A disorganised mess of abandoned beauty.

sometimes known as....

It’s time we had a look at this desk. (editorial note t)

When you say ‘look at’, do you in fact mean ‘sort the mess out’?

Are you saying it’s messy?

Aren’t you?

Well, I think of it more as ‘creative’.

As in disorganised?

Isn’t there a theory about creativity through disorganisation?

I think there is, but you will need to be organised to check that.

Ok, let’s just look at the desk.

What’s that, it looks like a pack of cards?

It’s a pack of cards.

Not like any I’ve seen before.

True.

And?

They’re special.

Why are they there?

Long story.

Give me the short one.

Normally in the drawer, Daughter comes home says: ‘Tom wants to know if you’ve got any rares’?

Have you?

Yes. So I gave him one, Thieve’s Auction, and then I thought I’ll set the deck up in case he drops in and wants a game.

Who’s Tom?

Not sure, but he lives near Gaillac.

Let’s put them back in the drawer.

Done.

That’s the book you’ve just finished (editorial note t) and it’s ontop of the one you have just started. Surely that’s the wrong way round?

Probably.

Let’s put one on the steps and one, er – what do you want to do with this one that you just finished?

Can I keep it on the desk?

Why?

I might want to copy some more quotes.

There’s not a lot of room.

We could move that.

My socks?

Are they clean?

A bit.

Put them in your running shoes.

Ok. Done. What are these?

Those waxy bits of paper that oranges and clementines sometimes get wrapped in. I collect them.

You collect them?

Yeaah, they’re beautiful. And unnecessary. I’m a collector of unnecessary beauty.

What else do you collect?

Drink stirrers, London Tube maps, bottle tops (editorial note t), corks, stamps, fish and chip shop paper bags.

Fish and chip shop paper bags? How many have you got?

Three. It’s an embryonic collection.

Embryonic unnecessary beauty. No wonder this desk is a mess. Do these waxy beauties have another home?

They have a File.

Let’s put them there.

And a book.

Either.

Done.

That’s your timetable; put it in your pocket.

Done.

Another book!

I like books.

You should get a Kindle.

I like books.

If that’s the one that you’ve just finished, and that’s the one you’re reading at the moment… which is this?

The one I’m cutting illustrations out of.

Eh?

I’m starting a shop.

A shop?

An online shop.

Of what?

Interesting and ultimately unnecessary yet discarded beauty.

What’s the shop called?.

Something like ‘at the bottom of the box’ but I can’t remember, I’ll let you know when I open the digital doors.

So where can we put this?

On the pile of discarded beauty.

Where’s that?

Well some is over there at the foot of the stairs.

Good.

Or there on top of the old computer that’s full of stuff that should be up in the waterfall of the archives. (editorial note t)

Ok.

And some is there on the floor in front of the cupboard.

Whatever.

Done.

Rubish, rubbish, chuck, chuck.

Hang on!

It’s rubbish.

No it’s not, it’s a plan.

It’s a lot of red written words all jumbled up on a piece of paper.

It’s a post.

A post?

For the blog, next year.

What are you talking about.

It represents a journey.

I don’t get it.

You will. Next year. (Editorial note F).

What was THAT?

An Editorial Note F.

We’ve not had one of them before.

It’s the first!

What does it mean?

It’s a future link, so it’s not a link yet, but it will be once the post is posted which will be sometime next year, probably in February.

That’s insane.

That’s BitsnBobs.