I did get the plaster off (at least to my not very strict cleaning standards), but by then most of the weekend was gone. I then cleaned the floor (and noticed the painter had spilled paint on it: heresy!) but didn't have time to then enjoy it. And I didn't either in the days after. Oh well! It feels good to at least have the option to use it once I have time. And then it's the turn of the living room. I think that will be easier; the beams are smoother!

A not very good picture of cleaned (right) and not-yet-cleaned (left) bits of beam in the landing. 

A rather clear example of one beam in the living room that got plaster all over it, and one that the plasterer managed to keep clean