First published in Column 8, on the 7thAugust, 1991. This version is slightly altered from the original.

 

During the recent DunedinCompetitions I sat in a large room I hadn’t been inside for years. I ran myeye over a quiet corner where I’d spent half my childhood reading books on filmuntil I could tell you everyone who directed this and everyone who acted inthat. The shelves from which I’d taken the books were still there, but theirworn brown boards are now bare, apart from a couple of b...