So, FJ Dagg has confirmed receipt of the prize package and I can give you a little insight into what I sent to him – and why. There were three things, each connected with a type of independence.

1. A newspaper from 11/22/1990 with the headline: THATCHER RESIGNS. It was a pivotal moment that, for many, represented the prospect of independence from a policy of Reaganomics that had divided the UK. For others, on the political right, it represented a time when The Iron Lady was a spent force and new leadership within the Conservative Party (think Republicans) could take the helm.

2. A copy of my own co-written Little Book of Cynics. First, I should state that I don’t get a royalty and second, that this was my own copy – the first out of the box from the publishers. So it presented an independence of mind, of seeing myself as a bonafide writer in the wider world. And it made me eligible to join the Society of Authors. I know of course that what makes us writers is the urge (compulsion) to write. The little book gave me psychological sovereignty.

3. A sixpence. When my brother and I were growing up, there was a jar of sixpences on the bureau, occasionally added to, but never emptied. When my brother died, I found the collection of sixpences among his things. My best guess is that when dad died, mum couldn’t bring herself to move them on, and when she died, David felt the same. They stopped being legal tender back in the 1970s, but you could say they’d been emotional currency in our family for 40 years. To me, they represent tradition and holding on to something because that’s the way it’s always been done. But writers, whatever else they do, are here to find new voices, new meanings and new expression. So the sixpence is a little piece of family history and a little piece of luck to be passed on, to gain independent meaning and relevance.