This is a huge Thank You to all the incredible people who have bought me a cup of coffee over the last few weeks. When this funny project began, I was very good at thanking you all individually, sending little replies and generally being polite. This would have made my mother happy. But I’ve got behind lately and my working hours have increased and I got a little disorganised. (My cardinal weakness is a lack of organisation.)
So I’ve let it slide and I have had considerable angst about that and I wanted to say sorry, because you are all so good and kind and your contributions make a big difference to me. Since I finally faced the reality that the fabled bestseller was not going to take the world by storm, I’ve been doing what all writers do, which is several different jobs. I’d be no good in an office with regular hours, so I’ve basically invented a whole load of ideas I can generate myself, from my office at home. (I thank the universe every day for the Zoom.) And a bit comes in here and a bit comes in there and it all adds up and I can pay the bills.
I was brought up with the insistent idea of the windfall, that would surely come. My dad believed that every day of his life, as he faithfully did the accumulator that would change everything. It never did. I inherited that, and I kept believing that one day I would hit the jackpot. That never happened either. (How I can hear the ghostly laughter of my dad from the great Betting Shop in the Sky.) And the funny thing is that I’m glad it didn’t, because I learnt to teach, and I became a mentor, and I work with people from all over the world whom I otherwise would not have met. I always thought I wanted to swank about the literary festivals, but this is much, much more fun.
Anyway, you lovelies are part of that, part of the numerous streams of income that I keep inventing. Because of you, I write a public post almost every day, and that’s been an incredible discipline and a real revelation. So, thank you, thank you.
It was our highland games today and everyone was so happy to be back on the green after the years of lockdown. The children ran their dashing races and the band played and the burly men in kilts threw their cabers and the band played their fifes and drums. The pipers piped and the delicate, disciplined girls danced, and the committee put their bonnets on, and the chief wore his eagle’s feather in his cap.
There’s a wedding going on across the way as I write this and I can hear the shouts of celebration and the thump of music and the general sounds of joy.
I’m going on holiday to the island of Colonsay and so I’m going to take a break, which is another reason I wanted to leave you on a note of thanks. I’m going to do absolutely nothing, not even this. I’m going to read books and dream dreams and gaze at the sea.
I’ll be back on the 17th. And I’ll see you then.