My eyes open in the darkness in a silent house. I shift quietly out of bed leaving Emelia in her dream world. I change into my Office Livery, including my finest blue suit, favourite pocket watch and bowler hat.
As I approach the front door there is a tug of my trousers. I look down and staring up at me are a pair of piercing green eyes and a sleepy smile. “Adair how did you get out of bed?”, I whisper. I whisk my four-year old back to bed.
At 9am, I call James to my office. James Hogg has worked for me for 10 years and his devil’s advocacy has served me well. I hand him a gilt-edged envelope and say, “Your commission is enclosed. Please do not open it until this evening for tomorrow your adventure begins”.
I call Robert in next. Robert MacLeod has been with Thompson & French for 12 months and has quickly built a reputation for pushing boundaries. I hand him his envelope and give the similar instruction but add “Patience and trust are everything, Robert.”
With the commissions delivered, I look over to the wall, where I have a large map of Scotland. I put a pin into the map and stand back and smile to myself, “Watch out. Here we come”.
—————————————— © Graeme Brown 2019 ——————————————-
The Hampden Collection 