It also helps when nobody around dares to say you’re delusional.

Look at the sweet little old man, dreaming of dead Venezuelans.

Are you sure you didn’t get that from CatGPT?

That!s grim, Robert. Is it still bad?

To say this is unsustainable isn’t even close. How can you educate others when you don’t have time to keep yourself educated? The whole thing is a sick joke.

Agreed. And give them special carriages on trains. Preferably without seats and open to the air.

They won’t, anyway.

Given the way we’ve treated Ireland, you may not be entirely off the ball there.

Or maybe, move around the world in it, but don’t become entombed?

Some of my best writing students were the ones who had backgrounds in science, or maths, or the visual arts. Mature students learnt innovative writing techniques quicker and better than younger ones.

I had similar advice from Tom Disch in the early 1970s, about writing into a niche, changed my life & seems broadly applicable

Typo in part 1: existing, not costing