Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
My Haven
IAN RANKIN The bestselling crime writer, 60, in the music room of his Edinburgh flat
1 FAMILY MATTERS
This room is where I relax when I’m writing my books, by playing a record. I have very few pictures of my parents and that’s why this photo [left] of my mum Isobel [centre], who died in 1979 when I was 19, and my dad
James, who died in 1990, is so important to me. There’s also a photo here of my wife Miranda [right] at a French vineyard where we worked together in the early 1980s. And the picture in the yellow frame is of our two sons,
Jack, now 28, and Kit, now 26.
2 MY INSPIRATION
I’m a great admirer of the novelist Muriel Spark – like me, she wrote about Edinburgh. So when I heard her son Robin had died and the family’s tenement flat was going up for sale, I went to see it. It’s thought Muriel wrote at least part of her best-known book, The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, at this small table in that flat. When the table came for auction my wife Miranda bid for it and it’s now close to hand when I write. I hope Muriel’s genius might rub off on me!
3 YOU’VE GOT MAIL
The artist Peter
Liversidge, who I bonded with over music, has posted me all sorts of unusual stamped ‘artworks’ over the years, from a wooden ruler to a train whistle and a plastic apple. He’s plastered them in stamps, popped them in the post… and hoped for the best. The more stamps he can get on the better. Although some things he sent – such as a broomstick – never arrived; the Royal Mail clearly decided they weren’t worth delivering. It’s always a pleasant surprise to receive something.
4 ROCKING OUT
I’m a big music fan and I’ve been lucky enough to be offered backstage passes like these to see some of my favourite acts, like The Charlatans. I’ve also met musical heroes like Van Morrison, who signed his album for me, and become pals with former
Joy Division and
New Order star
Peter Hook. But it’s a great tragedy that so few of today’s rock acts indulge in the wild stuff that used to happen backstage. The most you’re likely to be offered now is a cup of tea!
5 YOU’RE NICKED
This police warrant card is a prop from the ITV adaptation of my
Rebus books, in which Ken Stott starred for three series. The card is out of date now – Lothian and Borders Police is now part of Police Scotland. The Rebus books have sold around 35 million, and there’s a script for a rebooted Rebus at the BBC at the moment, so watch this space. I think I’ve got maybe one more Rebus book in me, but I say that every time I finish a novel…
6 VROOM, VROOM
I had a huge collection of toy cars as a kid and loved to play with them. Sadly the only ones left are these three – my Captain Scarlet, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Monkees cars. In mint condition in their boxes they would be worth a fair few quid, but they’re a bit battered and scratched – nonetheless having them around takes me back to my childhood. As kids, my generation had to use their imagination more when they played with their toys than today’s kids with their video games.