Welcome to the tiny space

To begin ... an explanation. The tiny space in question is where I do my writing, though I do have a roving pen and notebook on the go, most of the time, that travel about a bit.

Over the years the tiny space has changed location. It began life on a 1940s' dining table in, where else, a dining room which naturally it had to share – both table and room! This was one of those 'now you see it, now you don't' places and not a success. It had a few intermittent residencies on my lap in various armchairs and on beds, but this was on an emergency basis only. This space, however, is still called upon from time to time and invaluable.

There was a brief spell on a lovely Arts and Crafts table, a bargain bought from a secondhand furniture shop installed in a corner of my bedroom, but when we connected to the superhighway it had to move again for the phone connection (all very pre. wifi). My tiny space became a very small, windowless corner of the hallway, a cramped major artery of the house and caught in an arctic wind tunnel between front and back doors. This required thick jumper, fingerless gloves, hot water bottle, blanket and copious amounts of tea/coffee to be thawed enough for flexible movement in both fingers and brain. I wrote most of my MA work there, thousands of words of it; my advice – avoid hallways.

A bit of the spare room was a step forward, but it can be quite tricky keeping the circulation going in your legs when one of them is wedged against a computer trolley and the other fighting for space with a large chest of drawers and everything everyone else doesn't want in their bedroom. But I'm not churlish, the spare room was the proverbial light. Immoveable trolley has now been removed, lovely table from bedroom installed, room redecorated (that was a job and a half), bookshelves erected and the tiny space is a comfortable L-shape by a window; oh the joy of natural light! It is still shared with bits of clutter and is a guest room, with bed of course, but I have my books around me, lovely arty things that friends and family have given me, my table and laptop, notebooks and pens ... what more could I wish for? I love my tiny space and it is just mine. Not quite Virginia's room of one's own, but a tiny space of my own. Fab!