All the characters in my stories are imaginary, totally invented by me, but sometimes, as I’ve mentioned before, I ‘borrow’ a face. It might be someone I see in the street or in the pub, it might be someone on TV who has a certain expression on his or her face, it might be a picture in a newspaper or magazine.
I was reading the newspaper on Saturday when I came across an obituary, but it was the photo of the man that grabbed my attention. it must have been taken in the late 60’s or early 70’s and it was of Brian Hugh MacDermot who died a month ago at the age of eighty-two.
I had never heard of him before but he was a remarkable man; he was born in Paris, his father had been a senator in the Dáil, his mother was American and had previously been married to e.e.cummings. He went to Oxford University and became a stockbroker and then an art dealer. He was particularly interested in Africa and the Middle east and must have been a fascinating men.
What struck me, however, was the photograph accompanying the obituary. He was a strikingly handsome man but had a face full of character and humour… his face will be stuck in my memory until, sooner or later, it changes into a character in one of my stories… I have no idea now who it might be… this might be years ahead, but I have a face!
Lois Elsden 