I have been astonished over the past couple of days by the fact that I have been able to work consistently and effectively. That is surprising if you consider the situation in the house at the moment. The workmen are well-embarked now on the reconstruction of the conservatory, and in addition to their professional busyness there is the constant distraction of their radio. I have ended up making tea or coffee for them three times during the day. If that were not enough, our next-door neighbour has decided that it is a suitable time to replace the missing rain gutter on the side of his property that overlooks our garden. Both parties have needed access to electricity from time to time, and both have wanted to borrow equipment or tools at one time or another. It’s a busy life!
Both of these activities have been long expected, and are certainly very welcome indeed, but it is surprising that I am able to beaver away so productively when it is all taking place outside the studio window. I think that I must have a highly developed ability to focus on a task in hand, and shut out of my consciousness things that perhaps other people might find distracting. Certainly my wife thinks so, although she doesn’t express it in quite those terms when she has given me detailed instructions about something, and I have no recollection of having received these later on.
I shall go on maintaining that it is a virtue.