Melz Office

My office

Having written the book All the Birds of the Air at an average rate of two hours per week over a period of two years I don’t actually have a “sit down rest your feet up on the desk” type office.

Rather, my office has been a more flexible environment mostly consisting of two main venues and numerous spontaneous grab the moment spots while waiting for appointments.

These environments are cafes one of which has free wifi and is open 24 hours a day and allows me to write from 6am till 8am on a Monday while my son trains at a nearby sports centre. The other is a coffee lounge with free wifi in the Northern suburbs, which allows me to sit and type while my three youngest girls attend a Friday night girls club.

The former office has pleasant staff, who remember my name and on the odd occasion, when I’ve forgotten my wallet or amassed more than five visits, have indulged me in a free cup of coffee.

Once one of the long term team members commented on how inconsistent the internet connection was and how he’d attempted to use it without success. I told him I’d never had any problems and showed him which wifi to attach to. If you knew what an incompetent technologist I am you’d quickly see the irony in me telling a millennial how to suck eggs. (Excuse the cliché. Ok, sure it’s an idiom but they quite often are.)

The latter office also has pleasant staff and closes half an hour before I’m ready to leave but have been so kind as to chuff out all the other customers and let me sit in the corner while they clean up around me. Generally they only have one attendant on and if it is the lovely young man, who knows what I always have, I am delivered a regular long black coffee in a takeaway cup (less chance of me spilling it on my laptop) and if it is the lovely young lady, who also knows what I always have, I am delivered a regular English Breakfast tea with a bit of milk. It is fortunate that I drink both.

Wifi or no wifi I have become very used to busyness around me as I write and the main difference between home and ‘office’ is the noise. While I am out there are cries for food and cries for help and even squabbles between siblings. I can’t say this is any different than when I am at home except that the pleas are not from my own family and therefore between the hours of 6am – 8am one morning a week and 6pm to 8pm one evening a week it all stays in the background as no response is required from me.

Now that I have finally confessed to being a writer I may have to extend my office hours. Suggestions for great coffee (and free wifi) are most welcome.