Behind the Words: Football Scarves and Richard Kimble
This was my first ever published short story (I’d had many poems published before this, but never prose) and in many ways the thing that kicked it all off. I was taking Alan Spence’s writing class at Aberdeen University and he mentioned that this guy Adrian Searle was putting together a book of fiction themed around Scottish football and was looking for submissions. I went home and wrote this story loosely based on my own experience of my first ever game. I should stress, the kid isn’t me, the father isn’t my dad, I just drew on the details and impressions. The Richard Kimble part however is based on a story my dad told me about them announcing the end of The Fugitive over the tannoy at a game, which at the time I thought was funny but I now think is a fascinating insight into a time before the ability to record or watch on demand. You miss the season finale and you won’t get another chance.
Adrian accepted the story with a few edits and I found myself anthologised alongside writers like Alan Spence, Linda Cracknell, Denise Mina, and Bernard MacLaverty. I went to the launch in Glasgow, my first such event, and freaked out at being in the same room - let alone the same book - as many of my writing idols, vacillating between fanboy and mute statue. I’m acutely embarrassed just remembering.
A few months later Adrian organised a reading at Pittodrie stadium before an Aberdeen V Partick Thistle game. They set up a stage in the concourse of the Richard Donald stand (the old Beach End) with PA and microphones, and as the fans streamed in, we read our stories. This is probably the most stressful thing I’ve ever done in my life. Reading a story about being a Celtic fan from Aberdeen over the PA while Aberdeen fans walk by. Anyone who missed the introduction (almost everyone) had no idea what was going on, and few were in the mood for some fiction right then and there. I got a lot of bemuses looks and more than a few aggressive stares. It wasn’t helped by Adrian (Aberdeen fan) and Alan (Rangers fan) mischievously suggesting that I go first.
I survived. Adrian went on to start Freight Books and Gutter Magazine. As I’ve said elsewhere, Gutter has published a lot of my writing over the years, and Freight published my first three books. Adrian also gave me a job first as a reader then as an editor for Freight, starting me off on that employment path. As a result, I have a lot of fondness for this story. It may not be my best (in fact I winced a lot rereading it) but it’s probably the most important short story I’ve ever written.