Word Count: 36,414

Jean Paul Sartre said that Hell was other people and he definitely had a point. Visitors often interrupt the creative process, but without this constantly refreshed pool of encouragement and inspiration, I’d be an impoverished writer. With notebook to hand, conversations with friends, full of incident and recent experiences, provide a valuable seam for the writer to mine.

So I might complain about the disruptions, but as long as my visitors come armed with some tall tales, I’m pleased to break off and listen. Anything of interest is written down, of course, that’s the agreement. But the names will be changed to protect the guilty.