Author, Alexander McCall Smith

Alexander McCall Smith

I have stopped counting the number of flights I have to take each year, but it's probably more than one hundred. I'm fairly indifferent to flying, but there is one sort of flight that I positively look forward to - the journey back to Scotland.

Why? Well, because Scotland is home, but also because each time I go away I am reminded of just how lucky we are to live in this remarkable country, tucked away at the edge of Europe, but for so many of us who live here, the very best place to be.

Choosing to Live in Scotland

I suppose that I am very fortunate in that I could probably live in a number of other places - I could write my books anywhere. But I choose to live in Scotland because I think that there are qualities which one finds in many people here which are really quite remarkable.

In particular, something which I think is very important in Scotland is concern for others. This is a quality which is rather hard to define, but you know it when you see it, and I think that is an important part of the Scottish tradition and the Scottish character.

The Small Transactions of Life

It is evident in the small transactions of life - the helpfulness of people whom one meets in one's day-to-day life - and it is evident in the way in which Scotland's national life is built around principles of respect for others, no matter what their station in life may be. That ethos is something which adds immeasurably to the quality of our national life.

But I don't like Scotland just because it is a country with a heart. I like it because it's interesting. It may be a small country, but it seems that there is always something intensely interesting happening.

As an author, I like to observe people and reflect on how they think and behave. I am never short of subjects in Scotland.

Sharp and Sweet

Christopher Grieve, an important twentieth century Scottish poet who wrote as Hugh MacDairmid, penned a remarkable line.

"The rose of all the world is not for me," he wrote. "I want for my part only the little white rose of Scotland that smells sharp and sweet - and breaks the heart." - I know what he meant.

Alexander McCall Smith

Author of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and other books.