Father’s Day? My girls love to pinch my socks

amateurs trying to get through the music! It has been a wonderful experience of friendship.”

When he’s not with the group, the man behind the ambitious Great Tapestry of Scotland – currently touring the country – likes to retreat to Morvern in Argyll.

The region – like Edinburgh – provides a backdrop in Chance Developments, which explores love in all its forms.

And‘ Sandy’ adores his picturesque hide away .“We always liked the west coast. We thought it would be nice to have a place there and eight years ago we bought a house,” he reveals. “We are only 30 feet from the sea and when we open our curtains we see deer.

“Geese and eagles fly overhead. It is a wonderful retreat.”

It’s also a great place to write. He rises in the wee small hours to tap away at his computer keyboard. That is, until he is lured by the ocean’s call.

“I’ll be tempted to go out on a row boat and try to catch some mackerel ,” he confesses.

The 68- year- old’s diary is more hectic than ever. After New York, there are talks in Scotland, then a promotional trip to Sweden.

And then there’s Father’s Day in June.

“I usually get a present of marzipan and socks,” he reveals. “I appreciate them, particularly as my daughters pinch my socks. It’s a circular system of give and take away.” And he’s laughing again. Alexander McCall Smith will be speaking at Aberfeldy Town Hall at 7pm on June 7 and at The Barn, Banchory, Aberdeenshire at 7.30pm on June 8.