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A Day in the Life of a Commissioned Travel Writer
Bumbling around Bath
“What do you mean, you’re at the top of the cancellation list?”
My mother was practically hyperventilating.
“That was the hospital!” She clutched her chest. “I could get a phone call at any time, calling me into surgery for the following day.”
After being on the NHS waiting list for over a year for her total knee replacement, the operation we’d been warned wouldn’t happen for another two months could now happen with 24 hours’ notice.
“The earliest they’ll call me is tomorrow,” she continued.
“Tomorrow? That would be for the op on Friday?” Now, my mind was racing, as I tried prioritising my article deadlines. That’s when I remembered. The Bath commission. The editor had emailed a couple of weeks earlier asking for a travel piece about the city of Bath. However, he didn’t want blue sky photos, because he planned on using the piece next winter. Ideally, he wanted more wintry-looking images. Which meant I needed to go before the middle of March.
Clearly, I’d be on nursing duties after Mum’s op, and leaving her for any more than an hour wouldn’t be possible for at least a week or more after her op. With Bath being a three-hour drive each way, and my need to explore the city and…
