The author’s first careless rapture - the picture:
Just come across an old picture of me and Idle Tom the Publisher; it’s of the pair of us in quieter, more innocent times, when we first set out on this Clavier venture.
If ever there were a picture which said ten thousand words, this is it.
It has a smack of that first careless rapture, of a time when young hearts had yet to be broken, and when a man’s word could still be believed.
For me, it captures the very essence of what it was like for two young(ish) men to both be starting out in this strange old world of publishing, with such dreams in our hearts. Such prospects! Such vistas!
There may, I’m sure have been a little naivety about those two callow youths - but what of that?
Surely it comes to everyone that they must be bitten, must be burned - and must come to learn that life isn’t necessarily fair, and that the good guys don’t always come out on top?
But nonetheless we can still all of us enjoy watching the vigour, the energy, and the boundless optimism of youth.
I forget when, precisely, this picture was taken, but I believe it might have been after our first very moderate drinking session in The Barony in Edinburgh.
Happy days.
See what you think …
