In the end I was forced to read more train magazines than I wanted. I mean, I like train magazines. I hang on to them for times of need. Just like the last few months. I subscribe to three monthly magazines, and one bi-monthly. They usually last me fine, by which I mean that when I sit down – alone – at the kitchen table with some tea, or whatever, I can find one to read. My arms are a bit short, so I rarely read magazines in armchairs or sofas.
I realised that there was an unexpected shortage of magazines coming through. They – the senders – tried to blame it on the ‘pandemic’. But funnily enough, when they resent on my request, the magazines got through just fine, in the usual time scale. And the missing ‘pandemic’ copies have yet to turn up, so that magazine black hole is clearly quite big and very holey.
So there I was, fingering the pile of reserve train magazines, when I rediscovered two copies of Living. It seems to be a free magazine, which means there are lots of ads. But it looked more readable than many free magazines do, so I’d hung on to them, just in case.
After enjoying some local articles, by which I probably mean Scottish ones, I happened upon the ‘greetings from the editor’ corner. I didn’t have to read his name. The photo was enough to tell me I was in the able hands of Chae Strathie, children’s author.
There is no reason why he shouldn’t be editing a magazine. None at all. I was simply pleasantly surprised. He even wrote a nice article about the boat Fingal, in Leith.
Now I’m back with my usual magazines, because one day they did what buses do, and four turned up all together, from the black hole, or wherever. And I’m keeping the last Living for my next emergency.
The Occasional Bookwitch 